Sunday, October 11, 2015
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Monday, October 5, 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Fair 2015 - September Sky
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Fair 2015 - Visit #2: Oh, What a Night
Friday, September 4, 2015
Round 2 of the State Fair for 2015 this afternoon.
Took Mom to see Prairie Home Companion at the Grandstand for her birthday. I
had school today and Mom came by to help in the classroom. We met Dale at the
house after school, got Athena taken care of and were off to the Fair by 4:30.
We arrived a little past 5:00. It was 90 degrees out
and the radio had just reported a heat index of around 100, which, I believe,
made it just about the hottest day of the year. The humidity was nasty. Mom was
sore and moving rather slow having just started a new exercise regime earlier
in the week. I was a little worried about her but she insisted that she was
okay if we didn’t mind moving a little slower than usual and were willing to
sit down from time to time. Wasn’t a problem.
We stopped by the John Deere booth to visit with her
friend Gary who was volunteering there. We then hit the Pronto Pup stand (for
me) and the gyros stand (for Mom and Dale). Yummy stuff. The Pronto Pup wasn’t
as substantial as the gyros so I grabbed a slice a pizza from Green Mill.
Our next stop was beer for Mom and Dale. On the way to
the Leine Lodge we stopped by the Kemps Cow for a photo taken by Mom. I thought
it turned out cute.
Mom and Dale got their beer and we found a bench under
the Space Needle. It was a cooling station so water misters above us rained
little droplets to keep us comfortable. It wasn’t heavy enough to get us wet.
We had a great view of Judson Avenue as it wraps around toward the
International Bazaar. Great people watching.
Our next destination was the Corn Roast stand. Mom and
I each got an ear drenched in butter. It was very sweet and delicious. Dale
said it probably came off the stalk that morning. My, my that was some tasty stuff.
Next to the Blue Moon Dine-In Theater. I’d convinced
Dale that he really needed to try the chilled bread pudding there. I went with
the chocolate brownie version again with candied pecans only this time I went
with the caramel sauce instead of chocolate. Dale went with the corn muffin
bread pudding and, like me, got the caramel sauce with candied pecans. He loved
it as I suspected he might. We found a
bench for Mom and Dale to sit down and looked up the street past Andy’s Grille
toward the Midway.
Finally it was time to move toward the Grandstand for
the Prairie Home Companion show. What a delight that turned out to be. It
wasn’t surprising how wonderful the whole experience was since I’ve seen it at
the Fair twice before. Mr. Keillor warmed up the crowd by walking through the
audience while singing. The guests included Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele who
sang, among other things, Reach Out (I’ll Be There) and Proud Mary. The Steep
Canyon Rangers, a bluegrass group that I’d never heard of before, played as
well. They were great. Garrison Keillor, Sue Scot, and Tim Russell performed a
hilarious bit about a son calling home and talking to his passive aggressive
mother and distant father. Of course, there was a report from Lake Wobegon and
a Guy Noir appearance. It was all fabulous fun. Mom and Dale loved it as well.
Our trek back to the car after the performance was
leisurely so as to accommodate Mom. On the way back she convinced me to get an
order of Tom Thumb mini-donuts to share. It was all great fun and I’m already
looking forward to next year.
Fair 2015 - Visit #2: Chilled Bread Pudding
Friday, September 4, 2015
On the way over to the Grandstand we stopped at Blue Moon Dine-In Theater and picked up some chilled bread pudding. We found a bench for Mom to rest and then we ate and chatted. We were looking up the street toward the Andy's Grille and then the Midway.
Fair 2015 - Visit #2: Prairie Home Companion
Friday, September 4, 2015
 |
| With Dale |
 |
| With Mom |
 |
| Waiting for Prairie Home Companion to begin. |
 |
| Garrison Keillor on the Jumbotron. |
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Fair 2015 - Visit #1: Away We Go...
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Last weekend Mike and I set up a date for me to join
his family on a trip to the great Minnesota State Fair. I’ve been looking
forward to it all week and today’s the day!
The weather always changes during the second half of
August from the hot and humid days of high summer to the warm and less humid
days that are typical now. Evenings have changed from warm to pleasantly cool.
When this happens in mid-August, shortly after my birthday, I catch myself
saying, “Feels like [State] Fair weather!”
Today had that definite fair time weather feel. I
drove over to Mike and Charisse’s house around 3 pm. On the way over I heard
MPR reporting that the Black Lives Matter protest near the entrance to the fair
was just finishing up. The event was peaceful and went without incidence.
Charisse’s three sisters were in from out-of-town to
make the trip to the fair with us. It was nice to meet Cathy, Cindy, and Char after
having heard about them over the last few years. Mike and Charisse’s daughter
Shay accompanied us as well.
As last year we did the park-and-ride deal again.
There are numerous free lots in which to park located all over the metro area.
Once parked, chartered, air-conditioned, Greyhound-type busses pick you up and
deliver you to the gates of the fairground. The bus ride is free as well. Charisse
bought our admission tickets in advance at Cub Foods (a locale grocery store
chain) so we didn’t have to wait in line to buy tickets. Slick.
Fair 2015 - Visit #1: Crowds Galore
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Upon entering the fair it was visibly apparent
how crowded it actually was. None of that deterred us from doing everything we
wanted to do. For such large group we really did a good job negotiating getting
around to all the sites/sights we wanted to see.
Fair 2015 - Visit #1: Blue Moon Dine-In Theater
Saturday, August 29, 2015
My number 1 goal for this trip was to get the chilled
bread pudding at the Blue Moon Dine-In Theater. We went there first since it was closest
to the entrance. Every year Blue Moon introduces some new wonderful sweet
thang. Last year it was the sweet corn ice cream and this year it was the chilled
bread pudding. There were different varieties but I went with the chocolate
brownie bread asked chocolate sauce, pecans, and whipped cream on top. It was
fantastic.
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