Journey to the State Fair

While in St. Paul we also went to the Minnesota State Fair. Cos you just gotta go to the country's second largest state fair! And we'd heard so much about it! Getting there was a bit of a journey. Cos, you know when 170,053 people want to go to any one place, it's gonna be hard to park your car. Roberto, Eric, Jenny, and Mark and I had planned to park in a satellite parking lot and take the bus to the fair. But the lots we tried were already full. So Mark thought we'd try to park near Midway Stadium, where the St. Paul Saints play. We found a free! spot along the road and Mark promised us it would be about a four block walk to the fair. Well, what he didn't say was that the walk was along a railroad!

Then go through a kind of sketchy, possibly hobo-occupied, underbrushy and overgrown area.




The boys, channeling Stand By Me, thought it was a great time. Jenny and I, remembering what actually happened in that movie (near miss with a train, leeches, finding a dead body), were a bit more worried. But I didn't get really scared until about 30 seconds after we emerged to the other side when we heard a train whistle and the train go rushing by where we had been just moments before. I believe I clutched someone in surprise. Somehow, I didn't really believe that a train would be going on those tracks. (duh, Daniela, what are train-tracks FOR otherwise?)

But, to give credit where it is due (to Mark!*) , we were right across the street from the State Fair. Now to contend with all of those people I mentioned before...

We ate a lot of food.

Personally, I ate french fries, melted cheese on bread with marinara sauce, a bite of Eric's dog on a stick, popcorn, fried cheese curds, and several of Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies. I really wanted some hot dish on a stick

(which is a Minnesota thing, you just would't understand!), but I was way too full already!!!!

We saw Garrison Keeler do his Prairie Home Companion show at the grandstand. The Del McCoury Band were special guests and they stole the show, as far as I am concerned! And Eric did not find Garrison Keeler as annoying as he thought he would. We even ran into a former Latin teacher colleague of Eric's from when he taught in DC! She's from the Twin Cities. But still, did I mention there were 170,053 people there?!

Eric, Roberto, and I rode one of the rides. I looooovvvve carnival rides!


Finally, we did manage to see a few farm animals (most people would say that's the whole POINT of the State Fair. But I'd argue it's all about the food! obviously.). But due to the late hour, we didn't really see that many animals and most of them were eating and considered it rude that we wanted to photograph them (no one looks attractive eating, after all!)


That's the end!

*By the way, all readers from the Twin Cities: if you are in need of a new or used CD or vinyl, go to Mark's record store, Treehouse Records at 2557 Lyndale Ave S (at 26th St) in Minneapolis. It is a most excellent place.