Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Coshocton County Fair

Last weekend, Josh and I went back to Ohio for the Coshocton County Fair. Josh used to go every year, along with everyone else who lives anywhere near enough to get there. He hasn't been back for quite a while, and every fall when the weather starts to get cold, he suggests that we should go. This year, we got smart and started planning before the weather got cold, so we actually showed up.

It was a blast. The weather was perfect - sunny and warm, but not too hot. We drove to Ohio on Friday (I had worked Thursday night, so no one expected to see me four hours later on Friday morning... good thing). I thought we would spend the evening with Josh's family and hit the fair the next day. Boy, was I wrong. We walked in the door, said hello to everyone, picked up passes to the fair and went there to get dinner. I had missed that one of the main attractions is the food. During the day and a half we were there, I had stromboli, these delicious ribbon cut potato things that were basically fresh, perfect potato chips, a funnel cake, a footlong hotdog, soup beans and cornbread, fresh mini doughnuts, hot fudge cake, a chocolate milkshake, and steak on a stick (most things I split with Josh). I may be forgetting something, since we spent a majority of our time either deciding what to eat or eating something.

We also did the typical country fair things. We looked at pigs, goats, sheep, cows (briefly; I still don't like them), ducks, geese, turkeys, and horses. I think Josh may have picked up a tiny hint that I might maybe like horses a little. (Possibly because I told him that the only thing I wanted in order for the weekend to be a success was to pat a horse. I did.) So we watched harness racing, little kids in showmanship classes, and every horse-ish pursuit we could find. We also watched part of a tractor pull (more fun with earplugs, I think), bull riding (until I chickened out and made Josh leave) and tiny children in a roping contest. (There isn't really anything I can say to convey the comedic value of small children with big lariats and only a vague notion of how to go about roping things. They all get the idea of swinging the rope over their heads, but they always stop swinging the rope at exactly the wrong moment; i.e. when they're about to throw it. Usually they rope their own hats.)

We wandered through the extensive exhibits, and that was surprisingly fun too. I saw the biggest collection of antique irons I ever imagined, and some really lovely quilts and things. I also decided that if I ever live in the country, I want to win a prize for baking at the county fair. And, of course, we played games. Actually, the only game I played involved squirting a water pistol at a target. Guess which one of us aimed at the target and which one aimed at his girlfriend? Go ahead. Guess. I did end up with a medium sized frog, two small frogs, something that was intended to be a puppy but looked more like a Tasmanian Devil, and a penguin, so I had adequate evidence to show everyone that I was loved. It's a status thing. Plus no one won me a live bunny, thank goodness.

On the ride home, Josh and I noticed that we didn't want any of our normal road food - too greasy. Apparently we ODed for the moment. Instead, we munched on fresh apples. Therefore, I conclude that the Coshocton County Fair is good for your health.

1 comment:

bellcat said...

This sounds WONderful! And major congrats on getting through your last student talk and being that much closer to being done, done, DONE, D-O-N-E.

Shawn