This Saturday marked the last day of the Bloomsburg State Fair. My family and I go every year. Even though I live away from the area, I always come home for The Fair. One year I missed it and the feeling of sadness was so great that I will never (willingly) do it again! For the past 2 years, I had scheduled my vacation for the Fair Week. This year, 3 Day stuff took over my life so I only made it home for the last day.
The fair has the usual assortments of rides, games, and food. Funnel cake, pierogies, gyros, fresh apple cider, hot sausage, candy apples......just to name a few. There is a great stand that sells 3/$1.00 hot dogs and another one that sells 35 cent cans of soda. Those stands are where we eat for the majority of the week. Then on the last day we go hog-wild! Last year I had a pumpkin flavored funnel cake and some homemade bean soup. MMMMM. This year I got a hot sausage, caramel apple, and potato pancakes. MMMMMMMMMM.
There are also animals. 4H-ers enter their livestock for judging and for sale. Sheep, cattle, pigs, goats. There is also a poultry exhibit, a rabbit exhibit, a horse show. During the week there are horse races (pacer/trotter, not thoroughbred). On the last weekend, there are pulling contests. Draft horses and ponies are hooked up to a sled that carries steel beams.
Other entertainment includes a demolition derby and a tractor pull. Various musical acts come to the Grandstand on each night. I have seen Charlie Daniels, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Gary Allen, Joe Nichols, and Montgomery Gentry over the years.
The locals can submit samples of their personal handiwork for judging. There is a wide variety of categories to chose from! Every year it is a tradition to see who has the Biggest Pumpkin (this year it was 840 lbs!) in the Agricultural Building.
My mom enters some of her photography, baked goods, canned goods, etc. She doesn't always get the prize she deserves but it's extremely rare that she doesn't get at least one ribbon for her entries. 2 years ago I started entering my own items. I can't say it was the first time I entered anything because when I was 12 or so, my Aunt Tina helped me bake some items for The Fair (I won a 2nd and a 3rd place then), but it was the first time I did it without assistance! I entered canned items (tomato sauces, salsa, jams). Each year I took home a few prizes.
My younger sister is a talented artist and has been entering drawings for years. She already has a few ribbons under her belt but this time she had a milestone. Her painting of RA (egyptian sun god) not only got a 1st place in her class but she also won a best in show. I am so proud of her!
OK....now back to walking stuff. I had to get my truck inspected this weekend, so while I was waiting for them to do the work, I decided to walk around Bloomsburg. My original goal was to walk up and down streets until I got to 10 miles. I ended up only doing about 6 miles but I made a point of walking up and down the streets that were on a hill. Since I have had no real hill training up to this point, I figured that the extra effort would make up for the lack in miles. And of course, later that night, I walked around the Fair with my sister (probably added another 1.5 miles or so).
With only 6 days until the event, I am taking it easy. One day of walking midweek according to the schedule. My duffel bag is PACKED and decorated to make it easy to find. I am going to start drinking extra water and a little bit of gatorade to "pre-hydrate" and I am going to make it a point to stretch a little extra this week.
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