Rob's State Fair Ramblings Day 1!

Today moved slowly, as it always does when you are anticipating an upcoming exciting event. However, the shifts at my 2 jobs came to a close today, and I made my first visit to the fully-functioning 2014 Kansas State Fair!!

I found a parking spot on 17th Street, about 1/4 block from my old place. That's the drawback to living on Avenue A, I'm no longer within walking distance from the fairgrounds. I began my adventure by walking through the buildings, picking up what free stuff was laying on the tables to give away. I found lanyards, Frisbees, chip clips, and of course, plenty of pens and pencils. It took me about an hour and a half to go through all of the buildings. After that, it was time to eat. I decided to start with the fried veggies I had last year. Tip: You want to eat fried food early in the fair week, while the grease is still fairly fresh. Some vendors do not change their grease, or do not change it as often as they should, so if you choose to eat fried foods, earlier in the week is better. The fried veggies were wonderful! They were hot, and the staff was friendly. You can get a variety of fried veggies there, but I chose the combo platter that included fried zucchini, mushrooms, cucumbers, cauliflower, and broccoli. You also get a dish of ranch dressing. This special is $7.00. I give the whole experience an A. If you are so inclined to get this, you might want to split it with a friend. I was not able to finish mine, and the booth did not have covered take-home boxes. I had to toss what was left, and that broke my heart. :-(  Note to self: Take along my own take-home container next time.   

As I was traversing the grandstand, a sign caught my eye that advertised a device that stimulates muscles. I guess I looked at it too long, because the seller roped me into a demo. He asked if I had any sore muscles. Then he saw my medical I.D. necklace, and asked what it was for. I told him it was for diabetes, and he immediately said "neuropathy," which is severe pain and soreness in the feet. He offered to hook me up with a free session of foot therapy, so I agreed. He hooked up some electrodes up to wet sandals, and I immediately had nightmarish visions of being fried alive from the feet up. He told me that the electrodes emit impulses to the feet. He let me control the intensity of the impulses. I immediately felt a pins-and-needles sensation in my feet, followed by what felt like someone was grabbing the back of my ankle and squeezing it. It didn't hurt, it just felt weird. He explained that this amazing device could prevent future neuropathy if used properly. When he asked what I did for a living, which is working with special education kids, he shared with me that he suffered from asbergers, which is a form of autism. It made even more sense a few minutes into the session, after he realized that he had put the sandals on the wrong feet. But, he said, it didn't make any difference. After a few minutes, he took the sandals off, and I had sore calf muscles. Great. I need sore calves with 10 days of walking ahead of me. He then shared that I could have this whole package for ONLY $200!! That's all!!  I asked for some info, aHend said I would look into it.  Not. It just is not a product that will work for me. I was not impressed.

I was able to catch the last part of the high-dive act, which you might have seen a clip of on my Facebook homepage. I caught the climactic dive from the highest diving board. I will add that there is another really cool act following that, but I won't give it away. It's pretty cool! (Maybe not for the diver: that's a clue).

I had the pleasure of seeing people I have not seen for a while. I saw some friends of mine who were celebrating their wedding anniversary at the fair! How cool is that? There was a man walking around the Old Mill with a life-size human puppet wrapped around him,  and the head of the puppet looked like the Cryptkeeper. On the midway, one of the rides was blaring "YMCA," and a whole crowd of people were standing there in a group, looking like the Village People, doing all the dance moves. I just wish that sometimes I could be invisible with my phone.  :-)

Tomorrow is Father's Day. Before you check your calendars, that's just my fun way of sharing that I will be taking my dad to the fair tomorrow. He likes to watch Ron Diamond, the comic hypnotist, ride the ski-lift ride, and look at livestock, particularly the horses. Every. Last. Horse. He enjoys going out to the fair with me, and we have a good time. I'll be sure to share all the details with you tomorrow night.

Thanks for tuning in for Day 1 of the Kansas State Fair! See you tomorrow!