All good things must come to an end, and that is true of the Kansas State Fair. 10 days have literally flown by. To the vendors, however, the ones who have been there from open until close every day, the end of the fair couldn't come soon enough. Walking through buildings and over the grounds every day, you notice who is there all the time, and they looked very tired. As I was leaving the fairgrounds, people were packing up their displays and going home. This next week will be very busy as businesses take their tractors, RV's, storage buildings, hot tubs, and more etc. back to their businesses. The midway closed at 8pm, and the workers will work late into the night (some of them all night), and in the morning the rides will be in pieces again, loaded onto trucks, and pulling out for their next fair. KDOC crews will comb the grounds for hours, picking up trash. I don't get why there's so much trash on the ground. There are trash cans everywhere! People are just too lazy to walk to a trash can, I guess. The food vendors are cleaning up their trailers and buildings, and will be locked up or hauled out in the next day or so. Tomorrow night, I am going to feel lost without anything to do with my evening. However, on the other side of the coin, my legs and feet are very tired and sore, and they need an opportunity to rest. I didn't have issues with my knees as I did last year, but my back got a little sore during the week. This week, I logged 210,734 steps on my pedometer. A normal walking day is 10,000 steps, so the normal over 10 days should be 100,000. Wow, 110,734 over the norm. Most days I walked over 20,000 steps in a day.
I went in to pick up my white ribbon before I came home. They give you a critique sheet with everything you enter. They gave the oatmeal raisin cookies a good review, and they liked the chewiness. "Good!" they wrote. My peppernuts did not do well because "the size and shape not typical of peppernuts." I noted that they were a different type of peppernut, made to be larger and softer, but I guess they have different ideas of what a peppernut should be. They noted that they had a nice anise flavor. At least my customers like my style of peppernut. They liked the uniformness of my snickerdoodles, but they thought they were undercooked and tough. They said that my chocolate chip cookies were dry and crumbly, and suggested using a different typed of flour. Obviously, they were different judges, because I made my chocolate chips cookies the same way I did last year. I am not bitter at all, just disappointed, because I put my heart and soul into those cookies. I'll try again next year!
Fair food shout-out: I had to mention this booth: "Fungal Fusion," a new booth this year. They sell deep-fried fungus, such a mushrooms, truffle fries, and an assortment of fried things I have never heard of before. The fried items were described as funguses. They had a paper hanging there that noted they were approved by the state to run this stand, so I guess it has to be safe. I would never eat such a thing, but it seemed to be a popular place to eat. They are having a contest to give away a food trailer. It was suggested that I enter, so I could take my cookies to different places to sell, but 1) I have no place to store it, 2) no way to haul it 3) I'd have to hire staff to run it while I am baking, and 4)it costs $59 just to enter, and there's no guarantee that I would win. That sounds like gambling to me. Did any of you try "Fungal Fusion" this year? I'd like to get your spin on it. In another food-related incident, I was talking to a friend who offered me a bite of their gator tators, which is a potato peeled into a big blossom and deep-fried. The bite I got had a hair in it! Ick! This is the stand just down the road from the Old Mill that sells alligator on a stick. I think I'll avoid that place in the future. The lady running the stand didn't seem too concerned about it.
I was glad to run into Sam & Robin, Valerie (I enjoyed our chat), Scott, Jackie, and more than I can recall right now. Running into people is the best part of the fair. I love to watch people. Seeing people laugh and smile, seeing dads carrying kids who are completely zonked out asleep, texters who trip or run into things because their eyes are on their phones....I will truly miss this atmosphere of fun, food, and fair....
I want to thank you for reading. I've heard a lot of people telling me how they enjoy the blog and read it every day. Those of you who like and comment really spur me on to bring you as much info, entertainment as I possibly can. I have enjoyed being the "fair guy," helping people find what they need, directing people to the places they are looking for. I've had people buy me meals, hand me food coupons, or will just stand and visit with me. For that, I thank you all. It's been fun being your "inside man" at the fair. I wish I could make a career out of this, Lol. If you'd like to read or re-read any of the days, you can click on the days in the menu at the side of this page, or stalk my Facebook for entries and pics. This blog will continue, but as far as being a state fair info source, that won't be happening again until next year. Thanks for reading, and may God richly bless you!
No comments:
Post a Comment