Rob's State Fair Ramblings, Day 1

When the State Fair comes to town, it always seems to bring rain with it. If we happen to be enduring a drought, just schedule a state fair, and it will rain! That was the story as my mom and I began out first visit to the 2016 Kansas State Fair. I dropped my mom off to wait under the awning on Poplar Street while I went to park the car. I had my trusty Channel 12 umbrella with me to keep my top half dry as I made my way to meet mom. From the waist down, I was soaked. Mom and I huddled under the umbrella as we made our way to the first of several buildings to walk through. One cool thing that happened to me was a visit to the Kansas Cash booth in the large Meadowlark Building. I stop by there every year, just in case something might have come up. I gave her my name, and, lo and behold, I had about $16.00 in unclaimed cash from some corporation I have no clue about who they are. But, it's money! I filled out the necessary paperwork, and I will receive a check in this amount in a couple of weeks! I have never scored money with this program, so I am glad I stopped and asked. I almost didn't.
My mom and I got a good supply of free stuff such as pencils, cups, and other etc. Also in the Meadowlark Building is a booth that sells dips. They offer free samples. You are invited to grab a pretzel stick, dip it in the dip, and try them. There are about 10-12 different types of dip there, and they were all pretty good! In the Sunflower North Building, there is a booth that sells coffees and bread mixes. They also offer samples of their amazing coffees (mocha, black forest, turtle,), and beer bread. The beer cooks out in the process of baking, so I felt comfortable trying this bread. It was amazing as well. By this time, the rain had stopped, so we headed to the Domestic Arts Building, where my cookies were. The cookies had been judged, but were not on display to the public yet. There was a lady back in the cookie judging area that had all the results on the table behind her. When I asked about the results of my cookies, she noted that my oatmeal-raisin cookies had placed third, and my others cookies did not place. She also added that these were just preliminary results, and that when they are put up for display Saturday, those are the final results. We will see tomorrow. I mentally prepare myself every year for the possibility of not placing, but I'm still a bit bummed that my chocolate chip cookies have lost their title. However, they still have the blue for 2015! (Bright side).

Tonight's food shout-out goes to the pulled-pork parfait! This is a delight that is served in an ice cream parfait cup, and it is layered with pork, BBQ sauce, loaded mashed potatoes, and baked beans. It is yummo! These parfaits are prices at $8.00 this year, and the people have always been very friendly at this booth. There are 2 of these booths. They are bright red, and there is one trailer by the Old Mill, and one by the Meadowlark Building. Remember that due to low funds, I won't be able to try everything at the Fair this year, so a lot of food references are simply shout-outs, and are based on previous years' experiences.

This is unrelated to the Fair, but after we were done, we went to a friend's house to visit. While there, we got a Facebook message from my first foster child, back in 1998! He has a vague memory of who we are, and he remembers my yellow truck! We have been wondering what happened to him, and it was a blessing to connect with him again! 

Tomorrow is Father's Day, the day I take my dad to the Fair. He likes to look at the livestock, and we spend a lot of time in the animal barns. He enjoys this time at the fair, and we're looking forward to a fun day.

I am writing this at 20 minutes past midnight, and I am bushed! I need to be well-rested for our adventure tomorrow, so I will close this now. Whether you are reading this late at night or in the morning, or sometime Saturday, thanks for reading, and God bless you! See you tomorrow night for Day 2's report!