Our first day at the Fair was a bit disorganized. We had gone for our traditional first night's dinner at Red Lobster and although I had my clothes ready to go, I wasn't thinking clearly when we left the next morning. I parked the car at the bus stop and then realized I had left our tickets at home. So, back into the car and a quick return home to grab the tickets. Of course, Sharon didn't mention anything about our Blue Ribbon Fair Discounts Books (which I had already purchased) until we were back at the bus again. I told her we'd just buy new ones at the Fair (only $5 each and well worth the cost). So we were off, finally!
 |
The State Fair comprises three major aspects - things to eat and drink, things to look at, and things to listen to or watch. Sharon and I knew we only had a day and a half of wandering before DH would join us on Saturday night and both DH and Chickie would join us on Sunday. We packed as much as we could into our day-and-a-half of wandering for the two of us. Here's what turned out to be my favorite food of the Fair. A NautiCal bowl - different fruit whips frozen, and topped with granola, honey, coconut and fresh fruit. Amazing! I ended up buying four of them over the three days, and have already looked up to find out local locations where I can go to get more. It's a fairly new franchise, but looks like it's expanding very quickly. Extremely tasty and highly recommended. |
It was supposedly going to rain, so I had my umbrella in my backpack. Apparently umbrellas are caught by metal detectors. Who knew? LOL Without the umbrella I passed through the electronics easily, and regained my umbrella on the other side. We were finally at the Fair once again and the sounds of happy people and odors of multitudes of food choices were ours for the taking. Heaven!
 |
I loved this skull quilt and it certainly deserved the blue ribbon it won. It was beautifully conceived and very well made. A treat! (It was behind glass, thus the reflections.) |
 |
I thought this cross-stitch item at the MN State Fair was creative and thoughtful. Certainly well conceived. |
One of our first stops (after coffee and breakfast for Sharon) was wandering the International Bazaar (there wasn't anything I felt was necessary to purchase). Then we wandered through Agriculture, and on to Creative Activities.
 |
Apparently the four ladies travel through the State Fair with their "Kitty Shirt" and when they find interesting people, they ask if they can photo them wearing it. They asked a gentleman sitting at a nearby table, and he was game, then they asked me. Why not? "Sure," I said, "I'll wear the shirt if you promise to not hate me because I don't support your candidate." Assurances were given, so I put on the shirt and they texted me the photos. I liked this one the best. The lady wearing the political button is on the far left, then there's another of the ladies in blue, then me wearing the Kitty Shirt, and finally the final member of their group. Apparently the Kitty Shirt photos have been going on for several years. They shared stories and prior photos with us after I returned the shirt. |
After Creative Activities we felt the desire to sit for a while, so made our way to Giggles, one of our favorite eating places. Finding two seats at one of their outdoor tables, we were across from four ladies in matching blue shirts, one of whom was wearing a political button featuring the Republican candidate for our Governor's race upcoming in November's election. I support the Democratic candidate, mostly over their abortion platforms, but I wasn't wearing any pins (yet). Still, when they asked if they could take my photo wearing their "Kitty Shirt", I said "sure".
 |
My Maple Bacon ale and smoked Salmon wrap - absolutely wonderful and just right. Giggles never fails us and they're one of the more popular places to sit for a while at the State Fair. |
Of course, one of the major things at the State Fair is food. Giggles has lovely food and a huge assortment of beverages - iced tea for Sharon and a brew of some sort for me. I tried their Maple Bacon dark ale and it was magnificent. I had a smoked Salmon wrap, Sharon had her usual Walleye cakes. They were both delicious.
 |
Lindy's is a steakhouse with two locations - Seeley Lake, Montana and Arden Hills, Minnesota. Over the years, Sharon and I have usually gone to Outback Steakhouse for our first night dinner, but last year's experience was awful. Sharon's steak was good, but mine was horrid. I was determined to have great steak, so Lindey's was my choice. What you see on the plate is HALF of our portions. The right side was Sharon's second piece, the left was mine. Yeah - a LOT of meat. Perfect for a second (or third) meal. Along with their signature garlic bread pieces, hashed brown potatoes and an order of button mushrooms, we were absolutely set. I froze Sharon's leftover steak and she brought it back to Denver with her on Tuesday morning. I ate my own leftovers on Tuesday night. Totally excellent and we'll be doing that again. |
We wandered through the "Survival" exhibition and learned a few things, went to The Hanger for a flight of beer and a "snack", and finally called it a day. We had reservations for 7:15 pm at Lindy'a Steak House - a treat for sure!
So, that's a quick (and very much toe in deeper waters) look at our first day at the Minnesota State Fair. Tomorrow I'll deal with Day #2, because there's always something to see or do at the State Fair, and we found a lot of it. The total mileage we walked on day one was more than six miles. We'd be adding another six onto that for a total of more than 12 miles on Saturday, but that's for tomorrow's post. Have an excellent day and Slava Ukraini.
No comments:
Post a Comment