Matt and I attended the Washington County Fair for a fun, car-free date. That's right. You can take public transportation to the Fair. We started on the Yellow Line, switched to the Blue line and got off at the Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport stop. Sadly, it was one of those missed connection days and it took us nearly two hours to get there. Still, we could take public transportation to county fair. That's pretty cool.
After riding on the train, we got on the shuttle to the fair. It turned out to not be very far and we totally could have walked, but we got to ride on a school bus. The aisles seem narrower at age 33 then they did at age 14. I wonder why that is?
We first looks at the exhibitions. There were many lovely handmade goods. Matt poses next to a Hogwarts art tote and a very large cross stitch portrait.
All sorts of vegetables. I liked the display at this fair. They were set out in those great dirt boxes which could be wet down, so the vegetables weren't all shriveled like they usually are.
The livestock auction was going on. I am familiar with this from working at the Washington County Extension Office, but I had never seen it before. Youth raise various kinds of animals and they are auctioned off at the fair. The goal is to make a profit, but also so the youth can learn about raising livestock. These cows are waiting to be auctioned off. In the background you can see the crowd around the actual auction. There wasn't a seat to be had. We stood at the edge of the crowd and watched the action for a bit. It was pretty exciting with the fast-talking auctioneer and the spotters and the animals and their young handlers.
Then we took a gander at the animals. Here's a fluffy chicken.
This sheep had an interesting horn. It was a double horn, with one sticking straight back and one curling forward like normal.
Fair food! I had to stand in line to get my chocolate shake from the Dairy Women, but it was worth it.
We watched a family magic show for awhile. The dad came out first, and then brought out his son. I'm not sure how old he was, but he may have still been in braces. His sister came out too, and they did a clever 3-card Monte trick.
More fair food. While waiting for our curly fries I became entranced watching this woman make corn dogs. Two observations: Corn dog hot dogs straight out of the box do not look very appetizing, and they fry for much, much longer than I would have thought.
Our curly fries. There were a lot of different curly fries to choose from. I'm glad we got this kind as they were not very mushy, which I find to be a drawback in a curly fry. Or any fry, for that matter.
There was free miniature golf! While we were waiting to begin, I chatted with the attendant and found out that the course was built by our friends at
Glowing Greens, who we visited last July. Here, Matt prepares his first shot.
I prepare to give Matt a run for his money. I had a few good holes where I only needed 2 shots. As usual, consistency was a problem and there were also a few bad holes where I was more than 3 over par. Matt wins again.
What would the fair be if it didn't have the fast-talking salesmen ready to sell you something to make your life a bit better. Usually, the salesmen are middle-aged or older, but this man was quite young. He may have been wearing braces. Or I may be making that up. We could have bought for only $20.00 four super shammies (made in Germany) and gotten four more smaller super shammies. We did not buy, but I got a wink from the salesman.
We looked over the rides and decided to over look them, so we headed back to the Max and back to our home. Thankfully the public transportation gods were with us on the way back and it didn't take us as long as it did to get there. A good time was had by us.
After riding on the train, we got on the shuttle to the fair. It turned out to not be very far and we totally could have walked, but we got to ride on a school bus. The aisles seem narrower at age 33 then they did at age 14. I wonder why that is?
We first looks at the exhibitions. There were many lovely handmade goods. Matt poses next to a Hogwarts art tote and a very large cross stitch portrait.
All sorts of vegetables. I liked the display at this fair. They were set out in those great dirt boxes which could be wet down, so the vegetables weren't all shriveled like they usually are.
The livestock auction was going on. I am familiar with this from working at the Washington County Extension Office, but I had never seen it before. Youth raise various kinds of animals and they are auctioned off at the fair. The goal is to make a profit, but also so the youth can learn about raising livestock. These cows are waiting to be auctioned off. In the background you can see the crowd around the actual auction. There wasn't a seat to be had. We stood at the edge of the crowd and watched the action for a bit. It was pretty exciting with the fast-talking auctioneer and the spotters and the animals and their young handlers.
Then we took a gander at the animals. Here's a fluffy chicken.
This sheep had an interesting horn. It was a double horn, with one sticking straight back and one curling forward like normal.
Fair food! I had to stand in line to get my chocolate shake from the Dairy Women, but it was worth it.
We watched a family magic show for awhile. The dad came out first, and then brought out his son. I'm not sure how old he was, but he may have still been in braces. His sister came out too, and they did a clever 3-card Monte trick.
More fair food. While waiting for our curly fries I became entranced watching this woman make corn dogs. Two observations: Corn dog hot dogs straight out of the box do not look very appetizing, and they fry for much, much longer than I would have thought.
Our curly fries. There were a lot of different curly fries to choose from. I'm glad we got this kind as they were not very mushy, which I find to be a drawback in a curly fry. Or any fry, for that matter.
There was free miniature golf! While we were waiting to begin, I chatted with the attendant and found out that the course was built by our friends at Glowing Greens, who we visited last July. Here, Matt prepares his first shot.
I prepare to give Matt a run for his money. I had a few good holes where I only needed 2 shots. As usual, consistency was a problem and there were also a few bad holes where I was more than 3 over par. Matt wins again.
What would the fair be if it didn't have the fast-talking salesmen ready to sell you something to make your life a bit better. Usually, the salesmen are middle-aged or older, but this man was quite young. He may have been wearing braces. Or I may be making that up. We could have bought for only $20.00 four super shammies (made in Germany) and gotten four more smaller super shammies. We did not buy, but I got a wink from the salesman.
We looked over the rides and decided to over look them, so we headed back to the Max and back to our home. Thankfully the public transportation gods were with us on the way back and it didn't take us as long as it did to get there. A good time was had by us.
Oh you know how I LOVE a fair. I am so thrilled that we will be in Boise for the WIF this year! :) -S
ReplyDeletesounds like an awesome day. i absolutely cannot believe that cross-stitched portrait! i would have bought it just cause - you know, it's a cross-stitched portrait!!!
ReplyDelete