THE Lake County Fair

Yep, around here we know when summer is close to an end because the Lake County Fair comes around!  I have been going to the Fair since as far back as I can remember.  My parents took us, then I went alone with my girlfriends (it was the social highlight of the summer!!!) and now Chris and I make the annual event! 

We have some traditions, of course!  To begin:

We each get a corndog that is slathered with BOTH ketchup and mustard! 

We walk around the Midway and peruse through the Industrial Arts building and the 4-H entries (crafts, veggies, the biggest pumpkin!!!).  This year, we tried honey in the comb!  Chris recently mentioned he wanted to give it a taste and, lo & behold, there it is in one of the 4-H buildings for only 50¢ a sample!!!  The honey was so very sweet and then you have this waxy comb to chew on (and soon spit out)!  Glad we had something new added to the mix this fair season! 

We visit the horses and ponies, the goats and the fowl, the rabbits, and most years, the pigs and cows.  There is always a sow who has given birth to a litter at the Fair and we like to go see the cute little piglets!  Sometimes, they come close enough for a little petting! 

We ALWAYS play the Mouse Game.  And it is ALWAYS the same mouse game, run by the same family, where I played as a kid with my parents!!!  I often play my dad's numbers and if I had stuck with them this year, I would be the proud owner of a stuffed black sheep!!

We tried a new food this year: Butterfly Fries!  Essentially, it is a potato that has been peeled very thin and in almost complete strings, so it is curly.  THEN, it is covered with cheese and bacon!  Holy Yum!  Thankfully, we decided to share a small size!  It was plenty!  Plus we had to leave room for:

ELEPHANT EAR!!! 

We shared this, too!  But, in all honesty, I could eat a whole one myself!! 

Some years, we have forgone the elephant ear for its cousin, the funnel cake!  So tasty, but messier than the elephant ear, in my opinion.

It is always a gastronomic affair for us!  And I really only eat a corndog and elephant ear at the Fair, so I really anticipate its arrival!!!  

It's hard to believe that we are into August and with the sale of our house and the need to find another place and the time we will spend packing, purging, yard sale having and moving, it is going to be the end of September before I know it!  (And then I will be blogging about another enjoyable day at the Pink Ribbon Society Breast Cancer Awareness Tea ~~yes, it is almost that time again and I am collecting RSVPs and money "as we speak"!)