A Fair View

 We haven't been to the Georgia National Fair in three years.  John and I decided that since we had no other plans this year,  we were definitely making the fair a must see.  Our plans were to go on Friday but after we made dinner plans too we realized we had problems with logistics.  John said we had plenty of time to go...we'd go on Sunday...Sunday we went to Sam's to tend to the cats and with threatening skies we postponed until Monday.  Monday was wet, Tuesday was wetter...This morning we were promised partly cloudy skies but the 'partly' part never occurred.  About noon we decided we'd just go on and give it a try anyway.

Though the parking lot was pretty full we were pleasantly surprised to be directed to parking near the gate.  That was a great bonus for me.  Often enough the hike from our car to the fair grounds has been substantial enough that I had to take a break as soon as we got inside the gates!




We started off in the display areas.  I was disappointed.  No free samples or free promotional items this year and no signing up for $100 of free groceries, etc.  John commented that this was undoubtedly a 'sign of the times'.    We never did find the traditional blue ribbon showing of plants, quilts, artwork, baked goods and such.  Nor the petting zoo.  We did however see the Mayberry patrol car:

 We stopped at the VFW booth for a burger.  They are pricey but we think the money supports a great group.  Our tent was right under that lift featured above.  It was empty then, but filled up soon afterwards and seemed to do a brisk bit of business.  Notice how heavy the sky looked?  We didn't get rain until we got home but it sure looked like we'd get some rain any second...

We visited the model home and I was surprised to find Ernest T. Bass inside.  He's a little worrying with that rock of his!

Barney and Gomer left just moments after we arrived.  Guess Ernest T. was missing his ride on the golf cart.

John was enjoying the viewing of the model home.  Seems he was looking at ways to improve our place.  That's him in the green shirt, studying the flooring in the den and dining room.  The guy in the white shirt?  Nice man.  There were a slew of young girls he knew in the home, looking it over.  As John and I joined the queue at the door to leave, this guy was on the front deck, telling each girl to tell this relative or that one hello from him and giving each of them a kiss on the cheek.  He turned to me as I got to the door.  I smiled, said "Wow kisses on exit?"  He laughed and kissed me on my temple!    He bypassed kissing John, lol.

 Don't you just love the fairway?  The midway rides were full of screaming riders, the lake full of the paddle boats, music everywhere, the aroma of frying foods and grills.  People were chattering away as we walked along.

 The clock tower is a familiar landmark at the fair grounds.  It's a traditional meeting place for friends, a cautionary direction given to every child, "If you get separated from me and can't find me, GO TO THE CLOCK!"  In bygone days we'd turn our kids loose and tell them to meet us at the clock tower in two hours.  Rules were if you arrived late, then you had to stay with us the rest of the evening.  Fate worse than death as far as the kids were concerned, lol.  We only ever had one show up late...

We spent roughly 2 1/2 hours there.  We were walking along minding our business when suddenly I heard a cry, "Aunt Terri!  Aunt Terri!"  Then I was caught up in a big hug.  My niece and I had bypassed each other.  She was looking at a display to her right, I was looking at a display to my right...It was her boyfriend who recognized me and called her attention to me.  I love running into familiar faces of friends and family when I'm out at the fair, don't you?

We waved down our former pastor's mom...She's from our county and works at the fair each year.  Now we often run into her here in the county but it was nice to see her over there.

 John wanted to stop to watch this magician.  He's fairly popular locally.  He's very 'punny' which is exactly why John enjoyed him.  The magician kept asking for 'little girls and boys' to come to the stage but they were too scared.  He was surprised to find that most of the young teens were eager to be part of the act.  Just goes to show that the average American teenager really isn't all that sophisticated after all.  They thought his jokes were funny.  They guy should really be appreciative of that audience, lol.

Can any fair be viewed without a Ferris wheel in the background?

We might not have seen everything, we didn't eat any of the traditional fair day foods, the weather was overcast and humid, but there's just something about the fair, isn't there?