Birdwhistles, brown people and moonshine: The Country Fair!

We went to the Cumming Country Fair last night.  And while it was exciting and fun for me, it was EXCITING and FUN for Anders.  The last time I went to the fair, I was a teenager, and that means I was focused on the rides, how to keep my cute shoes from getting muddy and how to look cool while eating funnel cake.  This time I was a little more observant.  This could be because now there's lots of pavement so I didn't have to worry about keep my cute shoes from getting muddy.

We went on the night that Children's Healthcare of Atlanta paid the entry fee, so it was totally packed.  Not surprising, who doesn't want to go to a free fair?!  We knew it would be busy, but my parents had a different warning.  One which dismayed me and made Anders laugh with anticipation: "It's free tonight, so it will be overrun by rednecks.  Take your camera."    Turns out the rednecks weren't the majority demographic.  The Latino population of Cumming apparently got together and said "FIESTA!"  It actually prompted a small discussion on the proper grammar of the phrase "brown people" in Swedish.  We don't have to be politically correct if no one else can understand us.

There was one mini scene which fulfilled our redneck expectations, though:  On our way out, we passed by the obligatory throw-a-baseball-at-some-bottles-and-win-a-prize booth, manned by two grizzled old men wearing overalls (not in an ironic way, or even like they were dressing up for the fair way).  One would occassionally bark out, "I need a ball player!" and then immediately drop his gaze to the floor to avoid making eye contact with anyone brave enough to step up to the game.  The other one was hanging over the railing, halfway into the path, not moving.  Anders thought he might have been sick or tired.  The subtle whiff of moonshine told a different story...

The fair was about three times bigger than it was when I was a kid, so there was tons of stuff to do and look at, but these were our favorites:

for me: the Petting Zoo with, wait for it..... A BABY DONKEY!  It was super cute and soft, and after I got to pet it and feed it, I could have left satisfied with the trip.

for Anders: the old timey steam engine exhibition.  Think of a little boy in a toy train shop.  Now supersize it.  He couldn't stop looking at them and muttering things like, "Dude! Look at the gears!" and "That must have made some noise..."

We also bought a present from the Indian Village for my 6 year old nephew: a piercing bird whistle.  His parents (my brother and sister in law) are going to hate us.  Sometimes it's good to live 5 hours away...

When I asked Anders what he thought of it all, he said "We have to do this again."

This weekend: corn maze and pumpkin patch!  I love Fall.