happy green tea

Alexis had some extra entry tickets so her husband Mike, daughter Maggie, friend Jess, Alexis and I all spent a day at the fair. Well, Lex and I spent the day, Mike, Jess and Maggie pooped out about half way through, but that left us with the remaining ride tickets that the fearless Maggie didn't use! It was so much fun. There is nothing like a fair to make you feel like you're sixteen again. That and a little weight loss, actually. We went on two rides--any more would have killed us--played a couple of games--Alexis excels at games, I suck--and ate more food. Elephant Ears and corn fritters with honey butter were the food of choice after the battered halibut pockets. Good god and mother of Jesus, they were so good. This time around we got to see the prize-winning cabbage and kale! That was a lot of kale and if you don't particularly like kale, it is a little daunting. Kale is not a favorite of mine so it was something of a threat to me. We got to see the animals, smell the animals and it must be said, the fair is not the fair without the smell of the animals. This fair is tiny compared to what I grew up with, the Western Washington State Fair, which was probably small compared to other state fairs. But the Alaska State Fair has a lot of heart. There were a few cows, lots of pigs, lots of goats and some llamas. The craft hall was great with lots of odds and ends and some really wonderful pieces. Alexis had ten or eleven things entered--now that she is retired, she is crafty. She even won a couple of prizes for her pottery, I think...her stepfather also had some woodworking pieces and he won too! The midway was pretty quiet, the wind kicked up and it was quite chilly but the day was a good day and I can't wait to go again next year.

2nd time around at the fair!

Last weekend Alexis and I headed to the Sullivan to see the second year of PBR, Professional Bull Riding in Anchorage. It was great! You could be paunchy, have a comb-over, bowed legs, and wear contraceptive glasses and still be totally hot in chaps. What is it about a man--and I mean not a Chippendales Dancer--in chaps? I said I was going to start living the cowgirl life...as much as possible...in a town like Anchorage...and Saturday I got to. We all sang Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy at he beginning of the show, shouted at the bulls, shouted at the riders, whistled at the cowboys and made quite a bit of noise for such a reserved town.

Professional Bull Riding is hot! Sort of...

The destroyed Elephant Ear. Lex didn't eat it by herself, but she did have the major portion of it. Right!

Motion on the Bobsled ride. This was backwards and I couldn't get my camera up to take a picture of Lex.