down to the county fair

Yesterday we drove down to the Union Fair, home of the Wild Blueberry Festival. It is our favorite fair, a real old time treat with lots of farm animals, rides, and fair food. Yesterday was bracelet day so the kids could go on as many rides as they wanted, and they did for 5 hours. Mary is the daredevil, reveling in the thrill of the giant swings and the swinging boat. Will is the mechanic, driving the bumper car ride 15 times, figuring out how the thing worked and strategizing how to ram his sister at top speed. Maggie and Charlie loved the little rides like the cars, the merry-go-round and the train.

Me? I love the giant slide and got to go down with Charlie a few times. I love scary rides, in fact I was in a commercial for Busch Gardens in Williamsburg after a talent hunt at the park. I got off the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster to someone with a camera asking, "Are you local?" A few months later Mother drove me up for costume and makeup after which I played the part of an English girl watering flowers out a window. The director said I was a natural. It was a hoot, since months afterwards I would walk down the hall at school hearing, "I saw you on TV last night." The royalty checks that came for several years weren't too bad either.

When the crowds began to get a little heavy and darkness settled in, I decided it was time to gather the troops and hit the road. When we pulled into the driveway at 9pm everyone was sound asleep. Will and Mary did wake long enough to tell Tim on the phone all about their afternoon, "We had a stupendous time!"

After a day at the fair devoted to the children, we will go back Saturday for my favorite event, the antique tractor pull. The parade will follow and the fair will be over for another year. But we'll be back next year, even though it will be a longer drive.