No, Fair! Yes, Fair!!
Well, Tim, D, Anthony (Tim’s wife’s son) and I all went to the fair in Kalispell last night. It’s a pretty big fair since it’s for pretty much all of northwest Montana.
We got there and looked around at all of the different things to do. Our first venture was the display barn where people set up their info booths to try and sell stuff and we get all sorts of free junk. We ran into a friend of ours that was working the Democrats booth…so we sat and visited with her for a bit…then we went and looked around at the carnival rides and the game booths. I made D win a stuffed bear for me by throwing darts at balloons…of course it was a complete scam…and it turned into a really expensive cheap bear…and I kept getting teased about it, but I said, “How many times will we go to a carnival? And how many times will you play a silly balloon game to win me a bear?” However, this morning when we woke up and I smiled and waved my bear at him, D reminded me how expensive he was and I finally said, “Fine, I’ll pay you back for him so you can quit complaining about how much you spent.” That shut him up!!
My Fair Bear:
We ran into lots of folks that we knew as we walked around…then we decided to get some funnel cake. I really wanted fry bread, so I left in search of that, but the only place I could find them was selling them as “Pocket Fry Bread” which came with meat and beans and onions on the top of them…and I didn’t want that…so I rejoined everyone in the “Instant Service” line for funnel cakes that had only moved about 10 feet when I got back to them…so I waited in line with them for another 15 minutes and shared some with D. They came sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon…but I wanted it plain…but we were sharing one…so D asked the lady, when we finally got up there, if they could only sprinkle half of the funnel cake for us. Well this woman just acted as if D had asked for her social security number…she was SHOCKED that he would ask her such a thing! After she got over her “What?!?!” And explained that, no, they couldn’t do that, he said okay and handed her the money and she kept mumbling under her breath and shaking her head. Crazy…didn’t mean to throw off her routine of handing people funnel cake and taking money…We didn’t know it was a major disruption of life to ask to NOT have stuff sprinkled on half of a funnel cake!
The Line for the "Instant Service" Funnel Cake:
So, after that little episode (D wants to go back and take the lady’s picture), we wandered around and were going to hit the livestock barns when D and Tim spotted the bull-ride booth…y’know, like those mechanical bulls that are in country bars, now? So, I told the boys that, for their entertainment, I’d ride the bull after we finished our funnel cake. We paused as the fireworks show went off, then we got to the livestock barns, which Tim and I wanted to check out…but D and Anthony wanted to do the air rifle shooting or the bow shooting…so we went to those barns, but they started shutting them down…so we turned to go back to the livestock barns and they had shut those down…so we went to the mechanical bull and I hopped on and the guy tossed me around on it and after a minute I flew off of the thing and D got great pictures and they all laughed at me and all I can say is…It’s HARD to ride one of those things…never mind how PAINFUL it is! You’re gripping hard with one hand and clutching a hard surface with thigh muscles while trying to balance on this thing and, geez…when I got off every inch of me that had contact with that bull was in pain! My hand was throbbing and my legs were in pain…crazy! New respect for bull riders!! BUT…the guys got a laugh out of it and for that I’m very glad. The bull operator, after you fall off of the bull, he turns it to try and “gore” you as you try, ever disgracefully, to regain your feet, which inevitably involves sticking your ass in the air, which gives the operator a great chance to try to get the bull to shove you in the butt. Sigh.
Me, the bull-rider!:
The dismount...we're still trying to figure out how my right foot didn't break in this!:
Getting Gored in the ass:
After that, we headed over to the carnival rides since they are the only things that were still open…and D and I got into line for the Ferris-wheel…which I thought I could handle…but I HATE heights…so I was actually very scared…I can totally take rollercoasters, but put me up on a slow moving, human built, rackety old Ferris wheel that moves slow and rocks a little and I’m a nervous wreck! Bless Derek’s heart, he was so patient with me and when the Ferris wheel stopped to unload, we were at the top, which gave D a GREAT shot of the carnival and fair grounds to take pics of, but that, of course, caused him to rock the little seats we were in which caused me to clutch the bar with all of my might and cry to him to pleeeeease stop moving! Of course, with D, this only makes him do things like, lean more forward and say, “What? Like THIS?!” Which makes me clutch my eyes harder and shake and clutch the bar more and shout things like, “That’s IT, I’m NEVER going on ANOTHER Ferris-wheel with you AGAIN!!!!” Which makes him laugh and hug me and say, “You’re so CUTE!” So, we finally got off of the terrifying Ferris-wheel and it was like 10:30 and we headed home.
View from the top of the Ferris-Wheel:
Always fun…glad I bruised myself for entertainment, horrified myself on a Ferris-wheel and got a really expensive cheap stuffed bear from my hubby! We’ll probably go back on Sunday, but I think we might keep to the display barns and the rodeo next time! Ah, county fairs!!!!!
We got there and looked around at all of the different things to do. Our first venture was the display barn where people set up their info booths to try and sell stuff and we get all sorts of free junk. We ran into a friend of ours that was working the Democrats booth…so we sat and visited with her for a bit…then we went and looked around at the carnival rides and the game booths. I made D win a stuffed bear for me by throwing darts at balloons…of course it was a complete scam…and it turned into a really expensive cheap bear…and I kept getting teased about it, but I said, “How many times will we go to a carnival? And how many times will you play a silly balloon game to win me a bear?” However, this morning when we woke up and I smiled and waved my bear at him, D reminded me how expensive he was and I finally said, “Fine, I’ll pay you back for him so you can quit complaining about how much you spent.” That shut him up!!
My Fair Bear:
We ran into lots of folks that we knew as we walked around…then we decided to get some funnel cake. I really wanted fry bread, so I left in search of that, but the only place I could find them was selling them as “Pocket Fry Bread” which came with meat and beans and onions on the top of them…and I didn’t want that…so I rejoined everyone in the “Instant Service” line for funnel cakes that had only moved about 10 feet when I got back to them…so I waited in line with them for another 15 minutes and shared some with D. They came sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon…but I wanted it plain…but we were sharing one…so D asked the lady, when we finally got up there, if they could only sprinkle half of the funnel cake for us. Well this woman just acted as if D had asked for her social security number…she was SHOCKED that he would ask her such a thing! After she got over her “What?!?!” And explained that, no, they couldn’t do that, he said okay and handed her the money and she kept mumbling under her breath and shaking her head. Crazy…didn’t mean to throw off her routine of handing people funnel cake and taking money…We didn’t know it was a major disruption of life to ask to NOT have stuff sprinkled on half of a funnel cake!
The Line for the "Instant Service" Funnel Cake:
So, after that little episode (D wants to go back and take the lady’s picture), we wandered around and were going to hit the livestock barns when D and Tim spotted the bull-ride booth…y’know, like those mechanical bulls that are in country bars, now? So, I told the boys that, for their entertainment, I’d ride the bull after we finished our funnel cake. We paused as the fireworks show went off, then we got to the livestock barns, which Tim and I wanted to check out…but D and Anthony wanted to do the air rifle shooting or the bow shooting…so we went to those barns, but they started shutting them down…so we turned to go back to the livestock barns and they had shut those down…so we went to the mechanical bull and I hopped on and the guy tossed me around on it and after a minute I flew off of the thing and D got great pictures and they all laughed at me and all I can say is…It’s HARD to ride one of those things…never mind how PAINFUL it is! You’re gripping hard with one hand and clutching a hard surface with thigh muscles while trying to balance on this thing and, geez…when I got off every inch of me that had contact with that bull was in pain! My hand was throbbing and my legs were in pain…crazy! New respect for bull riders!! BUT…the guys got a laugh out of it and for that I’m very glad. The bull operator, after you fall off of the bull, he turns it to try and “gore” you as you try, ever disgracefully, to regain your feet, which inevitably involves sticking your ass in the air, which gives the operator a great chance to try to get the bull to shove you in the butt. Sigh.
Me, the bull-rider!:
The dismount...we're still trying to figure out how my right foot didn't break in this!:
Getting Gored in the ass:
After that, we headed over to the carnival rides since they are the only things that were still open…and D and I got into line for the Ferris-wheel…which I thought I could handle…but I HATE heights…so I was actually very scared…I can totally take rollercoasters, but put me up on a slow moving, human built, rackety old Ferris wheel that moves slow and rocks a little and I’m a nervous wreck! Bless Derek’s heart, he was so patient with me and when the Ferris wheel stopped to unload, we were at the top, which gave D a GREAT shot of the carnival and fair grounds to take pics of, but that, of course, caused him to rock the little seats we were in which caused me to clutch the bar with all of my might and cry to him to pleeeeease stop moving! Of course, with D, this only makes him do things like, lean more forward and say, “What? Like THIS?!” Which makes me clutch my eyes harder and shake and clutch the bar more and shout things like, “That’s IT, I’m NEVER going on ANOTHER Ferris-wheel with you AGAIN!!!!” Which makes him laugh and hug me and say, “You’re so CUTE!” So, we finally got off of the terrifying Ferris-wheel and it was like 10:30 and we headed home.
View from the top of the Ferris-Wheel:
Always fun…glad I bruised myself for entertainment, horrified myself on a Ferris-wheel and got a really expensive cheap stuffed bear from my hubby! We’ll probably go back on Sunday, but I think we might keep to the display barns and the rodeo next time! Ah, county fairs!!!!!