![\"20151022FairTraffic\"](\"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/20151022FairTraffic.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\nWe were nearly there when we found ourselves stuck in a long, slow line of traffic. Thirty minutes later, we triumphantly approached the parking lot.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
GREAT EXPECTATIONS<\/h3>\n
The fair shimmered in\u00a0sugary splendor before us and proceeded to exceed all expectations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pamela, this photo is for you, in remembrance of those long gone days when we indulged in pronto pups and corn dogs. Bob was happy to run into a ride named “Flying Bobs” even though, like corn dogs, carnival rides are a thing of the past.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The visuals were stunning – columns of stuffed bears, fair banners and a balloon blimp promoting\u00a0fried pickles.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The exhibit halls are a must for us. Soil samples from the mountains, piedmont and coastal plains of North Carolina.The second soil sample from the left, the piedmont is what we deal with in our neck of the woods. It’s good to see what the local hay looks like.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Perfect potatoes, mammoth pumpkins and giant watermelons boggled our brains!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The sign says Christopher Kent’s 302 pound watermelon\u00a0was this year’s heaviest, so we have to believe. But who could believe a 948 pound pumpkin?!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We saw the smoothest, most perfect sweet potatoes as well as a gnarly, heart-shaped monstrosity weighing 7 1\/4 pounds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Camille had an an interesting chat with a man who remembers farming with a\u00a0mule\u00a0while his lucky older brothers\u00a0got to use the tractors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Camille\u00a0dragged Bob back to the little red barn for a look-see at the World’s Smallest Horse, a tiny white miniature standing below a balustrade of bales. For a moment she was elated and then tears\u00a0filled her eyes. Poor\u00a0pony, isolated in his cave and\u00a0stared at by strangers day after day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What a nice surprise to spy Helen and Judy in the craft exhibit!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After buying a small vat\u00a0of lemonade from a young man who said it was his 17th birthday, we tried to imagine our lives in his shoes.\u00a0We asked him what it was like to be\u00a0part of the carnival culture and he said he and his mother ran away with the carnival four years ago. “It isn’t as exciting as you’d think,” he said,\u00a0threading\u00a0a straw through the hole in a\u00a0plastic lid. Bob popped a five dollar bill in the tip jar,\u00a0wished him a Happy Birthday and off we\u00a0drifted on down the midway.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Somehow we managed to resist the allure of the frozen treats in lieu of the more savory delights.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There was absolutely no way we were coming out to the fair without pulling apart one of these grease bombs. Amazingly, Camille\u00a0did not cover her\u00a0stretchy black jeans in powdered sugar. For dessert we shared an order of chick pea fries which were very good, somewhat between hummus and chick pea fritters, deep fried and served with a tasty dipping sauce.<\/p>\n In which we finally get to the North Carolina State Fair after six seasons in residence – October 22, 2015 <\/p>\n <\/p>\n GETTING THERE ISN’T HALF THE FUN <\/p>\n \n We were nearly there when we found ourselves stuck in a long, slow line of traffic. Thirty minutes later, we triumphantly approached the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sub-story","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9104"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9229,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9104\/revisions\/9229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\nCORN DOGS AND VOMIT COMETS<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nSPLASH AND COLOR<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nAG EXHIBITS<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nINCONCEIVABLE<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nWORLD CLASS<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nSMOOTH AND HUGE<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nDAYS GONE BY<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nA REAL, LIVE HORSE<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nLOOK WHO WE RAN INTO!<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBACK TO THE GLITZ AND GLITTER<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nICE CREAM AND FRY PITS<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nFUNNEL CAKES AND CHICK PEA FRIES<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n____________________________________________________________<\/h3>\n
[Troutsfarm]<\/a>\u00a0* [October, 2015]<\/a>\u00a0* [Autumn at the Plant]<\/a>\u00a0* [Tami’s Peter Pan Party]<\/a> * [NC State Fair]<\/a><\/h4>\n
____________________________________________________________<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"