Fun at the Orange County Fair

I have never really liked the fair; it's expensive, crowded, hot, dirty, the rides are broken, and the employees are surly. HOWEVER... this year, our friend Dana helped Frances to make blueberry jam and they entered it in the fair, so we had to go. We went at night, and it was actually really fun! We didn't go near the rides, but looked at the exhibits in which we knew people who entered things, we saw the animals, and wandered through the crafter's village. Abigail was thrilled with all of the farm animals! She wanted to touch all of them (but they didn't all want to be touched).


The animals were close to the fair entrance, so we saw the animals first. When we went to the exhibit halls, Frances was thrilled to see that she had received a red ribbon for her jam. It was really tasty... Our friend Dana was awarded a first place ribbon for her cranberry sauce, and a "Judge's Choice" ribbon for her key lime curd.

I had reconciled myself to spending a fortune on food, so it didn't bother me when we bought snacks (popcorn, chicken strips, funnel cake).

The adults in our group wanted to see the hypnotist, but we missed the first half of the show. When it ended, the announcer reminded the audience that the Beijing Acrobats would be coming up next on that same stage. Frances and I had seen acrobats in Beijing before we got Abigail, so I wanted to take advantage of seeing them for free at the fair. We moved toward the front of the audience, so that the girls could see better.


Abigail was mesmerized by the acrobats. I have never seen her so attentive! I whispered in her ear that the acrobats are from China, just like she is. Abigail pointed to the stage, and told me, "I can do that." Yeah, right! My favorite part was when the acrobats were all balanced on the bicycle (we saw a similar act when we were in China).
So... I have learned that the fair at night can be quite different than the fair during the day. We had a great time, but got home really late at night. The next day, Abigail was so tired that she didn't eat or sleep the whole next day!