Last night, I had the opportunity to experience the awesomeness the locals here call the MINNESOTA STATE FAIR!!!
I have to admit that I was very skeptical and hesitant because I abhor crowds, especially during the summer when it’s hot and sticky and you’re touching the bare, sweaty skin of way too many people you do not know.
Also, deep fried candy bars just don’t sound that appealing to me.
But, last night the temps were in the 70’s and my friend and I went at night and the crowd had dwindled down a bit, as if it were like they were clearing out just for me and they knew how much I panic and get anxious walking through crowds!
My friend got a foot long hot dog but I knew that would be too big for me and I wanted to pace myself. Â So I started with a big, fat slab of bacon on a stick:
You can see the stand in the background! Â Salty, fatty goodness. Â My friend was very proud of me for diving right into it.
We then ventured to look for something a little healthier and since I love corn on the cob (oh yes, I am a Michigan girl), we found a corn on the cob. Â There were a dozen youngsters around a huge grill grilling the corn. Â They took the cob off the grill, dipped the whole thing in a vat of melted butter and handed it to me. Â I sprinkled on some salt and I chomped away at it. Â Yummmm.
Then we went on a ski lift ride (what are those really called, anyway?) and rode across the grounds in the sky. Â ‘Twas quite a nice evening: cool weather, not humid, and good company.
From up above, on the ski lift, we saw this attraction called Giant Sing Along. Â What is it about people and wanting to sing in public and sing along with other people singing in public? Â (I.e., KARAOKE??) Â I mean, don’t get me wrong. Â I love karaoke, but that’s because I love to sing. Â Some people love to sing and they can’t sing. Â I find that to be interesting because I really hate doing things I’m not good at. Â Such as a lot of video games. Â I hate ’em.
So, anywho — here’s the Giant Sing Along:
On the other side of that giant box, there was a big screen with words and the music came out from a bunch of loud speakers. Â In front of that box, you can see there is a crowd of people standing in front of a bunch of posts with mics in them. Â Interesting, eh? Â And when we were on the ski lift, they all started singing “Don’t Stop Believing.” Â I know — that is a fun song to sing along to!
My friend and I went on to eat some cheese curds. Â They were good. Â Salty, but good, but we couldn’t finish them so we threw half of them away. Â I know, sort of sounds a little wrong, doesn’t it?
And now on to the highlight of my evening. Â We were walking along and we spotted a giant glowing robot! Â A real live robot! Â My friend had heard about it being at the fair so he was really excited to see it. Â It was tall and ominous. Â (And yes, we knew there was someone inside there. Â There had to be because it was talking and reacting to people and moving just like a person.) Â Very smooth.
I jumped in front of it to take a photo with my iPhone and he stopped right in front of me. Â Then suddenly we heard the wedding march song. Â Dum-dum-de-dum. Â Dum-dum-de-dum!
He started walking towards me and I stopped in my tracks and was looking up at him in awe. Â I was completely dumbfounded, floored, and flattered.
The wedding march song continued to play and he said a bunch of stuff along the lines of “Who do we have here? Â Blah blah blah,” and hitting on me!
He started coming after me and saying something about who I was with or who was going to defend me. Â Everyone in the crowd was watching us and people were even filming our encounter! Â He kept walking towards me, taking slow, deliberate steps and babbling and babbling, but I was so taken off guard that I just stood there and stared! Â I didn’t hear a thing he said.
Instead of letting it drag on, my friend played along and stepped in front of me to protect me from him. Â And the robot retreated.
It was time for it to go nite-nite.
Isn’t that awesome?!?!?
It’s like I was in Iron Man the movie or something. Â Man, it was a fun night and what made it better was that I didn’t have a heart attack from all that grease.
I want to go back for more before it’s over on Labor Day!