As we sat in our air-conditioned truck in a line so long we could barely see the Ferris wheel over the trees, my husband and I decided the last time we’d been to the Oregon State Fair was in 2012. Neither of us recalled a line of traffic from three directions converging onto a single street.
Of course, we went later in the afternoon on Friday (we think). This was the Saturday of a holiday weekend, and the final weekend for the fair.
If this isn’t the last time we attend the fair, it will be the last time we go on Labor Day weekend.
My Expectations
I wanted to see the horses, see the quilts and eat some fair food. That’s where my expectations ended.
I asked my husband, “What are you hoping to see at the fair?”
“Nothing.”
Nothing? Why bother then?
So I asked him. His response should have been romantic, but it rubbed me the wrong way. “I’m going to be with you. I have no expectations.”
Apparently, being married to ME for three decades makes a man lose all sense of expectation.
Delightful.
What I Loved
After the LONG wait in traffic and a shorter wait in the admissions line, we made it just in time to see a draft horse event at the Historic Horse Arena.
Then we walked through the pig barns to get to the horse barns. Item one from my list was complete.
I didn’t take photos in the exhibition hall, but my sister and I walked through all the hanging quilts. Some of them were amazing pieces of artwork. Some of them used patterns and colors better suited for a warning sign, but all of them had me in awe.
Then we ate roasted corn on the cob and hand-dipped corn dogs. After walking through the aisles of vendor booths and not buying a single thing, we purchased an elephant ear the size of a paper plate.
Five hours later, we were fighting traffic to get out of the dusty field and back home.
What I Could Have Left Behind
Well, it goes without saying that I could have left all that traffic behind. But it wouldn’t have been a holiday weekend Saturday at the fair without it.
Here’s what else, I could have done without:
- People who stopped in the aisles to chat with long-lost friends
- So many sales booths
- Lines of people at the ride ticket booths
- The placement of the horse barns at the back of everything
- The crowds
- The line of people waiting for Dole whip (and keeping me from having any)
- Wads of toilet paper all over the bathroom floor
But it was nice that people shared their table with us so I didn’t have to drip butter all over myself while standing to eat my delicious corn on the cob.
Are you a fair-goer? What do you like about the fair?
I loved the quilt exhibit! What fabulous work. I would have enjoyed seeing more horsemanship or riding exhibits. I like to see the animals, but all of the real fair stuff ( barns and exhibit halls) is way behind the rides, booths and food vendors. That is sad to me.