A "Fair-ly" nice weekend

It's an annual tradition for Nate and I to visit the Minnesota State Fair each year. We've not missed it in the entire 11 years we've been together, which I think is pretty impressive actually. Even last year, when money was tight, we still made a trip over there.

People ask me, well, what's so special about it, or what do you do there? We really don't go for anything horribly specific, yes we like to eat the food, but that's not even the number one draw. We like walking around, people watching, catching shows if we can, seeing the animals, the exhibits, and well, just being with other Minnesotans at the biggest party of the summer!

So, this past Saturday, we made our annual trek. We always shoot for getting to the Fairgrounds by around 8:30/9:00 in the morning. Yes, that early. It used to be we could get there that early and there would not be that many people wandering around yet, and we liked to enjoy the emptiness of the grounds. It's not quite that way anymore, though it's still not as crowded at that time as it is by about noon.

We spent a nice full day, taking in plenty of sites, trying new food - beignets and peach glazed pig cheeks specifically, riding rides like the Old Mill and the Skyride. We walked through several of the buildings. We enjoyed each others company. And yes, we did a ton of people watching!

It is expensive, that is for certain. But it's just become a tradition for us that we just can't miss. We had great weather and a great time!

In other weekend news, Nate kegged up three batches of beer! Now we just have to get something to keep the kegs cold with and we'll be drinking three new kinds of beer very shortly! It's quite exciting.

Speaking of beer and the Fair - Nate's chocolate stout sadly did not place this year. I'm still very proud of him for entering the contest and I know he'll try again next year as well, we can only improve!