Lee and I were both really happy top learn there are a surprising amount of waterfalls in Connecticut and based on Kay’s recommendation we decided one beautiful Saturday to drive an hour north to Kent Falls. Since it has been so long since I have seen waterfalls of any kind, I was excited no matter what to see some, but it turned out that these falls were absolutely gorgeous and are now in my list of favorites. It’s not actually one big fall, but rather many smaller falls all linked together and the climb up the beside them was absolutely gorgeous with the fall colors. There is no way my words can do it justice, so hopefully my pictures will suffice…all I can say is if you get a chance to stop by please do. Out of state vehicles had to pay $15 to park, but it was totally worth it.
There was a small covered bridge leading to the falls which you can see behind the big yellow tree.
The walkway gets rougher the higher you go
Jack had an awesome time
The steps were narrow and pretty crowaded
Jack is getting good at posing
At the very top
You could walk up right to where the water went over
So of course Lee did
Honestly my pictures don’t come close to capturing the beauty but hopefully the video does a better job. My only complaint was the bathrooms were very dirty and out of toilet paper, which my $15 should have gone to help pay for. Other than that it was a lovely hike although I did have a bit of trouble going down. Instead of going on the slick steps, I chose to walk down a more gradual winding path but unfortunately I twisted my ankle on a root. Thankfully I had my Merrill hiking boots on which stopped the injury from being more serious but I did strain a tendon and spent over a week babying it to get it back to 100%. Still it was totally worth it and I am so very happy we saw it.
Oh and I forgot to mention on the way there we stopped and saw a covered bridge. These are always fun and a New England trip wouldn’t be the same without seeing at least one.
The Housatonic!!!
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It’s funny how there are places that stick in your head and one of the best parts of this lifestyle are when you get to see them as you travel. It’s always cool, even when they turn out to be just ordinary places, but once in a while the place meets your imagination. That certainly happened with Mystic, CT which I heard about from the movie Mystic Pizza and the town is a quaint seaside place very similar to how I had pictured it. The pizza place still exists and having a slice was one of the highlights of the trip. It took a little time to find it though and even more to find parking, because Mystic is definitely a “park and walk” kind of place. What was cool though (for us at least) was we hit the drawbridge right when it was lifting and we got to not only see a lift bridge but also see two boats sail through. Excellent bonus!
The town is on both sides of the inlet but you have to cross the bridge to get to the Pizza place and shopsCool tugboatCool seawall
The divider bar rises from the pavement
This huge stone is the counterweight
Lee loved the mechanics of it
There is a really interesting set of shops over the bridge that have an eclectic selection of local stores. Unlike other towns that are all chain stores, this one had room for local owners. We didn’t go into every one because masks were mandatory but we did go into several and really liked what we saw.
The Army Navy store surprised me
My favorite store was Queenies because they had a ton of merchandise with sassy sayings that made me laugh out loud. I didn’t buy anything but appreciated the humor and grabbed their online info in case I wanted to get something as a present for one of my kids some day.
The emotional baggage bag on the left cracked me up. It says “JK it can’t all fit in here:
Again made me laugh out loud
I also liked that while shopping there were lots of items that regular people could afford to buy. Don’t get me wrong there is serious money in this town but it doesn’t cater exclusively to the wealthy.
They turned the bank into a brewery
I got a cup of coffee for $2 not bad
Ad we had some delicious home mads ice cream
This beautiful Jaguar is right hand drive and was just sitting on the street.
As I mentioned though the best part was Mystic Pizza. I had a slice and it was really good. The dough was awesome and the cheese was perfectly cooked. We also had a great conversation with one of the waitresses about full time RVing and love when we meet people who say that is a dream of theirs. Our #1 piece of advice is always to be debt free, and hopefully those conversations will help folks along the way.
Mystic PizzaWe sat at the barYummy
It was a nice day and we both got lots of steps in although the mask requirement made me feel a little claustrophobic later in the day. It was humid which didn’t help and the sea breeze didn’t reach the smaller side street we were walking on. Still I am really glad we got to see it and I added that to my list of those experiences I probably never would have had if we hadn’t become full timers. I feel confident saying that because we lived 2-1/2 away from Mystic for 15 years and never went. It took changing our life to make that wish a reality.
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As many of you know Lee and I love real books. But since we read them and donate them we try to usually get good prices and used book stores and thrift stores are our favorite places to find them. Over the years we have been to used bookstores all across the country, so when Lee mentioned theBook Barn I was all in. I was expecting a pretty standard used book store, but boy was I surprised. First of all it is not one building but several and in mutitple locations throughout the town of Niantec, CT.
I should have known it was something special when we pulled up and the parking lot was full. Not only that but there was a line of people waiting to drop off books and they had multiple people working the station where they paid for the books they received. The books store claims to own 500,000 books and from what I saw that may very well be possible. Better still almost all paperbacks were only $1 and hardbacks mostly ranged from $4 – $7. Those prices were fantastic and when I wondered how they could make a profit with such low markups, Lee said “Volume”. Which is probably true.
Right off the bat I walked into the $1 hardback section and it was hard to get me out. I loaded up on cookbooks and took them out to the car and then kept looking around. The property was surprisingly large and had several smaller buildings, a kids play area, a garden, and live goats.
The goat pen
The main building was a bit of a disappointment, but I did think the labeling on the shelves was great. It was mostly reference material but I couldn’t find any of the books in the genres I like.
The sex section was interesting and a little too close to the teen section for my liking
Relationships and how to deal with them cracked me up
There was tons of staff, but despite that I did have some trouble getting my questions answered. It turned out that my two favorite genres were actually located in separate buildings in different parts of town which to be honest annoyed me. I was going to not even go see but Lee talked me into it and I was so glad he did. Not only did I find the largest collections (and I do not say that lightly) of fantasy, science fiction, and paranormal novels I have ever seen but everything was $1. It was really fantastic and the employees at the annexes were much nicer than the main building. They were experts in the genres and made some great recommendations on new authors to try. I was in heaven.
One good thing about going to the annexes was we got to see more of the town. They had some beautiful seaside inns and a nice restaurant (fantastic clam chowder) along with an Italian bakery. I really enjoyed the small town of Devens, but the Book Barn is the definite draw. If you are ever in the area and love books like us I definitely recommend it just make sure you give yourself plenty of time because it is quite the adventure.
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I haven’t talked about this much, but one of the main reasons Lee and I were able to become fulltime RVers at such an early age was because we didn’t have college debt for ourselves or our daughters hanging over our heads. Lee never went to college but instead joined the military right out of high school like his mother and father before him. My two oldest daughters did go to local colleges for some credits, but both primarily worked in the restaurant industry and school wasn’t a huge priority for them. My youngest looked at her options and since she wanted to become a linguist joined the Air Force and spent 6 years as a Korean linguist in the Air Force. These choices allowed Lee and I to stay out of debt (my college was paid for primarily by my employer) which was great, but we never got the traditional university experience that many people have with their children.
Fast forward to last year and our youngest left the military and entered Wesleyan College on a full scholarship through the Posse Foundation, which takes military leaders and supplement the GI bill so they can go to more expensive schools. Wesleyan is considered a “junior ivy” and we were both thrilled when she was accepted into the program and that college. Unfortunately due to COVID restrictions we couldn’t visit her at all last year, but this year we finally made it to see her school. I was lucky enough to attend a university when I was younger and live on campus so I understood the college experience, but this was a first for Lee and the environment was as foreign for him as our visit to the Air Force base was for me.
We started with a tour of the campus to get acclimated and I have to say it is huge despite only having around 3,500 students. It is also interesting that the buildings are so diverse, because the school has added on over the years (or bought up surrounding property) and the buildings are all very different. It was also a beautiful, crisp autumn day when we walked around and there was a live football game happening which added to the fun. It was everything a university should be in my opinion, but let me just show you with my pictures.
Had to get some cool parents stuff
Local houses were bought and turned into annexes
Dorms
We ate lunch here and it was terrific
These call boxes are everywhere which is great for people walking alone
The Asian Center
It has a cool garden but we couldn’t get in
The observatory was also locked unfortunately
These grass steps are cool
The college paper
One of the several art buildings
One of my favorite buildings was the big library on campus which was absolutely gorgeous. They had extended the original building but left the façade inside which gave it a cool building in building look. Lee was suitably impressed by the stacks!
You can see the original exterior to the left
Kay did an excellent tour and it turns out that many famous people have gone to Wesleyan college. I was the most excited about Bill Belichick the coach of the New England Patriots, but Kay talked the most about Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton. He actually wrote the play In The Heights while he was a sophomore at the college and held dress rehearsals in one of the buildings there. Because the college has a well renowned film department there are also many other alumni including Joss Whedon and Michael Bay. It was cool to see the areas of the school that were dedicated to its alumnus in particular the dormitory where the writers of How I Met Your Mother lived as students. They included Wesleyan references in the TV show but I never really put two and two together until I walked the campus.
I loved that they added a picture of Lin-Manual next to former presidents of the school.
Huge list of donors to the film building. Some big names in the industry.
Film students get to watch movies in this classroom and discuss them. That’s a cool major.
This is the dorm the How I met your Mother writers lived in
the only building I didn’t like was this relatively new creation. Looked ugly to me
Beautiful church
Stopped for a Coffee Break
Lee met some doggie friends!
I would love to say I saw the entire campus but after around 12,000 steps I had to call it quits. We did see the major stuff though and the next day we came back to attend the monthly meeting of Kay’s campus Vets group. This group of young people from all branches of the service were really interesting to meet and I loved hearing about their experiences adjusting to campus life. Going from the strict military to an ultra liberal college campus is not easy for everyone and the group is about helping make that transition easier for people. I even made a big pot of chicken and noodles for the potluck and was glad I got to meet these people who were such a huge part of Kay’s life. We also got to visit Kay’s apartment and I finally met my grand dog Tonka. He is a rescue and a real cutie and her place is a nice apartment in college owned housing. Her roommate Elle is also a vet and a grownup and they seem to have a good thing going. Where to put vets is part of the problem as they don’t do well with the younger college students. They try to provide single housing or pair them up to help with the transition.
Kays house. There are two apartments in it
Kay and Elle
The vets group
Lots of food!
Lee and I are are excited about exploring the rest of the area and we have made a list. Kay has a pretty busy schedule but she will come with us when she can.
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Before I jump into Connecticut, we had to get there, and unfortunately once again we had truck issues on the drive. The first day wasn’t terrible, but the second day we were back to little to no power when we went up hills. This led us to believe that we might have some sort of pinhole leak in the new radiator and the smell of burning coolant supported that. Thankfully engine temperatures did not require pulling over, but babying the engine did add time to the drive. The good news is the insurance company was extremely apologetic and agreed we could take the truck to a Ford dealer in Connecticut. We also learned that eventually we would be getting our $1,000 deductible back from the other insurance company which was welcome news as well. The hardest part of the drive though was Jack getting used to his new seat in the truck. He likes being up high and was not happy when he wasn’t eye level with us so we piled his two dog beds together and made a temporary solution. I told Jack that the grandbabies came first but he was unimpressed by my argument.
Jack being unimpressed by his new seating arrangement
Those of you who have read the blog for awhile know that we have criteria for when we get a state sticker. For us we not only have to spend the night in our RV in the state, but also do something unique to the area. As we are finishing our seventh year we are down to just a few states, but those have been super tricky to get. You would think it would be easy, as most of the remaining states we have driven through, but the coordination has been tough. Since my youngest daughter Kay is going to college in Connecticut I thought that one would be easy, but finding a place to stay was challenging.
We have spent lots of time with her sisters over the last two years, but because of her school COVID restrictions have not been able to visit. When Lee started looking for a place in Connecticut near her there weren’t a ton of choices and the later we got into October the worse it was. Finally I called a place that closed October 15th and explained our situation and asked if they could extend for us. It turns out that the campground has 8 full hookup spots that they leave open longer and the owner thought she might have a spot. Ultimately she took pity on us and squeezed us in and I was happy to pay $1000 in cash for the month. The spot itself is really huge and best of all there is a giant field that Jack can run in. The only downside is we are under walnut trees and the the loud crack of walnuts hitting our RVs is a little distressing at times. Still I was thrilled we found a place only 20 minute drive from our daughter and it is really beautiful.
The buildings are a laundry room and nice clubhouse
Great spot!!
Kay is going to Wesleyan College which is in Middletown, CT and I was surprised by how familiar the surrounding area was. When I used to travel for work, before we hit the road, I spent a ton of time in Berlin, CT which is right next door to Middletown. I was thrilled when I learned that a couple of my favorite restaurants were pretty close by and had a blast taking Lee to the Cromwell Diner and Puerto Vallarta Mexican restaurant. When you visit a place enough for work you get a favorite hotel and favorite restaurants and there was nothing better after a long day of working than pot roast at the Cromwell diner. It had been 8 years since I had been to the restaurant but it has the same owners and the pot roast tasted exactly the same!!
YUMMY
Kay met us at Puerta Vallerta
Love me some sopapillas
Lee and Kay
As we were roaming around I was hit with a wave of nostalgia and it was great showing Lee all of the places I knew in the area. I was particularly excited when we drove by Stew Leonards grocery store and Lee and I had to stop. One of the interesting things about traveling is all the different grocery stores we visit but NONE and I mean none is as unique as Stew Leonards. My best explanation is Kroger meets Chuckie Cheese meets IKEA. The grocery store has a path (like IKEA) and each section had cool animatronic characters and design. There are tons of employees, lots of in house made product, and videos that show how things are made. I would have loved to have taken my kids here when they were small and even though the prices are on the high side the entertainment value more than makes up for it. If you are ever in the area, please take the time to stop in. It earned our state sticker for us and is definitely a unique place.
I checked Stewarts Root beer is not owned by Stew Leonards
We also were excited to find several disc golf courses in the area and Lee took Jack to one that was dog friendly. They had an absolute blast that day and as we all know a happy Jack makes for a happy family. Have I mentioned lately that it really is all about Jack? Yes I have become one of those people.
The best news is we are only 30 minutes from the beach and it allows dogs after September 1st. I missed the crashing waves, as the water is actually the Long Island Sound, but we did enjoy a beautiful walkway that meandered through the dunes. Going to places like this off season is the best because it was clear from the parking lot the state park would be packed in season. It was another nice way to see the area and a first for both of us because we had never seen the Long Island Sound.
All in all it was a great way to get our state sticker and next up we are touring the Wesleyan campus with Kay. It’s an absolutely gorgeous campus with a variety of architecture and definitely deserves its own post.
Lots of cool stuff for such a little sticker
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First off, sorry for the cheesy title, but I just couldn’t help myself. I’ll get to why it makes sense in a little bit, but first I need to catch you up. A lot has happened, so hold on! Lee and I rolled out of Columbus with our newly “fixed” truck, excited to be back on the road again. Unfortunately right off the bat there was a terrible accident in WV so we rerouted ourselves to head north towards Pittsburgh. Normally this would have been just fine, but about 2 hours into our day the truck started acting funny.
When we were going up hills, or really anytime the turbo should have kicked in, the truck was seriously lacking in power. Our choice was to keep going or head back, and for a variety of reasons, we decided to just keep going and see. The thermostat temps were OK, the truck was just a little sluggish and it wasn’t clear what the deal was. But we kept tackling some crazy grades and except for one stop in Pittsburgh to let the engine cool a bit things were stressful but OK.
It’s hard to drive when something might be wrong, but maybe not, and with the trailer its not like you can just pull over and find service. Since we knew Bill and Kelly were on the other end of our drive we thought it was best to keep going and finally made it to Hickory Hollow.
We love Hickory Hollow and not just because Bill and Kelly are there. It’s a huge beautiful campground with really nice owners and lots of space for Jack to run around. Jack was thrilled to see his friends again and Bill used his meter to check and see if we had an error code and discovered that the repair shop didn’t add enough coolant into the secondary coolant well. Turns out the truck put itself into a slower mode to protect itself due to the lack of coolant. Insanity but we were glad we made it and were cautiously optimistic adding the coolant would solve the problem.
Jack and his buddy Bill
Hickory Hollow is near the small town of Somerset, PA and since we had scheduled 8 days we decided to really check out the area. Kelly and I went to multiple thrift stores together and Bill and Lee went and played disc golf. We also ate at several really cool local restaurants and had campfires a couple of nights. One of the coolest places we went is called Bargain Clothing. It is only open 2 days a week and has stacks and stacks of new clothes. Insanity really, but Kelly and I had a blast pawing through all the stuff and looking for stuff in our size. We both found some treasures.
Lee was having so much fun Bill joined in
Lee adores the fish at Kings and Queens
Another day we went to see the wind chime installation at the 9-11 memorial park. The chimes were not fully installed when we came last year and unfortunately there wasn’t enough wind (it needs to be 10-15 mph) for sound on this visit. It was still pretty though and we got some great pictures.
We are not this skinny…it is an optical illusion but we will take it:)
On the way back from the chimes though something really cool happened. We passed a salvage yard in Stoystown and it was huge. I have been looking for months in multiple cities for a back seat for our truck. Told you I would get there! About a year into being on the road Lee removed our back seat and put in his tool chest. Later this came out and he built a wooden stand for storage that let the dog sit up high. We never missed the backseat, and then we had grandkids. With babies you need a rear seat to attach the car seat to and the last couple of years it has really put a crimp in our taking Oliver places. This would also be an issue with Elliott so the seat became a priority.
Unfortunately new ones are $1,000 just for the part and I didn’t want to spend that much. Imagine my excitement after months of searching when Stoystown had one!!!. Lee went right away and it only cost $100 for the seat and then another $100 for the seatbelt hardware. $200 was a huge bargain and in a few hours we had a back seat again!!
Lee removing the platform
One seat!!
Cleaning up!!!
Ta Da
Bill checking it out!!
It was even in the exact same color and material which was frankly a bonus. I would have been fine with anything and just covered it
Lee did an excellent job and we both felt that the universe was smiling at us. Now if the transmission fluid fixed the turbo problem we would be all set driving. We had a great time with our friends and were so grateful for their help but off we go to see our daughter Kay!
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Well, another hefty month of expenses. We had to pay extra for campsites with the truck accident, $100 for someone to move the truck to another site, and $1,000 on the deductible. We may get the deductible back IF the other insurance company will refund it but that is far from certain. This whole month was a bit of a mess honestly and we blew the budget in almost every category.
Dining Out – We took a ton of people out to dinner and ate out ourselves like crazy.
Home Repair – We bought two ice machines. One broke and we couldn’t get to a camping world to replace it under warranty. We also had to buy extra hoses and power cable to fit into our new site.
Truck Maintenance – This is the $1,000 deductible
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While we were waiting on our truck to be fixed we found out that we had some extra time on our hands. It was nice because it gave us a chance to see more people from home and Lee had more time to play disc golf. For those of you who don’t know, Lee doesn’t play sports. That is not hyperbole. He doesn’t play ANY sports and that includes when he was a little kid. His dad put him in Little League when he was a kid and he spent most of his time sitting in the outfield day dreaming and playing in the dirt.
So it goes without saying I was deeply surprised when his friend Bryan (Noodle to those in the know!) talked him into trying disc golf and he actually liked it. Not only liked it but played numerous times (10!!!) and even bought the equipment. My curiosity got the better of me so I finally said I would go and play a round with him. I do play sports (varsity soccer in high school) but neither golf or disc golf is really my thing. Still if Lee liked it I was willing to give it a try and if nothing else it would be a nice way to get some extra steps in. Plus we could take Jack and since he had been pretty cooped up that appealed to me as well.
Turns out it was pretty fun. The frisbee part was ok (I did better than I expected) but the walk was beautiful. Just like regular golf there are harder and easier tees (we did easy) and there are different type of disc for short, medium, and long throws. This course had holes in the woods, by the lake, and in fields which made for a great walk.
The goal is to get the disc in the basket. The chains help stop it from overshooting, but you have to be careful or its easy to lose a discThis was a super fun hole around the waterJack drinking from a disc…that was handy
Overall I liked it and Jack LOVED it. The good news is there is an app that not only keeps your scores but also shows the many disc golf courses in any area. Lee played several while we were in Columbus but they are kind of everywhere. He’s lost 5lbs so far from playing and its a good way for us to get out and move. Plus Lee is finally playing a sport. How cool is that?
He crushed me 🙂
As I mentioned we also got to spend more time with family and friends. I didn’t take pictures of everyone, but I saw my college roommate Sandy, our best friends kids, and a friend of mine Dawn and her husband George. We also ate at at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants El Vaquero and I took advantage of the cool “honor system” farmers market across the street from the state park.
We also had lots of time for grand-baby facetime. Elliot is getting really big and Oliver started pre-preschool! I love the pictures we get from them and we talk at least once a week. Kat is moving into a bigger apartment and Kyrston is flying up to be with her for a week. I love that my girls are bonding over their babies and cant wait until we are all able to be together in one place.
Kat and Elliot. He’s going to be tall..look at those long legs
Love the preschool newsletter I get every week. I bought Oliver that shirt!!
Finally, we got our truck and off we went to Pennsylvania to see Kelly and Bill. The bodywork looked fantastic, but the engine work was still to be tested. More on that next time!
All shiny and new!!
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You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
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While we were waiting for the truck to be fixed, we decided to visit the Ohio Ren fest. In 1990, when we were newly married, someone built a permanent outdoor venue for a renaissance festival in the small town of Waynesville, Ohio. It seemed crazy at the time because there was next to nothing in this farm town, but it’s proximity to both Cincinnati and Columbus made the crazy idea work. Plus there were lots of people in our generation who loved cosplay (although it wasn’t called that back then) and loved to dress to come to the venue.
When our kids were small, we made the hour drive to visit the fest and although it was an expensive day it was always worth it. Many people we knew went religiously every year but for us it was only something we felt we could splurge on occasionally. Once we moved to New England, we never found anything quite like it, so it had been 20 years since we last visited.
We weren’t exactly sure what we would find but it turned out to be a great mix of the old and new. The structures were the same (although they have expanded the footprint by more than double) and the actors still greet everyone at the opening. After dropping Jack off with my dad for the day, we arrived about 15 minutes before they opened and were surprised that a pretty big crowd had already formed. We were also delighted to see about 50% of the people in costumes, many sporting pirate costumes because that was the theme of the weekend. That was something new, the themed weekends, and I think its brilliant because it taps into all different types of folks who like to dress up.
The crowds were a mix of regular folks, dressed up people, and performers. The performers are spread throughout the facility and all the acts are free, which is great. Tipping is strongly encouraged though, because that’s how they make their money, and since this group of performers has been hit particularly hard by COVID we tipped generously. Our very favorite act has been around since the beginning and we made sure to catch the very first show of Theater in the Mud. Two of the performers were the originals from when we brought the kids and they do versions of classical plays in a mud pit. It’s highly entertaining and a big favorite with the kids, although it’s almost impossible to not get some mud on you no matter where you sit. We watched a newer play called Jerkules and the crowds roared as the mud flew. Its hard to explain unless you see it in person, but here’s some pictures.
We sat on the other side of the big tree
Before the show started one of the original performers came out and talked to some friends and I shamelessly eavesdropped as he talked about his life. He said he was finally in a place where he was comfortable with who he was (I can relate) and one of the benefits was that his kids felt like they could do anything they wanted with their lives. It was very nostalgic for us to see the two original players and it made me remember when the kids were small.
Another show that we really liked was new to us and the Kamikaze fireflies had been on AGT. They put on a great show and were very open about how grateful they were to be performing in public again. I hadn’t really thought about what a hardship COVID had been for these small traveling performers, but they were really excited about being back and that excited was contagious. The cool thing about the shows is they are very interactive and the crowds are encouraged to participate.
My other favorite part of the Ren fest is the shopping. The crafts are all handmade and range from the very inexpensive to the elaborate. They have beautiful handmade clothes, weapons, and many other items and I think we walked into every shop. It’s a good thing I am not into Cosplay or I would spend thousands of dollars on the clothes. As it was it was super hard not to buy something, but I managed.
I loved this outfit. Only $800!!
The only part of the entire experience that I didn’t like was the food. In the past they had all kinds of cool things like turkey legs and other “old” food, and although they still had these the prices were much higher. They also had limited shaded seating to eat in and since it was a very hot day that was a factor. I probably could have lived with the food situation though if the drinks weren’t so screwed up. None of the food vendors was allowed to sell drinks (not even water) so we had to wait in a separate line to get something to drink. There are no public fountains and it was crazy hot so we spent a ton of money on water and had to wait in long lines to get it. I am pretty sure that the venue itself controls the drinks which is why the arrangement was so strange but it really put a damper on the day for me. Around 2pm I actually was feeling nauseous from the heat and crowds and asked Lee if we could go home. He really didn’t want to and there was certainly more to see but I just wasn’t feeling that great. If I would have had ready access to ice water I am sure I would have been able to stay longer but I just couldn’t handle it.
So we missed seeing several acts, which was a bummer, but I am glad that we were able to experience it again. Unfortunately I don’t think I will go back anytime soon, but if you are in the area and have never been I would recommend going at least once. Just get there early!
The insulter is absolutely R rated
This church was a shaded place to listen to a choir
The kids rides are all manually powered
The “fair games” are old school arrow shooting and axe throwing
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I love county fairs. And when I say that I mean old-school, 4H driven county fairs. I don’t mind the rides and games, and the fair food is definitely fun, but the major draw for me is looking at all of the cool 4H exhibits. So when I saw the fair agenda was packed with 4H events I was in. We also decided to go first thing in the morning which turned out to be a great thing. There was lots of activity around the 4H barns and we beat most of the heat that came later in the day. The animals and people were bustling about and I really loved seeing all the activity. We even got their early enough to watch the fair opening ceremony which included a flag raising and 21 gun salute.
Cool Sherrif Dept Drone
I am not much of a people watcher when there are animals about, but watching all the healthy and excited young people was great. Who doesn’t love watching kids show off their prize llamas, or little kids with wader boots scooping out stalls? For me its some of the best of Americana and I wish all kids got an opportunity to participate in these types of events and not just the ones that live in rural areas.
Plus its somewhat interactive as its OK to touch some of the animals. It’s important to be careful with this and not just go poking at another person’s animal, but sometimes its OK and Lee got some up close and personal time with a couple of goats. That sounded weird the way I typed it but you know what I mean!
It’s not all about the animals though as there were also buildings with crafts, crops, and we even got to see a kids table setting competition. I remember being bored to tears by these exhibits as a young kid but now that I am older I really enjoy them. If we ever decide to settle somewhere I told Lee it has to have a good county fair and maybe I will enter some of the competitions myself.
Kids area
Kids table setting with handmade menus. Very cool.
Kids and team projectsThis best beginner cake was amazing. Looked so much like a watermelon.Adults area
My favorite part of the adult area was the quilts. There were some beauties and I loved how they were displayed.
In addition to the craft booths the fair had some vendors. I enjoyed walking through these and we bought several kids books from one stall. I also loved the Tupperware booth (they have their own pressure cooker now) but didn’t really need anything. Nice to see they are still in business though.
Most county fairs have something unique to the region and in the case of Delaware county it’s harness racing. There is a permanent race track and facility on the fairgrounds and the last night of the fair they hold the Little Brown Jug Race which is akin to the Kentucky Derby in harness racing circles. Lee and I spent some time watching the horses warm up, but it was getting too hot to stay for long.
And of course it wouldn’t be a fair without rides, games, and food. Lee and I have been really watching our diets and to be honest none of it looked good to us. We are air frying everything at home now and oil fried food just tastes too greasy. It was fun though to see all the different types of food, but when it was time to eat we decided eating that in the hot sun wasn’t for us. Instead we took a final walk around the facilities and left before the crowds got too heavy. Loved every minute of it though and so glad we decided to go early!
This looked really fun
Love me some Smoky the Bear
Supporting our Blog
We very much appreciate your support of our blog.
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes.
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