Weekend Wrap-up!

It just ain't summer without the good 'ole county fair!
The Hubs and I decided to go on a mini-adventure this Saturday and shuttled on over to our local Ventura County Fair. It's not a big one by any means but I haven't been in a few years so it was about time.
Typical weather - grey and overcast.

Since the hubs can be a little anti-social and gets tired out with large crowds, we went early in the day. Night-time seems to be when the crazies come out and the rides get busy and we didn't want to fight for seats at the pig racing.
Rootin-tootin' fun:

Our first stop was the animal area and who did we encounter but the Chick-Fil-A cow!
Isn't he a cutie. He graciously posed for a picture - we're probably the only adults he posed with all day.
What can I say, I love me some chikin.
The Hubs is such a good sport.

After posing with the cow, I insisted we head over to check out the real animals.
The first animal I'd like to discuss is a fair classic: The turkey.
We spent quite some time with this particular turkey and let me just say, I never noticed how incredibly fascinatingly ugly turkeys actually are. Fantastic fowl to be sure but also proof that God has a sense of humor.
I've decided that the only beautiful thing about turkeys are their feathers. The feathers are truly amazing - vibrant and varied in color; rich in browns, blacks and whites. Not quite peacock-esque but beautiful in their own right.
Case in point: Fan the feathers.


But the rest of the animal? I just don't get it.
Next case in point: Check out the neck in that picture. Seriously, scroll back up and take another look.
The next time my mother complains that she's "getting old" (she's not) and states that she has "turkey neck" (she doesn't!) I'm going to haul out this picture and make her look at herself in the mirror. No human has a neck like this. And any human who does should invest in an abundance of scarves. Let's get a little closer...
The stuff bad dreams are made of:

Holy carp, that's incredible.
I'll admit, the color variation on this guy's head is amazing but I really think that this little tom could make an appearance as a bad guy on the big screen in the very near future. 'Cause that's just scary looking.
Oh, and in case you didn't know, that pink bit of fleshy stuff that flops over on his beak isn't always that limp. It gets... well... erect when he pecks at this food and basically moves out of the way of his beak. I had no idea. But we saw it happen.
The things you learn at the fair...

Ahem, moving on...
Unlike the whopping two turkeys on display, there was a plethora of sheep in all shapes and sizes! I like them almost as much as I like goats (and I like goats a lot).
The hay is always greener on the other side of the gate:

Snuggle time:

We even got to watch a sheep being shorn (shorned? shaved? shaven?) - basically, he went from this:

To this:

Is it just me or does he look cold? Except for that spot on his head, of course...
Not sure what was going on with these guys - they look like they're in trouble.
The Accused:

Goat judging was in the works when we walked inside the animal arena. We were particularly impressed by the seriousness with which the judges considered the mammories on the female goats. This little gal was my favorite - she kept rubbing her head against the rope to scratch an itchy spot. Don't you just want to pet her little nose?

I also fell in love with this little lady - doesn't she look so docile and sweet?
I think there's a mischievous glint in her eye...

Coming in close behind the animal exhibits, our second favorite part of the fair was, of course, the food. Like all quality fairs, they have their assortment of fried goodies and we only had to walk past this spot once and the hubs knew what he wanted to eat.

Yep, there he is in front of Pink's Chili Dogs: A Hollywood Legend since 1939. Can't beat that!
His review: "Not the best chili dog I've ever had but certainly not the worst. Could've used more chili."
But can't you always use more chili?
My personal favorite (and the real reason I went to the fair in the first place): The mini-donuts. Fried and tossed in cinnamon sugar right before your eyes. Piping hot bites of heaven.

I shared a dozen with the hubs on our way to the best entertainment the fair has to offer: The pig races.
Now, if you've never experienced a pig race, you need to look up the closest fair to you and head on over. It is, hands down, one of the most hilarious things ever. Pure fair entertainment!
But pictures are worth a thousand words so I'll just shut up and post some (and I have to give credit to the sport mode on my camera for these shots because those little piggies were a-flying!):
Coming 'round the bend:

Check out the facial expressions on those guys! Priceless. Seriously, look at it again. These little piggies are running for their lives!
Curly tail!

I'm coming, too!

In case you couldn't guess, there's food at the finish line...
Once you've experienced all that, there's not much more you can do but grab another dozen of those mini-donuts and head on home. Maybe with a lemonade this time...
Mmmm, sweet tart:


And that's the fair!