North Carolina State Fair... Or where I spent my Saturday evening...

Went to the good old fair last night in Raleigh. Don’t know about that thing. I don’t think I need to go again next year. Unless I go during the daytime, when there are no people around, or very few people around. Just too many people there last night, and that’s mostly my fault for going on the next to last day of the fair this year. I’m sure that the place was a mob scene today, it being the last day, and it being very nice outside all day long today. Blue skies, cool temperatures, and a slight breeze makes for a shit ton of people going to the fair. There were some cool things going on there, and mostly the agricultural stuff that we saw. There were tons of little ornamental gardens that people had planted as part of the competitions at the fair, and some of them were impressive. Some weren’t, but that’s how those things go. Then there were the gourds being displayed, other plants, and of course the good old rabbit house. There were tons of rabbits in that place, and one in particular looked pretty impressive. That would be the Flemish rabbit. That thing was huge. No wonder there are good bike racers from the Flanders region of Belgium, they probably eat these things, and it puts some sort of weird rabbit growth hormone into them. OK, not really likely to happen, but it’s a theory. The other theory is that they have really good doping doctors, but I digress. The rabbit was freakin’ enormous.

The other thing about the fair is of course the “famous” fair food that they have going on out there. If it can be battered, and deep fried in oil, they had it there. Cheesecake, cheese, candy bars, Oreos, funnel cakes, alligator, potatoes, onions, bananas, and on and on and on. I was good for the most part, only partaking in a funnel cake, some stringy tasty potatoes, and of course some fried cheese. Look, when you roll over to a booth that says, “Hot Wisconsin Cheese” you need to get on that shit with the quickness. Cheddar and jalapeno mixed together and deep friend, hell yes my friends, hell yes. In hindsight, eating that chicken burrito before going to the fair was probably a bad idea, but hey, I was hungry damn it all. We did get to go the fair with Chad and Alex, which is always a good time, especially when Alex was wearing some of her foster son’s knee socks. We all had whimsical footwear on last night, except for Steph who was wearing some boots, which were a lot less whimsical than my LaCoste shoes, Alex’s sneakers and knee socks, and Chad’s skateboarding shoes with pink shoe laces. So yeah, we were a sight walking through there, but looking at everyone else that was up in there, we were what I consider probably some of the more normal people that I saw.

The folks that inhabit the fair are a rare breed I think. First of all, rude as all get out. I kept having to turn, move, and dodge people as I was walking through the mass and throngs of people, but did other people move out of my way? No. They didn’t appear to be particularly in the mood to make way for other people. I don’t know if it was just me, or if that’s how it really was, but that’s how I viewed it at least. Then there are the people who in the midst of a very large and tightly packed crowd like to have a smoke. Now, not only are they exhaling stale cigarette smoke in your face, but there is also a good chance that they’re going to burn the crap out of you with the glowing ember of their cancer stick. Not a very nice thing to do I don’t think. Just a little consideration would go a long way. Then there were the gangster wanna-bes which actually there appeared to be a lot of in the fairgrounds last night. Mostly young, urban, black teenagers running around looking like the latest rap video, bling and all, and attitude and all. Of course there are the local rednecks that come to the fair. The young couples one wearing a camouflage (Mossy Oak I believe) hat, and his lady friend wearing a white baseball hat that she had just had his name airbrushed onto it is always a good pairing. Mullets everywhere of course, most of them looking rather fluffy since I’m sure that they had their hair did before heading to the fair (and these are the guys I’m talking about over here), and I’m pretty sure I saw more than a few of them there mullets that had been permed. I’m certain of this, well, almost certain. I could smell the curling chemicals wafting through the air. Their semi-toxic noxiousness reminding me of hair salons that my mother would make me go to when I was a kid, because hell be damned she’d pay for a babysitter just so that she could get her hair done (not that I blame her for this of course, it only make sense really). When you are getting a perm though, damn it takes a long time. This is when I gained my affinity for reading bad women’s magazines. There was really nothing else to do. No, really, there wasn’t. As always there are some older redneck couples running around with about 2 or 3 teeth between them. There is an enormous cross section of people at this place, all spending way too much money, most having a good time, and well, it’s the fair. I take it back. I’m sure I’ll go back next year. Next time though, I’ve got to bring the camera, most people wouldn’t believe this shit unless they saw it with their own eyes, or in pictures. Then again, even if they had seen it, they still might think they were dreaming that this mass of humanity could all gather in one place every single year for this event. At least this time, they didn’t schedule an NC State football game the same weekend that the fair was running. Now THAT would have been insane, and speaking with people who have run into that problem in the past, it makes for short tempers, and long lines of cars waiting to get back into the interstate. Finally, someone had the good sense to make the schedule run correct. Now if State fans would realize that their football team is as sub par as their basketball team, then we’d be getting somewhere.

I might be a geek for writing this, and I’m sure that I am, but there is something cool about 4 F-15 fighter jets screaming treetop level going through Chapel Hill. This is what happened yesterday afternoon as I was riding my bike home from my training ride. Big football game in The Hill yesterday, as they were playing Virginia, and as a special little treat of some sort, they had a flyover of F-15s during halftime. It was something to see the best air superiority fighter plane in the world come cruising through town at a high rate of speed. It appeals to the military buff in me, and the fact that back in the day, I had an intense interest in all things Air Force, and military planes. I know, I’m a dork. I’m an engineer, what can I say?