Annual trip to the fair

Almost every single year of my life, my family has gone to the Olmsted County Fair in Rochester, MN. It's certainly no state fair (that craziness begins in a few weeks just a mile or so from my current apartment), and it has diminished in size and excitement over the last several years, but it's still a fun way to spend a summer Saturday. Here are a few images to capture the spirit of the day


The fish pond...always the first stop when we arrive. Sadly, this year we watched one fish go belly-up.





View of the midway. It had been raining earlier in the day, but it cleared off nicely for the afternoon, and the midway wasn't too much of a muddy mess (nothing like the year the mud was practically knee-deep!).





The all-important food vendors. This year I enjoyed two glasses of chocolate milk from the $1 all-you-can-drink dairy cart, and I had a couple of my dad's Tom Thumb mini-donuts (a perennial favorite). A new tradition for me this year were the delicious sweet potato fries from Tilly's. I had some at Rochesterfest when I went with some friends in June to see Klaus run in the Dachshund Dash so I knew how good they were.





A couple of the animals we saw. Of course there were the usual livestock, horses, and petting zoo animals as well, but these little guys had a lot of personality.








And, finally, I can't pass up jewelry, especially at $2 for each piece. So, behold, $6 of quality merchandise.




All in all, a very successful trip to the 150th annual Olmsted County Fair!