Last Blast of Summer

Carson, Jessie and I enjoyed one last blast of summer fun when we attended the Missouri State Fair--Sedalia, Missouri.  We drove down Friday night and attended a wedding reception of Andrea and Wyn--the daughter of a family friend we knew when we lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin--Bill and Cindy Decker. The bride was stunning and the groom dashing at the lovely outdoor event.

Spending the night at the "Night" Motel in Willow Springs, MO was quite the adventure. A quick search on PriceLine revealed that hotel fees in Sedalia were well over $100 and not even 2 stars! This fair is a BIG deal to Missourians.

 The $54 a night room was only air conditioned by a window unit. The last time (on our honeymoon 24 years ago) I spent the night in a similar room, I didn't do any "sleeping" as it was too LOUD! The intense thunderstorm in the middle of the night also added to the ambience, however, prevented me from getting any decent sleep! The desk attendant even informed me that I paid TOO much for the room and should contact the front desk for better rates the next time I stay!!!!!!!!!!!
              .....right!!!!.....


Morning came early and the loving arms of my sweet daughter wrapped around my neck sent me into spasms of annoyance as I tried to snag a little more sleep.

The entrance to this Fair was this large, brick structure.

Decorating these fans was the best idea of the morning as we used them to "cool" us throughout the humid day.

This slide most likely existed before Missouri became a STATE!

Tower of Terror!

We were amazed at the size of this farm equipment's tires!

Carson's fascination with science led him to spend several hours at this small Science Fair within the State Fair. The workers began calling him by his first name. Local Missouri universities Science departments sent their representatives to teach the interested visitors.

 The "Swine" building, although not a favorite for Carson and Jessie, made us laugh out loud because of the seriousness of the pig owners. They wanted to be as comfortable as possible during the week-long competition and some even set up their home-away-from-home!

No matter how "homey", no one could avoid the SMELL!

 For 4 hours, the kids went from ride to ride without standing in ANY lines! They were nearly "spinning" when they stopped!

 One would never know of the dangerous storms that ripped through the Missouri region only two days prior to our attendance! We witnessed many large trees split in two. The day after the storm, the Fair delayed opening by several hours in order to clear debry.

It was a beautiful day for an old fashioned ferris wheel ride!