August 8 and August 9, 2011
The Great 2011 Indiana State Fair
Indianapolis, Indiana
Monday morning we arrived in Indianapolis and, with only a couple of wrong turns, found the Indiana State Fairgrounds and the fairgrounds campground. The campground is pretty much what we expected; A big level field area divided into roughly 15×32 foot campsites….which means there is very little room between camper units…except for us of course. We are so small that we fit into our 15×32 site with room to spare. On one side we have a Soft Pretzel vendor (thought we could talk shop), and on the other side….well…we’re not sure about them – at least 5 guys coming and going – probably operating midway rides. All was pretty quite here in the campground.
As soon as we were hooked up, we headed to the fairgrounds. Whooowhooo!
We decided early-on that we would eat whatever we wanted at the fair – after all, that’s what fairs are for?? So the first thing we did, after wandering through the building where all of the “miracle” products are (someday I’ll tell you about the foot-detox guy …uck!), was to look for food. We decided there would be not regrets…just eat what you want! Even Superman was throwing caution to the wind!
That’s it! Lunch would be Indiana Pork! I got a Pork Tenderloin sandwich and Ted went for the Pulled Pork BBQ with kettle potatoes. Not the best choices…we both wished we had gotten something else…but there were just too many choices out there. Next we happened upon a FREE Turkey Hill Ice Cream booth so that kind of made up for our previous poor choices. In total, I had 2-small Turkey Hill cups of Mint Chocolate Chip; Ted had 6! Next, feeling like pigs, we headed to the animal buildings….Cattle, Swine, Poultry, Sheep and Elephant?
Ted grabbed a Giant Éclair to munch on and I had an Ice Cream Cone. We did it all…until…at about 3:00 when the skies darkened and a heavy band of rain came through the fairgrounds…we ducked into the Main Street Stage Tent to escape the rain and we were just in time to hear Ashley Wilcox And The Cosmos! We didn’t know our friend Ashley had gone on the road! Oh, turns out it wasn’t OUR Ashley Wilcox. We stayed for over an hour while the rain came and went. Half-way through the show a couple of really soggy people came in with thick milk shakes….Ted couldn’t keep his eyes off this lady’s shake. Finally, he asked her where she got it. She told him and then she actually gave Ted a coupon for a FREE Milkshake at the Indiana Dairy Association Stand (she had a bunch of coupons ‘cause her in-laws milk cows). Off he went into the pouring rain… and came back, dripping wet, with his milk shake.
The rain stopped about 5:00 and we still had not even seen a 3rd of the fair. We worked our way through more exhibits and then walked through the Midway just as it was getting dark.
It was after 9:00pm (late for us) by the time we made it back to the campground where all was quiet. After a good night’s sleep, we did it all again today…except, today we treated ourselves to Giant Italian Sausage Sandwiches with Onions and Peppers. We washed that down with a couple of those wonderful Indiana Dairy Milkshakes. We spent the day trying to see everything that we missed yesterday. This included: Puppy Races; The Early Farming Village; Elephant Rides; Clog Dancers; The Biggest Boar in America; and Musical Clowns.
I can’t even guess how many miles we walked over these two days. The Indiana Fairgrounds cover 250 acres and I think we toured, examined and inspected just about every exhibit and event on those 250 acres. We ended our afternoon at the stables where the professional racehorses are housed.
Tomorrow: We’re Out Of Here.
Thanks For Riding Along!
http://www.in.gov/statefair/
Tags: Indiana, Indiana State Fair