We woke up this morning in Perry, Georgia - and it was another one of those long nights for Mommy and Daddy, who aren't exactly fans of rock-hard beds. Can you believe that Nana and Ye-Ye actually beat us to the fair this morning? They were driving from Gainesville, and still made it there before us, and we spent the night in Perry!
We got there at about 9:00, and Madison didn't know that Hannah would be there. We met under the clock tower, and boy was she surprised!
Our travel party comprised of Aunt Shain, Hannah, Ye-Ye, Nana, Madison, Mommy and Daddy - and right away, we were off and looking at all the livestock.
Here's Madison, fitting right in, watching them judge the pigs. There were lots of pigs, although the place where all the pig contestants were kept didn't exactly agree with Madison's nose:
She made that face all the way through the pig arena. We saw all kinds of livestock today: horses, cows, pigs, sheep, llamas and more. Madison had an opportunity to pet each of these, thanks to the nice folks there. They must have liked the way she looked! We even got to go by and see some eggs - here's Madison counting her chickens before they hatch:
She's no doubt asking the question, "Which came first?" To answer that question, in came the biggest chicken any of us had ever seen before:
Madison was all smiles today - she had a great time. But then again, so did everyone else, including Ye-Ye and Nana:
We not only got to pet the animals, but we sat in on several judging competitions. They gave us a sheet of paper on our way in, so we too could judge which were the best of each animal. Madison guessed the winner of the cattle competition right away - maybe she's got a future in judging cows?
Here she is with one of the bigger ones - this is a monster-sized cow, and Madison is walking right up to pet it:
This is one of the great things about the Georgia National Fair. They have a whole lot of livestock there for various competitions, and it's just a great atmosphere if you're looking for that complete state fair feel. To make Madison's day, they even had one of these things:
After seeing the cows and pigs, we made our way over to the arts and crafts, which was where we spent a whole lot of time. Mommy and Daddy loved the art competition, once again challenged to get some painting done. Ye-Ye got to see some of the minerals in a collection, and both the grandparents got to show off their knowledge in the beekeeping area. While this was going on, in that same building was an "egg preparation contest," where a young lady was giving a presentation on preparing eggs. Meanwhile, we're looking at all kinds of quilts, science projects, slices of cake and/or pie, carvings, and more.
After our look through the many galleries, we went to visit the FOOD. This is paradise for Ye-Ye, who just wanted a Italian sausage with onions and peppers on it. Daddy got a corn dog, while Madison and Mommy munched on some ears of corn. We ate more than that, of course - except for Mommy. Right now, her diet is pretty limiting. A fair is a hard place to find gluten-free eating.
After eating, it was over to the horses to see the different kinds there. Check out this huge horse - and look who is riding on top!
She didn't go anywhere on this big guy. Doesn't he look a little like Angus, from "Brave?" This was obviously a huge thrill for Madison. Too bad she couldn't go riding. We just didn't have time for that anyway, with all the other things there to do. Naturally, after a bit of walking, she and Hannah had to get a little bit of a foot massage:
And if her feet are still tired, she can always ride around on her other favorite mount:
Daddy and Ye-Ye took turns carrying Madison around towards the end, but you can see that wasn't slowing her enthusiasm down. She was constantly looking around at all there was to see and do. For example: the racing pigs. Yes, we got to see racing pigs. And we got to see the "wool riders" competition. This is where young kids hang on to a wild and crazy sheep, seeing if they can hold on for eight seconds. Each kid is dressed up with football gear and padding for protection, and some of the kids are so small. It was hysterical to watch!
Another area we passed by had a scarecrow competition. This was an awesome collection of scarecrows from all over the state, each one creatively decorated. Mommy and Daddy took a picture of each one, just about. Here below is the winner:
We had a couple "Lord of the Rings" moments along the way today - the first was pretty surreal. Along the main thoroughfare, who should we happen to run into... but Treebeard!
That's a walking tree costume. Notice the water flow we happened to be passing by. He was going one way and we the other, and we happened to see the water there, so Madison calls out, "Release the river!" Seriously, this is an excellent costume. So too was the one-man-band we saw wandering about.
The other "Lord of the Rings" moment would be the blacksmith demonstration we saw. I'll get to that tomorrow, probably, because the highlight of the day for Madison was just about the last thing we did. She had been looking forward to it all day long: the ferris wheel.
Believe it or not, this was Madison's first ferris wheel ride. We wanted to do it right - this was a big one. Below is a picture we took from way up high, looking down on the clock tower and fairgrounds.
Madison enjoyed this, and one other ride as well - we didn't do too much, because carnival rides have gotten kind of pricy lately. Have you noticed that? The other reason we didn't ride as much had to do with the crowds (lots of people by this time), the heat (can you believe 87 degrees in October?), and the long drive home (yes, we had to drive 2 1/2 hours back home).
But Madison loved the ferris wheel. We all did - it was a nice capper to a great day overall. Afterwards, she and Hannah rode on a little caterpillar ride that went in circles, while Daddy and Mommy sat in the shade pretending we weren't having a sun stroke!
It really was a perfect day in Perry at the Georgia National Fair. We saw lots of animals up close and personal, enjoyed a few rides, ate some fair food, and saw some interesting shows. Best of all, we had a great time together. It's a pretty good drive down to Perry, so I'm not saying we'll do it every year. But this probably wasn't the last time we'll be heading that way.
The drive home was pretty uneventful - we made it home quickly, and easily. But we made it home tired too! All three of us got into the house, quite content from our day, and quite ready for bed. More tomorrow, but for now: Goodnight!
We got there at about 9:00, and Madison didn't know that Hannah would be there. We met under the clock tower, and boy was she surprised!
Our travel party comprised of Aunt Shain, Hannah, Ye-Ye, Nana, Madison, Mommy and Daddy - and right away, we were off and looking at all the livestock.
Here's Madison, fitting right in, watching them judge the pigs. There were lots of pigs, although the place where all the pig contestants were kept didn't exactly agree with Madison's nose:
She made that face all the way through the pig arena. We saw all kinds of livestock today: horses, cows, pigs, sheep, llamas and more. Madison had an opportunity to pet each of these, thanks to the nice folks there. They must have liked the way she looked! We even got to go by and see some eggs - here's Madison counting her chickens before they hatch:
She's no doubt asking the question, "Which came first?" To answer that question, in came the biggest chicken any of us had ever seen before:
Madison was all smiles today - she had a great time. But then again, so did everyone else, including Ye-Ye and Nana:
We not only got to pet the animals, but we sat in on several judging competitions. They gave us a sheet of paper on our way in, so we too could judge which were the best of each animal. Madison guessed the winner of the cattle competition right away - maybe she's got a future in judging cows?
Here she is with one of the bigger ones - this is a monster-sized cow, and Madison is walking right up to pet it:
This is one of the great things about the Georgia National Fair. They have a whole lot of livestock there for various competitions, and it's just a great atmosphere if you're looking for that complete state fair feel. To make Madison's day, they even had one of these things:
After seeing the cows and pigs, we made our way over to the arts and crafts, which was where we spent a whole lot of time. Mommy and Daddy loved the art competition, once again challenged to get some painting done. Ye-Ye got to see some of the minerals in a collection, and both the grandparents got to show off their knowledge in the beekeeping area. While this was going on, in that same building was an "egg preparation contest," where a young lady was giving a presentation on preparing eggs. Meanwhile, we're looking at all kinds of quilts, science projects, slices of cake and/or pie, carvings, and more.
After our look through the many galleries, we went to visit the FOOD. This is paradise for Ye-Ye, who just wanted a Italian sausage with onions and peppers on it. Daddy got a corn dog, while Madison and Mommy munched on some ears of corn. We ate more than that, of course - except for Mommy. Right now, her diet is pretty limiting. A fair is a hard place to find gluten-free eating.
After eating, it was over to the horses to see the different kinds there. Check out this huge horse - and look who is riding on top!
She didn't go anywhere on this big guy. Doesn't he look a little like Angus, from "Brave?" This was obviously a huge thrill for Madison. Too bad she couldn't go riding. We just didn't have time for that anyway, with all the other things there to do. Naturally, after a bit of walking, she and Hannah had to get a little bit of a foot massage:
And if her feet are still tired, she can always ride around on her other favorite mount:
Daddy and Ye-Ye took turns carrying Madison around towards the end, but you can see that wasn't slowing her enthusiasm down. She was constantly looking around at all there was to see and do. For example: the racing pigs. Yes, we got to see racing pigs. And we got to see the "wool riders" competition. This is where young kids hang on to a wild and crazy sheep, seeing if they can hold on for eight seconds. Each kid is dressed up with football gear and padding for protection, and some of the kids are so small. It was hysterical to watch!
Another area we passed by had a scarecrow competition. This was an awesome collection of scarecrows from all over the state, each one creatively decorated. Mommy and Daddy took a picture of each one, just about. Here below is the winner:
We had a couple "Lord of the Rings" moments along the way today - the first was pretty surreal. Along the main thoroughfare, who should we happen to run into... but Treebeard!
That's a walking tree costume. Notice the water flow we happened to be passing by. He was going one way and we the other, and we happened to see the water there, so Madison calls out, "Release the river!" Seriously, this is an excellent costume. So too was the one-man-band we saw wandering about.
The other "Lord of the Rings" moment would be the blacksmith demonstration we saw. I'll get to that tomorrow, probably, because the highlight of the day for Madison was just about the last thing we did. She had been looking forward to it all day long: the ferris wheel.
Believe it or not, this was Madison's first ferris wheel ride. We wanted to do it right - this was a big one. Below is a picture we took from way up high, looking down on the clock tower and fairgrounds.
Madison enjoyed this, and one other ride as well - we didn't do too much, because carnival rides have gotten kind of pricy lately. Have you noticed that? The other reason we didn't ride as much had to do with the crowds (lots of people by this time), the heat (can you believe 87 degrees in October?), and the long drive home (yes, we had to drive 2 1/2 hours back home).
But Madison loved the ferris wheel. We all did - it was a nice capper to a great day overall. Afterwards, she and Hannah rode on a little caterpillar ride that went in circles, while Daddy and Mommy sat in the shade pretending we weren't having a sun stroke!
It really was a perfect day in Perry at the Georgia National Fair. We saw lots of animals up close and personal, enjoyed a few rides, ate some fair food, and saw some interesting shows. Best of all, we had a great time together. It's a pretty good drive down to Perry, so I'm not saying we'll do it every year. But this probably wasn't the last time we'll be heading that way.
The drive home was pretty uneventful - we made it home quickly, and easily. But we made it home tired too! All three of us got into the house, quite content from our day, and quite ready for bed. More tomorrow, but for now: Goodnight!
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