My Day at the NC State Fair

Woody and I needed a break, so I took him down to the NC State Fair. I've been to a number of fairs before: the Wisconsin State Fair; the Texas State Fair; the South Florida Fair; and now the NC State Fair. How was it? It was different.

At the other fairs, I would generally see vendors, and unless I missed a big chunk of the fair, I didn't see them there.

Vendors? There were vendors!

I didn't see any vendors hawking their wares in a never-ending info-mercial. I didn't see anyone with powerful blenders that could "juice" a brick. I didn't see anyone hawking their indestructable razor-sharp knives that could cut a soda can, then slice a tomato paper-thin. I didn't see anyone selling their indestructable non-stick cookware. I saw no one selling massaging recliners.

More importantly, I didn't see any leather goods stores, and THAT is what I really went to the fair for. I wanted a belt.

The fairs would always have at least one belt maker who would have lengths of leather strapping - some embossed and some plain. You could easily get yourself a belt in whatever size you wanted. A few eyelet holes, a little trimming, a snap, and a custom pewter or brass buckle and you'd be good to go.

I didn't see that there.

What I did see where more food places than I had ever seen before.

This year, batter-dipped deep-fried candy bars were the rage. I passed. It's a carb thing.

We only stayed a few hours. We ate lunch there and we're interested in the rides. I didn't want to see the animals or the pioneer town, so there wasn't that much to do besides eat.

Still, it was a nice diversion.