Well, we went to the fair yesterday. Folks, if you do not live in Iowa, you should come some August. You might think you have a state fair, but, compared to ours, you don't.
First, it's huge. You can't see it in a day, or even in a week, so you pick your favorites and you wear your most comfortable shoes. The highlights: we joined a huge crowd gathered while they weighed the largest pumpkin (we left just after the 780 pounder), we saw the cutest 6-year old tap dance on the iconic Bill Riley Talent Show stage, we saw an FFA try to convince his calf that he did, indeed, want to go to the show ring. And then there's the food. There is stuff on a stick that you would could not even imagine. You gotta see the Big Boar (those are some ginormous incisors). Yikes.
But the best, very best, part was at 10:00 a.m. when a voice came over the loudspeakers and everyone--and I mean everyone--stood still, placed their hands on their hearts and grew silent while we listened to the national anthem sung by that day's winner of the "Oh, say can you sing?" contest. You gotta love Iowa.