Fair Weekend

ready for the Fair!

Jack and I did a day trip to the Hillsdale County Fair today. The weather was cold (50 degrees) and rainy (not torrential), but that did not dampen our spirits. It is one of my favorite days of the year.
There were some deviations from the usual Fair experiences, but we were flexible and rolled with the punches. We all know how Jack likes his traditions!

Jack in front of his old dorm

This year, we stopped at the apple orchard on the way into town and stopped at Hillsdale College before going to the Fair. I know, really mixing things up. Jack's first dorm that he lived in at Hillsdale was gone, torn down. Thankfully, his Koon Hall was still there, although painted a bit differently. At the Fair, there was no funhouse ride and once again, no photo button booth (but we took our own picture). In another deviation from tradition, I had cheese on a stick instead of a corn dog. It looked exactly like a corn dog, but there was a mozzarella stick inside. Pretty delish.
We did not play any games this year, but did watch a video of a calf being born which was very fascinating.

There were also some differences at Schuler's Restaurant this year. One of our favorite things was taken off the menu. No peppermint ribbon pie! Deep breath. I am ok, Breathe. It was a shock, but we managed to force down a coconut snowball. Thank goodness the meatballs were still on the menu!!! We also deviated from our usual order in other ways. Schuler's has done a nice job of updating their menu over the years. This year, we had roasted brussel sprouts as an appetizer in addition to the meatballs. We skipped the Schuler's salad. I had a roasted root salad with chicken and Jack had trout. All good stuff.

a toast to traditions

no Peppermint Ribbon Pie!

all done!

We arrived home around 8 pm to find that the Landscaping Fairy had visited our house while we were gone today. Jenny and Jay very graciously and generously are redoing the landscaping in front of our house. It has been a bit of a mess since we had the main sewer line replaced 18 months ago.  When we came home tonight, there was a new tree planted and black dirt spread and bushes waiting to be planted. So exciting!! I can't believe they are doing that for us. So touching.
All in all, a pretty darn good fall Saturday so far.