Flashback Saturday And Sunday

 The Kentucky State Fair started on Thursday, and it always brings back a lot of awesome, happy memories.  

Every year until 2019, the 'Rents and I would go to the fair.  When I was younger, we would always go on the first Saturday of the fair, because that is when they would have the rodeo.  I would rush the 'Rents through eating breakfast so we could head out to the fair.  

Even though we had eaten breakfast, our first stop was the first corn dog and lemon shake-up booth that we would see.  Then we'd eat our corn dogs as we made our way to see the livestock, being careful to dodge the piles of cow manure as we walked through.  Then they would take me to the midway.  I've said before that I find nothing amusing about amusement parks, so there were very few rides I would get on.  But you could always count on the pony rides.  They would buy enough tickets for me to ride at least three times.   And then they would peel more money so I could try (key word) to win some cheap toy.  One time, I won a goldfish.  Side note: the fish made it home alive, and lived about a year.  But I digress. After the midway, we would go to the other side of the fairgrounds for the rows and rows of vendors.  We always had to stop at Hodson's for fudge "like grandma TRIED to make".  When we finished walking up and down every aisle, we would go to the Cattleman's booth and get the most tender ribeye sandwiches ever.  

By this time, we would be pretty tired and were ready for the best part of the Saturday trip to the fair: the rodeo.  We would go in early and sometimes would fall asleep in the comfortable air conditioning while we waited for the rodeo to start.  They would always have a big named country music star perform halfway through the rodeo.  One time we saw Lynn Anderson, who after I went down to where she was waiting to perform, she gave me an autograph and even picked me up and let me sit on her horse.  Another time, they had Dolly Parton perform.  She came into the arena in the back of a black pick-up truck.  

It would be late when we got home, but Grandma would always be waiting up for us.  Instead of being tired and sleepy, I would spend a half hour telling her everything I did at the fair.  

The Sunday after the fair day was our day of rest.  It was pretty much the only Sunday of the year that we stayed home from church so we could sleep in a bit and get rested up. 

As a follow-up, the last time that the 'Rents and I went to the fair together, I think we set a new record.  We stayed maybe three hours before heading back home, worn out.