Great Weekend in Small Town, USA

What did you do last weekend? We had an unusually work-free weekend, so we hit the road for a couple nearby small town events. OK, maybe I did make some embellishment packs in the car on the road, but hey...multi-tasking is my middle name! And otherwise, I fall asleep in the car!

Friday night we drove to nearby Cheney for the County Fair - woohoo!  Somehow I never visited this as a child or young adult, but discovered it several years ago with my friends, and now it's an annual pilgrimage. Those Methodist chicken and noodles and homemade pie keep us coming back! It's not air-conditioned, and you share the dinner table space with 100+ other happy eaters, but it's fun and yummy!

And did I mention, it was HOT?! We were dressed as "oldsters trying to stay cool", unlike all the young girls with their uber-short shorts and skirts and cowboy boots!

After dinner, it's off to the animal bars. These cows really fascinate me when you get to see them...up close!

And, of course, my friends had to dare me (city girl) to pet a cow. He was perfectly still until I touched him and he moved and freaked me out...a bit! I'm laughing outside but I didn't linger long.

I'm also fascinated with the pigs, I mean SWINE. These giant guys (think desk size) are really fun to watch. OK, so they don't move much, unless they're being herded into the showing area. But boy, they can move fast when the food comes out. And they eat like...well, PIGS! Trying to nudge out their neighbor, making grunting noises, generally misbehaving! I was going in for a close head shot just when this guy turned his head and smiled at me!

I liked this prize winning rooster who was sharing the cage with the trophy - not modest at all!

Does this giant lemon-y lemonade stand remind anyone else of the frozen banana stand in Arrested Development?

And then there are the rides...which we only observe...from the ground!

What an exciting, tasty Friday night! I recovered Saturday morning by picking a record crop of giant sunflowers from my garden, along with some zinnias and cherry tomatoes.

Saturday night we were off to nearby Winfield for an outdoor concert at a winery. 

We were excited to see our young friends, Josh and Matthew, and their band.

And it would have been rude not to sip some local wine while we watched, so we obliged.

By the way, we've been friends with our pals above for many years...like 25-30! What a treasure to spend time with people who really know you, and still like hanging out with you!  The evening ended one song early as a giant thunderstorm rolled in and we headed for the car. Gotta love the Kansas weather!