The Minnesota State Fair

I don't think anyone should be surprised by my love of the Great Minnesota Get-Together, as I happen to think that the state fair is one of my two favorite totally self-indulgent days of the year. (The other being the Friends School Plant Sale, which - coincidentally? - is also held at the fairgrounds.) This year, Adam and I put the dog in the kennel and got a free room in St. Paul so that we could fully appreciate all the hours in a fair day. (P.S. In case you're wondering, that "free room in St. Paul" was lawfully won in a charity fund-raising event, so no, it is not as creepy as it sounds. Also, it was the Saint Paul Hotel, so extra awesome for us.)

We decided to photograph every single thing we ate over the course of one day. First up, breakfast crepes from the French Creperie, coffee from the French Meadow Bakery next door. Ooh la la! Adam selected fried green tomatoes and corn fritters for his first meal of the day. Classic.

For second breakfast, I cannot recommend anything more delicious than the Walleye Roll from Giggles' Campfire Grill. Served with a Grain Belt on tap, it is essentially the perfect meal. The only downside was that it kept us full for far too long. We had too many things we wanted to try and, unfortunately, we were stuffed by 10:00 AM.

Since we couldn't eat anything after that walleye roll, we decided to explore the oddities. 

Some top-notch seed art and beeswax sculptures again this year. I appreciate the topical themes, burr bra notwithstanding.

The only reason I can ever convince Adam to visit the pet building is for the chance to pet a real live Golden Retriever. We were not disappointed.

Local legend Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods fame.
We briefly stalked followed him around the fairgrounds,
but he was not eating fast enough for us.

Still rockin' a slight fever and body aches
from an annoying summer cold,
but never too sick for the fair.
I even wore my best Minnesota shirt.

The delightful Ag-Hort Building, very crowded this year due to the addition of a much appreciated Minnesota craft brewing wing.

Someone put a lot of time and effort into this outstanding work of (political/agricultural) art. The liberals were very well represented amongst the seed art contestants again this year. The conservatives really need to step up their game if they wish to compete next year.

Requisite flower shot, but this one has a bonus honeybee, hard at work.

After breakfast and second breakfast, we moved on to strawberry smoothies, samples of local honey, 1919 root beer, cheese curds (let it be noted that Adam was highly opposed to the ketchup), roasted corn on the cob, caramel apples, fried pickle chips (disappointing for the second year in a row), a cannoli from Ole, and Swedish coffee. I find it best if you alternate your salty with your sweet, so after the cannoli, we finished our fried food fest with the world's greatest French fries.

My only regret is that we had but one day to devote to the fair this year. That meant we did not get to see the goats and/or Emily and/or Jake, but I did get to pet most of the rabbits, so there's that.

Secret fair tip: when you think you couldn't possibly handle any more fair food, head over to the Produce Exchange for an amazing giant peach. Worth every penny.

Yes, we are exactly as tired as we look.

Even though I uploaded 30-some odd photos, we still ate a bit more than pictured. I felt great. Adam, meanwhile, had to convince the late night hotel desk staff to part with some Tums - for a nominal price and charged to our room, of course. 

I'm already looking forward to next year!

Tour of Stillwater

We've been meaning to take an "official" tour of Stillwater, now that we've been residents for the past 5 and a half years. With family in town, this seemed like the perfect occasion.

We often see the historic trolleys amble past our home, and I was dying to know what they were saying about our street. As it turns out, most of the really interesting stories are on the North Hill. Our little corner of South Hill was considered "charming and quaint". I prefer "walkable and affordable", but both work. 

The Stillwater Lift Bridge, always an eye-catcher. Now with new girders!

I would (almost) kill for this conservatory. Imagine all the tea I could drink and all the croquet I could play! Neat fence, too. Lovely home. Not too quaint.

Adam is re-enacting the water line recorded during Stillwater's highest flood stage. Just below this mark ensures a successful drowning.

Lift Bridge closes on September 10. Traffic is about to get much worse for Wisconsinites.

Requisite candy stop. There are many delicious options for sweet treats downtown, although my personal favorite will always be the $1 box of Dots from Menards.

And finally, bird seed from the Farm Store. Someone needs to help those squirrels bulk up for winter. They seem to really enjoy the Cardinal Delight.

Ye Olde Stillwater. Pretend it's the 1960s.

A Night With Surly Syx

In conclusion, Surly Syx is crazy good. Nicole and I split the bottle 80/20. It had a lot of bright fruit flavors that helped to balance the insane 15.5% alcohol. Make no mistake, we could easily taste the alcohol on the back of the tongue, but the light malt mouthfeel, dynamic fruitiness, and deep oak flavors helped make this an amazing experience. Some people might scoff at $18 for a bottle, but since this is Surly's anniversary offering for 2012, we are unlikely to ever taste it again. The man who sold me Syx at the liquor store reluctantly offered his support to us for buying such an expensive bottle, but I doubt he would have batted an eye if I had paid the same for wine. Treat yourself and get a bottle while you can.