I forgot the Danger Girls Reappear at the Dutchess County Fair.

This happened on Sunday August 28, 2016 right after we did Slide the City
     Last Year I had to push for the Dutchess County Fair over Great Adventure. I know Great Adventure has all these great rides and it's all a great adventure,wow, yeah, but I can't go on the rides because of my neck and the food is awful there and very expensive. Yes, I know the food at every enclosed type of place is expensive, but at the Dutchess County Fair there is such a large variety and they are not owned by the Fair, and you do get some good food occasionally.
     We got up around eight or so with the plan of getting to the fair by eleven, so we could leave at six to go to the beach the next day. We got up around eight, Teri and I at seven, the girls at eight, we ate breakfast and picked Nancy up by ten. The GPS in the car said to take the Thruway up to an exit 19 Kingston, then go across the Hudson and enter into Rhinebeck from the north. I wanted to park in the lots near the fair grounds that are peoples lawns and are a short walk to the Fair. I knew that way and liked where we parked before. Teri thought going over the Tappan Zee bridge up the Taconic would be good. We decided to go the GPS said was best, I planned to go off that route to park where I wanted to.
We head up the Thruway and for some dumb reason I try getting off in Monroe, Route 17 instead of Newburgh twenty-five miles further north. I get back on get off in Newburgh, GPS is telling me I'm wrong to do it and it seems giving me attitude about it. I cross over the Newburgh- Beacon Bridge and go up Route 9 instead of going the Taconic like GPS wanted me to. I go through towns and stop at traffic lights and about half way through this it hits me maybe GPS was right this was not a good way to go. I turned a just under two hour trip into two and a half hours, but I did get to park where I wanted.
     We prepaid for our tickets and breezed into the fair. Our first stop, the long anticipated bathrooms. How sweet it was. Yeah, you know what I mean.
     We walk through some of the craft buildings and Teri gets a few things she likes to get there and then we get something to eat. I have been looking forward to the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich from that other vendor for a year, I knew where he was last year and I go there and he is not there. I hit this other one and to my horror after the first bit, it was the same one from last year, they moved and the other one did not come back. After a couple of bites of an overly air pumped bread, with imitation cheese sauce running down my wrist, Nasta asks me if I'm enjoying my sandwich. I ate it because I couldn't waste the eight dollars it cost me to purchase it. I should of read last years blog about the purchase experience and seeing the other vendor. I would of been sure to figure out what not to buy. When they were putting the sandwich together I had a sinking feeling that something was wrong. The Roll didn't look like a good one and the meat was all dried out and the onions and peppers were all 'been on the grill to long', but the price was the correct price.

     Well Iv'e finally learned my lesson, next year I go to the pizza guy who gave discount refills and get a slice and the discount refills there.
   

After food we wandered up toward the Animals and the girls wanted to pet all them. In all Barns there were signs to use the soap dispensers provided after leaving the barns. Mostly the girls did, but when they didn't and reached for my cup of soda or water for a drink, I recoil in horror and make them wash there hands, I'm becoming such a germ freak.
     It was getting late and as we wondered toward the exit.Someone notices the motorcycle/ ATV jumpers and everyone wanders towards it. We waste sometime there, then we decide we would eat at the fair to save some money. So We wander toward the midway until someone notices the pig races, yes we stay there for a while until we notice it doesn't start for half an hour.
We resume our wander toward the midway, until yes again someone notices the dog training tent and there is a show they at setting up for, and yes again we wait for a while until someone realizes it is getting late and we need to eat and we leave. We stop at a place set up by the local water company to wash your hand or get some cool water. Finally we get back to the midway. Nastia and Elena have corn,Teri eventually gets a Brisket sundae. I find the fact that they mix brisket, mashed potatoes and gravy all together disgusting. I thought I was over that, but I can't even look at it while Teri eats it, she loves it. I got a small thing of Pierogies anticipating eating Ice Cream before we left, and I did. We left the fair closer to eight then six or even seven. We went home the way we came and with no traffic it was a little over two hours when we got home. Great time. Now Tomorrow the beach.

Elena's Birthday, NOT NUMBER SIXTEEN!!!! OH NO!!

I am writing this a month after her birthday. Number sixteen, wow. That funny little kid who asked for my camera in Birobidjon by saying "fleas, papa fleas" and putting her hand in my pocket to get the camera is sixteen. Back in Russia I gave her the camera and she and her sister went around taking pictures of everyone. Who they are, they don't remember.
    Elena's birthday was on a Wednesday this year. We went to a BBQ place on Erie Street in Blauvelt called Bailey's. It was just a bar forever and one day their were a bunch of cars outside of it. I didn't think twice about it until Teri said they are cooking up some pretty good BBQ there now. We tried it about a year and a half ago. It was pretty good.
     They have a corn souffle that Teri loved and she found a recipe that I think is better then there's.
     We went to Bailey's and Elena was allowed to bring her boyfriend Mat with her. It was busy and they put us down stairs.
      We ordered an appetizer called burnt ends.

The main meal was family style (one big combination plate of food) something called the boneyard. It was Ribs, baby back and regular, chicken with three sides. Nastia, who doesn't like BBQ and had a shrimp wrap. There was enough food left over for leftovers a few days later. The place was loud and you couldn't talk, just yell. It was a nice night.
     Then about two weeks later, on a Saturday, at the house we had cake and guests over. My Mom, Karl, Madeline, Mat again, David, Nancy, Amanda and Nick all came over for Ice Cream Cake. It was a loud and nice night. About a month or so later Mat and Elena broke up.

Hi Tor Animal Shelter

I don't know how this will go, but the girls joined by my wife have gone to Hi Tor to take a class so they can do volunteer work at the shelter.
    I'd like to take credit for the girls volunteering, but Hi Tor was Teri's idea. Somewhere in the past Teri and I had talked about Hi Tor and the Girls volunteering. Nothing went forward. About a week ago I was thinking about Ryan and the volunteer work that was required for him and Cory to graduate High School. And the idea hit me that maybe by getting Elena involved in stuff she would be inspired to be more in this world. And want to do betterin school and have a goal. I thought Ambulance Corp. I told Teri and my Mother the idea and both came up the same reason it was not a good idea.
     Sally Ann had been a member of the Ambulance Corp. and quit because of the emonational stress it caused her. The Car accidents, drug over doses, things that I din't want thegirls to experence. My Mom said my brother Karl when he was about 17-18 joined and didn't last for the same reasons. Then Teri brings up the animal shelter again. And again I said it was a good idea.
      It was left sitting there again until today. During the week I'd signed the girls up for Russian at the ols Congers Elementry School for eleven weeks on Monday from 5-6pm. I didn't want to let anothergood idea go to waste. I looked up the web site, printed out the information and the girls looked it over and Elena came down very interested in it. The Web site instructions were very confusing, so when Teri got home she went over them and managed to figureout you needed to write the shelter first. The problem was the meeting for trainees was today. Teri e-mailed last night and surprised me by adding her own name to the list. And then this morning I got an other surprise when they replied it wasn't tolateto go to the meeting today. Paper work was filled out and off they went to the meeting.