Dutchess County Fair

We've miss the Dutchess County Fair for at least the last two years. Last year we ran out of weekends to go and the year before it was called off for Covid. It's funny how Covid now seems like a distant nightmare that happened a long time ago and the fact it lasted over two years and everything was shut down during a good portion of that time seems so unreal. Teri and I had plans to get a 2nd booster some time in June that has passed. We made that plan just after getting our first booster. Rarely is Covid talked about now, except when they say this program or that program has been scaled back.

Nastia wanted to go to the Dutchess County Fair the most. I wanted to go, but I was not going to push Teri and if she didn't want to go, I wasn't going to go. One evening about mid-week Nastia asks about the fair. I look at Teri and she says she doesn't want to go. I tell the girls that it looks like the three of us only. Teri asks if I'm going to ask Nancy. I say, no. She usually doesn't go along without Teri.

A while later Teri says if she goes can Nancy go too. I tell her, she sure can. In passing Teri says she doesn't want to spend the whole day there. I tell her we leave at nine (9:30, Muller time) and we'll go at 4 (4:40 Hilby time, I'll explain later) Teri seems to like the idea. Nastia spends the night over her friends Jessie's house, before that she has Keshon, I think that is his name. He colors her hair black. She spends a little time with him after the hair coloring (W,W,N,N*) and she sends me a

picture that evening of it. I thought it would look bad, but she looks pretty good and Keshon did a good job coloring it. She also texts she'll be at the house at 6 AM the next morning. When she is late, the next morning, yes, I will tease her about it. The next morning we are in the car and rolling down the driveway at 9:22. We'll pick Nancy up at about 9:40 and are on the road. In previous years we tried all kinds of different routes to the fair. This year I remembered all the draw backs of those other routes and tell Teri the best route is stright up the thruway over the Rhinecliff bridge. We talk about it and I reminder her about all of the stop lights and traffic on route 9 and we head up the thruway. Traffic is heavy, but moving. It's mid-morning on a Sunday, I'd think it should be heavy south, but later in the day. The shy is bright blue and the weather says it will be in the low 90's today. It's weather I'll love, but not so much Teri. On the way up Teri tells me she will need gas. I tell her to wait, let's get it up there. I'm thinking it will be cheaper. She doesn't like to drive with less then a 1/4 tank of gas so as we get closer to the fair she starts getting nervous. I, on the other hand will wait to get gas until the little light on the gas gauge comes on and then I'll go get gas. Teri says she is waiting for the day I run out. Up the Thruway she goes on her quarter tank of gas. At the Rheincliff bridge exit, I start to look for gas stations we pass one and then another sneaks past us. We pull into the fair with about an eighth of a tank. THe car predicts we can go another eighty miles. Teri is not happy. We walk from the car taking note that we are in lot D to the right (to the left if your walking toward the fair) of a tall group of trees. We find bathrooms (always after a long trip) Teri commenting that when we parked on the

other side even though we had to pay, we were right next to the bathrooms. Our next event is to walk through the buildings that have all the stuff you can buy and things like the 4H. It's mostly booths selling things, jewelry, pickles, dip mixes. There is no buying right now. No one wants to carry it around with them all day long. Everyone is hungry, except for me.The bagel I had in the morning is still with me. Nastia has rice and beans for $14.00 (I'll resist complaining about how expensive the food at the fair is). Elena will eat the same thing except with a few more items mixed in it later in the day.I don't think Teri buys anything, she just samples everyone else's food. Nancy, I think gets a sandwich. Later the girls will have corn on the cob. Elena's is dipped in butter. Nastia doesn't want her's in butter. While eating it she'll say it doesn't taste cooked. I try it and it seems fine. It is noted in passing, I do believe the danger girls have passed into history. Granted the selection of rides were very poor this year, but it is distressing to hear the two of them say that they are getting too old for that stuff. I told them the heck they are. Never say that your too old to do something. Why put limits on what you can do. I guess Halloween will still be dead this year for them. Either way the memory of the danger girls will live on. The sky is blue, the heat is up, so where else should we go, but the cow barns. When we get there, every once in a while Teri will go, "Joe come here, I've found

MOOOsha." or she'll say, "I will buy you and name you SPOT-A-kiss!!"

About four we start to head towards the exit. The girls say they want to see that german juggler we see every year. I look at his scheadule and like the last time we were at the fair, he is where we exit and he was going on in

ten minutes. We stop, Teri, Nancy and I sit on a stone wall. The girls get up close and personal. His show is basicly the same with a few new bits and a few old bits were dropped. The girls love his show. Near the end, Teri is hot and tired. She asks if she can go to the car. Now she asks in the way that it really wasn't an ask, so to provent any drama and why shouldn't she go if she wants to I tell her I'll meet her in the car with the girls. Nancy follows Teri a little while later. About quarter to five the show is over and the girls and I head to the car. A stop at one of the gas stations we passed in the morning and we are on our way home. We're home before seven, everyone showers and at least Teri and I settle in front of the TV. The girls, well they are still in their twenties and god I wish I was that young again.... /