Riding John Deere at the state fair

No chocolate-covered bacon this time.

And, surprisingly, no elephant ears. Wonder how that happened.

But we did pet a rooster, bought homemade biscuits for Buddy, and ran into a few old friends.

It’s Florida State Fair time.

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But we did pet a rooster, bought homemade biscuits for Buddy, and ran into a few old friends.

It’s Florida State Fair time.

Been a while — probably 13 years or so. One of our first real dates for Deb and me, and it nearly broke us up before we got started. And gave us a lesson in communication.

Shortly inside the front gate is the John Deere exhibit. Deb and I had wandered over there, watching the old John Deere tractor engines.

I’m thinking, “Geez, this girl’s into tractors. Wonder if I can ditch her after the ride home.”

Meanwhile Deb’s thinking, “Geez, this guy’s into tractors. Wonder if I can ditch him before getting into the car to go home.”

We laugh about that now and, of course, have never had a communication issue since then (with tractors).

We haven’t been back to the state fair in years, and Wednesday seemed like the time to go. I took a few photos, including the one of us at a small bridge with the midway in the background.

It brought us back to our first visit. It was cold, and we huddled for a photo at that same bridge.

Highlight that day? Eating bacon dipped in chocolate, and, because that wasn’t enough buying not one but TWO elephant ears and dipping THOSE in chocolate. And we came THIS CLOSE to asking a stranger if she was going to finish her elephant ear.​

Cracker Country is a must-see for any state fair visit. We walked into the old church and found these musicians jamming folk gospel. 

Every Florida kid and his parents should visit Cracker Country at least once. Its history, geography, and entertainment all wrapped into one.

(Note to Just Wright Citrus teachers: Are kids even taught Florida history/geography? Can they name all 67 counties?)

(That’s a future blog: Florida counties. I’m not sure I could get them all, but I doubt I’d miss more than four or five. Without a map.)

(Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Dixie, Alachua, Marion, St. Johns, Pasco, Sumter, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, Manatee, Leon, Collier, Lee, Hendry, Miami-Dade, Brevard, Okeechobee, Okaloosa, Bay, Duval, Flagler, Monroe, Nassau, Lake, Volusia, Taylor, Orange, Gadsden. Hmm. This is harder than I thought.)

We were leaving Cracker Country, walking past the band playing to several packed benches, and darned if isn’t Rekindled Bits of Grass — the same group that played in my yard at the former Just Wright Citrus World Headquarters on the shores of Big Lake Henderson for Mike’s 65th and Bluegrass.

C.J. McClellan leads the band, and he’s somehow loosely related to Dale McClellan, who owns M&B Dairy in Lecanto. Dale was also out there, and isn’t it just fun to run into friends randomly while visiting someplace outside our home base?

If you have a chance to run into Rekindled Bits of Grass anywhere, it’s worth your while to do so.

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Just like the Citrus County Fair, the state fair has a huge livestock barn. However, unlike the county fair, live animals are born in this one.

They call it the Mooternity Ward. While we witnessed no live births Wednesday, there were two sets of twins born that day.

I find this fascinating on so many levels. The randomness of being at the state fair when a calf is born. Being able to witness that miracle as it happens. And then watch as the little guy or gal takes its first wobbly steps.

Just a beautiful thing to see.​

Every fair needs people dragging a bass drum and cracking jokes. The entertainer behind us spent the entire day counting — out loud — couples kissing. It was Valentine’s Day. When we left he was up to the 600s.

The state fair is fun, goofy, educational, and expensive. The admission ticket isn’t terrible — $16 adults, $11 kids, and $11 seniors (woo hoo!) — but once inside, food and drink are pretty much arena concession prices.

That said if you’re into fairs you’ll like this one. It runs through Monday at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. Here's the link.

Have a fair Friday, friends.

(Polk, St. Lucie, Santa Rosa, Osceola, Charlotte, Baker, DeSoto, Franklin, Hardee, Madison, Washington…)

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