The Great Minnesota Get-Together6
andrea posted in Detours on September 8th, 2008
Minnesotans sure like our State Fair. It’s often cited as one of the most successful and well-loved of the dying breed of State Fairs in the US. It helps that it’s located in the heart of the St. Paul area rather out in the sticks somewhere, so we’re reminded of it all year long.
Last year, I said I wasn’t going to go back to the Fair for a few years because I’d had my fill of crowds, heat, and deep fried concoctions on a stick. But the fact that the ‘Ploob’s stay here coincided with this yearly event was too good to pass up. Not only that, but my sister was visiting from Boston and she was feeling the urge to take a trip to the Great Minnesota Get-Together. So we gathered up the fam and hopped on a park-n-ride.
I kind of thought my family would think I was nuts when I pulled the Bitwrathploob out of my bag. I’d explained the concept and they kind of got it - “sort of like a traveling garden gnome,” my sister said.
But maybe weirder looking.
The first thing we did after fighting our way through throngs of Minnesotans was to stop at a coffee stand and sample the Mocha on a Stick. Every year there are several new foods and much time in spent anticipating and debating the latest culinary offerings. The Mocha on a Stick was excellent, especially since no one got the idea to deep fry it. I’m sure that will happen next year.
The carnivores in the family also couldn’t pass up a pronto pup. I had to admit I had a fond memory for the pronto pups of my youth. Hopefully the ‘Ploob will have a fond memory of his time with Pronto Pup man. Don’t ask me why he’s wearing a sombrero (full-length view here).
On the way to the Dairy Building (home of the best ice cream at the State Fair and — most (in)famously — Princess Kay of the Milky Way), we saw a kerfuffle ahead. Al Franken, Democratic candidate for the US Senate, and well-known comedian/satirist, was speaking. The ‘Ploob got a boost from my dad so he (it?) could see better.
The unairconditioned Dairy Building was packed with a mile-long line of sweaty Minnesotans trying to get some of that fantastic Dairy Building ice cream. But we managed to shoulder in close enough to the butter sculpture area before spilling back out of the building and basking in the breeze.
The Princess Kay of the Milky Way butter sculptures are one of the most famous aspects of the Minnesota State Fair. Every year there’s a competition among the young women from Minnesota dairy farming families and a whole set of Princesses is crowned. Princess Kay of the Milky Way is like the prom queen of the State Fair. The entire royal court is sculpted in butter over the course of the State Fair. Since we went towards the end of the Fair, we got to see most of the completed sculptures.
It’s also not much of a trip to the State Fair without checking out some of the farm animal judging, and some of the handicrafts.
The goats and alpacas were particularly cute. I thought the ‘Ploob looked like a distant relation of these Suri alpacas.
We also checked out the Creative Activities building, where you can look at beribboned fiber arts, woodcrafts, and all sorts of other crafts.
Perhaps the ‘Ploob would like to try flying himself (itself?) to his next vacation spot?
On the way out of the fair, we stopped to take a photo at the Space Tower (which is its official name, though I think we all call it the Space Needle as though it could compare to Seattle’s famous landmark). If you were to take a ride up to the top of the Space Needle, you’d get a nice view of the Twin Cities.
It’s impossible to see all of the Minnesota State Fair. We didn’t even get to the Midway area. But the ‘Ploob got a taste of it. And was probably wondering how he got stuck here, and feeling a bit wistful for his days visiting beautiful European architecture or the lush landscapes of New Zealand.
The very next day, the ‘Ploob did get a chance to see a beautiful landscape unique to this part of the world. But that is a topic for another post.
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