Captain's Blog 8/23/08....State Fair!

Hello again....we're in the middle of the "great Minnesota get-together". Otherwise known as the State Fair. Saturday, our Aquatennial gang gathered for the State Fair parade and here's the story!

First, this was our inaugural trip on the Aquatennial float with all of our Ambassadors, including the seniors. It was great to finally get everyone together. We met at the warehouse where the float is kept and shuttled ourselves over to the fairgrounds.

Emily, Tara and Jaclyn, very happy to be reunited again!

Now, it was a PERFECT day. 80 degrees, no humidity, sunny skies....the makings of a nightmare on the fairgrounds. I think the whole state attended that day. Looking down some of the streets on the fairgrounds was frightening. That's a lot of cheese curds.

We had some time to kill so while the senior Ambassadors took the float over to the lineup, the rest of us headed into the fair to do some mingling and, of course, get some food.

The world's greatest Turkey Sandwiches! Not to be
missed at the fair. Trust me.

Commodore Mary, Queen Tara, Princesses Jaclyn and Emily and Captain Rob and I made our first stop the WCCO Radio booth. If you have been reading this for a while, you know that Mary and I both work for WCCO (and Rob's wife does also) so we made this home base. We dropped our stuff there, said hello to a few people that were on the air and took a few photos. And, naturally, they made fun of me. When a guy who works for you comes up and slaps you on the butt and says "nice uniform Captain" you know you've made it. Dare to dream, right?

Our Ambassador Group on the WCCO
Radio Porch...sorry for the intrusion Denny Long!

We then headed over to the "Big Slide" (you know...the giant yellow slide you ride down in a potato sack) and the girls went for a ride. Luckily, we lost no crowns and maybe more importantly, the skirts stayed down! Phew.

Big Crowns in front of a Big Slide

By this point, I was suffering. I have the curse of hayfever and this time of year (late August through September) is pure torture. The fair does not help. Birthing barns do not help. Straw bails (not hay...they're straw....thank you Jenna) do not help. If you are a fellow allergy sufferer, you feel my pain. It's really hard to enjoy yourself when you eyes itch.

OK, enough of my problems but I feel better. Because I'm in an air-conditioned room right now.

It was now time to head over to the parade lineup....we helped set up the rest of the float (although the seniors did the majority of it already which was nice of them) and talked to a few people also in the parade. Atwater's Royalty was there who we see a lot over the summer. Yeah, they're the ones that ask me eight million questions about my personal life when I see them. At least someone is interested.

The Crew on the Float with Atwater

Anyway.....the parade was nice. A lot of people as I mentioned earlier. It's also very difficult to clear a parade route through the fair. When a man wants a Pork Chop on a stick, no parade will get in his way. I guarantee you that. Plus, every Mini-Donut stand you go by makes you almost pass out. They're so horribly delicious. I feel fat just typing this.

Speaking of food, the new thing this year is called a Pig-Licker (an unfortunate name if you ask me...but no one asked me). It's bacon, dipped in chocolate. Only the Minnesota State Fair can come up with this stuff.

I've actually tried it....we get to sample a lot of this stuff at the radio station. It tastes like bacon. You can hardly taste the chocolate. Bacon is overwhelming. So why not add chocolate to it? This is why people have diabetes. I think I'll have carrots for lunch.

Following the parade, it was back to the radio booth to change into civilian clothes....shorts, t-shirts, comfortable shoes, etc. We went across the street to Schumacher's where both Jaclyn and Tara's parents were. Yes, they found the place that does Wine Flights. Nice.

And you've been mentioned in the blog Tony....congratulations. Of course it was in conjunction with Wine Flights. Who's your Daddy!

Thanks for taking the picture Dad! From L-R:
Amy, Rob, Jaclyn, Tara, Emily, Me and Anne

We wandered the fair for a little while longer and I should mention that we were joined by Anne Sumangil who, again, if you've been reading this, you know who she is. She's on the Aquatennial board as a Vice-President and is the Director of the Aquatennial Candidate Program.

Anne has become a fast friend of Rob and I and we love it when she hangs out with us! Plus, the girls get to know her so well during their candidate week and it's fun for them to reunite.

After we all inhaled a bucket of French Fries (how on earth do they make those the greatest tasting fries of all time? They're unbelievable!), we parted ways and headed home. But the night was not done.

Saturday was also Tzvet's (our former Aquatennial Princess who crowned Jaclyn in July) 21st Birthday Party. Rob, Amy, Anne and I were meeting Tzvet and a group of her friends at Chino Latino in Uptown to toast her big day!

We enjoyed an always interesting Chino dinner (fish tacos with the HOTTEST Habenero sauce known to man, Jerk Chicken, etc....my mouth is still burning. But it was good!) then headed over to another Uptown hotspot for beverages.

The Crew at Chino Latino

It was so great to see Tzvet again....I've been able to catch up to our other former Princess Jenna a couple of times but had yet to see Tzvet. I've mentioned before what good friends Rob and I became with them and this reminded me how special the two of them really are. They are just awesome. We love you girls!

From L-R: Former Anoka Ambassador and
Aqua Princess Nichelle, Tzvet and Former Anoka Ambassador Christina

Another weekend under our belt and we are now preparing for a few more big events. Here's what's on tap (I should get a beer sponsor for this):

Saturday, August 30th: Rob and Emily are in Dassel for a parade and coronation

Friday, September 5th: Mary, Tara, Jaclyn and I will be in Oak Grove for their coronation

Saturday, September 6th: All six of us (Mary, Tara, Jaclyn, Emily, Rob and I) are in Gibbon for their coronation and Rob and I will be staying for the Fireman's Dance that night. Because sometimes, you just need to dance. Right. I wouldn't believe a word I write after that last statement.

Sunday, September 7th: Mary, Tara and all of the Senior Ambassadors will be in Northfield for the Defeat of Jesse James Days Parade which I've heard is a blast...get there and check it out if you can.

And again, the end of the month we are all in LaCrosse for Oktoberfest...we are all really looking forward to that and hope to see many of you there. By the way, if you don't have a hotel room, you're out of luck...couple friends of mine tried to get a room couple of weeks ago and the hotels they called laughed at them. No kidding. Booked a year in advance. This will be interesting.

Talk to all of you soon!

Lindsey Peterson
2008 Captain
Minneapolis Aquatennial