Day Two Hundred Five

Dear Readers,
      The OC Fair has to be on your summer bucket list.  Especially if you are a food lover such as myself.  So many different things to try.  Including an awesome twist to your every day funnel cake.  I know that you are thinking that a funnel cake is already fantastic and how could it get any better.  Especially with the strawberries and whipped cream on top.  Let me introduce you to the Mexican Funnel Cake.  Instead of regular old batter used as the base, try out a base made of churros.  You can't tell me churros aren't already delicious, and then turn it into a funnel cake with strawberries, whipped cream, and caramel sauce on top.  Awesome.  I am not one for sweets, but this one takes the cake.  Even though I can't eat very much sweets before I get sugar overload, I didn't want to stop eating this fantastic desert.  If you go to the fair this summer, you have to try the Mexican Funnel cake, your taste buds will thank me.  They even sell a jumbo version of a regular size one.  Chris and Liz decided to share the jumbo size.  Their eyes were bigger then their stomachs.  Raina and I couldn't even finish off a regular together.  Brandon and Brooke finished off their regular, barely.  My suggestion is to attack it as a group.  Sharing is caring.

The Before...

...and the after.

Notice the actual unfinished one in the backround.

I think I'm gonna be sick.

Brandon happily finished his.

      One of our traditions of going to the fair is to see the extra large versions of regular animals.  They have a giant horse named Hercules and a giant steer, whose name is escaping me right now.  Either way, it is a buck to go in and see them and we do it every year.  This year, they added a giant alligator to the fold.  That seemed like it was going to be totally cool.  Of course I had to set aside time to see the giant alligator that can hold his breath underwater for almost eight hours.  We finally made it in to see this monstrosity, only to be completely disappointed.  It wasn't nearly as large as I thought it was going to be and it didn't move the entire time we were in there.  I could have sworn it was either dead or a fake.  It's "eyes" were closed, which made it look totally fake.  Raina even asked if it was actually alive, which they claim it is.  Fat chance, what a waste of a buck that was.  It didn't move or flinch or bat an eye.  Just looked like a big fake rubber lizard sitting in the water.  The steer was much more entertaining.  There are clear signs to not touch the animal at all.  This thing is huge and I don't see how their little cage could keep it in if it went into a rage and really wanted to get out.  It was tied with one single rope.  Some joker behind us in line decided to pet the but of the animal, which made it flinch and move around it what looked like apparent anger.  Chris and I were ready to get out of there.  It looked like it was ready to take off and drag that weak cage with it where ever it pleased.  Which could have been right at either one of us.  Well, at least we knew it was alive.
      I always joke with Brooke about her broken body.  She has a bad shoulder which could use a surgery to fix whatever problem she has.  It comes from years of playing volleyball and doing gymnastics.  Now she has shoulder, elbow, neck, knee, and you name whatever else you can think of problems.  So much so that she can't even bowl or throw a ball around too much.  So I am always joking that there is always something new breaking down on her.  Just like an old car, falling apart with age.  At the fair, she managed to find a booth that was selling a special cold therapy, that can be strapped onto your body wherever you have pain.  They had a mannequin set up with about four or five varieties that they sell on it.  I joked that it was going to be Brooke after she bought them all up and started wearing them on all her ailments.  It was tailor made for her.  Hopefully it will give her the relief it needs, or at least a few more jokes for me.

Brooke's future.

This Day In History: 1996
The U.S. women's gymnastics team wins its first Olympic gold medal.  The win was clinched by a dramatic vault from 18 year old Kerri Strug, who made the vault with a badly sprained ankle.

Born This Day: 1936
Don Drysdale - American professional baseball player. (Dodgers)

"As man draws nearer to the stars, why should he not also draw nearer to his neighbor?"

-Lyndon B. Johnson

Chris Allen about to visit Big Al the alligator.