THE FAIR 2015 ~ Day 7

Today started out with laundry and emails and a reminder that the electrician is coming tomorrow morning. Oh joy. As much as I try to ignore real life during the Fair, it has a way of sneaking in when I am distracted by corn dog earrings. Blah.

The one on the left is half-eaten.  And no, I didn't eat it.  It came that way.

But then things started to happen that suggested the day it might be a Day to Remember for all times and for all Fairs to come. Emails were exchanged, voicemails, were left, and then a rendezvous arranged.

When Rob and I arrived at the Fair, we high-tailed it to the Llama Greenway, chatted with Shannon, made a phone call, dressed the llamas in their superhero costumes (what, were you not expecting that sentence?), and then waited.

We answered all sorts of questions from a young guy named Justin (more on that in a bit) while excitedly and hopefully not too obviously scanning all four entrances to the llama area.

Just when we were starting to wonder if a more pressing engagement had pre-empted us, They arrived.

We scurried into place, made sure Shannon was front and center as our spokesperson, got our cameras in focus, and then watched in awe as the stars and planets took that final click into perfect alignment.

When we were finally ready for photo-ops, my head utterly exploded from the epicness of This Moment and This Picture:

My life is complete and my mind remains blown.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! ME! With the Fair Court AND my most favorite llamas on the planet! My two passions colliding on one small patch of hay! Together, like besties! 4ever and ever!

The three girls were so sweet and seemed genuinely interested in Rojo and Smokey and the work they do. I know they were asking a lot of questions, but I honestly can’t remember much of the conversation because I just kept trying to wrap my head around the dream come true that was happening in front of me.  O M G!!!

Perhaps my most favorite moment, though, came when I was behind the camera and taking a picture of the royalty and the super llamas. As I was making sure all five of them were in the shot, I gushed that I was a big fan and then tentatively revealed, “I’m your blogger stalker.”

I wish I had snapped a photo the very next second. Instead, I will replay the moment in my head forever and ever. The moment when the three of them lit up with excitement and recognition and smiles (insert sigh of relief here). The moment when Princess Tessa said, “I KNEW you looked familiar!!” The moment when they complimented my blogs and shared that a dad was a fan, too. The moment when the explosion of my head was complete.

OMG.

So needless to say, I’m still giddy and pretty much looked like this the rest of the day:

Jazz hands for daaaaays!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Pam and Leona and Missy and Tessa and Brooke for making today’s legendary moment and photo possible. As soon as the Fair is over and I have detoxed and recovered, that photo is being printed and framed and displayed proudly in a place of honor at Woodhaven.


Rojo had a moment, too
So while we were restlessly waiting for the Fair Court’s arrival, a nice guy with a press pass wandered into the Llama Greenway. He was wanting to know about llamas and obstacle courses so we directed him to Shannon, our media spokesperson (hey, Shannon – you should put that on your business card!).

They chatted along, Shannon expertly answering all of Justin’s camelid questions. The Q&A was just wrapping up and Justin was just turning off his recorder when he overheard someone say “Rojo.”

“WHOA!!! WAIT!!! Is that Rojo?? Rojo the Therapy Llama?!?”

Despite signs plastered about confirming exactly that, Justin suddenly realized he was in the presence of one of his superheroes. In mere seconds, Justin morphed from calm writer-on-assignment to giddy über fan barely containing his excitement. Many photos and social media posts soon followed with glee.

I know just how you feel, Justin.

This selfie was immediately Tweeted and posted to Instagram.
#llamatakeaselfie

One hour under hypnosis is medically the same as 8 hours of quality sleep. That alone makes me game.
I am planning on posting a quick story on the newspaper blog about our favorite hypnotist. I happened to see him tonight before a show so I went over and chatted with him (look at the introvert being all bold!). Such a nice man! With such an interesting story.

Jerry used to be a fancy-pants (my term not his) investment banker. He was in charge of millions of dollars, 24-7, and was a total stress monkey. The stress was so intense, he got a bleeding ulcer and was eventually told he had 6 months to live if he didn't figure out a way to become more Zen.

Eventually, after everything else failed miserably, Jerry flew to LA to see the best hypnotherapist money could buy (because, well, he had a lot of it). He sat down with lots of cynicism and was determined he was going to prove this woo-woo doc wrong.

All through the session, Jerry had a running dialog in his head about how it wasn't working and it couldn't work and he had to get back home to manage those millions of dollars and isn't this guy done yet.

Then the therapist put his thumb on Jerry's forehead and told him his eyes were glued shut. He then instructed Jerry to try to open his eyes. Jerry had no choice but accept he was hypnotized when he couldn't even pry open his eyes with his hands.

Yes, Jerry remembers all of this and yes, he was hypnotized. And yes, it worked. That was over 20 years ago. No more ulcer and no more crazy ulcer-inducing career.

Jerry says he retired at 39 and now just travels around to fairs all over the country and gets to introduce people to an amazing therapeutic option for many of life's struggles. Although his show is super entertaining and hysterical (oh my gosh, "Who's your daddy?!"), there is a lot of education tucked in to hopefully demystify what is actually an incredibly safe and surprisingly effective treatment option for all sorts of stuff. The fact that Jerry gets paid to entertain and educate about the path that saved his life is just buttercream icing on his retirement cake. Rock on, Jerry.

I envy their sleep.  And OOOH!  That's Usher there in the backwards baseball hat!
He gave quite a concert.  And has no memory of it.

Today wasn’t all about llamas and the Fair Court
But really, it sort of was. I mean, that’s all I can remember without consulting my photos from the day.

It turns out, though, that we also saw a monkey show (cute but a little slow-paced). And met the Grand Champion Hog (he is going to market this weekend so time is running out to meet Boss Hog). And watched our favorite hypnotist (Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!). And I took a gorgeous sunset Ferris Wheel ride with my boyfriend (that would be Rob, people.  No rumors please.).

All in all, a truly fantastic day at the Fair.

Fair Day Data

• Total walking logged on my pedometer: 3.36 miles
• Time at which we saw today’s first set of Magic Brooms being carried around: 8:27pm
• Re-entry hand stamp: squirrel

Fair Food Feast Parade!
Today was sweet in so many ways. My teeth hurt. And my tummy is rebelling just a tiny bit but not enough to concern me. Thank goodness. Cuz I still have me some eating to do and only three more days to do it. Wooooo!

Not entirely sure why I am drinking vegetables on the way to the Fair.
The Spicy Hot version is my favorite, though. 

Cold caffeine.  I rarely have caffeine hot or cold, so this really
is a departure from real life.  Oh, and I shared my Coke with Courtney.

Messy Mexi-Dog from the Dogville stand.  It was ok but the cheese sauce,
sour cream, salsa, and jalapenos kept sliding off.  It was messy and all the
good stuff ended up in my dish.  I used it as dip.

Arrrgh, I'm a confection-eating pirate!
Super frozen banana but loved the chocolate and sprinkles.

My own creation:  The Jolly Rancher!
Watermelon and Green Apple syrups.
Very bold and tasty, until the syrups mixed at the end.
Then it tasted sort of weird and icky.

The long awaited Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!
Dipped in chocolate!
Yes, I did!
The bacon was inside so it was deep fried, too.
Verdict:  Weird.  Not bad but not nearly the taste bud fun-house I was expecting.
The flavors didn't really add anything to each other and didn't blend.
Bacon is good, peanut butter cups are good.  So I suggest having them separately.
There's no synergy in combining them (look at me, using a corporate buzz word from the '90s to talk about Fair Food!)

And just because I needed a little more grease to cap off the evening:
a corn dog.  To match my earrings.