What would summer be without a trip to the Fair?

Last night we went to the Boone County Fair. We went mainly to show Meredith the advertised “3,000 animal exhibits.”

It was an interesting experience for me since the only other “county” fairs I’d been to are the L.A. County Fair and the Orange County Fair. Both of these fairs are gigantic. It was fun to go to a much-smaller fair for a change.

I think some people in the family thought that, since I grew up in Los Angeles, I’d never seen a cow before. In order to set the record straight, the L.A. County Fair has numerous animal exhibits, including cows, pigs, goats, chickens, etc. Who would’ve thought?

At the L.A. County fair, you can “learn to milk a goat, sample some of the freshest ice cream around, and meet an assortment of friendly barnyard animals.”

In fact, “last year, over 60 animals were born during the Fair.” At the L.A. County fair you can “visit an array of baby animals and their parents living pastures, just as they would on the farm.”

Don't ask me where the farm is in L.A. where all these animals come from but, apparently, it exists somewhere.

Actually, I have a distinct childhood memory of my mother buying me “fresh” unprocessed milk from a stand at the fair. The stand was strategically located near the smelly cow barn.

My sisters and I would’ve rather died than drink that milk.

That is one thing about growing up in L.A. – maybe you’ve seen cows before but you’d like to think that milk comes from a machine instead. Eggs too.

But, back to last night … I think the most fun part was a show they had going on called “The Fair Factor.” It was a take-off of “The Fear Factor” show.

The contestants had to eat something called “1,000 Year Old Eggs.” These apparently are a delicacy in Asian cultures. They are preserved duck eggs and, when cracked open, look like black jelly. The first contestant kept gagging and gagging.

Kevin was disgusted and left but I, personally, thought it was very funny.