Keeping a tradition
One of the first dates I asked JoAnne to go on was to the Steuben County Fair. We remember eating spaghetti at an Italian stand where I learned how to twirl spaghetti on my fork against a spoon rather than cut it up. After that, one of our annual dates was a trip to the New York State Fair. While we lived in Syracuse, we kept this tradition going by visiting the fair annually. We love ogling all the exhibits. JoAnne seeks out the needlework shows since that is one of her hobbies. I love the farm animal and farm equipment exhibits because of my farm upbringing. Both of us enjoy historical and travel exhibits and some vendors exhibits, though there are always more of these latter type than anyone can handle. We admit, we missed our traditional trip to the NYS Fair this year. But when we heard about the Big E, an exposition for all six New England states, we jumped at the chance to go. Maybe this would be much like the Fair.
The Big E
JoAnne and I arrived through gate 10 in the late morning on Friday, Sept. 27. It was about the only day we were free to go. But the weather was perfect and it was the day the big horses were showing –perfect for me. We start with the nearest farm building which today houses an eclectic collection of alpacas, goats, and sheep. We ask a question or two of an alpaca keeper and go through the wool exhibit too. Outside is the butter sculpture. Now there is a memory—