Yesterday Earl and I visited the Allegan County Fair. It was like catching up with an old friend whom we hadn’t seen in a couple years. The parking fee had increased, but other than that all was as it was before. We parked in a field and took a tractor pulling a wagon to the main attractions.
We saw old food favorites: funnel cakes, French fries, pulled pork. But we passed them all in favor of local fare. For example, we bought chili from the moms who were staffing the local high school booth, trying to raise money for their football team. We bought French fries from some local vendor who gave us an enormous portion called “Small.” Finally, we shared pumpkin pie that was baked locally by another organization that eludes me at the moment. We hoped our dollars stayed close to home.
Then we headed to the livestock barns and saw what the county had to offer. Having just returned from Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota, I am not sure what we expected. The truth is nothing was as spectacular as in the West, but nevertheless it was amazing. Chickens, roosters, goats, pigs, cows, horses – you name it. Van Buren County had a category for it. My favorite was the draft horses, probably because this provided a week off for them in their regular duties. After all, I just came back from vacation.
Heading home, we stopped at DiMaggio’s for pizza crammed with double sausage and onion. All in all it was a most carb-intensive day. And fun!
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