The Fair is a Veritable Smorgasbord

This weekend Melissa and I went to the North Carolina State Fair. Before this state fair experience, I had been to the Wisconsin State Fair and Melissa had never been to any state fair. As I expected, the fair was for the most part the same fair that is in every state.

Lots of really unhealthy, but really tasty food. And some animals and mullets.

The NC fair, however, was unusual in a few notable ways. First of all, NC is the South. Anytime you do anything in the South, you are bound to encounter all shapes, sizes, and personalities of rednecks. I understand that Illinois and Indiana have their fair share of rednecks, but nothing is quite like a southern redneck. They are beyond accurate description and are only fully appreciated when observed.

The other notable aspect of the NC state fair was the benches and benches full of cured tobacco. I'm not sure if this is peculiar to North Carolina or if it's something peculiar to the South in general, but it was a very new and unusual experience for me. And, if benches full of drying tobacco was not enough for you, the fair generously provided homemade spittoons at the end of each bench. Each seemed to be made from whatever tin can was lying nearby. The friends we were with strongly recommended not picking up a leaf and giving it a chew unless we really wanted quite the buzz. I think I was in too great a state of shock to even process why anyone would want to pick up a leaf and chew on it. Definitely a highlight/favorite story from the fair this year.

I did actually try a fried Snickers this year, and it was better than I expected, but I kind of felt like I was eating a corn dog with powdered sugar on it and melted chocolate inside. Strange.