foreign state fairs and snickerdoodles

Me as Martha Midway, the Arizona State Fair mascot 

I couldn't believe my luck. The Arizona State Fair was happening in Phoenix while I was in town!

My conference ended after lunch so Annie and I spent the afternoon running errands, baking cookies, and taking a necessary nap.

I don't want to say that I was disappointed, because I have a special place in my heart for State Fairs and the states that still have them. But there's no place like home, really.

The open class culinary depart consisted of three lonely cases tucked in the corner of the commercial building. The other open class division had more entries. Like Indiana quilts were popular. There were other interesting entries that you don't see in Indiana- gemstones and Native American crafts.

The 4-H projects had a little bigger presence, although this is THE culinary display. I comforted myself with the fact that Arizona only has 15 counties vs. Indiana's 92, although I'm not sure if the State Fair 4-H projects funnels through the counties like Indiana's does.

There were several cool exhibits. One to fallen Arizona soldiers that was sad and lovely and a whole space dedicated to an exhibit of giant electronic bugs with the requisite photo opportunity.

I'm not a corn dog eater, but the addition of bacon does make it more appealing. The usual Fair foods were represented with some ethic twists.

Indian Fry Bread tastes suspiciously like an Elephant Ear. The Indiana State Fair is 'dry.' It was odd to walk by tents selling Bud Light.

And there was a rocking face painter somewhere on the grounds.

I'm glad that we went and I loved spending time with Ann and Tim. And it's always nice to return home feeling smug about something about your home state, especially when you're leaving sunny Arizona and fly into cold and dreary Indiana.