Thursday roundup

Attendance continues to be extremely strong, with the first six days of the Fair featuring four record-breaking attendance days. If the attendance (including yesterday) does no better than the ten year average, then the Fair will end Sunday with over 960,000 people having attended. And since yesterday was the only day in the forecast with halfway-bad weather, I think the ten-year average will be soundly beaten. In other words, I think Steve Troxler is going to get his million.

Ah, this wonderful weather. It was warm enough to enjoy ice cream and those cheesecake-on-a-stick things, but I'm looking forward to the cooler weather so I can properly appreciate some warm apple cider and hot mini-donuts. I learned about a new drink at the mini-donut booth this year-- the "Un-Arnie." It's half lemonade, half unsweet tea, and delicious.

After running around the Fair for a few days and eating food that's much different from what I eat the rest of the year, I get a little punchy. So when I see a sign on a booth that reads "Welcome to the Minnesota State Fair," I actually get confused for a minute. I'll have to see if I can find it again and get a picture...