Fair Feelings of Nostalgia
Nostalgia. That’s all I can really think of when someone mentions a county fair. I brought my film camera to try and capture that familiar feeling.
The San Diego county fair brought me back to my younger years. As I walked on the dirt path leading up to the gates, memories flooded my mind of how daring and carefree I used to be, the greasy outlandish food I’d try, and the fun and laughs I would have with my friends.
I was never afraid to ride anything! The rides towered over my head and I would just look in awe and excitement just knowing “I’m going to ride that thing”. Nowadays, it’s a totally different story. That little daredevil is somewhere else. It had been over a decade since I actually went to any fairgrounds so I was super excited to see what this one had to offer.
Have you heard of a Kool-Aid chicken sandwich? It could possibly be the most racist sandwich I’ve ever heard of but they had it there at the fair for whoever dared to try. I must admit, I was curious but not curious enough to spend over $20 for something that would probably make my stomach do flips so needless to say I definitely did not partake in that “delicacy”. I did try some other really tasty dishes. My favorite was probably Chicken Charlie’s Maui Chicken. They give you half a pineapple with grilled chicken, rice, and this delicious pineapple sauce. At the bottom, pineapple chunks! Some other favorites were Mark’s grilled pork burger, that I really wish I had more bites of, and some fries with cheese curds and a lot of sauce. We definitely had way more food than that, like cinnamon rolls, burgers, elote in a cup, AND vanilla ice cream with sprinkles but the most noteworthy was definitely the Maui Chicken.
I wish daredevil So was still around. I’ve honestly never been so fearful of dying in my life than when I was on the Tango. Really, the fear stems from seeing way too many traumatic accidents involving fair rides. Every time I got on something that flips you in the air, I prayed for my life! Even rides I used to be excited to be on were terrifying. I would just hate to be the statistic. Honestly the shitty scare houses were enough excitement for me.
