Pig Racing

Had a great time at the Prince William County Fair. It was a freakin' sizzling 95 degrees! But I saw pig racing twice (Scroll down to the Hambone Express...yeah, funny right). The announcer called these the "Hollywood Pigs": Oprah Pigfrey, Arnold Schwarzen-pigger, etc. Can't remember the other names he used.

There were lots of free rides like the INVERTER (purple one on the left in the first pic) that scared the crap out of me. It takes you completely vertical and then holds you there for a little while. All you have is some creaky plastic shoulder harness and squeaky metal supports keeping you from falling 100 feet.

But the ride to beat all rides was Wild Willy World Famous Bucking Bull. The Bullmaster controlled the bull with a joystick and some buttons. He had the most annoying, repetitious play-by-play. For every rider, he would continuously repeat the rider's name and then the bull's name, Willy.

"We got Josh, we got Willy. We got Josh, we got willy..." On and on and on. Imagine the stereotypical male supermarket announcement voice and add a little southern tinge to it. Made me nuts. But pretending to be an all-star bull rider is a dream come true. Ok...maybe a very low level dream, but hey, I can check it off the list of things I've done in life. Next in line is compete in a hotdog eating contest....

Not to be outdone by the rides, the animals and arts & crafts were hilarious. It was a who's who of Old McDonald's Farm. There was a Brahman Bull and a 3-horned goat. And even, for an extra 50cents, the largest pig in American.

So all these kids compete in the 4H arts and crafts competition. I tried to figure out the categories and the method by which the items were judged, but frankly, it was impossible. The items were ridiculous. For example, they had the best batch of hay and some kind of hat competition. This hat won. That dark fish-like item at the base of the hat is a kitchen mit. I'm just as confused as you...and I was there. I think these kids are watching too much home shopping network.

Some other great items were this Jesus House and the Muppet Show display made from small potatoes.

There is no way I'm going to miss the county fair next year. It was a great day to forget all the work and traveling I've been doing. Although the county fair season is now over, I suggest you put a reminder in your calendar now for next summer's fairs.