BLESSING OF THE FLEET

Last weekend, the small town up from us held their annual "Blessing of the Fleet" festival. The blessing itself took place on Sunday, but we went up Saturday when it wasn't so crowded.

The street was blocked off, and there were maybe a hundred or so booths winding around beneath the huge oaks. Here is the section going in:

And this is the end with the food!  There were Phillipine and Thai cuisines, as well as tacoes, alligator bites, chicken fingers, and other offerings. We chose fried local shrimp (fresh and scrumptious!) with fries and a funnel cake from the sweets booth.

I heard the man at this booth playing and went over to see, thinking he was touting his homemade dulcimers or zithers. But no! It was a string instrument with a neck in a bean can! No kidding! He was playing tunes out of a can! If you look closely at the middle right, you can see several instruments standing upright, cans at the bottom.

It was a good deal, too. The instrument and a booklet of music for twenty dollars. Perfect for a beginning guitar player!

On the way home, a bicycle rental shop in town sported a sign I adored. The Pedaling Pig! Doesn't he look carefree and happy?

All in all, a fun day!

FAIR

I know I promised pix of classic cars this week, but the fair happens to be in town. County and regional fairs are always nostalgic for me. I remember the ferris wheel and exciting rides like the Hammer or Tilt-a-Whirl as well as the booths testing throwing skills or shooting skills or whatever. It was at a fair I lost all my ride money in an inexplicable urge to pitch a ring over a dish. That's when I learned I was no gambler!

Anyway, my guy went to the fairgrounds with his group of photographers and ended up with some great shots.

This is the entrance:

This is the midway. A little blurred and he didn't want me to use it but I wanted to show the crowd:

This photo, taken at dusk, is one of the two ferris wheels:

This is the ferris wheel after dark:

This is one of those rides where people sit in swings and then the thing starts going around until everyone is swung out with their feet hanging out in space:

 And this is the second ferris wheel:

Ah, so much fun to recall being a youngster and eating hot dogs, funnel cakes, and cotton candy! Pitching darts at balloons and winning trinkets! Rushing from ride to ride! Getting sick behind the merry-go-round...

Well, maybe not the last.

MORNING WALK

The local art association sponsored an arts/crafts fair in Postell Park today. We got there right before the vendors opened. The old oaks and the neat tents made for pretty pictures.

This is when we were approaching, looking at it from between the trees.

This was the first section in front of the casino.

This is the back view of booths facing the sidewalk.

And this is the last section backing up to the local bar and tea shop.

Gorgeous day to be out! A shame I didn't have enough money to buy anything.