Arlo at the Fair

Two Fridays ago Jenny suggested that she and Arlo and I take a trip to the Richmond Fair. The idea was to take in the smash up derby that was being held that night. I had mentioned just this summer that I had never been to one, and Jenny decided it was time to take her boys to their first 'derby'. Richmond is a really.....rural kind of place. The kind of place where a Friday night at the fair is 'the' place to be for everyone from eight to eighty. The type of place where you would expect to find designated 'non smoking' areas. We walked the midway, and Arlo's eyes bugged out at the lights on rides like the Scrambler, and the Tilt a Whirl. The three of us walked over to take in a lumberjack demonstration, and wouldn't you know it, but they pulled Jenny out of the crowd to participate in a bucksaw challenge. Arlo giggled away watching her work the big saw, and after the contest one of the guys carved an Arlo sized chair our of a log. Of course we sat him down on it (despite the million woodchips that ended up on his back and legs) and he became a hit with everyone around making comments about how cute he looked.

At the derby we ended up packed in like sardines (or, to use my new saying 'like country folk at a smash up derby'), but Arlo loved every bit of it. The sounds of the cars didn't faze him at all, but man he had some dirty boogers after a night of exhaust and dirt getting kicked up all over the place. We called it quits after five rounds or so, and Arlo finished the night all smiles on the ride home in the car until he dropped off to sleep. He must have been worn out because we carried him right in, and put him to bed without waking up at all. Can't wait for next year!