Rhinebeck 2011 - But wait, there's more

Of course the Sheep & Wool Festival is great in its own right. The food is also pretty awesome. Going into this year's fair, there was one sad note. The people who made the fantastic chicken pot pies announced that they would not be there this year. Rising costs made it an unprofitable situation for them. It was very sad.
I never noticed this food vendor before, maybe because I don't eat much fried foods. In case you can't read menu: fried ravioli, fried garlic cloves, fried mushrooms, and wait for it... fried pickles.
I ran into Laura on Sunday and she tried the fried pickles and said they were better than she thought they would be. Brave woman.
We had gyros, that were really good. While waiting for our gyros I had a funny conversation with the guy running the booth:
Me: How was business today?
Him: Good, but it was a little slow at first.
Me: That's because we have to check out the yarn before we eat.
Him: (very seriously) Ohhh, is that why? I heard that some wool is soft. Is it over here (points to a building).
Me: It's pretty much everywhere.
This conversation amused me.

Of course we had the fried artichokes, which are garlicky and amazing.

Ann was there with her mother and aunt and they ordered one of every artichoke dish to try them all. I don't know if they love them the way we do. Check out Ann's awesome Adult Surprise Jacket.
We heard rumors of spaghetti and meatballs on a stick and Nancy had to try it. Me, not so much.

There was a delicious Chinese Food booth with gourmet spring rolls and dumplings. I visited them both days! Tastebuds has terrific bakes goods.

The kettle corn was perfect.

This guy was eating popcorn while holding 2 bales of hay (random) - both in the same hand. We wanted to stick around and see if he went for a bite of the hay by accident.

Here is a gratuitous picture of sheep since it was the Sheep & Wool Festival. We barely spent anytime with the animals this year. There was just so much great yarn to see.

This van was getting gas the same time as me. There was not an inch of unpainted space. It's like a time machine back to the 60's. Imagine if the Scooby Doo van and Magic School Bus had a love child.
If you look closely, there is a Barbie attached to the rear-view mirror on the front right hood (as you look at the picture). There were window boxes on the back windows. REAL ONES, not painted on.

All in all, it was a blast. I look forward to playing with my yarn and deciding what it wants to be when it grows up.

And when I got home, I received a cuddly welcome.