The Big E

September means fall harvest fairs in Connecticut.  Every weekend, there is two or three that we could attend.  This year, the Hebron Harvest Fair was a bust, when a looming storm forced organizers to shut down early.  Some people were sent home after only an hour, with no refund.  The storm was big and the closure wise, but people will consider boycotting next year after getting cheated out of their money.

Our town holds a more modest event, the Cornfest, which we attended.  Normally uneventful, this year we won a raffle for airline tickets.

This year, we planned a trip to The Big E in Springfield, MA.  The Big E is an all-New England fair...think the MD State Fair in Timonium, but ~4x larger.  We met friends there, and even crossed paths with Evan's first daycare teacher, who had made her own maternity leave permanent.  Tripping over fried dough and sausage booths, we had searched 90% of the vendors before we finally found a soft pretzel (and naturally, came across another booth shortly thereafter).  And this year was the year of kettle corn for us.

Evan over came his fear of amusement rides, but my aversion to micro-fiber mops still holds.  Weather was fantastic, and it was insanely crowded by mid-afternoon.  We escaped before getting rained on that evening, having had our fill of fair food for another year.

Maine Vacation 2012

Everyone deserts the Maine beach towns on Labor Day, so what better time to visit than the days immediately thereafter?  Before making the trek to Wells, we spent a few days in NH and Boston.  Evan spent some time with his 5-yr old Uncle Danny and 2-yr Aunt Julia.  Saw plenty of Boston as we walked more than half the city after dim-sum one day.  Then laughed at the miles of backed-up traffic heading south and we entered Maine.  Our one good day of weather was when we arrived in ME, and we made a breakthrough with Evan walking on the sand.  Too bad a tropical storm limited our days at the beach (thank you, Roku).  Had my fill of lobster and ice cream...maybe again next year?