RAGBRAI- BLUE LEMONADE STAND
Ragbrai seems like an eternity ago, but it sure was a BLAST! I joined on the route Wednesday night. We stayed over night at the Enrichment Center, then headed out to set up our BLUE LEMONADE stand. Patrick arranged for us spot in a lovely couple's front yard. They sold pie, which was a big hit for people who were stopping by for a break. On Friday we set up right on top of a hill and the sun was booming! This means bad for bikers; great for us! I had so much fun just talking to all the different types of people. We saw everything from 'regular' bikers, to livestrong folks, to a tandem banana, to families of 5 with 3 of them under 8, to people in their 80's, to Californians, to... I could probably go on all day. It was simply amazing to talk to the great variety of people and hear their story. I truly believe anyone can ride RAGBRAI if they put their mind to it!
Ragbrai seems like an eternity ago, but it sure was a BLAST! I joined on the route Wednesday night. We stayed over night at the Enrichment Center, then headed out to set up our BLUE LEMONADE stand. Patrick arranged for us spot in a lovely couple's front yard. They sold pie, which was a big hit for people who were stopping by for a break. On Friday we set up right on top of a hill and the sun was booming! This means bad for bikers; great for us! I had so much fun just talking to all the different types of people. We saw everything from 'regular' bikers, to livestrong folks, to a tandem banana, to families of 5 with 3 of them under 8, to people in their 80's, to Californians, to... I could probably go on all day. It was simply amazing to talk to the great variety of people and hear their story. I truly believe anyone can ride RAGBRAI if they put their mind to it!
IOWA STATE FAIR
We are officially on day FOUR of the fair, which really means day seven for us. Before the fair 'officially' started, the streets were full of vehicles and it was hard to maneuver. Now that the fair is going on, there are hardly any vehicles, but the numbers of people is incredible! I am having a blast! The other day I worked the swine show all day with the pork ambassador, pork queen and princess. It was a long day, but tons of fun! Since then I have been 'working' at the FFA Display in the Agriculture Building and in the FFA Headquarters. 'Working' in the display is a blast! I love talking to all the people and telling them about agriculture today. We have displays set up showing where the different cuts of meat come from on an animal. It is just fun to help people understand little things like this.
While in the display the other day, I had a little down time, so I started a poll of the ULTIMATE question in agriculture today...
What came first... the chicken or the egg?
After asking well over 200 people, it became clear... The CHICKEN came first according the variety of fair-goeres. It was great to hear the many theories and reasoning behind different people's answer. It was also a blast to ask little kids and see what their take was.
Besides HQ and the Display, I ushered the Jason Aldean concert, spent time getting to know ushers, and helped and talked to the stage attendants around the fairgrounds. Yesterday we also helped out with the traditional parade of champions and got to escort all of the fair queens for the fair queen contest. It was just a fun time to talk to all of these beautiful girls and see their desire and passion for agriculture. Hearing about the process they went through to become a fair queen reminded me about running for state office and I give them 'props' for going through the entire process and having fun with it.
Since us four guys were walking around the fair in tuxes, we got quite a few questions and many looks. We decided to have some fun with it and escorted Shaniel and Sarah through the grounds like we were their body guards. We would even put our wrist up to our mouth and talk like real 'spys' or 'guards' do... :).
At night we just chill and wait for the ushers to get done with their concert. Then we go out and eat some amazing pizza with them and just talk. It is so much fun hanging out with all the ushers and just enjoy the fair with a great bunch of people. Last night several of the group leaders and I stayed up until talking until 3:00 in the morning! When you have fun talking, it is so easy to lose track of time and just have fun.
Since us four guys were walking around the fair in tuxes, we got quite a few questions and many looks. We decided to have some fun with it and escorted Shaniel and Sarah through the grounds like we were their body guards. We would even put our wrist up to our mouth and talk like real 'spys' or 'guards' do... :).
At night we just chill and wait for the ushers to get done with their concert. Then we go out and eat some amazing pizza with them and just talk. It is so much fun hanging out with all the ushers and just enjoy the fair with a great bunch of people. Last night several of the group leaders and I stayed up until talking until 3:00 in the morning! When you have fun talking, it is so easy to lose track of time and just have fun.
The Iowa State Fair is going GREAT and I LOVE talking with all of the youth and people coming together to celebrate the great state of Iowa.
1 comment:
The State Fair was a blast to be at! There is always something to do whether its a toga party to a game of cards or from running to coloring chicken pictures in the FFA display booth. I was an Usher this year and if you were on too you know what I'm talking about. :) Keep up the writing Steven!
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