CMDTA's Travel Tidbits: The Sandwich Fair

 

Country fairs are big in New England.  There are dozens and dozens of them.  I hope this statement doesn't offend anyone but the fairs tend to run the gambit from quaint to utter white trash.  For example because of it's location the Rochester Fair tends to be trashy with it's odd mix of people, demolition derby, and monster trucks.

Closer to the quaint side of things is the Sandwich Fair.  This fair doesn't have the demolition derby or monster trucks but it does have everything a classic country fair is known for.  Crafts, livestock, demonstrations, and enough junk food to kill a small nation; you can find it all at the Sandwich Fair.

The Sandwich fair is a little smaller than some of the mega fairs which means it's a little easier to get in and out of.  Granted you will still sit in traffic but it's nowhere near as bad as some of the other fairs.

You might wonder what you will see.  Here is a small walk through.  Through the main gate you you'll hit your classic fair carnival rides and midway games.  It's a little like that awful park of Animal Kingdom only better.  This is where you want to be if you want to see a poor kid get off of one of the brutal looking rides (pictured) and see him toss his cookies on the ground.  Also in this area is a barn where you can buy some local goods like fudge and other items.  The highlight of this section is the helicopter rides.  Yes you can get in a helicopter and go for a short ride over the fair.

The next section is line with food vendors and leads to the live stock and demo areas.




In the last section you can find horse pulls (click the photo for a video), donkey agility (that's not a joke), equestrian, tractor pulls, and stables with all sorts of animals you can get up and close to.  This area is where country fairs really stand out.  A lot of people don't have the opportunity to get up close to horses, donkeys, goats, alpacas, sheep, and pigs in their day to day lives.  Some of the animals are just crazy.  Like the goat pictured at the top of the page.  He actually stuck his head clean through the bars in an attempt to get attention from the people who were passing by.  The only ones that showed him up were the donkeys.  You haven't lived until you've seen people trying to get a bunch of donkeys through an agility course.  Donkeys do what donkeys want to do. When they don't want to jump...or move they don't.  You can pull and pull and it's not going to do any good.

They there is the food.  If you can fry it, it's at the fair.  Sure you have your normal artery cloggers like French fires and onion rings but you can also get such insane items such as fried pickles and Twinkies.  Yes Twinkies, because everyone knows they just weren't bad enough for you to begin with.

If you've never been to a country fair you really should try to get to one the next time you are in New England in the fall.   Almost every week from the end of August to the end of October you can find one.

New Video Posted

It only took me three months but I finally got my White Mountains video posted to YouTube.

Thanks to the new version of iMovie I can now upload HD movies.  This movie is in 720p. 

All footage was taken in October of 2010. 

You can see the video HERE.

Sponge Bob Must Die!

Every now and then you capture something that words just can't do justice too. In NH we often have moments like this. We all go a little nuts after being trapped inside during the long winters. We blow off steam by throwing non-Disney cartoon characters onto bon fires. Of course we would never throw a Disney character onto a bon fire...unless they deserved it.

Awful Weather Predicted for the First Week in March

Although months away many meteorologists are predicting a massive storm to hit the Orland are starting around March 4^th 2010. The storm is expected to last a specific period of time.

“Based on historical data we are almost 100% sure a major storm will hit the area. The historical data being the fact that bad weather follows Mike Scopa around. It seems like every time he shows up a major storm hits the area. We also the storm will end when Mr. Scopa leaves the area,” stated head forecaster for Disney World, Mayor of Main Street USA.

“We also have some other concerns. In first week of December 2008 a massive ice storm hit the New England area. In the first week of December 2007 a snow storm hit the New England area. In both cases the Cousin Mickey Doesn’t Talk About was on vacation. This is a major concern because he’ll be in Disney World the first week of March 2010,” the mayor continued.

Both New England and Orlando are warned to prepare for the worst. The first week in March could be historic for the entire east coast.

However some feel that there is reason to hope everything will be ok. Professor Bunsen Honeydew explained “Both Mr. Scopa and The Cousin Mickey Doesn’t Talk About live in NH. The awful weather seems to hit when only one of them leaves the area. When both are leaving and heading to the same destination within a week of each other I feel the weather will remain stable. I have nothing to base this on but I’m a professor so I must be right.”

An unnamed weather expert explained why he feels Professor Honeydew is sorely mistaken. “Yes they both live in NH but you have to remember what NH is known for. It’s called the granite state. All that Granite neutralizes the affect of those two men. If there was no granite NH would implode. By allowing both of them to go to Orlando at the same time you are allowing Orlando to be destroyed!”

Weather you agree with Professor Honeydew or the crazy weather guy you’d best be prepared for anything to happen the first week of March in Disney World. The neutral forecasters are saying the weather will be between 45 and 85 with a 50% chance of clouds and a 50% chance of rain everyday.