Thursday, March 22, 2007

Kind of like a small State Fair


On the second day of vacation, we headed a few miles west to Plant City, home of the Strawberry Festival and apparently the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.

The festival was like a mini State Fair of Texas -- midway rides, games that look easy but aren't (as I said to Cooper at least a dozen times, every time he begged to play one), plenty of fried food, expo buildings, cheesy children's shows, outdoor concerts. It was great fun!

Cooper hit the midway, mostly sitting in vessels that would spin really fast. We all watched the Grandpa Cratchet show, which warned kids to stay in school and keep away from drugs and alcohol. All good messages, of course, that I agree with, of course, but the goofy slapstickish manner in which it was presented just made me giggle.

We devoured strawberry shortcakes (made with sponge cake, not biscuits), looked at some winning entries in contests such as quilting, Web design and baking, devoured a cup of fries with cheese (though certainly not real cheese).

On the way in, Matthew realized that he never changed out of his slippers and into real shoes. So he had to walk around the festival grounds in house shoes.

On the way out, Gretchen bought the most fragrant, beautiful flat of strawberries I've ever seen. For $10! It would have cost at least $50 for that many berries at home, and they wouldn't have tasted as good. Cooper was so won over by the scent, he even tried one, abandoning his normal distaste for berries. He loved them! I'm hoping this means I can successfully add another fruit to his repertoire of apples, grapes and watermelon.

More photos are here.

1 comment:

Stacey said...

Looks like fun! I'm so jealous that it was warm enough down there for Cooper and Katie to be in swimsuits.

And it still weirds me out to see Matt & Gretchen in your photos. Like I knew them in another life or something ... which I sorta did, I guess.