Thursday we went to the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar. Here's a sign of the times - not only do they have to have a sign that says "no weapons", but it includes pocket knives as weapons. And no Selfie Sticks! I think that part is a great idea, but I can't imagine why they are forbidden.
They have a Wyland murals on one of the buildings. This one is called "Ride the Tide" and was painted in 2006. I remember when he started painting these sea murals back in the 80's, so I have a soft spot for them.
I know this is a county fair but I was still surprised at how rural it is. I just don't think of farm animals when I think of San Diego county but there were the usual array of farm animals here - horses, sheep, goats and rabbits. Lots of rabbits. The Angoras had such fluffy ears!
Horses are a big part of the fair (yay!). There were horse competitions all day, and in one section of the fair they had almost every type of horse stabled. My favorite was the Fjord horse, a medium-sized horse from Norway. It has a beautiful head shape, powerful neck and shoulders, and I love that mane color!
There were several specific exhibits and shows for children. The "Fido 500" was a race for small breed dogs; the 3 little little Dachshunds raced around the track so quickly I know they were headed for treats!
Their agricultural area has several displays, each one constructed and planted differently. I had no idea avocado plants got this big and bushy.
Eventually we had to have some Fair Food. It seems that the cost of Fair Food has gone through the roof - it was hard to find anything for less than $10. It would be very expensive to feed a family here. I had my usual - corn dog and funnel cake - and Randy got a Polish sausage sandwich. We looked at the fried foods, but none of it sounded appealing. But by golly, you can get anything fried now. Fried Starbucks coffee was a big seller. I was tickled by the fried Slim Fast bar - it sort of defeats the purpose, but it might be the best way to eat one.
The Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum has several antique vehicles on display. Ashley had done her homework; each one of these vehicles was used in a major motion picture. The Samson Model M tractor and Samson Farm truck were both in the 2001 movie "Pearl Harbor". The big Caterpillar 60 was in HBS' 2003 series "Carnivale", while the green Available truck was in Angelina Jolie's movie "Changling". The John Deere D was in 2003's "Seabiscuit" as a tractor that caused one of Red Pollard's riding accidents.
And we got a look back into a version of our past; a 1959 Air Stream trailer. Very retro, but also very useful. I am sure this was as much fun as our RVs today.
We walked through the exhibit halls, looking at things we didn't intend to buy. And there sure was a lot of those! Other exhibit halls had the contest entries, like this gorgeous Dahlia.
Another kind of beauty caught Randy's eye - a perfectly restored 1956 Triumph 3.
We left the fair in plenty of time to make it back to Vista before rush hour traffic We will be leaving Vista soon, and one of Randy's friends wanted to take us out for dinner. Jack drove us to one of his favorite restaurants in Oceanside, the Lighthouse Oyster Bar & Grill. It looks over the harbor; I spent much of the evening watching a big a sea lion catch fish. For dinner I ordered a tasty pasta dish with seafood in a red sauce, while Jack and Randy both ordered the excellent Cioppino.
Then Jack drove us along the ocean, at a perfect time to enjoy the evening glow on the ocean.
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