Last night, Pam and I made our annual pilgrimage to the Van Wert County Fair. We figure this is the 20th (if not 21st) year in a row for us. We started coming at least one year before we were married, in 1989. Both of us had come to the fair for many years as kids. Probably crossed paths and didn’t know it.

We went with my brother, Stu, and his wife, Joyce. Their daughter Paula put in a couple appearances, tearing herself away from the tractor pull, which her husband, Tom, was engrossed in.

We were more interested in the Air Dog show–something new this year: dogs taking a running leap into a pool, trying to catch a toy thrown into the air by the dog’s owner. They had a contest. Each dog got two tries. If the dog caught the toy before hitting the water, they wrote down the measurement (one dog went 22 feet). The dog with the best combined measurement won.

I forget which dog one. But our favorite was a pit bull that leapt with maniacal abandon. The best pure jumper was a dalmatian. This was definitely a great addition to the fair.

Ate the usual stuff: Rager’s ham sandwich, a funnel cake, and finished with cherry ice cream. Tried a couple new things this year: the Venedocia Lion’s Club sausage sandwich, which rumor said was better than Rager’s (I’m not so sure), and a big helping of vanilla homemade ice cream.

Everything’s in the same place every year. The pony ride moved, but they posted a big sign to tell people, lest their world be traumatized.