the world famous canfield fair

As long as Kurt and I have been dating, I've heard stories about the annual county fair in his Ohio hometown. Kurt and his brother grew up attending the fair religiously and even raised some prize winning turkeys and chickens for the 4-H competition. Since Kurt and his brother have moved away from home, they don't always make it back for the fair every year, but their parents still help out behind the scenes.

So after years of hearing all these amazing fair stories, Kurt and I finally took a Labor Day trip to Ohio to experience the greatness that is the Canfield Fair. Please excuse all the animal photos. I went a bit crazy but they were all so cute! And Mom, all those horses are for you!

BFFs!

Llamas!

Enormous pumpkins!

Kurt and his dad

Gorgeous blooms in the flower show. (Kurt's dad was in charge of the floral building and one evening Kurt and I got roped into emptying water out of hundreds of bottles of water, so a new show could be set up the next day. The full fair experience!)

There was an entire exhibit of hay!

Blue ribbon corn

Homemade beer and wine

Livestock/poultry auction

We spent a little time touring the horse stables and watching a few classes at the horse show.

Terrible fried food and people watching were plentiful.

On the last night, we even took in a few rounds of the tractor pull. You have to get the full experience.

I was very happy to finally witness the Canfield Fair and get a glimpse into Kurt's childhood. Next year, we've got plans to hit the New York State Fair!

memorial day in ohio

Kurt and I traveled to the great state of Ohio to visit his parents over Memorial Day weekend. Apparently, all that fresh, country air doesn't quite agree with me, and I was knocked out by my allergies for a good portion of our travels. Regardless, in between sneezing fits, we were able to take part in a few fun activities.

lakefront bocce and the journey home

(Last Ohio post! I promise!) While visting Kurt's parents in Ohio, we had a fun dinner out in the nearby town of Lisbon at the Guilford Lake Grille. It was a quiet Sunday evening, so we practically had the entire place to ourselves. Oh, did I mention they have several huge bocce courts in the back? We had a blast. It's going to have to be a regular occurrence when we visit from now on.

o-h-i-o

A few weekends ago, Kurt and I traveled back to the Buckeye State, where of course they sell Ohio State coolers at the drug store, and of course we had to purchase one. Kurt hadn't been home in a year, so we did lots of visiting with friends and family and enjoying what the Midwest has to offer.

storm king road trip

Since Kurt's parents were in town last weekend sans dogs (if you know me, you know I love dogs but those pups are kind of high maintenance), we tried to brainstorm fun things to do outside the city. Kurt and I have been wanting to visit Storm King Art Center for a while, and since his parents always drive in from Ohio, we could get there without having to rent a car.

columbus, ohio

After visiting Kurt's hometown for a wedding, we drove down to Columbus (home of The Ohio State University). Last time we visited was for a football game where I saw a lot of campus. This trip was all about exploring the downtown area.

We began the evening at Bicentennial Park along the Scioto Mile. It has some great fountains that kids were enjoying the entire time we were hanging out at the nearby restaurant, Milestone 229. Every once and a while, the park would fill with fog which also entertained park goers.

Then we moved farther downtown to a bar called Tip Top.

Kurt and I rode our bikes there, so were able to take advantage of $1 pints of PBR. Can you believe it?!

Next, we met up with Kurt's friend Jesse at a new downtown bar called Fleur. Apparently they are trying to model the bar after a swanky Manhattan club.

There was a DJ but not too much dancing. I think the crowds might have been discouraged by the $5-6 beers. NYC style and prices! :)

On our way home that evening, Kurt and I stopped by a food cart on the street. Through talking with the cook and the bar owner of the pub next door, we made a common connection to Rocky Sullivan's, one of our favorite bars here in Brooklyn! What a small world! 

The next morning we had brunch at DK Diner. I stuffed myself with some delicious biscuits and gravy. Definitely not an everyday breakfast but nice to indulge in every once and a while.

We had to wait a while for a table and our food. Luckily, drinks (i.e. endless pots of coffee) were serve yourself and our table split an apply fritter the size of your head. And we got to eat outside. What could be better than that?

After brunch, Kurt and I continued on our bike tour of Columbus. The German Village was a main point of interest we wanted to hit but just as we arrived a storm started rolling in. We popped into the Old Mohawk for a drink while the rain passed.

While heading into the restaurant, Kurt spotted an Auburn fan, so I was able to get in a good "War Eagle!" The guy was quite surprised to get some Auburn love in Buckeye territory.

Whenever we are in Columbus, we have to pay homage to Kurt's favorite t-shirt company, Homage :)

They have lots of Ohio State-centric gear. Surprisingly, Kurt is all set in the t-shirt department but he did pick up a few plastic cups to keep up appearances.

While catching up with many of Kurt's friends in Columbus, they kept asking "Have you seen the new Kroger?" Naturally we were intrigued to see this new urban masterpiece that had everyone talking. Yes, I will admit it is better to have the store up at the street instead of set back behind a parking lot, but its not like there was an entrance on the street or even much of a presence. Keep working Columbus. I like where your head is at.

Our last stop before leaving town was Jeni's Ice Cream.

The shop was really cute and they had tons of delicious flavor mixtures. Btw, I love ice cream :)

Per Kurt's suggestion, I went with a scoop of salty caramel and something Buckeye (chocolate and peanut butter). Delicious! I liked the caramel so much we got a pint to take back to Kurt's parents.

Mmmmmmmmm!

Now we are back in NYC! I am really growing weary of our go straight to work from the airport plan that allows us more time in our vacation destination but always makes for an exhausting Monday. We're too old for that stuff! ;)