the dust bowl . . .

Over the river and through the woods to Renninger's Fair we go . . . I love this place. And the weather, as we left home, was g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s. Tooling down the interstate . . . 76 degrees . . . top down. PERFECTO! Then one little cloud appeared. And another. A few more joined in the fun. As we left I-4 and headed down back roads, they had called in the relatives. It was a family reunion. A very large reunion. More and more clouds billowed their way over until finally, it was overcast and gray. Spitting just a bit. I only mention this to explain why today's blog will not have any pictures.

But it was still fun. We wandered through the upper banks of flea market plots, noshed on pulled pork sammies, wandered down to the antique area and generally had a good time. The 9TS found an ancient billy club that begged for a spot in his man-room and I scored a Mexican sugar form. I've been wanting one for the dining room table. Check back for T-day photos to see it in action!

We always take the back roads coming home and stop at Sonic for refueling . . . us, not the car. It's a ritual. Yummo.

Now here's the thing about Florida. This time of year, we are in drought. So we knew ahead of time that the fair grounds were going to be a dust bowl. The options for footwear are divided. Do you wear sneaks and come home with them two pounds heavier for all the dirt they have collected, or do you wear flops and just know that at least a pound of dirt will be headed down the bathtub drain??? The 9TS opted for sneaks. I took the path less traveled. Talk about grubby. I have not been this dirty since I was five and we were fascinated with the creatures that lived under rocks in Haycock Brook. We'd shed our Keds, slosh through the stream, unearthing crawdads and other crustaceans. Clay would ooze through our toes and splatter onto our legs, red dust would accumulate in two round ovals on our bottoms as we squatted along the banks. Nothing says fun like dirty feet and that applies to five year olds as well as 62 year olds. Just so you know.