Maryland State Fair 2009

Jenna and I went to the Maryland Sate Fair yesterday at the Timonium Fairgrounds. After 50 years in Maryland this was the first time I had ever been to the State Fair. It was a beautiful day with very low humidity and temperatures in the mid to upper 70's.We parked about 1/4 mile from the main and gate and for me the toughest part of the entire day was uses the crutches to navigate my way to the stand inside the gate where we could rent a wheelchair. Jenna was a real trooper and pushed me through the Fairgrounds all day in the wheelchair.
There is 2 different levels of competition at the State Fair. There is the 4H level and then there is the open level. Each level is broken into different department. There is the Farm & Garden Department, which is home to vegetables, fruit, farm crops, wine, honey and flowers. There is the Home Arts Department, which is home to crafts, baking, sewing, photography, etc. There is the Livestock Department, which is home to large animals such as dairy, beef, sheep, etc. Finally, there is Horses, which includes all types of horses.
Most of the animal competitions has already taken place but we did have an opportunity to see some milking cow, horses, chickens and many different animals. There was a station where you could pay $3.00 to milk a cow but it wasn't open. I would have liked to have tried that. We even got to take in a pig giving birth to 13 baby pigs in what they called the birthing center.That was pretty amazing to witness.
The food was awesome too. Of course there were the Maryland favorites, crabs and oysters. There was pit beef, ham, sausages with peppers and onions, lamb either on the rack on in gyros, turkey legs ribs and of course all your other Fair favorites. Here's Jenna with a serving of Rocky Road ice cream.
All and all the State fair is a wonderful way to spend the day. They do charge an $8.00 admission but on many days offer a $20.00 ride band which allows you to go on unlimited rides from 12-6. There is a good assortment of carnival rides as well and on the weekend they offer stage entertainment. I think it would be significantly more crowded on the weekend so if you don't like the crowds go during the week.