Alameda County Fair

Last Sunday, June 28th, Frank and I took Alex to the 2026 Alameda County Fair. What used to be an annual expedition for us when our kids were younger and still lived at home, has become less frequent. Our last visit was in 2023 and I blogged about it in my 7/15/23 post. Apparently I had not blogged many more of our other visits but I did note that an earlier post, dated 7/3/15, revealed that we'd spent way more time in with the rabbits back then. This year we still visited quilts and rabbits but also watched a juggler and a stunt dog show. Our overview of our travels can be seen on  the following map. We entered at the Blue Gate (far right) and cut through the B building (shopping) then meandered up to browse the C building (quilts and arts) and the P building (small animals). We eventually took a break and got a snack en route as we headed toward the Kid's Carnival area to see a juggler performance and stunt dog show. I would have traced a route on the map but, although the sequence of what we visited is correct, we were disoriented and turned around a great deal of the time, and our route was quite circuitous with several backtracks.

Shopping in Building B
We chose to go to the fair on this day because the weather was reported to have a high of about 80° which is very bearable as long as you stick to the shade as much as possible and keep hydrated.The trek from the parking lot to the blue entry gate was long and arduous for us since it was not in the shade, even though we had preferential parking. We were tired before our visit really got started. We entered Building B because it was first one we spotted once past security. We longed to be indoors in the air conditioning. One of the first vendors where we we stopped was the one for these swings. Alex made himself really comfortable. Frank tried it out and found it to be easy to get into and out of and to raise the footrest with no bodily contortions needed to do so. That is a big plus with his back pain. The cost was in the neighborhood of $3K and we were not ready to commit, but I did take a photo of the brochure and may consider it for the future. Shopping is not a priority for us during a visit to the fair but cool climate and shade were. Once revived from the trudge in from the parking lot, we moved on.

Quilts and Crafts in Building C
I had not entered any  quilt entries this year but always like to look at those other folks have displayed. They are hung from the ceiling, so it is difficult to read the description cards or who made them. Normally in my blog post I credit the quilter, but I was unable to do that. Since they are already displayed publicly, posting photos of them online is most likely okay. Here were my favorites. The first is Disappearing Pinwheels and the next is All Roads Lead to the Beach. The two with the animals were very impressive; I would have loved a closer look. The two with eight-pointed stars and one with tulips I photographed for design ideas and color palette. The gown with the red bodice gown and ruffles is simply gorgeous. The extensive rose appliqué on the skirt made me think of Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Small Animals in Building P
Not far away was the building with all sorts of bird and small critters. Alex of course loves bunnies, so we spent most of our time visiting them. There were not as many as in past years and now they are located in an air conditioned building. The experience is so much more improved without roar of huge fans attempting to cool the creatures. I am sure the rabbits are much happier as well.

After visiting the small animals, we wandered around a bit. again slightly disoriented, our goal being to find the stunt dog show. Along our Brownian motion inspired route,  we did pass some impressive artwork drawings and colorful landscaping, but what caught my attention were two pianos painted in patriotic themes with signs that said "Play Me". The first one I encountered was bright white with orange California poppies. I was about to snap a photo when someone sat down to play it. I pulled the following photo from online instead. We walked right past a piano painted in stars and stripes adn I captures its image instead. Once back home I learned that there were three other pianos scattered about the fair. Even had I know that then I doubt but we would have gone out of our way to seek them out.  Click on this video of five pianos for some background information. There were one with a decoupage constitution, one painted with California Poppies, and three others that were red white and blue. They were fun to see and I am glad we came face to face with at least two of them.

Still forging ahead to "Kid's Park where the dog show was to be held, we got a snack. My goals for the fair were four: quilts, bunnies, fresh lemonade, and funnel cakes. We finally found the funnel cakes and they were right outside Building B where we first started. Hopefully we never get lost in the woods. I think the tongue-in-cheek tale is true that confused people tend to travel in a circle. We pulled some chairs into the shade and sat down to enjoy our super-charged-with-sugar feast. 

We at this point were coincidentally close to Kid's Park. The dog show was not due to start for another 45 minutes and so we sat in at a nearby juggling show of Roberto the Magnificent.

Juggler and Dog Shows

Roberto the Magnificent lived up to his name. He juggled dangerous objects and balanced on precarious items, including a tall unicycle while tossing saws, hammers, daggers, etc. way above his head. His banter while doing so fell a bit flat but that could be due to the audience. Little kids often do not get the jokes. He was however amazing to watch.

His closing sequence for his act performed at the Alameda County fair with the unicycle dagger combination can be seen at this Instagram link. For a professional listing of his skills for hire, check out this gigroster link.

After the juggler we moved on to an adjacent set of bleachers to wait for the dog show to start. The peaked tent for the juggler can be seen in the background of the next photo. The sun was a bit warm but it was late enough in the day that it was not scorching hot and an afternoon breeze had arisen.

The dogs jumped over increasing higher hurdles. Then, in the later part of the show, several dogs dove far out from a platform into a pool of water, in a competition for who could go farthest.. The bleachers were far enough away we did not get splashed… unfortunately. Some of their act can be seen on their Canine Stars Facebook page.

Alex and I went up to greet a few of the dogs but only one tried to kiss him. By now it was almost 6:00 pm and we had been there since shortly after noon. We were tuckered out and we headed on home. Our days of being at the fair from opening till late at night are far behind us. We are glad we held up the tradition to some extent never less. Finding what we wanted to see had been daunting but, once we succeeded, we enjoyed being there.

John and Marita Visit

Our previously local friends moved to southern California a couple years ago and they came up north for a visit June 18-23. We had a great time. John and Marita arrived Thursday 6/18 evening and we saw them again on Friday 6/19, Sunday 6/21 and Monday 6/22. We kept the food and the activities low key, relaxing and enjoying our time spent together.

Costco to the rescue for our meals. We had Chicken al Fresco one night, Stuffed Bell Peppers the next night, and, on a third night we ate leftovers from each of those other dinners calling it "a night to remember". I only needed to add rice, or a salad, or fruit, to round out the meals.

We had planned a local Chinese restaurant, the Yin Yin for our Monday night meal, only to learn they were closed on Monday's. Oh well, that was poor planning on my part. But we recovered on the fly with plan B, not as elegant but satisfying, fast, and easy. Marita and I hopped in the car and drove out to get an assortment from Panda Express.

Snacks were not at all overlooked — Costco to the rescue again. Some snacks were even healthy! All the peaches from the flat were delicious, the best I have had the past several seasons. Often times grocery store peaches are the right color and soft enough but they rot rather than ripen fully. These were awesome, sweet and just the right texture.

We watched some television. John and Marita recommended the movie Holiday in the Wild. They had already seen it but were willing to watch again with us. They urged us to find it and turn it on via Netflix (where it was free, by the way). The Africa and elephant scenes were amazing and well worth the time invested watching. I recommend it.

Frank and John had a lunch date on Monday with their colleagues from the lab, aka The Beam Boys, where they watched the classic movie Dr. Strangelove. The six guys ordered in pizza and there was a popcorn cook off for the connoisseurs comparing different recipes and techniques. The popcorn cooked in avocado oil and drenched in butter won.

John and Frank also bonded over watching YouTube. As evidenced in the photo, both employed their habitual watching techniques. There is companionship even in slumber. Marita and I finished off a 500 piece jigsaw puzzles while the guys "took a break" and "relaxed".

We assembled several puzzles during their visit: one with 500 pieces and two with 300 pieces each.  All were Ravensburger and large-pieces format that went together like a dream.

We played a few round, of Rummikub, some just with Marita and me (while the guys "watched" YouTube), and other rounds with all four of us. We modify the game to include a 3-D version. Our set is a Target exclusive that has four different wild card jokers: regular joker, double joker, mirror joker, and color change joker. Per the rules, the player who gets rid of all his tiles first is the winner. We play that when someone becomes tile-less, we all work together to see if now, with what is on the table, we can all go out. We all agree this final skirmish is the most fun and challenging part of the game.

We spent  most of the time talking and enjoying being together. John and Frank are the same age and Marita and I are within one year of each other so we all have a lot in common and share the challenges of the "golden years". We tried to repeatedly steer the topic away from the "Organ Recital" (health issue discussions) common among the elderly. We were moderately successful. We were never short on topics of mutual interest, and we laughed a lot. Here is a cute poem about the "golden years".

I cannot see, I can not pee.

I cannot chew, I cannot screw.

My memory shrinks, my hearing stinks.

No sense of smell, I look like hell.

The golden years are here at last.

The golden years can kiss my ass.

And one final joke to end this blog post:

A senior citizen was talking to his friend about getting married. "Yep!" he said, "I finally found someone." His friend asked, "Is she a good cook?" The man replied, "Naw, she can't cook." "Well, is she wealthy?" "Nope, poor as a mouse." Exasperated, his friend asked, "Then why on earth are you marrying her?" The man beamed, "Because she can still drive!"