Downtown Freehold! It kind of looks like it's stuck in the 1960's or 70's, to me.
What YOU'LL be stuck in, if you visit downtown Freehold, is TRAFFIC.
P.S. My internet connection is more of a fizz today... it's in for 30 seconds, out for 3 minutes, in for 25 seconds, out for 4 minutes, etc. etc. etc. It may be worse tomorrow. If I miss a day--sorry!
When we go to the Monmouth County Fair, of particular interest to my family is the antique tractor tent. My grandfather, born and raised in Kansas, possessed two International Harvesters, which he used to mow his fairly substantial lawn until he was 90 years old (when someone finally succeeded in convincing him that mowing the lawn in 95 degree heat was a poor idea at his age). When my midwestern uncle had to spend a few years in New Jersey, he lavished his attentions on a small yellow tractor (a Cub Lo-Boy--again, an International Harvester). And when all these tractors needed to find a new home, my cousin began using them for his landscaping business.
So it's kinda fun to go look through the tent and decide which tractors on display are most similar to the tractors that my family knows and loves.
This concludes our five-day retrospect of the five-day fair. But TOMORROW there is something VERY AWESOME planned for this photoblog, so be sure to tune in!
I know I already showed you the midway by night, but since I went to all the trouble of hauling my tripod out to the Monmouth County Fair, I thought I might show you something else. :)
So here we have the Zipper.
Remember Bwana Jim? This is one of his armadillos.
They're apparently pretty unfriendly critters, but they are SO CUTE.
I know in this day and age it's kind of assumed that kids are scared of clowns. But I don't exactly see any of the kids in this photo clinging to their mothers, bawling their eyes out 'cos THEY DON'T WANT TO MEET THE CLOWN. Perhaps the clownhood still has a chance.
This friendly fellow drives around the fairgrounds every year beeping his horn, playing loud dance music, giving out random silly goodies to children, and generally making the fair more fair-like.
You may or may not remember it from last year, but it's time for the Monmouth County Fair again!
People flock to the East Freehold Fairgrounds from all over the county. They can ride the rides, play the games, submit entries (art, crafts, homegrown vegetables/ flowers, and canned goods) to the home and garden tent, smell the animals in the 4-H tents, visit vendors, eat the traditional fair cuisine, watch all kinds of entertainment (including pig races, lumberjack shows, Bwana Jim, local artists, dog shows, etc.), and plenty of other stuff.
It's a five-day festival that sadly ends today, but I'll keep providing you with photos for a few days. :)
This photo was 100% luck.
I tried to replicate this shot under the next few overpasses (sitting in the passenger seat, going 65mph) and got nothing. Overexposed blurs, underexposed blurs, blurs that couldn't figure out where to focus, blurs with glare from the windshield behind which I was sitting, etc. etc. etc.
Someone else in my position might get frustrated that her lucky shots often have as much merit as the ones with careful attention to exposure and composition, but me? I'm a casual snapshot photographer anyway, so it doesn't bother me one bit.
....okay, I'm a little annoyed.
Just to confuse anyone unfamiliar with the road, Rte-33 splits into two separate Route 33s: 33 Business, which cuts through town (Freehold, I think), and 33 bypass, which bypasses town. But they're both Rte. 33.
(See here for a map of the 33s splitting.)
(If you take the wrong one, don't worry too much: they do merge back together eventually.)
If you go to the Monmouth County Fair (which ended today, Sunday... actually yesterday, since the fair was cancelled today due to lots and lots of rain), be sure to watch BWANA JIM'S WILDLIFE SHOW!
This, an 8-year-old alligator, is just one of the critters he was tossing around.
Although this is a Monmouth County photoblog, I rarely feature the west side of the county. But for the MONMOUTH COUNTY FAIR, I think I'd better!
The Monmouth County Fair (in Freehold) happens once a year in the summer for the better part of a week. There are rides, 4H and "living history" exhibits, vendors, tents for associations across the county, pig races, lumberjack shows, and the Home and Garden tent.
In the days leading up to the fair, people can enter their amateur H&G products (be they art, crafts, vegetables, flowers, or honey) for judging.
