I had such fun at the Big E last year that when my friend Anne suggested that we should go again this year, I jumped at the suggestion. But both of us remembered how we were stuck in traffic for hours when we went on a Saturday last year, so we decided to plan for a weekday expedition this year. The weather forecast wasn’t great for the 30th but that’s the date we settled on. So this morning Anne and Hugh picked me up at my house at 10 am, and we set off for West Springfield.

Once we crossed the Connecticut River from Springfield, there was a line of cars waiting to make the turn from Memorial Avenue, but in no time we were flagged into a space in the official parking area near Gate 9A, and within a few minutes, we had purchased our tickets to the expo, along with 54,000 other people.

We do enjoy the Avenue of the States on the far side of the fairgrounds, so that’s where we headed first. Of course Anne and I had to have a Maine potato — what a delicious late morning snack that was.  From there, we began our wanderings into every fair venue:  we strolled through Storrowtown Village and then stopped at the Coliseum, where we watched some of the hunt competition.  In the Stroh Building, we admired agricultural exhibits, and I bought a jar of local honey.  We also spent a lot of time in the Better Living Center, where I bought a back support and a vegetable peeler; we also tried “whole body vibration” on one of those expensive $2000 machines.   From the program booklet, we extracted a coupon for an elephant ear, so Anne and I had to have one of these.  I got powdered sugar all over my face, hands, and clothes, but mine was well worth it and kept me going all day.  Late in the day, we emerged to watch part of the parade past the Court of Honor stage.  Today was Agawam Day, so the marching bands were mostly from that city. My favorite sight was the Clydesdales, though: they are simply magnificent animals.  Our last stops of the day were at the Young Building, and finally the Mallary Complex, where we saw more animals, though a lot of the farm exhibits were in transition today.  At the door to this building we saw a sculpture made entirely of butter, but the batteries in my camera were dead by then and I couldn’t take a photo of this amazing sight.

Hugh is a vegan and there wasn’t much for him to eat within the fair, so after we were done for the day, we found a good Italian restaurant on Elm Street and had a satisfying dinner there at Bella Napoli.  The sky remained cloudy and overcast but it didn’t rain.  As the day turned into evening, it did become chillier, and I wished I had worn a sturdier wrap.  It was late in the evening when we returned home, but we all had a very good time.

I’ve realized that people are more interested in looking at photos than in processing text, so I’m pandering to the tastes of my readers (if there are any, that is) with these.  Enjoy.

Left: Hugh enjoys a vegan pizza at the Vermont pavilion
Center: Show horses strut their stuff for the equestrian judges
Right: Giant pumpkins!  Need I say more!

Left: A mother pig and her brood in the Farm-A-Rama
Center: The llama has been domesticated for thousands of years
Right: One of the many adorable rabbits on display

Left: Dairy herds are a mainstay of agriculture in New England today
Center: Everyone loves a parade, especially one which includes marching bands
Right:  Here come the Clydesdales!

My friend Anne and I thought it would be fun to go to the Eastern States Expo this year, so shortly before noon, we set off from my house toward West Springfield, which is about an hour’s drive away. We got on the Pike in Palmer and about 12 miles later got off at Exit 6 to get on 291 West to I-91 South. Our directions said to take Exit 3 to Route 5 North to 147 West, so we did that and soon realized that everyone else was doing it too. Traffic was at a near-standstill for what seemed like hours, and in fact, it took us about two hours to arrive at the gates. We parked in a private yard on Norman Avenue, the first available space we saw, and walked the half mile or so to the entrance on Memorial Avenue.

It was a gorgeous, sunny late summer day, and the fair was jammed. In fact, attendance today was 150,889, by far the most popular day since the fair opened on September 12. True, the exposition grounds cover over 100 acres, but it often seemed like wall-to-wall people, and there were long lines everywhere.

By the time we arrived, it was past 2 pm and we were famished, so lunch was the first order of business. We settled on soup and sandwich fare at the Storrowton Tavern, which we ate as we listened to a country music duo called the Skidmarks.

Thus fortified, we ventured into the exhibit halls. Here are some of the highlights:

Better Living Center: I was mesmerized by one of the kitchen gadget demonstrations and bought a garlic grater, a small ceramic plate with tiny spikes. Anne and I also admired the Cutco cutlery; we each bought a Trimmer, one of the most popular of the utility knives.

Farm-A-Rama: This is an agricultural fair, after all, so we had to wander through these exhibits. Check out the giant pumpkins! At one of the booths, I bought a jar of honey from Hampden County hives; I had run out of this kitchen staple a few weeks ago and was happy to replenish my stock with local produce. And of course, there were the animals, so this was probably my favorite venue.

Coliseum: We watched a few young ladies compete in the Hunter Division, which means the horses and their riders jumped over fences. Neither Anne nor I know anything about this sport, but we thought the horses were beautiful and graceful.

Storrowton Village: Anne and I are both interested in local history, so we couldn’t resist this part of the expo. This Museum is an authentic recreation of a 19th century village, consisting of nine historical buildings assembled around a traditional Green. We stopped in the church, the schoolroom, the forge, the law office, the farmhouse, and the Potter mansion. Volunteer docents were available in all the buildings to answer questions from visitors.

Avenue of the States: Everyone enjoys this feature of the expo. According to the website, founder Joshua Brooks

wanted the Exposition to be a truly regional event. He believed that to achieve this, each of the six New England states should construct a building that could display both its character and its products.

Anne and I sampled flatbread pizza in the Vermont building, and at the end of the day, returned to the Maine building determined to snack on the baked potatoes. I must say, my potato was worth waiting in line for. Shortly before we left at closing time, Anne bought maple syrup from the New Hampshire pavilion.

Tired but satisfied, we wended our way home. Thank you to Anne who suggested this excursion and who drove patiently and cheerfully through the traffic and unfamiliar roads.