The State Fair, October 12-24, 2010

The North Carolina State Fair was held in Raleigh this month, and boy what an event it was!!  Being in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at NC State University allowed me to be exposed to the fair as a judge, a volunteer, and as a participant.

As a judge, my job was to taste test about 50 different bakery items.  Now, this probably sounds really awesome to some of you - but let me just say that 10 bites is nice, 20 starts to put you in food coma, and 50 is way too much!!  I had a headache for most of the day.  Plus, I am not the best at describing what about the taste I did, or did not, like.  I also had to taste test the 9-12 year old category, so there were lots of muffins, cookies, hard candy and fudge.  Here are some photos of the items I had to judge.

The main benefit of judging is that I received a free entry and parking pass to the fair for the entire 10 days.  I called it my VIP pass.  All I had to do was flash my pass, and I was waived right in.  I took full advantage of this pass and enjoyed the Fair on 3 separate days.

The first weekend (October 17), I went with my coworker and we did a big loop around the fairgrounds, stopping in at the Grist Mill, Village of Yesteryear, seeing the poultry exhibit, and hanging out at the waterfall to enjoy "Elephant Ears" - which are just like Portuguese doughboys and much better than Funnel Cake!!

In the middle of the week, I went with other coworkers during our lunch break.  My office is a 10 minute walk to the fair - so I never even needed the parking pass!  My coworkers wanted to get lunch at the fair and were offered some pretty outrageous options!!

Fair food is a Dietitian's nightmare!  I guess it keeps me in business!!  My coworkers did not get lured in by the deep fried candy bars.  Instead, they went for the sausage sandwich, boiled peanuts and cooked corn (dipped in butter).  I tasted the boiled peanuts, which reminded me of salted potatoes.

I saved my eating for my evening at the fair last week.  On Wednesday, October 20, I went to the Fair after work to check out some of the exhibits I had not really gotten a chance to look at.  I saw all the bakery items that were judged by 20 of us, and the countless jams and jellies that were judged by my other colleagues.  In addition, there were beautiful displays of everything from handmade dresses, to embroidered artwork, to 4-H photography.  My favorite were the decorated cakes.

It was pretty amazing to see the time and effort put into some of these projects.  And many amazing things done by 4-H youth!

Once my roommate got to the fair, we explored the animal exhibits and I actually milked a cow!!

 

My roommate grew up on a diary farm in Jersey, so she thought it was hilarious that I was excited about milking a cow!  

We joined up with about 6-10 of her friends and walked around the fairgrounds.  This time I did sample a lot of the unhealthy food.  Since there were so many of us, we each got something different and shared, so none of us had too much of any one thing.  The list of foods I tried are: Wisconsin cheese mozzarella sticks, cheddar nuggets, and jalapeno sticks; Funnel cake; Deep fried Oreos, Milky Way, and Reese's cups; buttered corn; lemonade; and cheese fries.  All I can say is that it was a good thing I waited over a week after judging bakery items to eat at the Fair!!  

We ended the night with a perfectly timed ride on the Ferris Wheel - just in time to see the fireworks from 50 feet in the air!!

It was a great evening at the Fair with less crowds because it was cool and had rained earlier in the day.  

I went back to the Fair once more on Thursday night to volunteer at the Vermicomposting station at the "NC Green" Exhibit.  I spent almost 5 hours encouraging people to try worm composting.  I did get out for a brief break to grab a highly recommended dinner at the Pork producers tent.  It was the first time I had a good meal at the Fair (if you discount the hushpuppies that came with the pork).  Since Thursday was "get in free with 4 canned food items" the Fair was REALLY busy.  I'm glad I wasn't walking around that day.

My first "real" fair was impressive.  The weather was amazing most of the week, keeping in the mid 70's and sunny almost every day.  I think the great weather led to the record crowd of over 1 million people who came in those 10 days.  

Jonesin' for a Vacation!

For the past few weeks I have really been wanting to plan a vacation.  Since June, my only real travels have been back and forth to NYC.  I would not consider these trips vacations.  I have a friend from high school who has been in New Zealand since February and following her blog is giving me nostalgia to go back.  Another friend recently left on a trip to eastern Europe and my parents are currently in Portugal.  I love to travel and see the world, though I am not a fan of flying.  With our lives in transition, it's so hard for me to not be able to plan for us to go somewhere.  In the past two weeks, I've "planned" trips to Patagonia (South America), Macchu Picchu (Peru), Ecuador and the Galapagos, and Portugal.  Just this week I looked into an "Around the World" flight (http://wikitravel.org/en/Round_the_world_flights), which is actually cheaper than our roundtrip flights to Australia and New Zealand.  When I created my trip around the world (http://www.roundtheworldflights.com/), I planned to stop in Cario, Egypt; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Singapore; Darwin, Australia; Fiji; and Hawaii.  How amazing would that trip be!!??  I know that the Australia/New Zealand trip this past winter was a big one and we can't do that all the time, but I wish I had a job that would send me (and Colin) to various places in the world for months at a time.  I should have been a travel writer.  I envy those who traveled to Thailand, Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand for a year or semester during or right after college.  It would have been amazing to go to the world cup in Africa this past summer, too.

The challenge is finding the time and money to travel.  You can certainly make it happen affordably, but if you are a professional, you lose "experience" and create gaps in your resume if you want to go away for an extended period of time.  Traveling right after college is a great time to go, but it's hard to find the money when you see the debt you've acquired over the last 4, 6, or 8 years!  When you travel during "vacation time" from work, you actually get paid while you are away, but it's hard to get away for longer than 1 month (unless you are a teacher).

If any of you out there have a job offer for me to get paid to travel the world, I am all ears!!  Or, just send me some amazing vacation ideas that I could research and get excited about doing someday!  :)

Furniture Project

My new adventure has nothing to do with travel, but it has been furnishing my new bedroom.  Last week I moved into a townhouse with a really cool roommate.  She is creative designer and has been working on several projects in the house.  When I bought 2 nightstands and a dresser at Goodwill that were a little beat up, I decided to follow her lead and start a project of my own.

The three furniture pieces are all pine oak and were painted brown by their previous owner(s).  Overall, they were all in decent shape, with a few nicks here and there.

I started with the 9 drawer dresser and spent 2 very warm, mosquito filled nights sanding down the wood so that I could prime and re-paint.  When I finished sanding, I decided I liked the new sanded down, "vintage" look, so my plan changed.

I love the new look and just have to protect the wood with some wax.

It's been quite the project, but I'm excited about the result!  Now that the dresser is almost finished, I'll have to plan my attack for each of the nightstands!  I have a feeling this project still has a long way to go!

North Carolina Mountains

View from the Blue Ridge Parkway

Since the end of June I have been living and working and Raleigh, North Carolina.  This new job affords me the opportunity to travel within the state to oversee nutrition education programs with older adults (seniors).  Last week I had my first solo travel experience and got to see the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains of northeast North Carolina.  I traveled to Caldwell County, whose city center is Lenoir.  On the way, I traveled through some beautiful mountain areas and stopped in the really cute towns of Boone and Blowing Rock. 

The area is a large producer of Christmas Trees

My picnic in the park in Blowing Rock, NC

Dessert at Kilwin's Ice Cream

Cows grazing

From Raleigh, Lenoir is almost 4 hours away, so traveling there one day and back the next day was rough.  Driving the one of the state's hybrid cars (Prius) made the trip more bearable (except for the cleaning solution smell when I got the car).  It was my first time driving a hybrid and it was cool to see my fuel efficiency as I drove:

If you look closely, you will see I was averaging about 48mpg and was regenerating energy with breaking (this came from coming down the mountains). Also notice the temperature outside was 99 degrees!  It was interesting to see the changes in temperature as I drove.  Temperature in Raleigh was 102, temp at the base of the mountains was 99 and in the town of Blowing Rock it was 75!!


While the trip overall was enjoyable, it is always nice to be back in the comfort of your own home.  Traveling for work is not the same as for pleasure, especially when you have to drive 8 hours in two days by yourself!  Seeing new things is exciting, but it is always much better to experience these new things with others.

Best East Coast U.S. Beaches

I spent the first 18 years of my life in Rhode Island and was always partial to RI beaches, telling everyone how amazing they were.  Back then, my favorite was Scarborough.  I loved the soft sand and open waters.  There was some surf, perfect for body surfing, but not too much surf.  The beach was long enough to leave your blanket for a while and walk along the beach, but small enough that you saw so many people you knew. 

Since I left Rhode Island, I have visited many beaches within the United States and abroad.  It's too much of a contrast to compare beaches in the U.S. to places like Australia, New Zealand, Cancun, and the Dominican Republic, so this comparison will only be of east coast U.S. beaches.

I've been to beaches in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.  The only states I'm missing are Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, and Georgia. 

The best beach I've ever been to regularly is Robert Moses beach on Long Island, NY.  The best beach period is Miami Beach, FL.  Virginia Beach takes a close second behind Miami.

I think beaches are also dependent on the time of year you go.  Miami gets my vote, but I was there in April when the water was a perfect temperature to cool you from a hot day.  Robert Moses is a tried and tested beach, which I have been to at various times of year and have seen lots of water conditions. 

Here's a list why Robert Moses makes the top of the list of tried and true beaches:
1. You can walk west and check out all the campers parked on the beach fishing, or go east for miles and be mostly alone (aside from the few nudists). 
2. There is the freedom to be topless, nude, or fully clothed on the wings of the main beach and no one really bothers you (surprising for NY!).
3. The beach is not only wide from east to west, but the beach from the parking lot to the water is deep.
4. The sand is soft
5. Four out of 5 times in the summer the water is crystal clear and the surf exists but is not dangerous
6. It's only $8 per car and your money goes to the parks department (see reasons for New Jersey beaches not being selected below).

The one downside of Robert Moses is there is no bike path to the beach from the train station like there is to Jones Beach, LI.

Here is my summary of east coast beaches I have visited infrequently:
Maine - water is freezing for almost the entire summer! 
New Hampshire - same as Maine
Connecticut - The east end beaches near RI do not have soft sand

Virginia - Virginia Beach is pretty amazing, and comes 2nd after Miami Beach. Even July at the beach is amazing - just be careful with the hot sand!

North Carolina - I haven't been to the Outer Banks yet, but I wasn't too impressed with the southern coast.
Florida - Fort Lauderdale was not as impressive as Miami Beach.  With the amazing sand, clear water, a great boardwalk, and options to stay where the action is (or isn't), Miami - you are my #1.

Here is my summary of east coast beaches I have been to very often:
Rhode Island - beaches are all way too small and for this reason get super crowed
New York (Long Island) - I thought Fire Island would take the cake, but I was not impressed with our most recent visit to the far east end of the island.  Erosion has taken it's toll on the beach and the water was not as clear as I would expect.  I visited Jones Beach, Robert Moses Beach, and Fire Island/Shirley-Mastic consecutive days and hands down Robert Moses is the best - though all three beat any other beach north of Virginia Beach.

New Jersey - The erosion is too much in the water and on the beach, you walk 2 feet into the water and you are up to your ears!  Plus, $8 per person and you have to wear a button to show you paid - give people a break! LBI is a little better, but the erosion is still a major downer.  

South Carolina - There is nothing cool about Myrtle Beach.  The sand is too hard and the town is a hole.  Charleston is better, but still lacks the soft sand necessary for a quality beach.

When you escape the heat this summer and travel to one of the beaches I love or dislike, be sure to take care of it.  Clean up after yourself, enjoy what nature has provided for us, and try to make decisions in your daily life that protect our land and water.   (My short PSA)

Memorial Day weekend soccer tournament in Charleston - Part 1

Every Memorial Day weekend for the past seven years (except one), I have traveled to Charleston, South Carolina to play in a soccer tournament with my friends from Knoxville, TN.  While I was a grad student at UTK, I played in an adult coed soccer league in the city.  Most of the girls were good friends, but we were all forced to play on separate teams because there were not enough women for a league of our own.  So, every Memorial Day weekend, the women would all join together on one team to play in Charleston.  We were joined by a men’s teams, coed teams and a women’s over 30 team from Knoxville.  With about 70 soccer players from Knoxville all going to Charleston together, it made sense to get several large houses on the beach.  The “young” girls and guys all stayed in one house and the “older” crowd stayed in the “big house.”  While studying at UTK, I got to travel both years with the team.  Since moving to NYC, I have made the trip down four of the past five years.

I always seem to have issues getting down to Charleston when I travel from NYC.  One year, Colin and I drove two others.  We hit so much traffic in New Jersey that we didn’t get to Charleston until 3am.  The first game for our team was at 9am the next morning.  Another year, my flight was overbooked and so I got rerouted and eventually made it to Charleston, but my soccer bag did not!  I borrowed shorts, shin guards, socks and cleats from my teammates (they are so nice!!).  This year’s travels were no exception to the rule.  I arrived at JFK for my 7:30am flight to Charlotte, NC at 6:30am.  Unfortunately, the kiosk didn’t work to print a boarding pass, and so I had to get in the long line with all those going internationally on JetBlue.  Long story short, I missed my flight and had to wait until 4:30pm for the next one.  The worst part was that my ride from Charlotte to Charleston couldn’t wait that long for me.  So, I flew to Charlotte, took the Columbia-Charlotte Shuttle (www.columbiacharlotteshuttle.com) to Columbia, and got a ride from a teammate driving from Knoxville.  We finally got to Charleston just before midnight and were lucky that our first game was not until 1:30pm on Saturday.

Thankfully, my travel back to NYC was much less eventful.  I did the reverse trip back to Charlotte through Columbia and got to visit with my good friend and former roommate Michaela.  My 6:50am flight from Charlotte to NYC went off without a hitch, but it served for a really long day in NYC.  I wish I could sleep on flights, but only being in the air for 2 hours makes it difficult.  I don’t want to pass up snacks and beverage service!!  I was up at 4:30am, in NYC by 8am, at work by 10am, and had to teach after work, so I wasn’t home until 8pm!!  Oh, the things we do to extend vacations and do it affordably!    

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (The Official 2010 FIFA ...

Here's to the start of the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.  Let the games begin!!  Check out blogs of two of my friends currently in South Africa attending the games: "Sending Sarah to Africa" and "T's World Travels."  Go USA, Portugal and Brasil (in no particular order!).