"Holland" Happening

Although I wish there was more than a shoe carver at the street fair, there were some pretty cool "non-Dutch" things at Oak Harbor's annual Scandinavian festival. I probably rolled my eyes at the Guatemalan pan flute people, who are at EVERY event (I do like them, they are just EVERYWHERE), the diversity was nice. Lots of Lumpia and fried noodles, too.

The best part, was seeing Isabel delight in the carnival rides, and her first taste of cotton candy. "I wanna pink one!" You got it! Two rides was enough, as she is scared of even the smallest of roller coasters, and it was plenty fun just walking around. I think I particularly liked checking out the "carnies"; my favorite was the big-bellied old man at the "fishing pond," with a cigarette hanging from his mouth while he shouted in his booming gruff voice, "EVERYONE'S A WINNER!"

That, the old rides I recognize (and some I hate, like the zipper, which seems to be held together by bobby pins), the smells of cotton candy and onion rings and hay, the teens buying wristbands so they can go on every ride fifteen times, and the ladies who are grossly overdressed in their 6" open-toe ankle boots and hot pants.

But seeing it through Isabel's eyes for the first time... priceless.