cooling off down in the OC

we've been experiencing crazy ridiculous heat 'round these parts for quite awhile now.  it's nothing new, of course - i'm pretty sure i've complained here about the heat during the dead of summer plenty of times over the years.  ugh.

our usual method of trying to escape the high temperatures at home is to head to the beach, and with the bean's cheer team doing a beach day down in corona del mar, we stuck to our tried-and-true.  except that we got a really late start because everyone slept in and then got involved in various tasks around the house, which didn't get us packed and out the door until well after 1:00.  and so by the time we arrived at the beach to join the rest of the team, there was zero parking and it was already the tail end of the designated time for the party anyway.  and so we decided to head off to another beach not too far way that was a lot less crowded.

on our way there i saw this car in front of us and recognized it immediately.  if you're a "real housewives of orange county" fan, you might know who was behind the wheel:

and if you're not, well, the name vicki gunvalson will probably mean nothing to you anyway.  heh.

we ended up in huntington beach, where the bean was super thrilled to frolic in the water and cool off while we relaxed in a couple of chairs and enjoyed the ocean breeze.

later on, we connected with the old lady and her special friend and had the hub drop us off here:

(the hub doesn't love the fair, like at all, so he headed on home and left us to enjoy all the deep fried crap we wanted)

our first stop was to cram ourselves into a photo booth, which is something we've always talked about doing but always forgot.  too bad we didn't all actually make it INTO the finished shots.  ha!

i got myself one of these "over 21" wristbands, just in case i decided to take advantage of my status as not-driver-just-passenger.

i wanted to see the cookies and other baked goods that were submitted for this year's competition, so we went into the culinary arts building.  i'm not quite sure what was happening here, but it's pretty funny especially considering the old lady had already had at least one beer before we got there and hadn't had much to eat that day.

there are a lot of folks who don't know the difference between a macaron and a macaroon, so this was kind of fun to see.

there were quotes from famous culinary icons all over the building, and this one was particularly poignant.

we also love looking at the tablescape competition entries, and these two were our favorites:

the bean got to indulge in something i don't typically let her order:  fried cheese on a stick.

the old lady went big and ordered the chicken in a waffle.

it's hard for me to resist a plate o'bacon-wrapped drumsticks.  so i don't.

and the special friend bucked the trend and opted for the only healthy item on the menu:  a chicken kabob served with hummus and pita, which actually looked really good.

there was a cheap trick concert happening in the hangar.

we browsed through the shopping buildings, which is always one of our favorite activities at the fair.  it's so fun to look at all the stuff for sale, and i was pretty proud of myself for managing to walk out of there without buying a single thing.  although this booth was interesting...only in the OC would you find authentic louis vuitton and chanel at the fair.

the bean loves the footsie wootsie machines.  i'm not gonna lie, i would've hopped onto one myself if i'd had another quarter.

and she was super excited to find this vendor.  it's her favorite at the l.a. county fair, and who doesn't love fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and milk?

obligatory ferris wheel photos.

i hate carnival rides because they're so rickety and i really don't trust them, so the bean was super stoked when i gave in and bought a ride card so she could go through this fun house.  i don't remember what i said at this point, but it must've been really funny because this lady totally cackled at me.  i'm just here to spread joy, people.

she had enough credits to go down the goliath slide:

and play at least one game.  she went for the one game that guarantees a prize, which basically takes zero skill aside from being able to pick up a rubber ducky.  sheesh.

back at the chicken charlie's booth for a treat, we eyed the krispy kreme cheeseburger as it was served to another customer.  the old lady had really been tempted to try it this year, but chickened out and ended up really glad she had as she looked at it.  blech.

we shared a deep-fried twinkie, and while it was pretty tasty a bite or two was more than enough.

one last photo op before we called it a night.  i'm so thrilled that the bean is in the "too cool to smile for pictures unless you bribe me with something really really good" stage.

and now we have just a few weeks left until the l.a. county fair opens.  the bean has a painting submitted for the art competition, while i'm mulling over design ideas for this year's cookie entry.  i really want that pink 4th place ribbon, guys.  maybe this will be my year!