Say Cheese (Curd)! Wisconsin Vacay

We had a wonderful trip up to Wisconsin, although we were accused of bringing the Florida weather with us - it was a highly unusual 95!
Paul and I spent several days with his parents in his hometown of Ellsworth (about 45 minutes from St. Paul, Minnesota), in the home his father built in 1960.  Ellsworth is a small farming town of 2,900 people, filled with charming old homes...

...and surrounded by many thousands of acres of farmland (lots of corn, soy beans and cows!):

(This shot is from our mornning two-mile walk where we saw beautiful rolling hills)

"Downtown" has a quaint Main Street with various shops and small businesses:

(Notice what the sweet sign says?)

Ellsworth is the "Cheese Curd Capital of the World!"

Cheese curd (think of Mary Had a Little Lamb lyrics - "eating her curds and whey...") is a by-product of cheese and is a VERY popular snack up north, best chased with beer (some people like it deep fried too).  We made a stop by the local Creamery to buy some fresh curd so that Paul could carry back five pounds of it to share with friends and our daughter.

The highlight of our trip was attending the 90th Annual Pierce County Fair - woo hoo!

I'd never been to a fair before so I was eager to experience all the hype for myself.  Four days of townspeople (young and old) exhibiting their animals, crafts, plants and foods for judging; yummy snacks (including just about EVERYTHING available on a stick or deep fried!), entertainment (music, juggling and an amazing fireworks display) and a bustling midway filled with lots of kiddies.  Here are a few pictures...

(A child's apron was the blue ribbon winner in the sewing category)

My mother-in-law Lois proudly showing her blue ribbon quilted/knitted sweater:

Paul and my father-in-law Jim and their American Legion post were part of the flag raising ceremony:

(I know EXACTLY what my husband will look like in 30 years!  That's Jim on the left and Paul on the right.  Can you believe how identical they look?!)

On Thursday night, the big to-do at the Fair was the tractor pull.  What?  Seems the goal was to drive your tractor fast and pull a lot of weight - hmmm.  Had to go and experience the ultimate in farmville - ha!

We left Ellsworth with lots of fond memories and this "self portrait" Paul and I took at the tractor pull (had to take a couple of shots to ensure we got the Ellsworth water tower in the frame):

Follower Alert!  For a chance at winning this month's free blog giveaway (the cupcake book!) please scroll down to my August 5th post for easy instructions.