Trip down memory lane

Jim and I took the kiddos to the Royal Winter Fair today - a large agricultural fair in downtown Toronto.

I can't remember when I first went to the fair - probably with my parents when I was 9 or 10 years old, just after I started riding ponies. It evolved over the following few years. My girlfriends from high school and I would take a day off school (with parental permission, of course), ride the train to the Royal and wander about the horse barns looking for the famous equestrian riders. I hace been trying to think when the last year I would have gone to the fair - probably when I was in Grade 11, so 16 years old or so.

The fair was fabulous. We left Seanie baby home with Jayne. Jim decided to come along too, so we added Deckles back into the mix. (I wasn't quite sure I had the energy to take Deckles, Kate & Andrew alone.) We walked around the horse barns. We saw hackney ponies, heavy heavy heavy horses (gosh those dudes are big), some hunter-jumper types, and I would imagine one or two of the big name show jumper contingent.

We also spent time at a horse exhibit, the agricultural learning centre (measuring eggs), taking home free booklets for kiddos and nibbling some lunch. Andrew's favourite part of the day was racing some remote NASCARs (he won a ribbon), Kate liked watching Andrew bawh to the sheep in the sheep barns (it was incessant bawhing from that boy), and Deckles - well he just liked to run.

My favourite part was buying the fudge. I remember buying a piece of fudge from a particular vendor every single year I went to the fair. I loved maple nut, but typically got a slab of irish cream or double chocolate for my parents. The same vendor is still at the fair - Maple Leaf Fudge. I asked the lady how many years they have been at the Royal - 42 years. Seems like a really long time, until you think I have so many memories of my trips to the Royal - and I have been in 21 years.