If you live in Missouri, you know that August is all about the Missouri State Fair. Anyone that knows me, knows how much I dislike the MSF. I know for some families it is all about the “show-cation” and the history and tradition, but for me, my memories of the MSF are not great. Without going into much detail about the different things I have experienced at the MSF, the long list of things that come to mind I dislike have to do with: parking, lack of hotels in town, trailer parking, getting in the gate, getting cattle to tie outs and back, barn conditions, bedding and the list goes on. I will say that the ONE positive to the MSF is that you can stay in the dorms, on the grounds. It is NOT five-star accommodations, and you better bring your shower shoes and extra sheets for privacy between the bunk beds IYKYK.
To have a “non-livestock show” event over the State Fair is a welcoming idea for me. If you read my last editorial, you know that my daughter and I had a running/kayak event in Oklahoma. I was not super excited about the time of the race and the record setting heat indexes that were happening and forecasted. A few days before the race my daughter informed me that she had been sick for the past few days and once again, anyone that knows me, knows I hate to be around sick people much less be stuck in a vehicle for a few hours with someone sick.
We arrive at the race location and I will tell you these people are serious about not only running, but kayaking as well. These kayaks looked fast just setting on the ground not even in the water. Lauren just laughed and said, “well our kayaks are for creek-leisure only.” Some competitors had their kayaks positioned in such a way on the bank that I am pretty sure they were going to just run, jump into their kayak, and shoot right onto the water.
We had some time before the race to prepare our snacks and drinks for the kayaking portion of the race. I had my electrolyte water and my individual pickle pack so I could drink some pickle juice and eat some pickles while floating like a little picnic. Lauren had her water and then a giant cup of ice and some microfiber towels stuffed down inside so she cool off her head and neck during the relaxing portion of the race.
We get started with the race at 10am and it is a half mile out and then back to the kayak area. It was flat and paved and it didn’t take long for the super-fast runners to make it to the turn around and come back towards us…before we were even a quarter mile in! No need to stress and worry, this is just for fun. There is a guy running with a sword (for fun, part of the race event staff), people at the turn around with drinks and encouragement, race photographers and lots of roadside cheering. When we make it back to the kayak area, they had event staff there to help you get pushed off into the water, so no need to Evel Knievel into the kayak and hope for the best.
It is busy traffic on the water with all of the kayaks and it was refreshing to be on the water and be able to splash yourself, or your daughter. Once we got close to the island, I told Lauren we needed to get near the bank so we had calmer water and a little less mileage to paddle. She is not a fan of open water so I figured she would be all for that. But all she could think about was the weeds and grass and the overhanging trees and getting tangled up, and snakes. Yes, snakes… when we were driving to the park, we had to cross over a large irrigation ditch, and she yelled out that there was a big snake swimming in it and she could see how long it was. I told her not to worry and it was a good thing we didn’t have to kayak in that, but all she could think of when looking at our current situation was the snake she had seen about an hour earlier.
We managed to get back to shore without incident and then finish up the race with the last mile of the run. We managed a time of 1 hour and a few seconds, so not to bad for an old lady and a sick kid (kid is 32). We got our medals and a t-shirt to prove we did it and Brian got some good photos, mostly of Hank.
Debbie Elder is a native of Ottawa County, Okla. and lives on her farm in Webster County, Mo. To contact Debbie, call 1-866-532-1960 or by email at [email protected].
