August 14, Sunday
We’ve gone to the Ventura County fair for the last four years. It’s become our summer tradition. The fact that the last day of the fair was the day after we got back from five weeks in Ohio didn’t stop us.
I like this fair because it’s small, it’s on the ocean, and it’s always foggy and cool in the morning when we get there. Holler’s our daredevil and likes the fast roller coasters, and the swings that rise up in the air and twirl her through the sky, and the super slide that makes her stomach pitch. I love the ferris wheel and the carousel. Lulu likes the games of chance even though we explain to her that the odds are against her. Dad only goes on the ferris wheel.
We’re usually done and at the hotel by 4pm. We always stay near the pier and walk to downtown Ventura to the same restaurant for dinner. This time we tried Irish Nachos, which are thick-cut potato chips topped with corned beef, cheese sauce, tomatoes, jalapenos, and sour cream. However delicious you think that sounds, it was better.
I love hotels. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Four Seasons or Best Western. I love the antiseptic smell of the sheets, the ice machine, the hot, hot water in the shower, the abundance of clean towels, how you can leave five dollars on the bed and your room will be clean and everything restocked. I love watching TV in bed, because one thing we’ll never allow is a TV in our bedroom. I love seeing how different newscasters look in different cities, how their hairstyles and make-up vary, and how the bigger the city, the better looking they are. I could live in a hotel if it had room service because the very best thing about a hotel is the room service.
There’s always fireworks at night during the fair. We can stand outside our room and look across the parking lot and see the top half bursting over the rooftop. By that time we’ve eaten dinner and are ready to take our showers and lie in bed and eat leftover fudge while watching TV and can’t be bothered to walk upstairs where we could have a better view.