Country Living Fair 2010

It was an early morning start for me, as I shut the alarm off, washed and got ready to be at my daughter-in-law's house by 6 am. I was thankful that we only lived about 10 minutes from each other, so that I didn't have to get up any earlier then 5:30.

Shortly after I arrived, we started out on our trip to Columbus, Ohio, to see the Country Living Fair 2010. I had never thought of going to the Fair, although I have subscribed to the Country Living magazine and saw the ads for it. So, when my daughter-in-law, who started a small cottage business of antiques and collectibles, along with a website and Blog, asked me to go along with her - I jumped at the chance.

The drive should have been a little over three hours but we lost 1-1/2 hours when traffic came to a halt. The four lanes went down to one, and we were detoured off the Interstate, onto a one lane highway. As a matter of fact both sides of the Interstate was closed down because of a major accident. The detour and traffic didn't dampen our spirits because we figured that by the time we drove back home, everything would be cleared up.

The Country Living Fair included over 170 antique dealers, crafters, and artisans. We could shop for items and attend free seminars and demonstrations. Besides, we could enjoy the food, ice cream, almonds, smoothies, and whatever else we wanted to eat.

We arrived at the fairgrounds, parked for a minimal fee and got into a rather small line that moved faster then the "Will Call" line. Every thing was moving along nicely. Maybe all of our glitches were now out of the way.

We walked around enjoying the craft booths and the antique booths. My daughter-in-law got a number of ideas of what is selling and in demand to use in her shop, and even bought a few things. I actually bought a small hand crafted lamp, perfect for my small table in my living room. I loved the fact that it was not only hand crafted but the price was very reasonable.

The booths had everything from handmade clothes and accessories to furniture. Wonderfully clever Christmas and Halloween items were next to hand crafted and unique jewelry. Some pieces were simple and others were ornate. Whatever you wanted you could find - soaps, preserves, crochet and knitted items, ceramics, pottery, metal, and wood. Looking at the booths made me realize how talented people have become, and their items gave me an appreciation of their talents.

With all the walking and looking, we did stop for a Philly steak and cheese sandwich, which we washed down with a cold bottle of water. We stopped at Jeri's Ice Cream stand. My daughter-in-law bought a scoop of salty caramel and a scoop of brown butter almond brittle for herself, and a scoop of honey vanilla bean for me. The ice cream flavors were different and delicious.

After a few hours, both of us were hot but happily saturated with all we had seen. We drove back home, and to our disappointment hit the same traffic problem that we had encountered before. The Interstate on our side was closed because two trucks had collided and spilled oil on the roadway and the EPA had been called in. The other side of the Interstate was opened. We made the same detour, down the same one lane highway and lost another 1-1/2 hours.

The traffic problem and the extreme heat were the only inconveniences to a rather pleasant day trip. In the end, my daughter-in-law went home with a few things and a lot of ideas. I on the other hand got to spend a few hours alone with my daughter-in-law and we talked about her new business venture and about my writing a Blog as well. All in all we had a great time together.