PNE 2010–Part Two

The PNE was not all fun and games…there was some serious carnival food to be partaken in! 

When our tummies started to grumble (how could they not…the whole exhibition smells fan-freaking-tastic! well, outside the barns!) we headed for the food alley.  Basically two almost park-long rows of food stands…there really is a taste of everything!!

We found the heart attack booth:

Yes.  If you haven’t heard…some genius has invented Deep Fried Butter now.  Um, ew.  At almost $6 I couldn’t bring myself to order it just to settle my curiosity.

We did however track down the Deep Fried Oreos.  Conveniently served in a set of four, we couldn’t turn them down!  (Available from the Funnel Cake people if you are ever looking for them…also up for grabs were Deep Fried Jelly Beans!  Apparently you can batter up anything!)

None of us were sure what to make of this over-the-top sounding treat…but holy moly sister!!  Were we ever pleasantly surprised. 

Think warm donut stuffed with warm almost gooey Oreo.  *swoon*  The cookie was softened to the point of seeming almost home baked and the icing became more of a oozy glaze in the middle.  It wasn’t tooooo terribly sweet and being able to share was just perfect.  We all gave it a thumbs up!

A little later we decided to find lunch.  The choices were actually totally overwhelming.  We all wandered around a little lost, changed our minds a couple of times, then ended up at the Ukrainian booth. 

To me, carnival food really should involve a hot dog but the perogies were calling to me…so I got the best of both worlds…perogies with a grilled sausage. 

I skipped most of that sauerkraut and didn’t touch the bread…but the sausage and perogies totally hit the spot.  Thankfully I wasn’t partaking in any rides though because that meal sat like a pretty heavy rock in my belly for a while.

Wisely, I did wash it down with water. 

Later after Tarilyn arrived Cat and I were feeling the mid-afternoon lull.  While on our way back to find the coffee cart we decided to stop for something a little more refreshing.

Not really shakes…more like watered down smoothies…but the Caribbean Colada did a pretty good job of helping to perk me up and rehydrate me a bit.  Can’t really go tooooo wrong with coconut and banana.

After Breanne and Chris finished torturing themselves on a few more rides and we all finished perusing the sand castles and caught a few minutes of the afternoon parade we decided it was time to load up on the road snacks and head home.

Honestly, the most famous thing about the PNE is the MINI DONUTS! 

How do they keep up?  Fried right before your eyes all day long!

Cinnamon-sugar of course.  There are a few different donuts stands around the park, but apparently these are the famous ones.  Bite sized little pieces of heaven.  Nom.

And lordy lordy, as if our sugar buzz wasn’t complete there was cotton candy to eat and play with in the car on the way home.  The gigglefest that ensued was a perfect tell-tale that we may have overdone the sweets…..wait, what?  No way!!!

Don’t worry.  Cat and I spent our evening eating healthy lettuce and carrots sticks.  If by that you know I mean cheese and cookies.

What?  It’s a mini vacation dammit. 

PNE 2010 – Part One

Even though I grew up just a short ferry ride away somehow I’ve never been to Playland or the PNE!  Weird I know.  I’ve never been big on rides and I guess our trips to the mainland never coincided with the Exhibition each year.

So when I happened to mention it to Cat and she told me she tries to go every year I was pretty excited and invited myself to join her. *tee hee*

Cat, Breanne and Chris planned for us to head into the city early so we could find decent parking and be ready to rock when the gates opened.  Our timing was perfect, and although we waited with a large crowd to get in the place was actually quite deserted when we were allowed in.

Cat and I only got passes for the park, but Breanne and Chris had plans to do all of the crazy rides.  Watching them was enough to make me pee my pants!

They were the first riders of the day on Drop Zone….it’s kind of a super extreme bungee jump sort of thing.  The blood curdling scream that came from Breanne when that elastic let go was enough to make your arm hair stand up.

If that wasn’t enough they went on Revelation - this crazy propeller thing that spun, flipped, turned and flung them at warp speed.  Insanity I tell you.

Later in the day they also hit up the Hellavator which doesn’t look quite as scary but goes freaking fast. Just watching them made my stomach flip.

They did a bunch of others too, but those are main ones that freaked me out!! 

The crowd built quickly!

For a little tamer experience we visited Farm Country where we learned about bees…

and saw the oxen.  Nice bum, where ya from?!

We learned about baby cows and saw a milking demonstration.  This little fella has some love on his head!

We tried to watch the Lumberjack Show but it started out really slow and boring so we lost interest and wandered off.  It was next to this odd art exhibit…all inside cargo containers…not sure what we made of it.

I think my favourite part may have been the Marketplace!  I didn’t even know this part existed!!  A whole exhibit hall filled with crazy-ass products.  As seen on TV – now seen in person. Soooo fun. 

Nothing in particular I wanted to buy at the time but I am now kicking myself for not at least asking how much an iPig was.  Cute and functional!

Lookie what was there though!!  Vitamix.  Not that I need a $400 blender but I knew y’all would think it was cool. 

And the super duper sharp kitchen knife folks had fun veggie sculpture!

In the afternoon Tarilyn came along to meet us.  This girl and I have been internet friends for years now so it was sooooo nice to finally meet her in person!!  We wandered through the carnival playing a few games trying to win an ugly stuffed toy, but no luck!! 

While Bre and Chris continued to induce puke on a few more rides us gals wandered through the sand castle competition statues, got a cold drink and sat to rest our feet for a while.

After about six hours of fun in the sun we decided it was time to take our sugar filled selves on home.  Next year I swear I’ll need to book a week off work to make sure I see everything there is to see.  I think the trick is to take a mid-day nap in the car, then go back for the night time fun!!

Part Two coming up soon….featuring FOOD!