The Chesters and the Jasper County Fair

Departing from Chicago, I became more and more sad that we had chosen to leave so soon. Our hands were hurting and we were stuck on a road similar to Route 1 in New Jersey with construction and strip malls. After about 20 miles we stopped in a small town and resolved to try and find another road. We stopped on a sidewalk to inhale several fresh baked cookies and encountered a friendly cyclist. She had a whole bag of maps, including a cycling map for northern Indiana that she quickly gave to us! 

So after that we were on much improved roads and bike paths and determined that we could get much closer to Lafayette (the home of our cousins, south of the route), than we had originally anticipated. We made it to Rensselaer, Indiana and happened upon the Jasper County Fair. Well, first we saw the sign for fairgrounds so we thought we could camp there, then saw the sign for the fair and delicious foods. 

At the fair we were instant celebrities - we were announced on the loudspeaker, interviewed for the paper and we posed for photographs with the Jasper Fair Queen! We petted baby animals, including puppies, cows, goats, and sheep, and saw a livestock auction. We wanted to see the demolition derby, but by the time we were given a spot to camp and took showers we were pretty exhausted. Aside from our tent being barraged by water balloons while we were sleeping, the night was awesome! We met some really nice people and ate great food. 

The next day we only had a 50 mile ride south to Lafayette. We are so happy to once again be hosted by family! We first stopped at Melissa's, who looks great at 6 months pregnant, and her new home looks nice as well. From there we drove down to Carmel for a picnic and concert last night. We are having a great rest day- we went to the Carmel water park today and have been resting and eating and writing this post. 

-Cate