Musician's Widow

The rides have been torn down. The last funnel cake fried. No more roasted corn to be had.

Wilson County Fair - 2009

The Wilson County Fair has come and gone for another year. And I’m happy to say I got to attend this year.

Ever since I moved to the Nashville area, I’ve heard that the Wilson County Fair was something I absolutely had to go do. However, with a husband who plays county fairs all around the country, attending yet another county fair just for fun was pretty low on the list.

This year, though, it was announced that the Wilson County Fair was listed as one of the top 50 fairs in the country, and the urging to go grew too hard to ignore. So one night last week, my husband and I packed it up and went to the fair.

And I am SO happy we did!

Our visit to the fair really made me feel like I’d taken a step back in time to when entertainment didn’t revolve around video games and the Internet. We decided to be kids again, and we made a meal out of carny food. The smell of the food and the lights of the rides were sensory overload. We sprung for a ride on the large Farris Wheel that turned over head all night and upon reaching the top didn’t know which was to look first as the fair seemed to spread forever below.

There was a petting zoo. A walk through an old town. Monkeys riding dogs. And most importantly: families out having fun together.

Just when I start to lose a little faith in our world thanks to the constant stream of bad news coming from all around, I have an experience like the fair that brings that faith back. Moms and dads with kids of all ages were scattered all around the fair bringing a smile to my face. I walked through the fairway holding hands with my husband, and it was like being on an old fashioned date.

We left that night more relaxed than we could have ever asked to be. My legs were like goo from walking so much, and my stomach gave a little grumble at the junk food we’d eaten. We rode home with the windows open in complete content silence, marveling in the wonder night we’d had.

You’re never too old for a night out at the county fair, and I do highly recommend catching your local fair when the opportunity arises. Leave the stresses of work and society behind and go be a kid again. It’s wonderful therapy for the mind and the soul.

My Flickr Set of Fair Photos

Drive-In Intermission

I don’t know what came over me this afternoon. I’m sure my husband even wondered what came over me.

See, out of the blue, as we sat on the couch thinking about the day — Memorial Day, a day to honor and remember all the men and women who serve our country so we can enjoy our many freedoms — I blurted out, “Do you want to go see a movie?”

Movies are just so darn expensive to go see these days! And we’ve had to tighten down to get through. So for me to suggest going to see a movie was about like my suggesting that the sky had turned green and the grass blue.

After some discussion on what we’d go see, my husband suggested going to a drive-in movie. I was skeptical, just thinking that with it being a Monday night there would be no way we would find one open. However, a quick Google search not only found a drive-in close by — about a 45 minute drive for us — but one that was showing a double feature of the two movies we couldn’t decide between in the beginning! Besides all of that, the ticket prices couldn’t be beat. It was a no brainer, and a date night created.

This was my first visit to a drive in. I still remember the drive-in that was such a prominent feature in my hometown. I also remember it being torn down in the late 1980s. Today, that lot holds a nursing home, as my hometown became one of the many towns and cities in which the drive-in has disappeared.

Me and my seat at the drive-in

With that disappearance, the experience of attending a drive-in theater has also disappeared. That’s a fact that has always made me sad, and after tonight it makes me all the more sad.

I absolutely loved watching movies sitting in chairs in the bed of my truck. Two great movies — both of which I definitely recommend, “Star Trek” and “Angels & Demons” — and great food at the concession stand. My husband insisted I take a blanket with me, which I am so glad he did… it came in handy! We snuggled up under the stars, surrounded by lightening bugs. I have to admit… it was rather romantic.

This was one of the cheapest, yet most special, date nights we’ve ever had. I can’t wait to do it again!

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Stardust Drive-In is located in Watertown, TN. A short trip into the country from Nashville, just south of Lebanon, TN.