The Big E - 2010

Every year The Big E rolls around for people in the Northeast. I used to attend religiously for years then for a few years I was very sporadic with my attendance. I'm happy to say I'm back! I know a lot of people think it's just the same old thing every year but that's not necessarily true. It's actually so big that it's nearly impossible to see everything on one trip. So if you put your mind to it you can see different things every time you're there. This year will go down as my most memorable trip ever. I saw a calf being born this year and that's something I've never seen before. It was a moving and amazing experience!

When we got there the most pressing thing on the kids minds was to get a baked potato. I'm not that impressed with food in general (you can get a baked potato anywhere can't you?) but I followed along in their quest for the Maine building, apparently known for their awesome potatoes. While they stood in a line that looked like it would never end, I took a quick tour of the building to see what they had to offer. By the time I came out they had potatoes in hand and were heading for a bench outside. While they were busy inhaling their food...I noticed Santa coming towards us in a crowd. I knew it had to be Santa. He fit the description perfectly...big belly; long white hair; jolly attitude....yup, it was him. It's very funny however, that nobody else seemed to notice him just because he wasn't in his uniform. I picked him out in the crowd immediately and took his picture as he walked by. You're not fooling me Santa!

We moved on to more of the state buildings and most of us bought food at each one. Justin was extremely happy to find clam chowder at the Rhode Island building...and he was quick to point out it's not the one with the milk or cream in it and it's not the red one...it's the clear one. Looked like chicken soup with bits of clam in it to me but what do I know?

In the Massachusetts building we discovered lobster rolls. Now THAT'S something I can get a wee bit excited about. It's not something I have very often and although I prefer them warm and they are served cold, I decided to go along with Justin to get one of them. It turns out they were charging $8.00 for each lobster roll. I don't like that price one bit but this is a special day so I said nothing. However, when I gave the man my money I noticed that a new tray was coming out that had twice the filling as the ones that were currently being offered. I looked at the lady who was handing them out and promptly said I want one of those (pointing to the tray of good ones). Well this lady took exception to my request and decided I was going to get what she was handing out. (definitely had a power trip thing going on there) Apparently she didn't realize who she was dealing with. I'm not about to pay $8.00 for something and walk away with an inferior product when the better product is starring me in the face...and certainly not after she decided for me that I was taking the inferior product! So while she sat there holding the puny lobster roll and saying to me they are the same..I delayed putting my change back into my wallet so that the new tray had arrived by the time I had a hand free. I looked at the offending woman and said they are NOT the same. The new ones are twice the size. I will take one of the new ones! Well she was NOT gracious about it at all and her co-workers looked a bit embarrassed. She hurriedly shoved one of the better ones in my hand and then grabbing another one looked at Justin (standing next to me) and said I supposed HE wants one too! I said very matter of fact and with a sickening sweet smile on my face, of course he does! (thinking but not saying..he paid the same amount I did didn't he lady??!!) Having won my prize (and the power play) we moved on to bigger and better things...although I will admit it took me a little while to climb back down off my high horse after that encounter. Her attitude had caught me completely off guard and I still don't know where the hell she had hidden her broom, but she certainly seemed to have just gotten off of it. :)


A little later in the day we came across one of the parades that come through during the day. They were throwing beads and as soon as I realized that I was off like a shot to get a spot in line. I wanted some of those beads! I must have turned into a teenager all of a sudden because I was jumping and waving my arms like a maniac. (you have to draw their attention somehow now don't you??) Two times I caught someones eye and they threw beads at me. The first one landed really close to a child so I let him have them. The second one went over my head a bit and a mother with a stroller made a heroic dive for it..so I let her have it too. Now I was getting really frustrated so I doubled my efforts to attract attention...and it worked. A fine set of gold colored beads were aimed at me and I caught this one. Success at last! I was very pleased..that is until the parade passed us by and I turned to go back to my group. I discovered that KC (standing right next to me the whole time) had managed to get 4 sets of different colored beads! Way to go KC!! She's going to have to show me how she did that next time. :)


We ventured into one of the animal buildings and saw creatures great and small....literally. This is one of the places that I don't often go into to when I visit the Big E. Over the years I've seen my fill of ducks; rabbits; baby chicks; goats and cows but I went along with the crowd anyway. Turns out it was the most exciting part of our day. I saw a life sized sculpture of a cow made entirely in butter (can only hope that that butter doesn't go to waste but it probably will) and some of the cutest animated figures around. They had a stage set up with singing vegetables that were just adorable! And in the dairy barn they had a refrigerator that opens periodically with all the gifts of the cow singing inside too! So cute! The little block of cheese with sunglasses and a microphone was my favorite. And what a clever way to get kids to pay attention to good nutrition.


But the very best part we came across completely by accident. We were leaving the barn, having seen cows being washed (never noticed how dirty regular cows are until I saw them all spruced up!); sheep being shaved down; goats being trimmed and prettied up..when we noticed a crowd down at one end of the barn. We wondered what was going on and decided we'd take a walk down there. As it turned out the crowd was gathered to watch a calf being born! This was a first for me...I was excited. I quickly handed my knapsack off to one of the kids, got my camera ready and started squeezing my way in to get the best view. I started snapping pictures immediately and didn't stop until it was over. It didn't take very long to my surprise...not more than 20 mins to a half hour.


When we arrived the front feet and a nose was showing but shortly most of the face was showing too. The mother cow seemed to be fine, no mooing which surprised me. One of the women who owned the cow said this was her 5th baby so maybe that had something to do with it. The lack of reaction from the calf being born had me worried for awhile. I looked at one of the farmers standing by and asked him if it was alive. He said yes but I don't know how he could tell. There was no movement in the eyes and the tongue was hanging out...really looked dead to me. One guy felt around inside to make sure the shoulder was in the right position for birthing and in a short span of time the two farmers that were in charge looped some light weight twine around each calf foot and pulled him out. One farmer announced it's a boy! The crowd clapped and cheered it's approval. One guy grabbed some hay and started rubbing the calf down while the other guy cleaned out his nose and mouth. Now the baby started to perk up and looked alive for sure. They dragged it over to the mother's head and she sniffed him and then started licking him. It was absolutely amazing to see this wonderful event happen in front of my eyes!
Everyone stayed around for a bit just watching the new baby. The farmers got the mother to stand up almost immediately. I don't know the reason for this but they sure seemed to know what they were doing. One of them also said it would take about a half hour before the baby would try to stand up on his own. Meanwhile he just gets attention from Mom so we decided to move along and let them have some mommy and me time. What a fantastic day it was for me!

There was very little else going on at the Big E that could top that so we started heading for the gate. We'd already been there for hours anyway and every body's feet were beginning to complain a bit. We did stop to buy last minute items like cheeses; candy apples; fried dough, etc. I had my going home goodies already and a camera full of memories so I was more than happy.
And it just goes to show too that you never know when you'll encounter something new and unexpected at the Big E.

Here is a collection of photos taken that day. The calf being born is at the end of the pictures. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed the event itself.