Were the 12 hour days worth it?

This week was Parent-Teacher Conference week.  That meant two 12 hour days crammed full of meetings in every spare minute.  However, it also meant we had today off.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely!
I started out my morning by sleeping in.  Who wouldn't?!  However, not for long.  I wanted to get out and about.  My first stop of the day was at the Oklahoma State Fair.  What better way to spend a gorgeous Fall day than wandering around the Fair?  Besides, breakfast was waiting...

Cinnamon Roll & Milk - yummmm!

It's a once a year treat, and the best cinnamon rolls ever!

Obviously I was not the only one with this idea!

The Fair was barely open, but people were already lining up for this treat.  Smart people!

After breakfast, it was time to wander around the buildings.  I have to admit, I am disappointed in most of the offerings - everything has become so commercial.  I loved the Made in Oklahoma building though - especially the animal exhibits set up for the kids.

Poor tired little guy! Just waiting for the water to come to him.

After a few hours at the Fair, it was on to a new adventure.  This time to something completely different - an Asian supermarket.  I have a hard enough time trying to figure out the Asian aisle at Target, but I have heard good things about this place, and I really wanted to go see what it was like.

A much, much nicer building than the first one!

When I first drove up, I was a bit worried.  The windows were dirty, one corner was boarded up and everything was pretty dingy.  Then I realized that it was also empty.  Since I knew it was still in business, I decided to drive around a bit and see what was what.  I was quite pleasantly surprised to find the new location.

Once inside, I was a bit overwhelmed.  The place is huge, and filled with things I don't recognize and can't read!  I did discover that the nutritional information was in English on most things, so I could read the ingredients.  However, that was only helpful on things with nutrition labels.  :D  The store also put signs in English on some of the more interesting items, like the hot pink duck eggs.  Apparently, they are died pink to make sure they are distinguishable from something else that I couldn't understand.

This was only part, and it was all fresh!

They had a tremendous produce department.  Lots of things we don't normally see, like bunches of fresh mint and tons of varieties of mushrooms.  Plus more things I couldn't read or identify!

The meat department was quite interesting.  Lots of things a standard market doesn't keep out front, like livers and tongues and various and assorted feet.  Pigs feet (with a separate section for front feet and back feet - do they taste different?), beef feet, chicken feet...lots and lots of feet.  What does one do with them?  I will certainly go back for the fish.  They had some frozen, but most of it fresh - including sushi grade tuna.  There was a guy behind the counter fileting fish, so I know it came whole, and not in pieces from a factory somewhere.  Then there were these:

I wouldn't have a clue what to do with these.

 and right after that, tanks of crabs, lobsters, oysters and catfish all swimming around.  Well, the oysters weren't going anywhere, but they were in a tank.   Yes, I will definitely go back.  However, at least for now, it will be with a specific recipe in mind and pictures of what the ingredients should look like!

I've been going here for over 20 years, and it hasn't changed a bit!

Before I headed back to the house, I made one more stop.  This time to one of my favorite sandwich shops - and one I rarely get to visit!  When I was taking this picture, one of the employees came by and asked if I was from out of town.  I guess they get a lot of tourists taking pictures?  "No," I told him, "I'm local....just blogging!"