Wordless Wednesday

Just Do It!

 

Ruby Tuesday

 

Hail Caesar!

 

Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show

Last week my wife and I took the two youngest grand kids to the Tulsa State Fair.  On Saturday morning we got to the fair around 11:00 and made our way to the Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show in the Expo building.  What's the big deal, you ask. Well, it is one of the premier cake decorating shows in the country.

Anyone familiar with the "Challenge" series on the Food Network will recognize the lady on the left.  Ms. Kerrie Vincent is a rock star in the word of sugar art and is the most feared judge on the show.  She lives in Tulsa and that is why this show is part of the fair.

The cakes are truly amazing.  There are several categories and age groups represented.  Everything on the cake is edible.  Yes, those roses and leaves are sugar.

While the cakes, as a whole are truly stunning, it is the details that will take your breath away.  If you're ever in Tulsa during the state fair, you must take the time to go by this exhibit.  It is amazing.

I simply cannot imagine the talent and patience that it takes to do this kind of work.  Keep in mind, many of these artists have traveled hundreds, or even thousands of miles to participate in this show.  As a result, most of the final assembly of the cakes take place on Friday night, prior to the judging on Saturday.

Artist seems to simple of a word to describe those who can do this.

 This was my favorite cake of the show.  In this category, the decoration had to be inspired by something.  The hat in the foreground is real.  The hat and it's details are replicated throughout the cake with incredible skill.  In fact, I thought the hat was part of the decoration when I first saw it. 

I'm no expert, but I could find no wrong in this cake.

It Was a State Fair Week-end

 Friday afternoon we picked up the two youngest grandcrew, after school, and headed to Tulsa for the Tulsa State Fair.  We got to the fairgrounds around 6:00 p.m.

The first order of business was FAIR FOOD!  As you probably know, some of the most calorie laden, artery clogging, heart stopping food can be found at the fair.  We resisted that temptation and settled for the Nacho's Supreme.

A little later we had to have a lemonade.  Who could resist this architectural wonder?

Afterwards we spent a little time scouting out things in the Expo building, rode a couple of rides, then made our way to the car and headed for the hotel.

Saturday was a new day and the grand daughter started by purchasing a couple of hair adornments in the Expo building.  That's little brother looking on.

We headed around the corner to the Oklahoma Sugar Arts show.  I will post a whole other article on this later.  You will find the most amazing cake decorations in the country on display here during the fair.

The hat is real and served as inspiration for the cake. You can see it reproduced in the middle of the cake.  This was my favorite cake of all.  Like I said I will post more photos of cakes at a later date.
Next we headed to the livestock area or at least to one of the exhibits.  The sign over the door, entering the building, said "Birthing Center".  Really! It did.  Inside, there were several pens with pregnant goats.  If you cared to stay around long enough you could witness the live birth of a kid (goat that is).  This might be a great required exhibit for teens and pre-teens.  Just sayin'.

This youngster is only a couple of days old.

On the other hand, this little one was only two hours old.  He had just gotten up on all fours for the first time when I snapped this photo.  Okay, enough for the life science exhibit.  Let's go back outside and ride some rides.

First on the list was the "Viper".  Then after a couple of other rides, the crew finished this year's visit with the traditional ferris wheel.

It was now about 3:00 p.m., so we headed to the car, drove out to Los Cabos in Broken Arrow for a late, late lunch, then headed home.  The 2012 Tulsa State Fair is in the books and a great time was had by all.
Next year, I'm getting the battered and deep fried Oreo cookies...yes I am.
Don't forget to come back tomorrow.  We're going to take a closer look at those cake decorations.  They are something special.

Wordless Wednesday

Rollin' Thunder Review



Bikes, Blues and BBQ 2012

Rogers, Arkansas

Come back tomorrow, 'cause we're goin' to the fair!

Ruby Tuesday II

Here are a couple of more Ruby images from Bikes, Blues, and BBQ that was held in Northwest Arkansas last week.  If you want to see more, scroll down to my previous post...and stay tuned, because Wordless Wednesday will likely have a additional bikes featured.

Bikes, Blues, and BBQ

Every year, over 100,000 bikers descend on Northwest Arkansas for 4-Day event known as Bikes, Blues, and BBQ.  Ground zero for the event is on Dickson Street, in Fayetteville, AR.  However bikers can be found in hotels, restaurants, and dealerships for 25 miles in every direction from the headquarters location.  Rogers, AR is about 20 miles north of Fayetteville, and has several large motorcycle dealerships, including Pig Trail Harley-Davidson.  Needless to say, this is the Mother Ship for the local gathering.  I spent a couple of hours there on Thursday capturing some images of these amazing machines.  They come in all shapes and sizes.

There are bikes that have served our country and been restored to their former glory.  If only we could do the same for some of those who served.

There were bikes with an understated elegance and power.  The top one just might be my favorite of all.

There were bikes that seemed to be ready to set the world on fire.

Of course there were those for which there is NO such thing as too much bling.  I'll post a few more photos next week, so stay tuned.  One last thing, just like the bikes, the riders come in all shapes and sizes.