I grew up in New Richland, Minnesota, which is in Waseca County. My brothers still live in the area…and so do most of their kids.
A week or so ago, I thought it might be fair week for Waseca. I went online to check. Yes, it was. I contacted my nephew, Jake, to see if he had plans to participate in the Demo Derby on Friday night. He said he was, along with his son, Gage, and his brother Logan. I wanted to go. I had wanted to go last year, but my hip was a real issue then, and I was sure I wouldn’t be able to do the walking that was required. This year, I believed I could do it.
I talked to Rick about it. Then I talked to my siblings about it. How about we all get together and have a meal, then go to the derby? Everyone responded yes except my brother Jim and his wife Sandy. They caught a bug and wouldn’t be able to go. Better yet, some of brother Jule’s daughters and grandkids met us for a meal too. I talked to my kids, and Karl wanted to go.
So Friday afternoon, Rick, Karl, and I loaded up and went to the fair. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive for us.
We went for supper at my favorite Mexican restaurant, El Molino’s in Waseca. Oh, I love their food. Rick and Karl do too. It’s probably a good thing that they aren’t closer, or I’d spend a lot more money eating there. It was extra good as the item I always order didn’t bother my mouth a bit.
At the fair, Karl dropped Rick and me off close to the entrance, then parked and walked back. That made it so much easier for me for walking. The Demo Derby was so fun.
Jake loves Demo Derbies and participates regularly. This is his car 122. He normally doesn’t run in the van heat, but he tried it this year.
This is Logan’s van…
My niece Carly caught a good picture of when it caught on fire.
It was a small quick fire, and believe it or not, he was still able to run.
I don’t know if I remember right, but Jake took 1st and was the best hitter, which is called the Mad Dog award. Logan got 3rd, and Gage got 4th. Logan posted this picture of his van after it was all smashed.
They were optimistic that it might be able to be fixed enough for another Derby.
Here are Jake’s cars after being smashed.
They also had cars in another heat. I got so busy watching the derby that I forgot to take any more pictures. This is one from Carly again. The black car that says TWA on it is my great-nephew, Gage.
It was a lot of fun to watch. The boys are all popular and had a lot of people cheering for them.
My favorite picture of the night is of my brother Jay with the boys.
It’s Jake, Jay, Logan, and his son Tripp. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen Logan, so this was much needed. For a few summers, Logan would stay with us for a week. Logan and Buck are about the same age. Logan blended in great. I miss those days.
Rick got to meet my siblings, minus Jim, so we have that done too.
We did have one downer. Rick went out of the grandstands after one of the heats. I asked him to get me a drink. He tried to come back into the stadium, and the police officer said he couldn’t bring the drinks back in or he would put Rick in cuffs. We weren’t aware of that, as my niece had walked in with a couple of sparkling waters that she had brought from home. She wasn’t stopped. So Rick moved to the side and decided he would open one and drink it there, just past the entry. The same officer walked back over to Rick and told him that he had better take those drinks right back to the place he bought them or he’d have Rick in cuffs and take him to jail.
Oh my word. What a jerk. There is NO NEED to threaten cuffs or jail over a drink that wasn’t supposed to be brought into the grandstand. He could have politely said the policy is that no drinks from outside can go into the grandstand. You will have to take your drinks over to the place you bought them and drink them there. Admittedly, the guy frustrated Rick. We tried not to let it dampen the day.
My favorite thing of the whole night was chatting with my niece Carly. We don’t see each other much anymore, and it was a great time to catch up. We both had a few struggles in the relationship department and are in good ones now. We could both commiserate. It’s wonderful to see her happy and enjoying life. We are both pretty independent gals and aren’t used to guys wanting to take care of us. We’re learning…
So that was my Demo Derby. It was fun to go back to my old stomping grounds and show Rick around. Congrats to my nephews. They’ll be running more derbies, I’m sure. If they do one closer, we might try to catch another one.
How fun!! It sounds like a good time was had and good to see family. Bummer about the drinks. I cannot imagine that that one van can be repaired but they are probably used to fixing the junk they’ve made!!
I don’t understand about the drinks. Were they soft drinks or alcoholic drinks? They let the sparkling water thru. Did they not have a drink stand inside the grandstands? Sounds like the fair needs to take a look at their policy if they want to sell more drinks at future events.
I don’t understand about the drink situation. Were they soft drinks or alcohol drinks that they wouldn’t let in? They let the sparkling water in. They should have drinks for sale inside the grandstands. Maybe they can take a look at that for future events.
Oops. Didn’t look like it posted. Then retyped.
Boy, oh boy. Jo, you brought back many fair memories for me. I grew up near Mankato, MN. We would go to the Waseca County Fair one night every summer. It was a free fair…no fee to attend. Is it that way still? My dad purchased my mother a Husqvarna (Viking) sewing machine there at the fair back in the late 60’s. I have that machine. It was one of the last ones made with all metal gears. The Waseca fair was always a fun fair to go to. I’m glad you could connect with your relatives. It was too bad that the policeman put a damper on the evening. Maybe he had a headache from the demolition noise.