Potato Festival

On Saturday afternoon, I went to the North Carolina Potato Festival, held in downtown Elizabeth City. I had never been to (or, for that matter, heard of) the Potato Festival, but it was quite a bit larger than I expected, with lots of events, rides, vendors, music, and more. Here's a map of the event:

There was a display of classic cars on the street that had been blocked off for pedestrians.

Once driven by a police chief.

There were lots of tents at the festivals occupied by vendors and other organizations. I actually only saw a single vendor selling potatoes.

A robot! This fellow (whose name is Meccanoid) was outside a STEM education display. You can find him at Port Discover, a children's science center in downtown Elizabeth City.

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile!

The main music stage.

A high school band providing more music. Check out the Elvis impersonator on the right!

There were also lots of food vendors. Anyone fancy a fried oreo? Mmm!

Aside from the food, there were also lots of carnival games. Surprisingly few potato-themed ones. I'm pretty sure the whole potato thing is just an excuse to have a festival.

There were also "spudtastic" rides: a ferris wheel, gravitron, tilt-a-whirl, drop tower, and more. 

The USCG cutter 'Bluefin', which I took a tour of. Carrying a crew of twelve, it's a short-range ship that can stay out for a couple of days before it runs out of fuel and food. Its main mission is marine inspections and search & rescue ranging from NY to Virginia, and it's armed with two deck guns on the bow and an inflatable boat that docks in the stern.

Saugaro National Park

~I recently took a trip to Arizona to visit my grandmother, and we went to Saguaro National Park. Here are some of the pictures I took while we were there.

Look at all that green. From a distance, it looks like grassland. But it's filled with saguaro cactuses!

Looking north, from the Red Hills visitor's center.

Mom and Dad at the visitor's center.

A prickly pear cactus in bloom. Look at that colorful flower!

Me and grandma near the prickly pear catcuses.

Indian petroglyphs, carved into the rock on top of a hill in the park.

View of the park and beyond, from atop the hill with the petroglyphs.

Panoramic view of the park from near the petroglyph hill. Click on the image for a larger view.

Guess who? Also, notice the red flowers on the cactus behind me. With the cactuses in bloom, this was the best time of the year to visit the park.

Dad in front of some barrel cactuses. Look at all of those saguaros in the background!

If you haven't been to it, I highly recommend a visit to Saguaro National Park if you ever find yourself in southern Arizona.