US Diaries: Sandwich (Illinois)

We arrived in Sandwich, Illinois, Tuesday morning around four o’clock the morning. Showered, went to bed, got about seven hours sleep (which is good) and then had set-up at twelve Tuesday afternoon. This set-up was hard because we were tired, but we opened the Wednesday afternoon, so it was just one of those things.

Sandwich Fair was pretty cool even though we didn’t get to see or do a lot. There were hundreds of food stalls (and other stuff) that made it very interesting. It was nice to try a few out.

We started work at noon every day for the next five days, so laundry and Walmart had to be done in the wee hours of the morning after work. It was an interesting experience.

 

 

The sky looked like this most of the time - it rained a lot.

 

That Sunday I was very happy the week came to an end. It is not much fun working from noon till after midnight for basically five days in a row. We tore down the carnival, got about six or seven hours sleep, then hit the road for a really long jump to Calhoun, Georgia.

 

Beautiful blue skies the day we left

 

I’m getting really bad at taking photos as the season comes to an end for some reason. Oops…

US Diaries: Plymouth (Indiana)

After Kentucky we went back North to Indiana. Monday, August 25^th, we left Louisville about one in the afternoon and about one hour before Plymouth, Indiana we broke down with the Slushie (a food joint that makes slushies). So luckily the bus with all our people was in front of us and we caught a lift with them to our destination. We arrived seven o’clock that night and this is the part about working at the carnival that kind of sucks at times; our bunkhouses weren’t on location yet. This meant that we had nowhere to go for a few hours. Also this time Alex had to take another pick-up to go get the Slushie that was stranded by the side of the road and I waited for the bunkhouses so I could clean them in the meantime. The part that really sucked was that the bunkhouses only came ten o’clock that night. One positive thing about that day was that while I waited I discovered a forest walking trail that is absolutely magical but my phone was dead so I couldn’t take pictures (super lame). Luckily there was a park so I was on the swing watching a beautiful sunset (again no photos). To be honest, I wasn’t really happy about waiting outside with nowhere to go, but I’m glad that I could spend time surrounded by such beauty.

During set-up

Going to the Laundromat was another experience in itself too! It started pouring while we were inside and it ended up being so much rain that it reached the bumpers of the cars outside. Waiting time for it to stop or at least slow down was a whole hour.

Sunset one night

Carnival

 

 

The Blueberry festival was kind of fun and really big. You would pass hundreds of stalls walking down the midway – and there were a lot of blueberry stuff (of course!). A lot of my job involves managing ticket sellers and working with the tickets  and since we only had two ticket booths operating, they put me in foods (the Sugar Babes) two days out of the five we were there; the one day was just half a day basically. It was fun at that moment, but at the end of the day my feet were saying ‘hell no!’ There’s always good and bad in every job I guess and I’m glad I got to experience that. (I must include I have worked in food at two other spots before, but it wasn’t ten hours straight). And sure enough that night I dreamt about blue raspberry snow cones!

The Sugar Babes

Hot Air Balloons

After the five days at the spot, we tore down the rides and everything and without getting any sleep, drove four hours to Sandwich, Illinois.  

US Diaries: Kentucky

I’m thankful that I can work in America and travel at the same time, this is true, but I’m pretty sure just travelling would be much more fun (duh); like to be on holiday and stuff. Unfortunately I’m not rich enough for that, so this would have to suffice. Again I am thankful!

Anyway so after our tear down in Crown Point, we got a few hours of sleep and then we hit the road for a six hour drive to Louisville, Kentucky. I’ve never really wanted to see Kentucky, but as soon as I saw the sign and we drove over that bridge looking over the city, it was pretty awesome. We even saw KFC’s headquarters!! I mean Kentucky is where Kentucky Fried Chicken originated y’all.

Even though there was not much sight-seeing to be done, one night we were out doing laundry and the Laundromat is in the middle of the University of Louisville’s campus. We wanted to get some food to eat and before I even had time to pull out my phone and take a photo (boo) we drove past real sorority houses! It was kind of surreal, but so cool! They had the Greek signs on them and everything.

The fair was pretty cool – we had about 50 rides altogether. It did rain a few days which sucked because the people would leave, so we would be dead, and also they wouldn’t close us early because it was State Fair. The days were long – from 12 till 11:30 every day.

During set-up

Massive storms

Sunset

Tuesday night after work we had a Jamboree which is basically a fund raising event for Carnivals across America. There was an auction, beer pong, cherry bomb shots (cherries soaked in moonshine = gross), funnel cake eating contest, frozen shirt contest and food! It was pretty cool.

We had one day off where Alex and I went from breakfast with Tricia (a colleague), we went shopping, walked through the Expo hall at the Fair and then went for dinner that night. I love spending alone time with him because we don’t get much of it. I also watched ‘YouDon’t Mess with the Zohan’ for the first time.

This is Cracker Barrel - we had breakfast and supper here

The Expo Centre

The last day (Sunday) was a really long day. We opened at noon, closed at about 11:30 and then it was tear down until about 5:00 the Monday morning. We slept a few hours, got up at noon and packed up the bunks, then drove all the way back North to Plymouth, Indiana.

The Last Day

Up next was a festival in Plymouth called the Blueberry Festival and I’ll have more on that soon!

US Diaries: Indiana

I think I liked Indiana better than I did Illinois. The two spots we played there (so far) were really cool! The first spot was Valparaiso, Indiana, and it was called the Porter County Fair; pretty much in the ‘country side’ surrounded by corn fields. It felt very refreshing to be away from the city for once.

We were pretty bust at this spot – busier than some spots we played up till now – and so the two weeks we were there went by really fast.

Beautiful big trees

Ferris Wheel ride

The next spot was Crown Point for the Lake County Fair. This was a beautiful spot as well – it was pretty much a camping site with woods and a lake. The midway (where the rides, food stands and games stands are) was massive and busy every day. It was a good fair to be a part of.

I saw Tractor Pulling for the first time ever and let me tell you those engines are LOUD!

Monster Trucks!

 

 

Sherrif's Vehicle

Mud Drags!

The Carnival

The lake

 

We had two off days when we got there; the first day we just relaxed and caught up on sleep after teardown and the second day we had a braai and went to the movies to watch the latest Transformers. It’s always nice to have a day off.

We drove through Indiana to get to our current spot which is Louisville, Kentucky, for the State Fair. More of that soon!

Rows and rows of Wind Pumps

Corn Fields

US Diaries: Chicago & Illinois

Keeping a blog updated while being on the road is really hard; never mind the fact that we’re currently doing one week spots which means we teardown and set-up every week. I can’t complain though, I like being busy cause that’s when time flies.

Our unit has split into two smaller units and we’re currently at our fifth spot as a split unit (at the time the blog was written; now we're not split anymore) and tenth spot as a carnival (at the time it was written; currently at our 14th spot). We’ve been playing spots around the Chicago area for the past month or so.

The first spot after Burlington, Wisconsin, was Orland Park, Illinois. (The other unit went to Waukegan). The spot itself was ok, but what made it really awesome was the opportunity to see Chicago. There was a train station right where we stayed, so catching the train was really easy. The train ride alone was really exciting for me since we don’t really have trains in South Africa; at least not ones like they have here. It was a Metra train and looked exactly like the one in Source Code, it was insane.

Orland Park - this lake was man-made and it was massive!

 

Being in Chicago was amazing. It’s one of the most beautiful cities to explore and it is massive. I’m not a big city person, I like nature and quiet, but there is something truly spectacular about a city like Chicago. One thing that adds to its allure, is the river that runs right through it. Without the river, it probably wouldn’t have been as stunning as it is. There are a few buildings that are definitely something to look at and  then there’s also Buckingham Fountain, The Bean at Millenium Park, Crown Fountain and Navy Pier. Not to mention a boat ride on the river. You get the Architectural tours and then just a plain water taxi which is what we took as a ‘tour’ up the river to get back to Union Station to catch the train.

 The train - the inside is exactly like the movie Source Code!

 

Chicago River 

Barnes & Noble

 

The Train

Comic Book store!

 

Skyscrapers

 

Newspaper stands

 

Chicago Tribune

 

Buckingham Fountain

 

The Bean

Crown Fountain

 

Navy Pier

Water Taxi's / Boats

The spot after Orland Park, was Oak Lawn, Illinois (the other unit was in Wheaton). We played at a Catholic Church parking lot. The space wasn’t massive, but it was a busy carnival. This spot wasn’t that exciting for me, but I made another trip to Chicago the first day we got there. I met up with my boyfriend and some of his friends who were with the other unit at another spot. Again seeing Chicago was amazing. I wouldn’t mind going back again!

The next spot was Franklin Park for a festival called Railroad Daze (the other unit was in Gary, Indiana). This carnival was held on the street and it was actually really nice, but the town itself was strange. All the shops around there were Mexican and that’s really weird to see in the northern parts of America. Actually, it’s surprising how many towns we go to have Mexican shops.

The next spot was Munster, Illinois (the other unit was in Schererville); also at a Catholic Church (we play quite a few Catholic Churches). By this time I’m hardly keeping track of time. I barely distinguish one spot from the next these days! But it wasn’t a bad spot except that the police closed us down the Sunday because the crowd got out of hand. It was super busy!

 

Had a good 'braai' on our off day when we got to Munster

 

A kind-of big storm passed buy during work the one day

Then we ventured to Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, but since we were still split as a carnival, I worked in Western Springs with the 2nd unit - about twenty minutes away - but our bunkhouses were at Toyota Park which is in Bridgeview. The week went by really fast and when we play these one week spots, there’s really no time to explore anything. The hours are long and you’re too tired to do anything when you have an afternoon off. Well at least I am!

Sunset at Toyota Park

Arlington Heights, Illinois, came next. The festival was called Frontier Days and it was kinda really big. We stayed about forty minutes from the spot at Dupage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton. So the drive, together with the long hours, made this spot very exhausting. But honestly still fun! My birthday was Friday the 4th of July which is Independence day in the States and even though we worked super hard that day, the people at work still made it fun and got me a cake and some gifts. And what made it even more special was the roses and the necklace I got from Alex (the best boyfriend a girl could ask for). This was also the last spot where our unit was split in two.

Birthday gift from Alex

At work on my birthday

We stayed at the Dupage County Fairgrounds - this is a big storm that passed over

Our next spot was Glendale Heights, Illinois. This spot wasn't too bad; the Laundromat was around the corner and things were just kind of around the corner. It also felt good to be back together and to have all the rides in one spot again.

 

Sunset at Glendale Heights

 

Overcast day

 

Stole this picture from someone who rode the Ferris Wheel

 

Amazing fireworks!

In the end I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of Illinois; mainly because of the bad weather. It rains very often and when it does, it pours. (Refer to my blog post US Diaries: Florida - you'll find I really don't like rain). We have moved on to Indiana and there'll be more about that soon-ish!