Hail to the Peanut !

Dothan, AL is the Peanut Capital of the WORLD !! So, each year the city and surrounding counties celebrate with a parade and HUGE Peanut Festival !! Sort of like an homage to the peanut. The day started with a parade....and the parade started with... you guessed it ---- peanuts !!!! lol

A huge tractor/turbine thing spewed out peanuts from a shute onto the pavement below.


And then everyone made a mad-dash to the center of the road and started filling their bags with peanuts !


Jordan filled her shirt .... 'cause we're not from around here and didn't know to bring a bag. ha!



We also bought a bag of "boiled peanuts" for daddy. Whatever floats your boat -- when it comes to peanuts, you have a huge variety here in Dothan..... boiled, spicy, roasted, baked, natural, brittle.... reminds me of the "shrimp" guy in Forrest Gump.


And to top the night off, we spent 5 hours at the National Peanut Festival!


Ohhhh, Ahhhhh... the mighty peanut! I say that tongue-in-check; however, did you know that peanuts and or their oils are used in soaps, biodiesel fuels, laxatives, dyes, shampoos, insecticides, and explosives? "Mighty" might be the correct adjective.






(Intermission: aren't they cute, sweet, and adorable? Awwwwww !)





Ok. Now let the fun begin !!!......


THE HIMALAYA !!!!!! and yes it's just like you remember it !!!



and still fun for the whole family !!!!!!




Now the Zipper, on the other hand.... was NOT how I remembered it. This was my favorite ride as a teenager with my best friendboy, Kevin. We would have that basket spinning around BEFORE the ride ever started and always thought it ended too soon. That's how I remembered it when I mistakenly said "Come on Jordan, you'll love this ride! It's great ! It's fun !"




That's Jordan and me in the middle basket..... spinning upside down.... while the entire ride spinned around....... let me just say that I made several promises to God on this ride. (I hope I can stick to them ....... any suggestions on how to solve world peace by the end of the year? -- email me!)

So, after a mild concussion and a bruised rib, we decided to take a break from the rides and eat dinner. Can anyone say Turkey Legs and Funnel Cake?

I'll let them speak for themselves ....



Alright, with full bellies it was wise to do something other than the rides. So, let's see the "spectacle" stuff. Like the ...

bwaahahahaaaaa !!!!!!!!

A festival just isn't complete without Fried Snickers and candy coated apples -- don't you think?

And to end the night, we rode the Ferris Wheel.... love the view!

Thank you, God , for creating the peanut and all its wonderful uses.... especially the medicinal purposes of the chocolate covered peanut M&M.

I love it so.