A fair to remember

Since my affiliation with this paper began some 12 years ago, I

don’t think I have ever missed a chance to visit the Orange County

Fair.

Usually, I take about an hour or so on my lunch break just to

cruise around and look at the sights and of course take in the smells

of the concession stands.

The barbecue of the Chuck Wagon, the charbroiled corn on the cob,

the Australian battered potatoes, funnel cakes and more.

Mmmmm.

Unfortunately, and I’ve mentioned this before, the prices are

ridiculous.

A teriyaki bowl with chicken, vegetables and rice and a large

lemonade cost me $9 last Friday, probably $4 more than it should have

been.

It just seems to me that a place for families ought to be a bit

cheaper than that.

I guess why should the fair be any different than ballparks,

amusement parks or movie theaters, which equally gouge the public

with food prices?

Anyway, back to my lunch break.

So Friday, after chowing down my teriyaki bowl, I moseyed on over

to the fair entrance.

As a longtime surfer, I wanted to see the fair’s beach exhibit,

that is part of this year’s water theme.

Called The Beachfront, it’s a cool tribute to my surfing

ancestors, complete with old-style bikinis, inner tubes, beachballs

and tiki torches.

Speaking of tiki, there is a South Sea islands-style wooden

sculpture in the exhibit, care of House of Tiki in Costa Mesa.

The best part of the display is a 1950 woody station wagon,

complete with surf stickers dating back to at least the 1960s and two

old longboards strapped the top of an old-fashioned rack.

Inside the car is Hawaiian-print upholstery and flowered leis.

“Isn’t that the coolest car ever,” I overheard one teenage girl

say?

The owner of the green and wood-paneled surf mobile, who is also

the owner of Thalia Street Surf Shop in Laguna Beach, agreed to keep

the vintage vehicle at the fair as part of the exhibit, said Vic

Carruso, an attendant who works there.

“He’s so worried about it,” Carruso said. “He comes in every two

days to wax it.”

Carruso said he believed the wood on the car is the original and

he took a few minutes to point out to me a curious red sticker on the

driver side windshield that said “Nude Beach Parking Permit.’’

Across the way from the woody is a big sand box, about 15-by-15

feet long, filled with shovels, buckets and other beach toys for the

kiddies to play.

And on the outer edge of the exhibit massive sandcastle sculptures

tower over the crowd and are a wonder to see.

With lunch just about over, it was time to head back. So I walked

passed the latest fair thrill ride, the Adrenaline Drop.

I watched one guy get pulled near the top of this 130-foot

structure and then let go by an attendant as he screamed earthbound

toward a safety net.

“It’s an 85-foot free fall with nothing attached,” one of the

workers told me.

That comes out to falling some eight and a half stories.

Not exactly a ride for the feint of heart, or, for that matter,

paranoid editors.

So it was time to pack it up and leave my annual lunch-hour visit.

But hey, I might be back Tuesday.

Kids under 12 are free and I know my girls would have a good time.

I’ll just need to take out an advance on my paycheck if we want to

actually eat something.

* TONY DODERO is the editor. His column runs on Mondays. He can

be reached by phone at 949-574-4258 or by e-mail at

tony.dodero@latimes.com.