On now at the Del Mar Fairgrounds until July 4th, is the San Diego County Fair. With a theme like the wild west, the fair is the perfect place to spend an afternoon. You can you will find endless amounts of food, rides and animals. 

The Cattle Drive

To kick off the San Diego County Fair, (and Gaslamp’s 150th anniversary) they held a cattle drive through downtown. Down along Harbor Drive, 5th Avenue and Market Street, 200 cattle and cowboys/cowgirls flooded the streets. It was a weird and amazing experience to see. A lot of people came out to it, and the police had a fun time corralling everyone behind patio fences. They threw out t-shirts and discounted fair tickets. Its never happened in Gaslamp before, and I doubt it will happen again. (Downtown kind of smelt like a petting zoo for the rest of the day)

Parking / Tickets

Parking was a bit of a nightmare. (Granted we went on a Sunday afternoon) It took about half an hour from the time we reached the Del Mar Fairgrounds to being actually parked. We parked in the East Lot, which was 13$ and a muddy field. We took the Del Mar Heights exit off of I-5, and saw a sign that said “Shuttle Fair Parking”. In hindsight that would have probably been quicker than going to the actual fairgrounds and waiting in the long line. Entrance fees are 18$. However, there is a groupon! 24$ for two tickets, rather than 36$. On certain days, Albertson’s and Vons also sells 5$ tickets.

The Grounds

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the size of the fair. I am used to the CNE and was expecting something much smaller in scale. While it was a very different fair experience than the CNE, it was just as huge and full of variety.

The Food

I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an array of unhealthy/amazing carnival food. As a gastritis person I was sad, not being able the eat anything. But the smells were amazing. The stalls were very large (and loud), definitely unlike anything I’ve seen in a Canadian carnival. The variety was crazy! You could find anything deep fried, from pizza to clams.

This was one of the few areas where there was actual seating. For the amount of food stalls, there was not enough seating. There were only park benches between the rows.

My gastritis nightmare (but also a food dream)

What I Wore

I wanted to be comfortable (and also dressed for wind in the fairgrounds). I wore a pair of fun embroidered jeans I got from TopShop (similar) and a colorful off-the-shoulder knit top. I’m glad I wore converses, as the parking lot was dusty/muddy and people would ofter trample over your feet.

Believe it or not this was a “small” size cotton candy.

The Animals

There was an odd array of animals and animal themed events. There was the usual petting zoo and sheep pens. However, I was not expecting the pig races, turkey stampedes and other “wild west” events.

The pony rides looked cute.

The Rides

There was such a variety of carnival rides (I guess in comparison to Canadian carnivals). I was surprised at how many rides I’ve never seen before. (Not like I could go on any of them without being sick).

The Chairlift

This was the only ride I went on. I went in the direction facing the ocean. While I expected a more coastal view, it was still a great way to see the fair. The wind was very strong up there, so take off your hats.