The fair opened yesterday -- what a mess

[Penny]

It was more crowded than ever when I tried to drive in front of the fair to town about 4 pm Thursday. I've never seen it so congested on opening day. Usually, nobody attends until Thursday night as the vendors are still getting ready. Of course, the fact that Varela was in town didn't help the congestion. Took about 40 minutes to go from my house in Jaramillo Arriba to the main street. Everyone in my neighborhood gets the passes to pass in front of the fair from either the mayor's office or the Jaramillo corrigadora but the pass doesn't help when it's stop and go traffic and you count your progress by the inch. Couldn't even attempt the same route going back home as they had stopped all bridge traffic. Went around the Alto Lino loop which can also be a problem at night when many folks of the inebriated persuasion walking in dark clothing on the road.

But, having said all that, I still love the fair.

Edited January 12, 2018 by Penny

[Bonnie]

It was congested on Wednesday with set-up. As I had to make three separate trips into town and became frustrated during the first two, I took the loop on the third. Unwise choice. In Los Naranjos, in two separate spots, there was one-way traffic due to the water/sewer construction. Cars were backed up for blocks. It took me 25 minutes to get from my house in Palo Alto to El Bajo. Perfect planning once again. Of course, it's better than Penny's 40 minutes.

Penny, was Los Naranjos open to two-way traffic when you took the loop?

[Uncle Doug]

Doing the annual license plate renewal ritual today, I had to pass the fairgrounds twice.  It wasn't as horrible today around noon as I expected.  Yes, some moron always seems to park mostly in the street turning it into a one-way game of chicken with oncoming traffic, but it was less than a 5 minute delay each time for me.

And police were actually writing tickets for the vehicles that were parked well into the traffic lanes.