10 iPhone photos from the San Diego County Fair

I went to the San Diego County Fair last night at the Del Mar Fairgrounds with a gathering of family that included my brother, aunt, uncle, cousin and spouses.  We were most excited about the food.

The quest to find the strangest fried phenomenon in the food booths was as much fun as it was to return to the traditional booths we’ve attended year after year. There was a good deal of buzz around the Zucchini Weeni - a hollowed-out zucchini with a hot dog inside that was battered and fried like a corn dog. It was fun just for the sake of trying something ridiculous, but it wasn’t as good as the fried Twinkies or fried Oreos that I’ve had in the past.

When: Through July 5. The San Diego County Fair is open from 11 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends. Closing times vary, see the fair website for general info.

Ticket info: Adult admission at the gate is $13 per person; $7 for seniors 62 and over or children 6-12 ; children 5 and under are free.

Parking: $10 or $15 for preferred parking that gets you right up close to the main gate. Check out the fair’s parking page for free lots and shuttles, plus other parking info such as drop off, motorcycles and RVs.

Budget tips: Buying your tickets at Albertsons saves you $2 on adult tickets. Note: As I was leaving the fair Thursday night, I was handed coupons to come back Monday for only $1. I don’t know if that is done every night, but it was quite the incentive.

Events and shows: Of course there is so much to do and see at the fair . Check out these sections of the website before you plan your trip: Concerts & Entertainment, Contests & Competitive Exhibits, and Attractions

The zucchini weeni stand

One of the Totally Fried workers

A cross-section of the Zucchini Weeni.

The first thing we bought upon entering the main gate—kettle corn!

More fried food: Australian battered potatoes with ranch sauce and cheese sauce, and potato chips with vinegar and ketchup.

We were looking for the photography exhibit but found strange collections instead.

This guy draws a crowd while trying to eat the enormous Mexican funnel cake.

Booths at the San Diego County Fair.

The county fair carousel.

– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo : Scenes from the San Diego County Fair. Credit: Jen Leo]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Friday, June 26, 2009 at 12:01 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under California, Family & Kids, News, Tips & Advice, San Diego, Travel Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.