"Oh Sh*t, there's a fair!"

That's a line from one of my favorite Tenacious D songs, which was playing on my ipod during my run this morning just moments before I got to the park and saw... carnival rides! The fair is coming to town! Right now, it's just trailers of Zippers and Tea Cups and popcorn booths yet-to-be-assembled but by this weekend it will be the Walnut Festival.

I have a love-hate relationship with carnivals, or fairs, or festivals, or whatever you want to call them. It always seems like a fun idea, and whenever we see one lit up at night from the road I'm tempted to want to stop in. But then I get there and it's dirty and crowded and the rides give me a headache. I can no longer eat most of the food served, so doughboys (or funnel cakes as they're called out here) are now a cruel joke.

But I've always enjoyed early morning walks and runs through quiet, empty fairgrounds. It's a little creepy, but in a safe-thrilling sort of way, like when you watched "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" as a kid.

And this brings me to the subject of autumn. It's almost time to pull out the Great Pumpkin DVD. I forgot that we have a nice fall here (we move around a lot; I lose track of seasons). It's no New England fall, but it will do. The weather's been pleasantly cool and sunny, but chilly at night. It's perfect running weather. Leaves are falling off trees, making a pleasing "crunch" when you run over them.

Maybe I'll stop by the festival this weekend and see if I can get my hands on a caramel apple. A small dose of festival and fall.