The Donut Express is not one of the Del Mar Fair's Fun Zone rides, but it's almost as much fun to watch as it turns out 2,000 bite-sized doughnuts an hour.

Donut Express is probably the only food concession at the fair where preparation is as much of an attraction as the food itself.

Perfectly shaped little rings of dough pop from the batter hopper, drop into a small trough of hot vegetable oil and bubble merrily along for 30 seconds before they are automatically flipped over to brown on the second side.

At the end of their 60-second journey, the mini-doughnuts are launched into a pan, where they are sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar before they are bagged for eager customers who return year after year for the tiny toothsome treats.

The automated process looks like something straight out of Santa's workshop but the Donut Express is owned and operated by two retired Vista women, Terrea Lea and Suzanne Tjulander, instead of elves.

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"We're living proof that you don't have to sit down in front of the television and vegetate after you're 65," Tjulander said. "The work is physically demanding, but we love it and it keeps us young in body and mind."

The now duo is on duty 13 to 14 hours a day throughout the 20-day run of the fair. They even load and unload their equipment and set up their own booth in the southwest corner of the Bing Crosby Exhibit Hall. Tjulander said "there's nothing we can't do as long as we're healthy."

In addition to a positive attitude that keeps them going even when their feet are dog-tired, the two women could also be considered pioneers and role models because of their entrepreneurial spirit and courage to plunge into the business world at a time when most women stayed home and raised families.

They started Donut Express over 20 years ago, with long time friend and partner, Elizabeth Moore (now deceased), but it was not their first business venture. Fast friends for more than 50 years, Moore and Lea first went into business when they opened the Garret Coffeehouse in West Hollywood in 1958.

Lea, who had been making her living as a folk singer and had her own television show in Los Angeles, was the star attraction at the Garret where celebrities such as Rock Hudson mingled with college students and folk singers who dropped in to join Lea in song. Moore manned the espresso machine and managed the business. Tjulander became a member of the team after she dropped in for a cappuccino one evening and decided to stay. The women have been close personal friends and business partners ever since.

Lea put her guitar away more than 25 years ago and said she has no desire to sing today. "I loved singing and entertaining people, but I got tired of it," Lea said.

After they closed the Garret in 1971, they went into a series of other businesses, including making furniture and gift items.

In 1978 they decided to retire to Vista to escape the congestion of Los Angeles.

"We were attracted by the rural atmosphere, the weather and the nice people," Moore said. "Vista has changed a lot be we still love it."

The trio envisioned taking life easy after their move to Vista, but they soon grew restless. Moore's entrepreneurial spirit simply could not tolerate life without the challenges of running a business.

She saw a small ad for the automated mini-doughnut making machine in a magazine and Donut Express was born.

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With hard work and determination, they have made such a success of the concession that they are able to make a living working only 100 days a year.

They take Donut Express to six fairs throughout the West, mostly during the summertime.