Fair to middlin'

Naw, actually the State Fair was great! I was really disappointed to learn that it didn't open until 12 (I kind of had my heart set on going at ten), but then we worked around it. I got a good parking spot on a nearby street. I used to always pay for parking, but it always irks me. I mean, it's only $12 for the admission, so $10 on top of that really almost doubles the getting-in fee, just to leave my car in the sun. That's ten whole dollars, son... I earned that!

Anyway, I had also read that the midway opened at 2, which was seriously going to hamper our fun, because I wanted to leave by 4. But in fact, it opened at noon today. Plus, because it was Kids Day, all the rides were only $1. I got the 25 for $23 deal and we started riding first thing. Zadie rode on a Jeep-thing first that just went around a loop. Then she wanted to go on this thing shaped like hot air balloons, and it was one of the ones that she could ride only if accompanied. I hopped on with her. And ooh! It was one of those ones you can grab a wheel thing and turn it to make your basket spin around. She started in right away with the "faster, faster!" so I knew we were going to have some fun. Surprisingly, the Tilt-a-Whirl was also okay if accompanied, so we did that next. I swear to you, that kid was inventing new superlatives to describe how awesome it was. At one point she yelled "ZOOM!" She was laughing her fool head off, smiling, saying "whee." I decided right away that the $23 was worth it, even if we quit right then.

Which we almost did. Zadie's next move was toward livestock, which I have almost zero interest in. I like the pygmy goats, but the whole place reeks and is landmined with cowshit. Plus, it's pretty much just bigass cows lying around. But I let her lead the way, and eventually that led out to the garden/agriculture area, which always makes me imagine I could grow kiwis in this climate. And there was a kids area, and some nature-y stuff. Zadie petted a snake, but it was over so fast I couldn't get a picture. She wanted to walk through some of the exhibition halls. I like the county exhibits, but the shopping ones just irritate me. I made it clear that we were buying NOTHING.

And then we went on the annual search for a vegetarian lunch option. And found one. Like, right away. Not egg-roll-on-a-stick, either. Actual roasted veggie panini with pesto, and it wasn't half-bad. To supplement our order with something more like real fair food, I ordered the fried veggie sampler platter, with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, zucchini, and eggplant. Shockingly, Zadie loved the fried stuff.

Then we went to the bug exhibit, which was pretty cool but crowded. Plus, she was more interested in weaving through the crowd than stopping to admire giant animatronic bugs.

She had been begging to go on the monorail every time it went by. We hadn't been anywhere near the front gate, but we made our way there and got on. She liked it, and I always do. It's just neat to lean over and see all the attractions you've already been to and plan what you'll see next.

And then I said we could have a treat, so she had a shaved ice and I had a caramel apple. By then it was really pretty hot out, so we sat in the shade to eat. After some searching for a potty stop, we went to the main midway, where she rode a couple more kid things and we went on the Ferris wheel. I have to say, it took FOREVER to load that thing, wait for the ride to finish, and load it again, but when we were on it, it was totally worth it. They really let it run for a long time (maybe 12 or 14 passes?), and it's nice to see the whole fair and part of the city as well. It wasn't the giant one, as she's not tall enough, but it was still fun.

She went in a couple fun-house/maze/climbing things, and then we went back towards the kids' park, where it was much more crowded than it had been earlier. She did a few more rides, mostly by herself, but I went on the Tilt-a-whirl with her again. And then it was an HOUR past when we had planned to go, we were both hot and thirsty, and we somewhat mildly regretted having not parked in the lot.

Incidentally, here is an idea: The carnies with all those asinine games, like throw the ball in the floating saucer or whatever, always yell, "Only $1 to play. Everyone's a winner." And I was thinking how smart it would be to just give away cold damn bottled water as the prizes. The sucker prize is a small one, the real prize for popping the ballon or whatever is a standard-size bottle, and then you can work your way up to big bottles! I'd totally play then. Because you're going to pay $2.50 for water anyway, so you might as well shoot an air rifle as well.