I didn’t submit any photograph contest entries this year … though I should have as the pickin’s were sparce! Yikes! But oh well. 🙂 We went for fun, as we always do. We went a little earlier than normal, which turned out both good and bad.
We parked in our “usual” spot — the NC State stadium parking lot and walked the “long” walk to the gate on that side of the fair. I don’t think we’ve gone into the fair via a different gate in well …. years? 😀
We took along the stroller as we always do and tied our coats to the bars … again, as usual. Forunately for us, we didn’t eve have to untie them! We walked around, checking out all the places to eat and settled on a spot with seating in the back. Bad choice. The burger was lame, the fries were cold and the tea was Nestea. Ick! But, it was fair food, so it was Good! 😆
We then did the usual … walk around the rides, the games, over to the harvest place where the girls walk through with us and “harvest” veggies and fruits, then earn “money” and buy a “goodie bag” at the market. They were impressed that there was an apple in the bag!
Joseph found a game he was dead set on playing … but because the prizes were huge (and thus I feared he’d win just because they were) we told him he would have to play it at the very end. So, we kept walking and I found the bowling ball game! $2 later and nothin’ for me. 🙂
Joseph tried a shooting game — where you have to shoot out the red star … and he did REALLY well! I was superbly surprised! He nearly had it, if he’d kept farther out of the star edges. But he was happy with it, which was a BIG attitude adjustment.
Joseph *almost* wanted to ride a big roller coaster and I was ready to ride with him, but he opted out. He did, however, go down the BIG slide, on which I rode with each girl. Emi went first and loved it, though she seemed a bit scared. Abby went second and was CLEARLY petrified until, at the end, wen we got up and she said “that was fun!” Go figure.
We ended up on a carousell second … with both girls on her respective horse and me in the middle hanging on to make sure they stayed put.
We then went and pet the chicks and ducks … ok, Emi petted, Abby watched and I held. The chick fell asleep in my hands. 🙂 Then, we went and listened to a cow moo … for REAL! This cow was talking to the girls and they ended up covering their ears because it was SO loud. As we left, Ron noted the big beef sign on this trailer — across from a cow no less — advertising beef — it’s what’s for dinner. So, then Ron had a real taste for beef. 🙂
We decided then to walk through the buildings that always have the 4-H displays and got a funnel cake. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. After that we saw the police cars and helicopter and the girls got deputy stickers from a female state trooper. Go girl! We walked through the Jim Graham building to see all the “for sale” stuff and the artwork, which is when we noticed how sparse the photography contest was this year.
We went back out, let the girls ride a “choo choo train” and walked through more midway rides. Joseph found an archery game and wanted to try it out. So, he shot his first bow and arrow. It looked fun, so I tried it too. I got REALLY close (though didn’t win). Joseph did pop two balloons and won “junk” for each of the girls. Such a good big brother! 😉
I wanted ice create for my dessert, so I got vanilla with chocolate on top and the girls shared with me. We walked through MORE midway rides, noting a few that Ron and I remember riding together and that now we wouldn’t put two feet into. Are we getting old or what? Joseph opted for another shooting game and got even closer, but still didn’t win.
By this time it was nearly 8:30pm and we were getting hungry again … but for something a bit more healthy. So instead of spending $40 for one meal on pure crap, we decided we’d leave and go to dinner … a late dinner, but dinner all the same. As we were leaving I realized I had 9 ride tickets left, so we went back to the kiddie area and the girls chose to ride the jalopy cars … which they “drove” around and around and around.
We always say that it’s a small world, and we always see *someone* we know at the fair. Tonight, Joseph say Nick & David from down the street and Ron met up with a guy and his family, that he worked with/for at least 15 years ago!
Joseph finally got a chance to play the game he wanted. It works like this … you throw a ball into a bucket. You have to do it twice to win. The first time, they leave a ball in there which deadens the “bounce factor” and his ball stayed in. The 2nd time, the carnie quickly removed the ball (without Joseph even realizing it) and it bounced back out. Go figure. Ha!! Ron caught on faster than me, but I picked up on it too. So, again, he lost. But his overall attitude about it all was really good.
We walked all the way back to the exit, got in the car and headed to On the Border for steak (for Ron) and chicken (for me) and yummy food instead of the incredible amount of crud we’d been eating. It was yummy! 🙂
And that was our night, as a family, at the state fair. Fun!