The Texas State Fair

As a child, I hardly remember a single year that I didnt go to the Texas State Fair.
Loved it.
Every Fall the fair would open, and there were rides on the Midway...and corny dogs, and turkey legs, and cotton candy, and fun houses and the parade, and the craft shows, and concerts, and product/infomercial pavillions (that's what I call them anyway...) and livestock shows, and face painting, and just everything fun.

That's it. The fair was just everything fun.

Last year, Gage was teeny-tiny at fair time. So, he missed out.
I will do my best to make sure that the 2005 Texas State Fair is the only one he will ever miss!

Now, having said that....we took him to the fair on Saturday night. We were there for approximately 1.5 hours. We spent approximately $100.00. That's one thing I never remembered about the fair...how expensive it was. Perhaps because as a child, I was never paying my own way.
This year...
Adult Admission: $13 each
Parking ended up costing us $26
Tickets (which must be used for EVERYTHING at the fair...) 2 for $1.
Turkey leg: 14 tickets
Corny dog: 7 tickets
Beer: 9 tickets (yes, this little Mamasita had a beer, and Damon about fell over when I ordered it...whatever, it was great. I am just not known for being a big drinker...but, it was soooooo good! Not sure I've enjoyed a beer that much in quite a long time.)
One ride for Gage & MomMom: 7 tickets each.
I think we also bought a Pepsi/Coke, & a bottle of water along the way.

But...Gage had a great time, so I will stop complaining about the expense....


This is our huge ferris wheel, called "The Texas Star". It is only illuminated & operated during the Texas State Fair (as far as I know...I drive past it 365 days a year, and that's the only time I ever see it going....)


In front of "Big Tex". Okay, so it's dark, and you can't see "Big Tex", but he's this giant cowboy who speaks. He says, "Howdy Folks. I'm Big Tex. Welcome to the State Fair of Texas."


Gage, watching "Big Tex"


Gage & I on the mini-roller coaster. (which he enjoyed every little minute of!)

Now, at the State Fair of Texas, you can get TONS of stuff to eat. And, a lot of it comes on a stick. *YUM* Some things you can get to eat: corny dogs, cotton candy, fresh salt water taffy, turkey legs, giant corn on the cob, pickles, sausage on a stick, big pretzels, funnel cakes, ice creams, popcorn, hot dogs, pizza, hamburgers, jalapeno poppers, OH, THE LIST GOES ON & ON.
But, here's something that I just couldnt bring myself to eat. The name alone tells me that I want no part of it:

I understand that it is a cheesecake wedge, but please. Come up with something other than "wedgee" for the product name.

And, then there is the Fried-phenomenon.

Fried pies.
French fries.
Fried pickles.
Fried oreos.
Fried snickers.
Fried ice cream.
Fried avacado.
Fried Cheesecake.
And now, we didnt see this at the fair, but heard about it on the news: Fried Coke. (as in coca-cola, as in soda/pop/carbonated soft-drink...) Yes, that's right folks. At the State Fair of Texas, they will take a "swallow" (yes, I'm using this word as a unit of measurement) amount of coke wrapped in some type of dough, and then deep fry it.
Now, I dont even like to drink warm coke. I damn sure dont want to bite into some deep-fried dough to get a squirt of super-hot-coke squirting into & subsequently burning the inside of my mouth. Call me crazy, but that just doesnt seem like fun....


But anyway...went to the fair. It was Gage's 1st time. He loved it. So, the trip was successful.
:)