All's Fair

FALLING FOR THE FAIR: Summer may be officially over, but today was full of sunny skies and state fair fun for us. What a great way to spend the first day of fall.

I told the kids we were going to the fair and since it was sunny and relatively warm and we'd be walking a lot asked the kids to dress in lightweight pants and shirts. They emerged from their rooms looking like this. 

I couldn't help but remark that they looked like they were running off to join the circus, not going to the fair. 

Annabelle decided to change. CJ decided not to. Whatever. The fair was full of colorful characters. 

There were roller coasters to ride, including the Wild Cat.

And the classic old coaster on a big ol' wood framed structure. 

 The kids were in the last occupied car, with Christian just ahead of them.

And then there Rainier Rush, that took CJ and Christian (in the front car) up, down, around, and upside down.

Annabelle passed on that ride!

The kids went 'hang-gliding.' 

And they went on a couple of big swings.

 They're at 7 o'clock in the photo above.

 And Annabelle's at about 3 o'clock in the photo below.

The kids did some sliding ... 

and some "scrambling."

And they even ventured into a not-so-spooky haunted house.

We sampled a little fair food, but not this ...

 or this ...

or this ...

While the kids and Christian were riding, I decided to use my free time by looking at horrifying only-at-the-fair graphics on some of the attractions.

For instance, look at these portraits that adorned the front of the Wild Cat roller coaster.

 What made them even more horrifying is they were about eight by four feet in size. 

And how about this, on the front of a fun house for kids ... 

 Why of COURSE it's a man in a chicken suit  pounding a drink.  Here it is in "context," as if that makes it any more OK. ...

Honestly, the graphics on this giant swing ride looked like fine art compared to the other attractions.

There were random signs that caught my eye. ...

But we decided not to spend $11 to let passersby know they're being barked at by Havanese.

 We also declined to get "FAIR HAIR!"

 We really wanted to peek in the door of this office, but didn't.

 And I couldn't help but think the lost children on this sign look super happy. Hopefully it doesn't make any kids want to go missing.

Predictably, the midway was full of enormous prizes, like this giant pug, to tempt you to throw your money away.

And I suppose you can't go to a fair without seeing a clown or two. 

At least JP Patches is a friendly clown.

 But these body-less heads on the midway were horrifying. 

 And what's with someone randomly writing 'FAT PAT' on the wall below the big clown?

 Fortunately, Annabelle was willing to try to kill the clowns for me. Look at the determination on her face!

We did eventually venture into some of the educational buildings. In one, we saw a giant pumpkin! 

According to the sign beside it, it grew to full size ( pounds) in 81 days, growing 1.5 pounds an hour on average!

We saw some neat displays by Granges in the state. 

We checked out some peppers, but noticed none of the entrants were Trinidad Moruga Scorpions or Ghost chiles or Carolina Reapers, three super hot types CJ is growing.

There were pretty petals to appreciate, too.

All in all, it was a busy, busy day full of big fun!