Come and Gone Again

We look forward all summer and practically all year for the State Fair to start. And then it comes and goes and is gone before you know it! We took full advantage of our fair day again this year. Last year at the conclusion of the Fair Chad laid down a challenge to our family and our Fair buddies, the Vosbergs.
The challenge was to open the Fair at 6 am and spend 6 or so hours with the kids. Then take the kids home, take naps, get a sitter and head back to close down the place at midnight!

As the Fair got closer we realized that it opens at 6 am but really there is not much to do at that time. Most of the food vendors don't open until 8 or 9 am and the buildings are about the same. What were we going to do at 6 am? So, we amended the challenge to get there at 8am instead. That worked out great as we could get in line for new bike helmets for the kids. And by the time that was over we could get our traditional first food of the day at the best Corn Dog stand there! Brian hooked us up and we were on our way.

We did all the usual with the kids and about 1:30pm headed for the Vosberg home. We got a short nap in and welcomed the sitter and headed back. We were back by 4:30 and really enjoyed our adult time at the Fair too. It was just nice and relaxing!

We ended the night with the free Leinie Lodge concert of Trampled by Turtles. Jill scored us great second row bench seats! As we waited for the show to start we listened and watched the security guards really crack down on the audience and where they could and could not stand. Apparently the same concert the night before got a little crazy with the audience so they were preventing anyone from being in the area in front of the bench seats. We were told to stay in our seats and not come towards the stage. As the night went on and people got drunker and the music was going it got harder and harder to do that. And finally as one of the security guards went up the aisle to stop someone from coming up, the people on the side rushed in front and then the other side joined in. There was no stopping them! And even though I got beer spilled on me and got crawled over as people rushed to the front, it made for a better atmosphere for us and the band. Fun way to end the night! We left the grounds around 11:00 and headed for home.

The concert before the drunken crowd rushed the stage!

And after!

New things tried this year:

• Big Fat Bacon - not really a big deal, just big and fat bacon on a stick.

• Mocha on a Stick - We had this last year too but it is really good! Worth mentioning again.

• Corn Fritters - they were ok but not something I will have to get every year.

• Dairy Building Malts - I can't believe that we have never had one of these before. I think we usually just didn't go in that building. This will definitely be something we go back for next year. Yummy!

• Juanita's Fajitas - not impressed.
  
  
• The Sky Glider! LOVED IT! This is a new tradition. Again, can't believe we hadn't done it before.
  

And there it was, another year come and gone! Looking forward to next year!