A Perfect Night at the Fair

Monday evening was a perfect night for a trip to the North Carolina State Fair. We didn't get a chance to go over the weekend, as we'd promised Walker, because Mike was recovering from a bout with pneumonia. You know when kids get something in their heads, you can't change their minds (I'm talking about Walker of course, NOT ME...hee hee hee).

I hit up the cash machine before we left and we rolled into the parking lot with $120 in our pockets. Only 30 minutes later, we had five goldfish, three stickers, one sequin teddy bear and were $80 poorer. We hadn't eaten yet or bought ride tickets, so we hit up the cash machine, AGAIN.

My dad learned a game trick last year that we finally were able to try. When you play the goldfish game and try to throw the ping pong balls in the fishbowls, the secret is to throw the ball up high and let it bounce around instead of trying to aim straight for the bowls. That's why we are now the proud owners of five goldfish.

We were excited about the food, but we all chickened out on trying something new. I went for a slice of pizza, Mike had a barbecue chicken sandwich and Walker had a hot dog, a caramel apple and a side of mini donuts. I tried to get him to try a fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but he said no way. I did see the world's largest gummy bear and lots of friend candy bars and the like, but I've been trying to eat better lately and my stomach just couldn't handle it. I think they should offer dollar bites of stuff to people that just want to try the new items, but don't really want to eat the whole thing. I would totally go for that.

I have such wonderful memories of the fair, and Walker's going to have them too. As we walked though the rides and games, he could remember things we tried last year and what rides he liked and didn't like. To me, all the money we spent that night was worth the memories that he'll keep forever. The smells, the chill of the air, the rush of the rides. To me, they mean fall is in full swing and Halloween is close-by, which makes me smile.