The sign says: County Fair

A few weeks ago we took the girls to the county fair. The girls love it. They love the rides. They love begging us to let them play games. And they want to win those huge stuffed animals.

On the other hand, the fair is not my thing. I think the rides might be unsafe. It's ridiculously over priced. And I don't want huge stuffed animals in my house.

But this year. I decided to go. Because I blog. I was planning to take pictures of the girls having a rapturously good time. But instead. I became enthralled with the signs.

First sign we encountered was at the ticket window. I think this must be the most frightening thing in the place. All I could think was that it would cost as much as a day at Disney.

But quickly I saw a very soothing sign. One that reminded me of childhood. And how I always wanted to live in the Candy Land game.

I wanted to go to the candy cane forest. And climb gum drop mountain. And get stuck in the molasses swamp. Which for my children morphed into the chocolate swamp. Because, really, do small children know what molasses are? But my kids are quite well versed in chocolate. And who else remembers Plumply? Who was apparently not very PC and was replaced.

I turned again and was startled from my childhood nirvana with this sign. I can't tell from the picture EXACTLY what makes them redneck. Is it cheeze whiz? Is it the fry cook? Does the bacon come from an animal that is not a pig? But my children are beckoning me to get moving. And the questions remain unanswered.

The girls start going through their tickets. Fast and furious. Katie decides to ride something that Madalyn does not want to ride. So, Madalyn drags her daddy off with her to ride the bumper cars. She's tall enough to ride by herself...but her legs don't reach the pedal. Madalyn, I apologize for your short leg genetics. Rather than kicking Madalyn off the ride, they actually let Michael ride for free. Shocking, I know.

Next the girls ride the roller coaster. And I see this sign for the another ride right next to it. I don't know about you, but I think we'll pass.

Then we were off for a little hang gliding. And by we, I mean Katie and Madalyn.I found a plethora of signs by this ride. Right next to it was a mechanical bull ride. With both of these signs.

Very interesting. Do you think the three year olds can ascertain their own risk? All I can think of is Urban Cowboy. Bud. Sissy. And that convict played by Scott Glenn.

Also next to the hang glider is this sign. I love the juxtaposition of the food and the fun house. I want to try some deep fried oreos. But I would have to buy six. Which I am sure would lead to certain doom. I just want a bite of one. But the girls drag me off to another adventure.

Katie decides that she needs to ride the ferris wheel. But Madalyn is not tall enough to go on without an adult. And they don't want to waste one of their prized tickets on an adult...so Madalyn finds a fun house to go into. Any bets on whether or not they paid a licensing agreement?

After the girls had used all their tickets, we finally decided to partake of the fair food. Katie and I decided to split a funnel cake. Because it's really not a fair without funnel cake. Madalyn had a hard time deciding. Would it be something deep fried?

Nope. She decided on one of her favorite things. Corn. We watched the guys roast it. And then dip it in butter. It was really good.

And we had to have some lemonade, too.

Which came with a hitchhiker.

So, what about you? Do you like fried foods? Do you have a favorite? Ever tried deep fried oreos or candy bars or cauliflower?

Theme song: Queensryche - Scarborough Fair - because it's a little edgier than Simon and Garfunkel