State Fair

For years we've been going to the Montgomery County Fair with Brad and Marlo, and while it's been fun and all (who wouldn't enjoy seeing a "zonkey"), I've always felt that the kids and Allen had missed out on seeing the full glory that a fair can be.

But no more.

Because we were in Iowa a little later and a little longer this year, our visit happened to coincide with the Iowa State Fair and because we wanted to go down to meet Ms. Maria Eloise Fawcett, we happened to be a half hour from the midway on Tuesday afternoon. With the stars aligning so perfectly, we had to go...

It started out a little rough. It took us a while to figure out where the parking entrance was which meant Nora had a lot of time to covet the ferris wheel. Since the entrance took us right by it, we told her we'd ride it first thing. Allen dutifully went off and got $20 in tickets, we waited in line and then were promptly put into a car with orange stripes, right next to one with purple. Nora began frantically gesturing at the offending stripes and pleaded to change cars, but the the operator said we couldn't. So she proceeded to scream for three and a half minutes of the four minute ride, and it was only when Allen promised to take her to a nearby dragon roller coaster (while I ran back to the car and got "Pink Lemonade") that she calmed down.

Once peace reigned again, we took the tram to get a better view of the spectacle, stopped by the agricultural house to see the butter cow (restored to its full glory after the sabotage a few days before), hung out at the Hi-Vee park where I ran into a high school friend, partook in some of the less healthy fare, watched some baby ostriches being born, and let the kids get their farm on before driving back to Iowa City.

And while it made for a pretty exhausting three hours, but it was totally worth it.

(For more fair pictures, please click here.)