Brick o' Fries

The State Fair has arrived. Usually Carol and the kids aren't in town for the Fair, but this year our Utah excursion happened a little earlier so we made it back in time. We did go our first year here and I remember two things...brick o' fries and mediocre expensive rides. Both items were also present this year as well (for better or worse). The Fair here is actually kind of the big event of the year and EVERYONE goes. The parking lot is always full and the fairgrounds always busy. It was a little rainy on the day we went, but not too bad and certainly not anything that could keep the kids away. We started and ended with rides with nutritious fair food and agriculture viewing in between (huge cabbages from the midnight sun up here). Rides are mostly like a mini-Lagoon (for those of you who have been to Lagoon). They have the free fall swing, the magic carpet thing, the upside-down hammer rides and a mini-coaster. They also have kids rides complete with merry-go-round and mini-train. One aspect of the Fair that I didn't remember was the incredibly magnetic games for kids to play (at $5 a pop). They had the ring toss and dart throw (Beth won a stuffed flower there), a duck river thing and a pseudo fishing pond. The kids were much more entranced with the games than the rides. We kind of set limits before entering the Fair which helped, but we still weakened and gave in a little.

The highlight of the Fair for all the kids has to have been the "Brick o' Fries". This is a bunch of freshly cut potatoes packed into a frying basket until it is completely full and then fried and inverted onto a plate. They are actually delicious and the kids all gobbled them up. We did somehow stay away from the funnel cakes, cotton candy and fried candy bars although we may not be so lucky next time. There really is something unique about Fair food. It's definitely not healthy, but tastes oh so good.

From a ride standpoint, I think the ferris wheel was the highlight for Owen. I was never a fan of the ferris wheel and always got the queasies whenever at the top. I must admit I thought Owen would freak out a little once we got to the top and started tipping. I guess my dad, however had taken him a number of times in Utah on the ferris wheel so he was a ferris veteran and ended up loving it so much he likely would have fallen out if not for the good restraints on the rides (kept tipping forward to wave to mom). He also loved the many farm and construction machines local companies had brought in for the kids to climb on. The girls both liked the super slide and Beth, Isabel and Owen all were somewhat traumatized by the kiddie coaster. They actually all enjoyed the first ride around the track but then became confused when it didn't stop at the exit (it was a short track and made 6 laps).

We all had a good time and may be back before the festivities are over (2 weeks). In the mean time, I may have to figure out how to do a brick o' fries at home. Sorry about the photos...they are from a cell phone so I take no responsibility!