The Florida State Fair is just a few miles from our home. It is our "tradition" to attend every year on Student Day, a day the schools in our county give a day off and a free ticket. Our tradition has changed little over the years, the biggest being my son no longer got a free ticket, but he did still get the day off, when he started at private school. I would take the day off, we'd get there at opening, explore the entire fair, and leave about 4 hours later before any crowds got there.
This year ushered in a new era. Some was good, some was bad.
My son started high school this year. The school he attends is in the next county, he no longer gets the day off. I took a half day off of work and we went after school this afternoon.
The parking lot is huge, with multiple entrances. I always go in the same entrance and park in the same lot so that I remember where my car is. When you get there at opening, that is an easy feat. Not so easy when you get there at 3:15 pm. I couldn't even go in the same entrance, it was blocked off, having to park my car in a different lot had me discombobulated. I am easily confused that way, I always park in the same area EVERYWHERE I go. This was not starting out good for me and I was worried I forgot to lock my car because I was out of sorts about being in a different spot. I was already driving my son nuts.
I bought a beer about 5 minutes after we got inside. This was a good change. You can get one of those at 3:15 pm on your day off. It relaxed me and I didn't worry so much about my car. But then I started counting my cash in my head, after having spent $26 for the two of us to get in and then $8 ($8!) for a 12 oz beer. At this rate we'd be out of money in 15 more minutes.
I asked my son where we should head first. Every year, this is always to buy fries, even if it is 9 am. Not just any fries, but Fiske's Fries, from the same Fiske's stand we always do, though they have a few of them. Not this year, he had eaten lunch just a while earlier. He wasn't hungry yet, and told me to lead the way. I headed towards Cracker Country, a living history museums, with actual relocated buildings from the late 1800's along with costumed Florida Pioneers re-enacting some daily pioneer activities. This is one of my favorite things at the fair, and something we always do. This is where my son started driving me nuts. We usually go in all the buildings, and watch all the activities. This year, this was "the boring part" and he refused to stop and look at anything. We did the whole area in 5 minutes. He didn't even let me get Kettle Corn.
Next, I headed to the buildings that contained displays, like artwork and crafts that have been submitted for competition, as we were right next to it. This was the even "more boring part." "When can we go do the real fair stuff?" "We are." "No, the real stuff." What usually takes about 30 minutes took us, again, five. He did at least not mind walking through a special display they had this year on candy history. I would, however, have liked to READ the actual information displayed.
There are some food stands located near by, so we looked through those next. It is always interesting to see what deep fried concoctions they have: deep fried Twinkies, deep fried Oreos, deep fried strawberries, deep fried cinnamon butter, even deep fried Kool Aid. And there is lots of bacon. Bacon wrapped corn dogs, meatballs, and chicken, chocolate covered bacon, bacon on a stick. I'm holding out for deep fried bacon, someone needs to come up with that soon. My son was not quite yet ready to indulge.
We next went to an area where craftspeople sell their goods. Yep, you guessed it, another of my favorites, and even ever more "boring" for my now whiny teenage companion. He was hungry, he now wanted food. So, once again, 5 minutes.
I asked him if we could look at a few animals, since we were right there by the barns, before heading to the midway. "They are the same animals that are here every year. How many of them do you need to see?" "Well, I think this barn has a bathroom, and I need to use one." Yes, mom win! I can still fool you into things! We got fresh squeezed lemonade outside (and, oh, they had baconade!) and headed in the barn. The cows were being presented. We watched that a couple of minutes and then I did actually head to the bathroom. All I can say is, when the bathroom in a barn is the cleanest of all at the state fair...I was the only stall that didn't reveal cowboy boots under the door, but this is my new fair bathroom. This is one of my new favorite places there. It's even better because there is no attendant looking for tips to tell you which disgusting stall is open, and an even bigger one if they lead you to one where the toilet was flushed.
So then, we headed to the midway. Mind you, this is not to do rides. My son doesn't do rides that, as he told me a few years ago, might be missing a few screws or bolts. He didn't want to play any games this year either, he is kind of over winning a cheap stuffed animal. It was purely for the food. He was really hungry now. I asked what he wanted. I should have known. Fiske's fries, from the right stand. We passed two other Fiske stands to get there. These really are the best fries, especially if you put the malt vinegar and salt on them. The kids favorite chips are Salt and Vinegar flavor, but you can't get him to put it on fries, unfortunately. It did't stop me from eating about a third of his large cup of them though.
We continued walking. I got on of this year's "new" specialties, a Steak Sundae. A large amount of fries covered with cheese sauce, sour cream, the mandatory bacon, and sirloin steak bites. The steak was actually quite good. I recommend this dish, heck, I might have to make if for dinner some time. I couldn't finish all the fries though, for which I kept hearing, "If you wouldn't have eaten half of mine, you could have eaten those!" The kid got a corn dog, one of his fair favorites.
It started getting more crowded, and the kid does not do crowds, so I knew what was coming. "Are you ready to go?" "Well, you know I have to look through the Expo Hall." "Yeah, I know, I'm pretty sure that is why you always park at that entrance." Well, he may be on to something there. I tried to talk him into silly socks with sharks on them and light up sneakers in men sizes we saw being sold there, but he just wasn't going for it. He didn't believe me that it would make him the coolest trendsetter in school. I am actually relieved there was no useless stuff he wanted this year, though it still brings a little tear to my eye when I see the wooden rose on his sports collectible display shelf that he just had to have when he was about 5.
Two and a half hours and $65 dollars poorer after arriving, we headed home. My son asks "You took the afternoon off, right, you don't have to finish working all night?" My heart was touched, did he want to spend more time with me? "Yes, I'm off, why, what do you want to do?" "Nothing, I just was betting that if you are off, you're going to take a nap when you get home."
And I did.
That's why they have wine.
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