The Great NYS Fair

John sometimes indulges me as he would a spoiled child, like, for instance, when he decided to take us the the Great NYS Fair this year. For those who don't understand why I love the Great NYS Fair (don't leave off the Great!), I copy and paste what I wrote about it here two years ago.

We drive to Nanticoke tonight in order to go to THE GREAT NEW YORK STATE FAIR with my family tomorrow! John, dear my friend, kindly decided to take us this year, as he patiently listens to me tell of its wonders every year around this time. A sculpture made of thousands of pounds of butter! The dancers on Turtle Mound in Indian Village! The glass jars of bulk candy lined up to tempt Johnson children who've saved all summer to buy a pound! The invisible ink, the itching powder, the whoopie cushions, and like magical merchandise! The fudge! The baked potato booth! The rides! The Rainbow Bar continuously replenished with fresh white and chocolate milk! The circus! The horse shows! The exhibits! The.....and it goes on.

I should explain my excitement, which some may see as unwarranted. Every year, my mother and father would pack us seven children into whatever rickety station wagon we were driving at the time, along with a few gallons of punch, Adirondack soda, and an assortment of bologna, tuna fish, and egg salad sandwiches to head on our yearly vacation to The Great New York State Fair. The hour-long drive was, more often than not, fraught with mechanical peril, and we spent our fair share of summers broken down on the side of the highway, stewing as precious vacation minutes were wasted in waiting. We didn't go many places when I was younger, so all my vacation memories shine brightly with the rosy glow of nostalgia. And, believe me, after a summer spent weeding our monster garden and haying in the heat of summer, the State Fair truly was a Thing to Anticipate.

There. Now I'm sure you clearly understand why I was so excited to go this year. We saw many marvels and untold wonders, and here are the paltry few of which I took snapshots. (John was there, of course, though he's not shown here.)

Butter! All butter!


Twenty-five cent glasses of cold, throat-numbing milk!
White!
Or!
Chocolate!
It's our state beverage! YEEHAW!




Sand...sculpted! Braided...pigtails!


Fountains and Aunt Debbie's pocketful of pennies for luck-fishing!


Round, black, plastic thingies that the 4-H people use to dupe honest citizens into wasting money! (I love my mom here. She told my dad that he should only send pennies down the cylinder instead of multiple quarters. She snatched this quarter back before it whooshed down the hole. Now that's a girl with Manwaring blood for ya!)


Chicks! Ducks!


Pirates of the Sky!

They juggled!


They risked life and limb on strange contraptions that swung round and round!




He jumped rope! Was blindfolded!
Death! Defying!





Children! Watching!



Hugs from Grandma!



A portable Deborah Bed! The latest model!


Indians dancing on Turtle Mound! (It's okay. They call it Indian Village, not Native American Village...) This little girl was very cute and determined to keep her title from last year. Annie was quite taken with her.



A circus! With a high-wire man! (And lots of other things, but I was too busy clapping with my mouth wide open to take blurry pictures.)






A ringmaster's shadow!


A skyward ride! (The first ever for Susannah! And, yes, despite her expression here, she loved it.)


A turtle-browed mother and a menorah-bruise daughter! (She keeps making the unfortunate choice for these crowns...)


A view!


A setting sun!


And a walk back to the car, where we could still see this. A wheel! A beacon! Many lights!