The Great Great Great

I know you all live for this yearly post, so if you're starved for more, just plug "Great New York State Fair" into my search bar and relive the glory of previous years.  Plus, my head aches, and if you've read for more than a year, you've heard me rhapsodize about the Great State Fair before.

One of the girls' favorite experiences at the fair is pumping the pedals of the 1913 player piano.  I like it, too, especially because the old gentleman who oversees it always sings along.

The circus room (c'mon, you remember the huge circus room!) gave the same thrills as last year, only this year Zeke was big enough to squeal over the train displays.

If ceilings stretched high in more than just our kitchen, you can bet one room of our house would be papered with circus posters.

The sand sculpture was lively this year!  We thought it was one of the best yet, but the butter sculpture was so dull I didn't even bother taking a picture.   In retrospect, I should have, simply in honor of such a mighty amount of butter.

The butterfly tent was stuffed with people walking gingerly.  Available for one dollar apiece were "butterfly wands," which were simply q-tips dipped in sugar water.  A lady gave us one, and by the time we left, we'd been given half a dozen more, but they didn't really make a difference.  Observe this woman, magical butterfly wand held high, waiting for a visitor to land.

And now observe me and my baby attracting the butterflies to us by virtue of having no wands.  (I think the butterflies were so bloated with sugar water they were desperate to find people without q-tips.)

There were definitely enough wings to go around.

Immediately following butterflies, we ate the world's best baked potatoes!  (That awkward wording makes it sound as if we ate the butterflies before eating the potatoes, huh.)  The dollar baked potato booth at the fair has my wholehearted backing.  Look at all these happy customers!

The Big News this year was that the swings were missing!  For our replacement ride*, we (meaning Annie, Susannah, and I) chose the roller coaster instead.  There were two there-- one fast and steep and one slightly less fast and steep.  We chose the latter.  (*our thanks to you, McGamma!)

Oh, my dear-heart Mildred. She loves the swing ride (which I think is at least as scary as the coaster), but would not have chosen a roller coaster on her own.  After the ride, I can safely say she will now NEVER choose a roller coaster on her own.  The closer we came to the ride's entrance, the worse her headache became, and she later told me she kept her eyes closed for the entire ride.  Pip and I were riding in the car behind them, and I can testify that the nasty jerks around each sharp corner would have been much worse with one's eyes closed.  It must have been a terrible experience.

The rest of us liked it, even Pip, but if the swings are there next year, we won't even glance at the coaster.  (You're welcome, Millie.)

 

The free petting zoo was a big hit with everyone, as always.  I only took a couple of pictures of the girls petting animals because...well.  Look at that picture of Zeke tugging my arm off.  That's why.

We saved Indian Village for last, where the lightning-fast dancers hold the girls in thrall just like others did when I was a girl.  I know more about the world now than I did then, but I still enjoy watching the younger generation animate time-old traditions.  And, oh, what a magic spell they weave on country bumpkins.

Zekie-Boy finally fell asleep.  John held Aidan or Zeke for most of the day, and at one point, he said, "The Fair is not designed for two-year olds,"  As much as I love the fair, I have to agree.

I completely stole this moment of two older twin men enjoying Indian Village. I held the camera on my lap when I pressed the shutter, hoping to find them somewhere in the frame after the fact.  Rude, yes.  I am only a bit sorry, though, because their matching smiles made me grin, too.

John bought Lucinda a bag of cotton candy in lieu of her going on a ride, and she tore into it as soon as we shut the van doors for the return trip.  I don't think she terribly minded not going on a ride...