We walked into the Fair and went by the U of MN booth. We had not been in it yet and I asked if the kids wanted to check it out. (I was secretly hoping they had backpacks) Gabe asked what we could see there. Stella said "I got to touch human hearts one year" Knowing it was unlikely the cardiac guys were there, but hoping for freebies we entered only to find there were no human hearts,..but human BRAINS! ( and cat and pig and rat) the kids loved it. I didn't see any backpacks but the U of MN cheerleaders were there playing a U of MN Monopoly game and you rolled big foam dice to play. Gabe won a backpack! YEAH! and Stella got a button we will give to grandma!We turned the corner to establish our "safe place" at the Ball Park. I told the kids if we got separated just ask how to get to the Ball Park cafe and we would meet at the big baseball. Always good with the intermittent cell service!
We then ran down the hill to the Giant Slide. Always a winner! I got a great pic of Gabe, but the worker got in front of me for Stella. There will be more opportunities for me to get her though!
Gabe was ready to try anything so we went straight for the fried alligator...tastes like really salty chewy chicken! Even Stella tried it!
After the alligator had settled we headed to the butter heads! The sign says that each Princess gets to to take her butter head home and the kids were asking what they do with it and I assumed that the would host a pancake breakfast or corn feed and use the butter. Gabe said all he wanted was the nose! (maybe it is like the ears on a chocolate bunny!)
The kids were willing to stick their heads in one and only one wooden cut out for me! It had to be the turkeys! LOL We then wandered back over to the AG/Hort building where we got to see all the best vegetables and get a shot of the biggest pumpkin! Gabe wasn't sure they were real! There was the grumpiest lady running the Wheel for the Farmer's Market Booth. The kids had to identify vegetables. I did not fare well with the turnip but the kids knew their Brussels sprouts and sweet potato! Yeah honey sticks!
Had to see the crop art again ans this time it was less crowed and Stella found this one that is Calvin and Hobbes (her favorite cartoon!)
Well the sky ride took all of 10 minutes, but the good news was, they got into one of the themed sky ride vehicles! Stella always tries, but it is the luck of the draw. They got into the cow!
After the quick trip they headed off on their own little adventure on the trolley up to the Hall of Technology and back. We had plans to meet at the bench (so glad we found it!) and then we shopped through the bazaar trying to convince Gabe that most of the stuff there is pretty cheap and not the best as far as souvenirs go.
While unsupervised, Stella took Gabe to her favorite place on the fair grounds...the fudge puppy booth. She justified it by saying she hadn't tried the new turtle one with caramel. of course, sounds logical to me. I couldn't argue.Dusk was starting to settle in on us so we walked down to the Midway.
Stella owed Gabe a giant pickle since he bought the fudge puppy, so we went to the new pickle stand across from the Sky ride by the Midway. The procedure is you purchase a preferred pickle poker chip designating the type of pickle you want, and the present said preferred pickle poker chip to the kid and get your pickle. (say that three times fast!) Gabe is a poker chip collector, so he went back and asked if he could just buy a poker chip and was told he could not. :( I asked Gabe how much he was willing to spend on the poker chip, explaining that if he went up and just paid the $2 for the giant pickle and they would give him the chip. He could then walk away with the chip and not trade it in for a pickle! His eyes lit up! I told him we should come back later and try it with a new shift of kids who didn't know he had asked for the chip already!
I told Gabe about the deep fried bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick and he was all for it! They were amazing! Served with your choice of sides ( sour cream chive, honey mustard, BBQ sauce, ranch, ketchup). It is the first thing, fried on a stick, I have eaten at the fair in over 20 years. I will have them again. 
Since we opened the barn door on rides, it's a little hard to close it again so the ride-a-palooza began at the Midway! I did purchase a bunch of ride sheets in advance, but only brought one along that night thinking I could keep them to one ride each. I did however have the coupon book along with the discounted ride sheets (my ace in the hole). I know Stella loves hanging with Mom, however it is way more fun to go on rides with a friend and I am perfectly happy to sit and "people watch" in the Midway. The kids rode 5 or 6 rides, the Windstorm the new roller coaster this year, the Crazy Mouse, the Starship 3000, the high flying swings, and the Magnum. They enjoyed each one more than the other!
As we left the Midway we went back to the pickle booth. Gabe had his $2 ready and handed Stella his backpack and said "hold this, things could get dicey" I was laughing so hard! As he was waiting in the long line, all of a sudden the big burly manager showed up to help the girls working the booth. There was a moment of hesitation, but then he went for it! We were waiting in the shadows for him to return victorious! He held that pickle poker chip proudly and I said " Now that is a fantastic souvenir, because not only was it cheap, but there is a great story to go with it!" Major score!
We had time to kill since the Brandi Carlisle concert was going long, so we wandered over the adventure park. The allure of the human hamster balls (actually called the Eurobobbles) was too great, so the kids decided to spend the last of their money on tickets. TOO FUNNY! They get zipped up into these humid plastic balls and then they are pumped with air and sealed. They are then pushed out into three foot pool of water to roll and fall. I said to the kids we have told them their whole lives to avoid being enclosed in plastic and here we are paying to do it! Stella was a bit too tall for the bubble and could not stand up but had fun rolling and somersaulting! Gabe could stand and run just like a hamster! I was unable to get any good pictures since the lights were awkward and the bubble surfaces were shiny and constantly moving! I pumped mounds of hand sanitizer into their hands once they were out. They were a bit sweaty but beaming from ear to ear!
We found a table in Carousel park to hang out and wait for the fireworks. I broke down and let the kids go get a bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies. ( Randy asked for a treat again, so I justified it that way! :) We sat, ate cookies and listened to the end of the concert and were finally rewarded with the short but sweet fireworks show.
CORN DANCE!
We headed home with full stomachs and full hearts! It was a great day at the Great Minnesota Get Together!
Day Four Stats:
Walked 6 miles
Baby Cow report: none
Food Consumed: Alligator, Fudge puppies, Sweet Martha's Cookies, Gelato, Honey sticks, Deep fried bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick! Huge pickles and french fries!
Stuff I still have to see: Merchandise Mart, Fine Art and the 4H show, the Purina Dog Center and a baby cow.
Day Four Stats for Me:
ReplyDeleteSpent two hours spraying Fair-goers with Round-Up. Extra Concentrated. I think I might have made a dent in the population. Directions say to apply daily until no more Fair-goers sprout up. Looks like I have to go back to Menard's for the oil drum size.