It's August in the Midwest, and that means heat, humidity, and the State Fair.
I promised Maddie several weeks ago I'd take her to the fair this year, and on Saturday we, including my lady friend Ashley, made a very full day of it.
I checked out the fair schedule in advance, determined to fit as many events into our day as possible. We got a late start, though, and interstate construction set us back further. We were already hungry when we walked into the fairgrounds at noon thirty, and, after much deliberation, we made quick work out of a delicious barbeque sandwich from the "Pork Tent."
This may seem a non sequitur, but one of many great things to come from my mountain climbing in Colorado is my CamelBak. It was great to have at the fair, with plenty of room for all our necessities, Maddie's baubles, and, most importantly, a liter of water. No wasted time waiting in line to shell out four bucks for dehydrating soda.
After we stopped by to check out the watermelon seed spitting contest, arriving too late to enter Maddie, we went to watch the Bengal tigers. I have great misgivings about caged animals, especially performing tricks, their wild nature clearly muzzled through training. I realize, though, the only way most kids get to learn about and begin to care about non-indigenous, endangered species is by seeing them firsthand. It's sad to see these beautiful beasts tamed for our amusement, but I believe it ultimately serves a greater purpose.
We stopped by the Indiana Young Farmers pavilion afterward and entered Maddie into the tractor pull competition before hitting the "International Circus." I have to admit, an elephant balancing on a little ball is pretty amazing. And for Maddie, there is apparently nothing in the world funnier than a dressed-up monkey slapping a grown man in the face.
I missed that, however, as I had to shuttle back and forth to see if Maddie's age group was up yet for the tractor pull. Maddie, 7, was one of a few girls in a group dominated by 8 year old boys. It was a lot of fun to see her get out there and compete, and she really tried her hardest. She did get her first-ever ribbon for participating, in and of itself an exciting moment for me. I wish I had taken a photo of her with it.
The grounds are sprawling and it seemed that the next show we wanted to take in was invariably at the other side. Thankfully I bought new Brooks runners a couple weeks ago, because we walked miles and miles.
Maddie was great. She wore a very loose-fitting dress, which surely helped keep her cool. And, despite wearing flip flops, she didn't once complain about walking, though I fully expected her to and would not have blamed her if she had. Though she did ask about the rides more than she should, for which she was eventually chastised, she was interested and enthusiastic about nearly everything we did and saw.
After trudging around the fairgrounds for about five hours, we headed out to the Jeep and I fired up my little traveling grill while the girls kicked off their shoes and relaxed. Besides saving about $20 by cooking up our own brats and sauerkraut, it was a great opportunity to break up the day and cool off for an hour. Since we wound up staying until 10:30, the opportunity to rest and re-energizing proved vital.
Over the course of the day we saw deadly spiders, ugly fish, Foster Brown playing the ukulele, gigantic draft horses, really cute piglets, chicks peeking out of their eggs, the World's Largest Boar (tipping the scales at 1,121 pounds), bleating sheep (which is hilarious when they stick their tongues out), a lumberjack competition, and Second Fiddle, a local Irish folk band. Maddie made her own tin art, tried walking on stilts, tooted on her new flute and even milked a cow.
And at the end of the day, there's but one thing left to do: Ride some rides.
I'm no fair aficionado, but five bucks for four tickets seems a bit salty, especially when some rides call for four tickets. Lucky for us, all the rides Maddie was interested in required only two. After the big slide, she wanted to try out the "Flying Kite," on which she laid on her stomach while the "kites" spun in circles and go up and down.
She was absolutely thrilled. Maddie knows no strangers and quickly befriended the little girl next to her. After the kite touched down, she raced over to us, a great smile across her face, and asked if she could ride again with her new friend. The little girl had gone by the time we hopped back in line, but Maddie was very excited anyway and rode again, this time making buddies with a little boy.
When Maddie stepped in line for the "Indiana Jones" adventure, a women leaned over and asked her where her Mom was. My first thought was, "Hey, random lady. I'm her dad, I'm right here. She isn't alone." It wasn't until she spoke again that Maddie noticed and recognized her former babysitter.
It was actually a really nice way to finish the day. I didn't know Kathy very well — she babysat for Maddie's Mom and I'd met her only a couple times. Kathy has a very big heart and it was great to listen to her talk about Maddie with such enthusiasm. They hadn't seen each other in some time and there were a few moments when I thought Kathy might cry. One of her daughters, with whom Maddie had become like sisters, was with her and Maddie now had her good friend with whom to go ride … the kite … again.
Kathy talked in glowing terms about Maddie, asked questions of Ashley and insisted I "marry her already," and told me how happy she was that I had moved back from Colorado to be close to Maddie.
When the girls' ride ended, we said our goodbyes and headed for the parking lot. It was nearing 11 when we made our way out of the fairgrounds and well past midnight by the time we pulled into the driveway — a full 13 hours since we had left.
It was a really great day.
**Update: Pictures**