State Fair!

Ever since the Minnesota State Fair (and the awesomeness of Princess Kay of the Milky Way), I've been sort of a state fair nut, dragging Drew (and now Rachel) to every state fair -- and some local ones, too -- where we've lived.

Today was the start of the Virginia State Fair, which lasts a week (it ends next weekend), and because I'm working next Saturday -- a once-in-a-lifetime rarity -- I decreed that today would be the day we'd head to rural Virginia. It's a 90-minute drive each way, with rain threatening, and Drew and I were up very late last night paying bills and doing some paperwork decluttering, so we didn't end up getting out of the house until 12:30. I brought umbrellas and boots just in case, but left them in the car because I didn't want to drag them around.

It was cloudy and sort of cool when we arrived, but we headed straight for the kids' area, anyway, and Drew smartly bought Rachel an unlimited ride pass. She went on a bunch of them, including the Ferris wheel, with Drew before the skies opened up. And, man, did it rain! We all got soaked and I gave Rachel my raincoat because she looked so wet and miserable. We took refuge in the dove/bird exhibit tent -- the doves were cooing! It was adorable! -- and then the poultry and bunny tent, and then we went to the petting area where we saw llamas! guinea pigs! Sheep! Goats! Cows! And the sweetest, fuzziest baby chicks EVER. By that time the rain had let up, and we went back to the rides where Rachel discovered a trampoline ride with a harness that allowed her to jump really high and do forward and backflips. She persuaded Drew to let her go twice, and I got some great shots of her mid-flight with her hair flying.

After the rides we decided to get something to eat (I was wet and cold and getting cranky by that point), so we wandered to the food area and the Midway, and got dinner -- brisket and pizza and unsweetened iced tea, a rarity in this part of the world -- and then ice cream for dessert (Rachel). Rachel went on a couple of the scarier rides after that, including the Tilt-A-Whirl and a space-themed ride that looked scary to me (the sign outside said, "Frightened children should not be pressured into riding."). Drew wanted to bet on whether Rachel would come outside and throw up or say, as she had after the Tilt-A-Whirl: "That was AWESOME!" It was the latter, of course, and then Rachel had this to say: "While everyone was screaming, I had a lovely little chat about Star Wars with the person next to me." I swear, sometimes she sounds like a little old lady.

We didn't leave until 9:30 -- we sure got our money's worth, although Rachel didn't get to bed until 11, and yes we are bad parents for keeping her up so late. The time is fast arriving, Drew said, when he'll schlep Rachel and her friends to the fair, give Rachel $50 and tell her that's all she gets for the day, so she has to budget for rides, food and anything else she wants to buy, and he'll meet her at the end of the night for the drive back home.