Tags
bestdayever, BigTex, Chevrolet, Dallas, Fletcherscornydog, friedfood, paradise, pigrace, sensodyne, StateFair, texanpride, Texas, TexasToffee, thankgodimatexan
The fair was everything that I hoped it would be and more. If there was a paradise, this would be it. Fried food and even more fried food. Everything that I adore. I knew that the day at the fair was going to make me put on some weight but I didn’t care. It seemed like a small price to pay for fried perfection.
After a rough start of getting lost trying to find the right gate, all of that stress dissipated as I looked out at the picturesque background that now stood before me. We parked at gate 11 and proceeded to head to the ticket counter. What sort of surprised me was the guards using a hand held metal detector before you could get close to the gate. I understand there need for extra vigilance with all of the people that were there but if someone is going to smuggle something in like a knife there are ways to circumvent that process. Do I know of a way, no. But that doesn’t mean that others don’t.
Once we were officially inside the gate I was overwhelmed with the scope of attractions and sites to see that we ended up stopping at the first one that intrigued us all. The Chevrolet building. We got to drive different models of vehicles under the close eye of a Chevrolet person but that doesn’t negate how cool it was. It’s not everyday that you get to drive a corvette or camaro. At least I don’t.
After we test drove the vehicles we were hungry and decided to try to find food. Specifically the fried gulf shrimp boil and the chicken fried loaded baked potato. After a long walk we found the items that we were looking for. They were kind of pricey but were decent. I liked the baked potato more but I think it’s just because I have an unhealthy affliction with anything potato related. The shrimp boil was good but it fell apart easily and was making a crumbled mess in the sauce. We decided to eat by Big Tex and watch all of the people go by. My brother is allergic to shellfish so he got a Fletcher’s corny dog. There were a lot of people waiting for one so I figured that it must be good. According to my brother, it was.
We did a lot of sightseeing. We went into the Texas Hall of State, the food and fiber pavilion, the Pan Am arena, and different shopping places. The food and fiber pavilion had lots of free samples and a store that had those samples for you to buy. I’m a sucker for toffee. Pecan toffee especially. I mean we are Texans. Who doesn’t love Pecans? So I ended up getting two bags of pecan delight from Texas Toffee.
We found where the pig race was and watched in utter awe and amusement as they ran around and into a cage. Who knew that pigs could run that fast? I didn’t. It was highly amusing. After that we were hungry again and found some nachos for my brother and some buttered corn for my mom. I was waiting for the ultimate prize. Funnel Cake.
We found a vendor that seemed to sell a lot of them and stuck with the original with chocolate sauce. You would think that after all of that food that we would be full? Well I say go big or go home. We got a turkey leg to split. Normally I’m not a big fan of turkey but I felt that it was almost like a rite of passage. A delicious one.
What amused me the most were the different vendors that seemed to sell everything from ladders to olive oil. There was literally all kind of different things to buy. But my wallet was already starting to feel pretty puny and decided that I should spend no more.
The weather cooled off the later that it got so that by five there was a nice breeze. I’m pretty sure most of the population was at the state fair. It ranged from small children to older folks. There were crowds of people anywhere you went. Controlled chaos.
We finally decided to leave around six o’clock and stopped at the sensodyne area to brush our teeth. Which comes in handy after all of that food consumption. I got a new tooth brush and some tooth paste I call that a win.
The day at the fair was literally one of the best of my life. I can’t wait to do it again next year.
All pictures above were taken by me.