State Fair

We decided we couldn't be so close to the biggest state fair in the country and not go. Plus, we thought it would be a good way to celebrate our third anniversary, which is the leather year. We asked G if he wanted to go. I think you can see his opinion.It was a cold day, in the 50's so we all had our sweaters and jackets on. We brought plenty of warm fuzzy blankets and socks for G.

We didn't want to worry about parking at the fair grounds, so we took the train. G's first train ride.

Sorry the picture's fuzzy, but we had to hurry to get on the train. It turns out that personal space is also bigger in Texas, so it was a challenge to get on the multiple trains we had to take that day. Some people weren't too happy to make room for a large stroller. Oh well, at least G was happy. Nothing makes him happier than a good crowd.
Shortly after this picture was taken, a man with a bike got on the train. G decided to have a staring contest with him until he got off. G won. He has no shame and stared quite frankly.

We got to the fair and quickly gave up all hope for napping. Too many people, too much noise. So we watched a horse instead. We were just wasting time until we could go see some dancing dogs-quite lame as it turns out. Lame enough to put the boy out, if only for half and hour or so.
One of the things we really wanted to see at the fair was the livestock. So we followed our noses to the livestock pavilion. And saw goats, sheep, pigs and cows. This goat really liked G.
We didn't look at any of the dairy cows (sorry Mom), but we did enjoy plenty of "steak cows" as Johnny calls them. This one is a Brahman, a breed from Brazil.
Johnny made me take a picture in front of the Texas Longhorn, since I am now a citizen.
This was the biggest cow at the fair, Peter the Great, as the sign says. It was a little disconcerting to be that close to something that big. Though I'm told he's very friendly. Hard to tell from the picture, but his back just kept going and going.

This is a video of the pigs. I wanted to justify my claim to be a good imitator of animal noises. Unfortunately, there are lots of people around, so you have to listen very closely to hear the pig.

Those of you who watch Oprah probably know that she came to the Texas State Fair. We went a few days before her, luckily, but like her, we felt that eating fried food was an important part of the fair. So we tried a corny dog, sweet and spicy deep fried shrimp (an honorary mention), a foot long chili dog, and this, a Belgian waffle. Yum . . .
Luckily, we were walking everywhere, so we could justify eating such fatty foods. I'm sure every Texan justified it that way, though from the looks of Texas people, they probably shouldn't. I guess that's a big difference between Utah and the South. In Utah, people are all uber-conscious of how they look, there are a lot more overweight people here. Also, they have a lot more fatty foods. Whole milk costs the same as skim . . .

The only thing we missed at the fair was the produce, which is a shame because I was told at choir practice the next day that there is a butter sculpture every year. That would have made a cool picture. Maybe next time . . .