So I slept in. When I woke up, I thought that wasn’t great timing because it meant I couldn’t take the kids to the Minnesota State Fair first thing in the morning like I’d planned. Turned out, the fair was closed for a while in the morning to do some post-storm cleanup anyway, so that was okay.
The first thing the kids saw was a mirror maze, but then they glimpsed the fun house on the other side of it and decided that they wanted to do that instead. They loved it, and I felt lucky to escape the rides section with only one expenditure!
Cassius’s must-do was the Haunted House, which we've never done before. Theia was also enthusiastic about this idea. So we made our way in that direction. Along the way, we stopped and visited the sheep barn and the Miracle of Birth barn. It’s a state fair; the kids have to see some farm-related things, even under (Cassius’s) protest!
We also found two of our New State Fair Foods. Mine was the Strawberries and Cream Waffle Stick from Waffle Chix. It was a waffle on a stick with some strawberry syrup and cream poured over it. It was only okay. Would not go out of my way to eat again.
Theia’s was Lady’s Slipper Marble Sundae from Bridgeman’s Ice Cream, just a few feet away from Waffle Chix. That was delicious! Chunks of ladyfingers cookies, strawberry ice cream, and a delightfully light lemon pudding.
The Haunted House was very dark and full of "monsters" banging "weapons" on the walls and grabbing at people walking through. Not my favorite thing. I wish the creepy scenarios had been slightly better lit, because mostly we didn't see anything at all in the rooms. Theia hated it and was extremely freaked out by strangers grabbing at her (though they didn't actually touch her--they did actually grab some other visitors). Cassius of course thought it was awesome.
Theia's must-do was a visit to Monty's Traveling Reptile Show, of course. This makes the second (or third, if you count Twin Cities Reptiles) reptile zoo that we've visited this summer, since just last week we went to Snake Discovery.
The Giant Slide is a must-do for all of us!
Cassius's New State Fair Food was close to the Giant Slide. He wanted the Blazing Greek Bites from Dino's Gyros, which were basically chickpea tots with roasted red pepper hummus. Good enough, but not really worth seeking out specially next year. Fairly substantial, though! I felt smart for packing a couple of gallon ziploc bags to save leftovers for later in.
We spent a lot of time at the beginning of the fair, because as it turned out, that was where most of the stuff we planned to do was. We took the Skyglider up to the top of the fair after that, though.
At the far end of the Skyglide ride, the "Cats and Dogs The Exhibit" was a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed the activities, and I enjoyed the air conditioning! We cut through the Eco building and did a few of the activities, then pretended to be art critics in the Fine Art building. I found some favorites that were all very firmly outside of price range. But I took pictures so that I can enjoy them as backgrounds on my phone and laptop.
The kids did the Krazy Maze. While they did that, I waited in the block-long line to get donuts for us to share. The donuts were very light and delicious, but I'm not sure they were worth the wait. Other people were flipping out about them, though.
We ended up taking the donuts home with us to eat later (mostly), because after the Krazy Maze, the kids wanted the pizza pretzel. This was their new State Fair Food last year, a giant pretzel stuffed with cheese curds, pepperoni, and secret seasoning, with pizza sauce to dip it in, and liberally sprinkled with their special cheesy garlic seasoning that must also contain crack. It is so good. And we found a picnic table side area beside the food truck where we could also hear the concert going on next door.
On the way out, we had a side quest for cotton candy (on a cone, Mom, not a bag!) and of course we got french fries with malt vinegar to go as we headed out the door. Cassius chose a new light-up sword as his souvenir, and Theia had a giant inflatable axolotl that she had insisted on getting earlier and then completely freaked out about the possibility of it getting damaged by random circumstance (or her brother) for the rest of the fair. It was super cute seeing her carry it, though.
All in all, it was a decent state fair. I spent way too much on food. I have a "budget" plan for next year, which involves me just handing the kids cash and telling them that when they're done, they're done. Having ziploc bags was amazing, especially because they fit in my pocket so I didn't need a bag to bring them. One of these years I really need to find the crop art exhibit. And I miss the agriculture building! That used to be my favorite thing to do on my own. Next year?
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