Eric Perkins

They Lasted 3 Hours!

Tackled the State Fair head on this Friday before Labor Day with my family.

Arrived early. Good game plan. Between 9am and 10am I noticed the sheer volume of fairgoers had at least doubled.

It's truly amazing walking up Judson from the Livestock areas, seeing that mass of people coming at you. I called it the TV money shot. Want a good random wide shot of people? Camp out in front of the Miracle of Birth barn and look up the road. Awesome.

The only better mass of humanity shot comes at the Race for the Cure, when you get on top of that hill and look back at the crowd behind you.

The Fair was cool as usual. Our first stop as always was the Mini-Donut stand. Breakfast in a tidy bag.

From there, it was past WCCO Radio where Governor Pawlenty was doing a live broadcast. I showed my 3 year old who our Governor was. And while he was preoccupied, I did meet a sweet family from Waseca. They seemed happy to be there.

We also hit the building with the butter carvings in them. My wife, trying to engage my 3 year old daughter, said, "Isn't that cool?" She answered politely, but frankly, "No". Oh well, we tried to get her excited about the Dairy industry. She did enjoy her dollar cup of 2% milk though.

Other visits included the Giant Slide, which is always worth the time in line. But the hilight as far as rides go, was the Turbo Jump. That was a giant trampoline in which my daughter got harnessed in, and then jumped about 15 feet in the air. The thrill on her face was classic.

We also made a stop at Veggie Fries, Corn on the Cob, Butcher Boys, and of course the KARE Barn where we got a photo taken with the life sized Randy Shaver cutout.

Our day was commemorated with one last stop at the Arcade, for one of those photo strip booths. All 4 of us crammed in. That's definitely going on the fridge. OK, that's it. Come stop by and see me this weekend at the Barn!

perkout