The State Fair of Texas 2009

We finally made it out to the fair yesterday. We've had rain, rain, and more rain lately, but it actually cleared up yesterday. Well, it started out very foggy, but then the sun came out. So much so, in fact, that I came home with a sunburn. Ouch.

We started by dropping off our canned goods for the North Texas Food Bank. The fair always has $1 admission on Wednesdays if you bring 3 cans of food.



(If you click on that last photo, you might be able to see that it says, "State Fair Texas."

Our first stop was the Birds of the World show. They bring out all these fabulous birds and have them show off. It's good stuff.







That last photo was my husband's attempt to capture the raven taking money from me (for conservation efforts). The raven was too quick for the camera.

The Pirates of the Caribbean diving show started out pretty lame. Lots of dumb jokes, probably meant to appeal to little kids. But the show improved as the diving really started. The captain's last dive was from 80 feet in the air! Yikes!



One of the great highlights for us is always the Auto Show. We were disappointed that Honda chose not to attend this year, but Steven was thrilled to find a Camaro all decked out like Bumblebee from Transformers. Even had the logo.




The Dallas skyline all covered in fog (or just bad air).



Ever been to a pig race? Up until yesterday, I hadn't! (I'm a city girl through and through.) It was kind of like watching reality TV: 30 minutes of show with only 5 minutes of substance. The pigs were cute, though. They set up little cheerleaders to lead each section. We were the white team. The pigs had silly names like Squealie Nelson, Britney Squeals, Hamma Montana, and Snoop Hoggy Hog. We cheered for Hamma Montana.







We sat down to dinner (Fletcher's jalapeno-and-cheese corny dog for Steven; catfish taco for me) and chatted with a nice older couple from Fort Worth. They asked us to take their picture, then offered to take ours.



While we were eating, the parade rolled by. I snapped a few photos, then totally regretted not getting a shot of the super-creepy clown thing. Kitschy and creepy all rolled into one.





As for the food, well, there were the typical offerings, such as the corny dogs. But there were also new things like fried butter, fried lattes, and fried peaches-and-cream.




We opted to try the peaches-and-cream, as people have been raving about how good it is. I have to be honest: I was unimpressed. Four slices of canned peaches, dipped in a batter, then overcooked. At least, ours was overcooked. We paid $5 for the privilege. A funnel cake would have been a better way to spend our dessert cash. Live and learn.

Finally, the icon of the State Fair of Texas: Big Tex. I promise, he looks way less creepy in daylight.