Do the Puyallup!

Being city folk and all, we aren't exposed to domesticated farm animals on a daily basis.  The best opportunity for us to experience what Washington farmers have to offer is at the annual Puyallup Fair (think skunk - PEW-all-up).  In case you didn't know, "The Fair", as we locals refer to it, is a big deal.  It lasts for 2 weeks, has a rodeo, livestock shows in every class you can think of, big name bands playing every night, carney games galore, fried food of all sorts, more hot tub salesmen that you can shake a stick at, and everything else you expect from an event who's slogan this year is, "Get Your Happy On."

Sarah and I had been to The Fair a couple times as a date before we had Grace or Sam, and have missed the last two since Grace has been born.  This was Grace's first trip and now she won't shut up about having been there.  I hear about the "enormous horses" almost constantly; I just hope she doesn't ask for one for christmas.

Of course, no fair would be complete without a petting zoo.  In contrast to the "enormous horses" these baby goats are just Grace's size - and just as cute.

One of the hallmarks of The Fair is the Krusty Pup.  It's simply a corn dog, but made right in front of you.  That's right, they skewer the dog, dip it in batter, fry the whole thing, and THEN they serve it to you for 400% profit.  For all the bad talk about price, the Krusty Pups are quite delicious.  It must be that making them from scratch makes them so much better than the ones I ate at the high school cafeteria.  

Along with the truckloads of overpriced food, there are truckloads of overpriced rides too.  I couldn't help but get photos of Grace standing next to the "YOU MUST BE THIS TALL TO RIDE THIS RIDE" sign.  I know it's cliche, but I think there's a past post about how much I try to not avoid that...

Sadly, as it turns out, even though The Fair has an entire section of rides just for kids, Grace is only tall enough to ride two of the rides: the carousel, and the train.  Good thing for us, she loves both of those.  As for the other rides, Grace kept going up to the hight requirement sign and saying, "I gotta gwow some!"  Yes, yes you do Grace.  We'll ride the airplane, spinning bear, and race car rides next year.  

Carousel that's not as cool as the one at the zoo... and cost 3 times as much.

Train ride that's not as cool as the one we rode in Denver... and costs twice as much.

Grace didn't care they cost more, she loved them just as much.