State Fair of Texas 2018

The State Fair of Texas ended its three week run on Sunday. Did you miss it? Never fear; you can get the highlights right here, minus the smell of manure, the exorbitant prices, and the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds.

We drove to Dallas to visit some of our favorite people and spent the day with them at the fair. One of my favorite things about the fair is the art deco details you can see throughout the park's architecture.

(I don't actually know if this illustration dates from the art deco period or would be considered art deco in style, 

but I like it regardless.)

Our first stop was in the livestock area, which makes sense because state fairs are based on all that giant produce, fattest pig, 4H, Charlotte's Web stuff. So we paid a dollar for a cup of pellets and fed the sheep (is that a sheep?)... 

and the llamas ("Mom, llamas! Like in Fortnite!")...

and--wait--zebras?

Sigh. Yep, zebras, and a few other exotic, completely not native species as well. After watching Blackfish a few years ago, I swore off Sea World and its ilk, and am not keen on zoos in general any more. So this was a bit of a betrayal of my principles.
Seriously, you guys, go watch Blackfish. Thus endeth the lecture from your fun-killing liberal friend.

Not pictured, the birthing barn, where a sweet little calf stood on wobbly legs next to its mama, who had a long string of placenta still hanging out of her. I know animals probably don't have the same desire for privacy like humans do, but I still felt a little badly for her. But then I took her picture so that I could gross out my siblings on our group text. So much for my principles.

We saw a magic show that had a serious Tony Wonder vibe:

One of the main attractions for the boys is always the auto show, where you can climb inside a bunch of nice new cars and poke around at all their dials and buttons.

We took the obligatory picture with Big Tex.

See how tall he is? He's peeking over the trees to watch me eat my delicious chocolate ice cream.

Alec found a giant elephant statue and decided that he really needed to climb up its backside.

At the band shell, we watched an animal show done with rescue animals that was so charming, we forgot to even take any pictures of the animals in action. But just imagine dogs, cats, ducks, doves, parrots, a pig, and a porcupine waddling around this old west stage doing tricks set to cutesy music. Even my too-old-for-baby-stuff tweens were impressed.

Here's the number one reason I ever attend any fair or carnival or amusement park: the funnel cake.

The Midway (the section with the rides and games) was absolutely packed. Still, I kind of love the total sensory overload of it all. In a small dose, of course.

Some random person asked if Havilah and I were sisters, but in this picture, I see more of a similarity between Ryan and Matt. Maybe it's just the universal expression of a dad who's been chasing his sugar-fueled kids around a carnival but is trying to have a good time nevertheless.

As we were heading out, we stopped to watch this random surfing display. It was unexpected and really cool.

Beautiful clouds on the drive home the next day.

And a necessary stop at a park about an hour from home to climb on things and then jump off them.

Maybe now you want to plan a visit to next year's state fair? Matt discovered a corn dog (or really, corny dog, as they say in Dallas) filled with cheese and jalapenos that was pretty delicious, so make sure you check that out. But nothing beats the funnel cake.