Being the
travel junkies we are, David and I love the adventurous reality show The Amazing Race. When my parents were in town last spring to
pick Elizabeth up from UT, we watched the Season 26 finale together. The final episode took place in Dallas, and
as we were watching, my mom remarked, ‘I’ve never been to Dallas before.’ WHAT?!
How could she have lived in Texas for 15 years and never been to
Dallas? We vowed then and there that we
would take a road trip to Dallas together.
And what better time to go than during the great Texas State Fair?!
Texas has
the largest state fair in the country, with Minnesota coming in at a close
second. Of course my parents have been
to the Minnesota fair many times, so this year it was time to try out Texas’s. More than 3 million people visit the fair in Dallas
every year and in 2015, Dad, Mom, Elizabeth, David, and I were going to be five
of them.
David and I
used to visit the fair every year during the Red River Rivalry football game
between Texas and Oklahoma. It was
always on my birthday weekend, so every bday I celebrated while attending UT
was spent in Dallas at the fairgrounds.
This year, we decided to avoid the craziness around Texas / OU weekend
and visit during opening weekend instead.
My parents
flew into Austin earlier in the week, and on Friday evening, we piled into my
car for the short road trip to Dallas.
We stopped at the famous Czech bakery, Czech Stop, on the way there to
pick up kolaches and other goodies for a midnight snack.
This was
just the start of eating So. Much. Food.
The Texas state
fair is known for its food… its fried
food. Vendors will literally fry anything, and of course we had to try it all! The
only disappointment was that every stand was out of fried Coca-Cola. I was really looking forward to trying a
fried liquid, but it wasn’t meant to be.
We arrived
right as the gates opened at 10:00 the next morning. We had avoided the crowds and were able to
get on a lot of the rides in the midway without waiting in line. Texas has a great system in place that
requires fairgoers to purchase tickets instead of using cash to go on rides or
buy food, so even late into the night, when the fair was at its most crowded,
the lines were short and sweet.
We rode a
couple of terrifying rides, and then it was on to our first culinary pick, fried butter!
I was not
looking forward to fried butter at all, but I knew I had to try it. We ordered one serving and split it between
the five of us. It’s essential that you
pop the entire ball of butter into your mouth and eat it all at once, as the
butter will ooze out if you try to just take one bite at a time. So Dad and David went for it. And then it was the girl’s turn.
The fried
ball of butter exploded in my mouth, and scalding hot melted butter poured down
my throat. Pure melted butter. We basically drank melted butter. Even though I love butter, it was disgusting.
After the
fried butter debacle, we ordered a fried Reese’s peanut butter cup with soft
serve ice cream. It was delicious, and
the creamy ice cream got that nasty butter taste out of my mouth.
It was
still too early for lunch, so we walked to the livestock arena to check out the
horses, pigs, goats, and longhorns.
On the way
there, we saw a toothbrush station where state fair goers were literally
standing around brushing their teeth, with the toothbrushes and toothpaste
provided by one of the fair’s sponsors.
It sounds strange, but when the main attraction at your state fair is
the crazy variety of food, it’s nice to cleanse your palate (literally!).
After
saying hi to all of the friendly farm animals, we grabbed a few beers and summery
ciders in the wine and beer garden, and watched the dog show.
Then... it was time
for lunch!
We shared… a chili cheese dog, two corn dogs, lemonade, root
beer, fried Frito pie bites, death-by-chocolate fudge, jerky, corn on the cob,
and award-winning cowboy crunch (fried creamed corn with bacon, jalapeno, and
cheese). Elizabeth ordered a giant
virgin pina colada in a pineapple, and I washed it all down with a smoky bacon
margarita.
Only Elizabeth could
pull off a crop top at the state fair,
eating copious amounts of food and not
gaining a pound!
Next, Dad wanted to check out the car show. When I heard ‘car show,’ I thought old-timey
cars. The car show at the TX State Fair,
though, is two huge exposition centers filled with Fords, Nissans, Toyotas,
etc. Dad wanted to shop for Mom’s next
Toyota. This was perfect timing. I literally locked myself in one of the
sedans, stretched out on the backseat, and took a nap (or food coma … let’s be
honest, I fell into a food coma).
Elizabeth later fell into a food coma at the relaxation room. We found this hidden gem in the center building. The room was filled with comfy couches, computers, charging stations, TVs, and free bottled water. We took a quick break from the heat to enjoy the A/C and watch a bit of the UT football game, when next thing we knew, Elizabeth was sound asleep.
Elizabeth later fell into a food coma at the relaxation room. We found this hidden gem in the center building. The room was filled with comfy couches, computers, charging stations, TVs, and free bottled water. We took a quick break from the heat to enjoy the A/C and watch a bit of the UT football game, when next thing we knew, Elizabeth was sound asleep.
We woke her up to explore the rest of the building, which
included a music expo featuring Texas musicians.
We had fun onstage
pretending to be rock stars
Dad and David wanted to finish watching the Longhorn game,
so they headed to a bar while Mom, Elizabeth, and I checked out more
expositions. We got some free ice cream
cones at the dairy, and then made our way to the bar.
Then... it was time for our second lunch!
We ordered spicy jalapeno cheese sticks (too spicy for
everyone except David), fried stuffed olives, a loaded barbeque baked potato,
and an apple strudel and a chocolate-covered banana for dessert.
After a terrible, terrible loss to Oklahoma State, we
decided to drown our sorrows in the screams of frightened children back
at the midway.
We rode ride after ride.
I wasn’t feeling so hot after all of that food, so I skipped out on the
upside rides. Mom and David were with
me, but Dad wasn’t about to make Elizabeth go by herself. So those two had the time of their lives,
while we recorded the fun.
One of the scarier rides, that I wasn’t really expecting to
be that scary, was the Hang-Glider.
David, Elizabeth, and I basically lied down, side-by-side, on our
stomachs on a stretcher, had a bar placed over our backs, and were lifted up
into the air to fly around in circles above the crowd. The scary thing was, we were facing down the
entire time and not strapped into anything at all. If the stretcher material tore open, we’d
fall face-first onto the pavement 20 feet below. I tried not to think about it.
Dad was obsessed with finding a haunted house
attraction. He has fond memories of the
haunted house ride at the Minnesota State Fair and wanted to experience the
Texas equivalent. We finally did find
it, but it was a huge disappointment! It
cost way too many tickets, only lasted about 30 seconds, and wasn’t scary or
even exciting. At all.
The final ride of the evening more than made up for the haunted
house. It was a terrifying, giant
pendulum that swung riders all the way around, and hung them upside down from
the highest point. I did not want to go
upside down, but David needed a partner to ride with and Mom sure as hell
wasn’t getting on that thing. (Dad and
Elizabeth were already in line, of course, ready to be strapped in.)
There were no safety seat belts on the ride, just a shoulder
harness. The harness was so loose on me,
that once we got upside down, I was literally suspended in the air. The only thing holding me in was the harness
on my shoulders. It was petrifying.
From there, we left the midway, skipped the parade, and
headed back to the main entrance to watch the water / dance show and
fireworks.
Then… it was time for dinner!
I was so full at this point that I was feeling nauseous. But I was so excited to try the fried
spaghetti and meatball dinner, and the Thanksgiving dinner. Both won awards for originality and taste,
and both were so delicious that I forgot how stuffed I was and chowed down!
The parsley on top of
the fried spaghetti and meatballs
was the only green I saw all day
Many people have asked about the fried Thanksgiving dinner,
which was the unanimous favorite of the day.
To fry a Thanksgiving dinner, take turkey, stuffing, and creamed corn,
and mix together before rolling in cornmeal and deep-frying. The giant balls of fried goodness are served
with gravy and cranberry dipping sauces to complete the meal.
After all of that, we still had a few tickets left, so Elizabeth ordered a plate of fried pickles, and Dad bought a fair oldie-but-goodie, taffy. Mom and I were done.
After all of that, we still had a few tickets left, so Elizabeth ordered a plate of fried pickles, and Dad bought a fair oldie-but-goodie, taffy. Mom and I were done.
It was a great day at the fair, but our trip to Dallas
wasn’t over yet! We had a couple of
stops to make on Sunday on our way home.
First, we visited Dealey Plaza, the site of the JFK
assassination. We took in the history by
walking across the grassy knoll and driving over the two X’s where the
president was shot.
About halfway to Austin, we stopped for gas and snacks at Buc-ee’s. Buc-ee’s is the largest gas station I’ve ever been to. It’s known throughout Texas for having clean bathrooms, cheap gas, and an array of food and home goods.
David with his new
best friend, Buc-ee the Beaver
Our trip to the state fair was a huge success. Now David and I need to make a trip up to
Minnesota in the summer to experience the second-largest fair in the country…
and watch farm animals give birth?!
Awesome food, great rides, and HOT...Had a great time with my fantastic family. Still need a ride I will get off and say NEVER again......
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