If you live in the Midwest, you’ve probably been to your state’s State Fair. I actually never attended as a child (although I attended my county fair every year), but since we moved to Indianapolis we’ve attended every two to three years. It’s fun, but we end up spending as much money as if we’d gone to Cedar Point or Kings Island, which are a lot more fun. Still, the girls love it, and it’s a summer thing. So we go if we can squeeze it in.

This summer we didn’t make it to the Fair until after Ellie moved away to college. Madeline wanted to invite a friend, and even though it took us a while to connect with her, we finally did. Just in time to get caught in a quick downpour! Soon, however, the rain stopped, and we were on the midway. The girls rode a lot of rides and played some carnival games. Madeline won a giant teddy bear dressed like a tiger. Weird, but cute. Her friend won an adorable little octopus. Carrying that giant thing around was Madeline’s job, but of course the parents ended up helping quite a bit.

At one point we wandered into the beer (and wine) hall. A few years ago, when they first opened the beer hall, it was strictly 21 and over, and no alcohol was allowed to leave the building. This year, however, the girls were able to go in the building with us. We ran into some friends and visited there for a while. When we were ready to take off, I wasn’t finished with my beer, and I was allowed to take it with me. I took a picture to commemorate momentous progress in Indiana beer regulation!

The girls wanted to take the new sky ride but Andrew does not like heights, so we split up for a bit. He waited at one end of the skyride, and the girls and I hiked to the other end. On the way, we found some selfie stations.

I did not love the sky ride! The cars were small, and the lap bars didn’t lock down. It felt like one abrupt stop that made the car rock would tip me right out. I definitely used some deep breathing techniques to help me. I fell off a ladder earlier this year (thankfully, I only hurt my hip a bit and never needed medical attention), and I’ve had been a little less tolerant of heights since then. That’s probably natural, but the sky ride was definitely a challenge. I was very happy to get off at the end.

Before we left, Andy and I wanted to try the pickle pizza that was chosen as the best new food at the fair this year. We had to walk halfway around the property to find it, but we did find it – with a little help from the Indiana State Police information booth. We split a piece, and it was . . . underwhelming. Not bad, but it had been really overhyped.

As we headed toward the van to leave, we passed the FFA (Future Farmers of America) building. There’s a putt putt course there, so we stopped in to let the girls play a few holes. Andy and I sat at a table and waited, and Andy ended up taking a little snooze. I guess that’s what happens when you spend hours walking around a hot fair. I had to take a picture. Even though we were exhausted, it was a good day.