Connor and Dad at the fair

Saturday was the final day of our County Fair. It is perfect for Connor as you can purchase a wristband for $20.00 and have unlimited rides. With the rides costing $3 its a good deal. Connor, being as he is, enjoys the sameness or ritual if you will of the Fair. He knows we will ride on the bus, he knows he will slide on the big slide. The trick is to get him interested in another ride to expand the options. Most fairs do not have the same rides year after year, so when that time comes, he will have known options.

We got dropped off at the county courthouse and took the fair bus. This is a great option as the bus has its own lane and bypasses all the traffic, not that there was all that much traffic at 10:15 AM. The gates had opened but the rides needed 45 min still. So we got our armbands and Connor wanted to stand in line. It took a bit of convincing and consoling but we managed to take a walk around and look at the animals. Connor got a bit anxious, which required my re-enforcing that we will ride the rides when they open.

We got back as they opened and it was slide time. The large fibreglass slide is a staple at the fair, the first year we took Connor he took 50 plus trips down. While you might think the ascension would wear him out, your way wrong! This year he did a good 10 rides then opted to the Raiders. This is a series of obstacles of slides, rope climbs, punching bags, elastic webs and rope bridges ending with a nice long static electric charged slide down (do not touch the kids until they discharge).

I went through the first time to let the workers know about Connor. After that I was informed by Connor that I was not to go anymore. At least he let me go on the slide as much as I wanted...

About 12 trips through Raiders and it was the fun house. This is one of those rides I was glad not to have shelled money out on. It is a walk through fun house with out much to offer. Connor though is less critical and his 20 plus trips only ignited his smile over and over. There is a kiddie ride with some WWII planes called Flying Tigers that Connor rode on this year. He also did the Bumper cars with me two times. There was also a little kiddie ride that resembles a traffic jam. Connor was obviously too big for this ride and one time seemed to be enough.

I almost go him to try the haunted house dark ride. The noises from within put him off going. In between we got some French Fries and a Burrito. I was trying to save up my cash for Tina to get a requested Carmel apple. I offered Connor some Ice Cream, he was not interested, even as we stood in line. Even as we viewed the various containers. It was not until I was handed my cone that he changed his mind. We got home around 4:30. My sunblock had worn off my neck and my legs got a good reddening. For some reason my mid back was just achy enough to be annoying and want to lie down.

Connor? He started to see that the longer lines offered diminished returns. I had asked if he wanted to go home a few rides earlier. After pondering the long line for the Raiders ride, Connor acquiesced. "Lets go home, on bus."

And so we did.