I haven’t been to the Coastal Empire Fair since Barf-fest 2002. And after all, it is the same every year: rickety rides manned by creepy ex-cons, the scent of corn dogs mixed with bovine remnants, and a wallet raping I wouldn’t soon forget.
I’m willing to do anything for the kids, though, and they’ve never been to a fair. So to the fair we went. All of the above was still true, but we didn’t care. The boys rode their first rides without us, and LOVED it.

The boys go it alone

Easy rider
We drifted into the livestock arena and were amazed to see a cow wash — a place where folks give their cattle a bath and blowout. Here’s one after the spa treatment:

Eddie and friend
It should come as no shock that I also noticed some sign errors.
I’m surprised I didn’t find more of that. Perhaps I was distracted by the funnel cake. It was the boys’ first time for that too. Yum … sugary grease …

The first funnel cake
The meltdown inevitably occurred shortly thereafter, and it was time to go home. But not before we had to promise we would return next year. And we will.
Leave a Reply