2017 Minnesota State Fair - Visit #5

Today we took Henry back to the Fair and met up with family for one last day of fun at the Fair!

We started our morning on the north end of the Fair, which meant the perfect time and place for one of the best Fair breakfast treats, Cinne Smith! Delicious as always. Ben, Steph and the girls reported that their new pecan mini cinni’s were excellent, too.

Also at the north end is the Pet Center. Henry enjoyed visiting with several of the dogs. Here he’s meeting the English Springer Spaniel.

Soon we were on Machinery Hill looking at the antique tractors. Ada, Henry and Eleanor pose for a photo.

Chocolate chip cookies for breakfast? When it’s Sweet Martha’s at the Fair, yes! A cup full of nostalgia and memories. Outside the Fair these would just be your average chocolate chip cookie. But at the Fair, warm and gooey out of the oven, they’re a cup full of tradition. Sweet Martha’s three booths at the fair sell $4 million worth of these guys every year, by far the Fair’s highest grossing vendor.

Next up, the John Deere pavillion. Henry and Ada found an excavator to drive.

I love this shot - captures so much of what I love about the Fair!

My attempt at an artistic shot of the new giant ferris wheel. This is the world’s largest traveling ferris wheel, 155 feet high.

By now the Kidway was open so we hit some rides. Eleanor was excited to take Henry on the monster trucks he loves. After a few laps of bumps and heavy metal music, she might have been reconsidering. :-)

Ada and Henry tackled the Pirate maze. High up on the rope bridges!

Time for some real breakfast food. The El Sol breakfast Chilaquiles. Eggs, chicken, toppings on fresh tortilla chips. It was just ok - a bit bland. This was on my list of breakfast foods to explore, so I’m glad I checked this one off, but it’s probably not something I’ll get again.

This is the vegetarian taco at Oof Da tacos. Now this was a neat twist, a giant taco on fry bread. And I really liked the olives on this. A little different than your average taco, which was nice!

Next up was the classic Giant Slide, one of the most beloved attractions at the Fair. Eleanor and Henry took a turn.

And now the final Katie tee shirt reveal of 2017! This one got plenty of attention, and here she’s actually living out the struggle by taste testing both a Pronto Pup and Poncho Dog (a more traditional corn dog) at the same time. She has her favorite, but you really can’t go wrong with either one!

We headed over to the Schilling Ampitheater in the West End to see the History-on-a-Schtick show that the Minnesota Historical Society puts on. This is a humorous, variety show style trip through Minnesota history and culture. Here, the actors are portraying four of Minnesota’s most famous: left to right, there’s Betty Crocker, Paul Bunyan, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, and Snoopy.

The show was great - very clever, funny, and well-acted! Katie and Henry both approved!

Back over to the animal barns for more fun. The coliseum had barrel racing. Henry loves the horse speed shows!

We enjoyed some Blue Barn Iron Range Pierogies while watching the horse show. These were pretty authentic potato and cheese pierogies with horseradish dipping sauce. While not my favorite Blue Barn item, really everything they make is pretty darn tasty, including these.

A fun part of walking through the animal barns is you never know who is going to come along. Henry turned to look over his shoulder and found this lady about a foot away!

Close encounters of the cow kind.

Playing farmer and learning how to milk cows in the Moo Booth! This is a fun stop for Henry every year.

Henry showing me how this all works.

Off to the Dairy Building for the new Pie N The Sky Malt! Vanilla ice cream, Biscoff cookies, dark chocolate, and lemon curd. This was really working for me on what turned into a pretty hot day! This was the special flavor of the year at the Dairy Goodness bar, and I’m glad I didn’t miss it - a definite winner for me.

The classic frozen cider pop from Minnesota Apples in the Horticulture Building. For $1.50, maybe the overall best deal at the Fair!

One last Lift Bridge Mini Donut beer for 2017.

Another perennial favorite, the Danielson and Daughters onion rings. Lightly battered but super crunchy. Great when they’re warm out of the fryer with a little salt!

One last stop on the Kidway on the way out. Ada is up there in the sky flying around on the swings!

Henry wanted one more slide, so he and mom climbed the steps for one last hurrah. Victory!

Group selfie with the Fabrizios plus Yaya/Sally, Ben, Steph and Ada. Eleanor had run into a group of her friends and they were off having more Fair fun. Running into friends at the Fair is another classic Fair experience - today we ran into FIVE groups of our friends! We saw high school friends, Henry school friends, Down syndrome buddies - it really is the Great Minnesota Get-Together!

And that’s a wrap for 2017, but as always, I got the hand stamp - just in case! Stay tuned for my Fair awards and wrap-up post, and then it’s a long 353-day wait until next year.