A Day at the Fair

This has been a busy weekend for Charles and me. Friday night we had a fun evening with Ava. Yesterday, we watched the Mississippi State/LSU game - that loss is still hurting. Then yesterday evening, Molly and I went to a sweet wedding in Taylor, Mississippi, followed by a fun reception at the Big Truck Theater.

Today, we headed to the DeSoto Civic Center for the Mid-South Fair (the first time it has been in DeSoto County). Mama, Daddy and I used to go to the Mid-South Fair every year, and it was so much fun at the fairgrounds with Liberty Land and its Zippin Pippin. It was very different at the Civic Center. We arrived right before the gates opened at noon and walked around just for a bit. I wanted to watch the catfish races, so we went to their tent to find out when the race would start...While there, we checked out the world's largest mobile aquarium...We then checked out all the food vendors and enjoyed some fair food. Charles bought us some lemonade...

and enjoyed a turkey leg...while I had a sausage dog...We then headed to the area with the rides. We walked around to check out our options then bought our tickets. As we were walking down to the rides we had decided on riding, I told Charles that I wished that they had a Scrambler. Mama and I used to ride it every year, and it was so much fun. As soon as I said it, Charles pointed out the Sizzler. We stepped right up and had so much fun! As we swung around we came so close to the operator that I had to close my eyes every time we headed in that direction because I thought we were going to hit him!
After a fun (and I'm sure hard on the ears for Charles -- I love screaming on rides like this) ride on the Sizzler, we headed to the Himalaya for more fun...
We ended with a ride much more our speed...

the ferris wheel!
We were the first people to board the ride...So, of course, we stopped in increments all the way to the top and back before the ride actually started...This allowed us to get a great view of Highway 55 and the fair...

When we made it to the top and stopped, I must admit, I got a little freaked out because there was no seatbelt or other kind of restraint. Thankfully, the ride actually started soon, and we both enjoyed the views and the breeze.

After enjoying the rides, we walked through the Civic Center to see the exhibits then headed back over to the catfish races tent. The races were supposed to start at 2:00, so we got there a few minutes before then. After waiting for a little while, one of the workers told us they decided to change the races to 2:30. Well, I really wanted to see the catfish races - I thought that would be the highlight of our trip, but we had already walked all over and seen everything. We had already wasted as much time as we could between the rides and 2:00, so we decided to just go ahead and leave. While I was disappointed about the catfish races and with the scale and variety of the fair itself, Charles and I enjoyed our day together.