Between my back pain and the heat, my wife and I still had a very good time at the New York State Fair this year. Although walking was a chore, we got around to see what we wanted to see, even if I didn’t get my chance to touch a pig this year, which was my goal last year as well, because it was the day of the horse, and horses and I don’t get along.

20140830_122745 Before I get into my thoughts and what I did at the Fair, I’d like to quickly review a post I wrote in April regarding 5 things I wish would change at the Fair and whether any of them happened. Let’s see…

1. There was one major thing at the Fair that was pretty neat. A company called Victory Lifts, the people who created chairs that could carry people up and down the steps when they couldn’t walk it safely anymore came up with something else that was pretty cool that they exhibited. It’s a clear small elevator that’s either made of plastic or fiberglass, and though you’d have to stand in it instead of sitting down, it will get you upstairs much quicker and you can carry things easier also. They were giving kids free rides up and down, though it didn’t take them too far up since they had to cap its size but I could see the benefits of this bad boy. I could only see one negative, that being what if it stopped and left you somewhere in the middle, as there was no alarm pad. However, there might be one that they didn’t need at the Fair; I don’t really know. Still, it was cool and something new.

20140830_1305432. There was a greater mix of music this year, even if I missed it all. Having Journey and Cheap Trick playing is a major coup as far as I’m concerned, and my Twitter feed blew up when Bell Biv Devoe played at Chevy Court; yup, I was feeling some jealousy as that’s the day I went, but my back just couldn’t handle it all. Attendance was up throughout the Fair, and that was before Monday’s dollar deal.

3. I still don’t know if they advertised the animals all that well, although I wasn’t in town to go any earlier than the final Saturday. I do know that the program we got when we went through the gate didn’t mention any special events, and the only thing I saw while walking around was calf birthing… no thanks! lol

20140830_131327(0)4. I missed the Dairy building this year and it wasn’t until hours later when I was at home that I remembered it; oy! I still don’t know what the butter sculpture was; now that’s a shame. I liked the flower displays this year in the Horticulture building but I still wanted to see more; maybe I’m just greedy.

5. There were some basketball players there on Saturday but I didn’t know any of them; that’s sad. I know that there were some celebrities who showed up this year, one being this lady from the Food Network (I don’t know who she is) but otherwise, my request for more New York celebs wasn’t met I don’t believe. I think this would be a very wise move… maybe next year.

20140830_132041General impressions… it was hot! lol Actually, it’s pretty amazing that central New York is home to many of the fried “whatevers” that were everywhere this year. This included the one and only Twinkie stuffed with a Twix bar and wrapped in bacon that there was no way I was trying this year. One thing I’ve learned is that every booth offering these types of things has their own batter for frying them in and last year when I tried something I was greatly disappointed because of that fact. Still, I almost pulled the trigger on the Oreo sandwich with the Reese’s peanut butter cup in the middle, but instead stuck with getting an apple dumpling with a scoop of ice cream, since I missed out on that last year.

20140830_122804I loved this year’s sand sculpture in the Center of Progress building, all about Dr. Seuss and his many characters, and think it was one of the best ever. Maybe if I could have gotten that back massage I’d have been better off but there was a long waiting list both there and in the building with the quilts and such (what is the name of that building anyway?) and I didn’t want to wait for any of it. If there was one disappointment it was in the corner where fudge has always been sold and where they were always making more, which I always enjoyed seeing, but this year they were just selling and not making and maybe I got there late overall because they didn’t have much to sell. So, for the first time in maybe 10 years I didn’t get any fudge, which made my wife happy.

20140830_131609As always I loved seeing the quilts and the images, but I missed out on the trains, if they had them. I also skipped the dinosaur exhibit but overheard a guy telling his son that he’d make sure the dinosaurs didn’t eat him as the boy was pulling away and crying; nope, that kid wasn’t going in there. My wife walked through all the tents selling stuff and walked through the Indian Village at the beginning, but I didn’t know there was supposed to be a new look to the Midway until I got home and, sad to say, we missed it. No rides for me ever, but this year there was one where two people got into a ball and were slingshot into the air, like a reverse bungee, and I have to admit that was pretty cool to see but my back would have broken; sigh…

We made it almost 2 1/2 hours before we decided to head out before it really got hot and crowded, but I’ll just say there was plenty to see and leave it at that; ouch! I hope next year I’m home for the early part of the Fair because I must touch that pig, or something else exotic… and I don’t mean those nasty butterflies! 🙂 Good job NY Fair people!