We don't have a lot of extra money around to spend, and this month is no exception. However, I do receive a complimentary adult ticket each year. I am usually happy to pass it along to someone else who is attending to help them out, but this year someone thought I needed to go. Several tickets showed up in my box at school! I kept two and passed along the rest. What a blessing! We got Alyssa in for $2 with a canned food donation to the North Texas Food Bank, Daniel is free because he's under 2, and we only paid full price for parking. Now we can enjoy our stay without dwelling on money.
After being inundated with people sharing their free samples with us, we found the Little Hands Farm for Alyssa to play in. It was cool to show her where our food really comes from and how much work it takes to produce. I'm not sure she understood the "work" part (she was playing), but at least she knows there are many steps involved.
We also checked out the petting zoo set up in one of the animal barns. This time, Cris went in with Alyssa while I got to feed and rest with a napping baby. It also gave me an opportunity to just soak it all in- all ages of people, the activity, the colors, the smells- and to savor the experience.
We loved the Food and Fiber Pavilion. There were more exhibits on food production. The bees were a big hit with Alyssa, while I was more excited about free root beer and Dr Pepper floats! Of course, there were food samples all over here- barbecue beef, jalapeno sausage, pecan toffee, and more ice cream. They also had activities for younger kids- leaf rubbings with the forestry service, sticker "lunch" trays with school nutrition services.
We enjoyed walking through the fair grounds, pushing a stroller, holding hands. We had beautiful weather- sunny, very light breeze, mild temperatures. By lunch time we made it to an area where a group of African acrobats were performing. We pulled out our picnic lunch and enjoyed their amazing show.
Afterwards, we made our way over to the science museums. Admission is only $1.50 during the fair. We learned about animals in Texas, dinosaurs, beautiful minerals, optics, and a wonderful paleo lab in the basement (where the scientists were actually studying dinosaur fossils under a microscope).
I did run into a student from school who was visiting with his family. I guess we weren't the only ones with this idea today!
After the museum, we walked by the Discovery Gardens and checked out the garden greenhouse. The greenhouse had someone dressed up as a walking tree- GREAT costume, huge pumpkin carvings, miniature pumpkins for the kids to decorate, and the toy train display that included so many models of Texas landmarks. This was what Alyssa liked the best on her very first fair visit, and it's what caught Daniel's attention this year!
Finally, we relaxed at a table in the shade and enjoyed the Killdares performing at an outdoor stage. We even managed to treat Alyssa to a bag of cotton candy on our way out of the park!
I doubt we'll get to return next year, but we'll remember this experience together! Maybe someday we will get the opportunity to visit again.
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