Did the Puyallup
Sep. 24th, 2009 12:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynI had a great time with feochadn last night at the Puyallup Fair. For readers not from this area, it's actually the Western Washington State Fair, but has been known as the Puyallup for as long as I can remember, since that's where it's held. Decades ago they came out with this incredibly successful marketing and ad campaign of "Do the Puyallup" so that's what people kind of hold on to round these here parts. (Pronunciation: pyoo-AL-up)
It's been so many years since I've been able to find people who will go on rides with me. When I went years ago with Ex, he would only go on the ferris wheel. BOOOOring. And my friend Michael can't go on rides anymore since his heart surgery. Jo braved the rollercoaster with me last night even though she's never had the chance to go on a real live large coaster before -- it was a gorgeous night (although a little too hot until the sun went down, yeesh -- I was sweating up a storm) and there was an orange moon and then suddenly we were whooshing downhill really fast and it was just wild. We both had tears afterwards because of the wind, and I guess my hair looked quite amusing. That thing is always over too fast. It might not be the best thing for me with the vertigo, but I just love it so much. The fair's coaster is one of the few remaining original wooden coasters in the country and there's a certain fear in that clickety-clacketiness that makes it extra special. I guess if you're going to get killed in a coaster accident, what a way to go.
We also did the chair spinny ride and then moseyed over to contemplate the Extreme Scream, which I'd been talking about nonstop since we began. I really, really want to go on this: it takes you up about 20 stories (185 feet), super fast, and then drops you down almost to the ground, then back up, then down, up and down. It's huge and awesome and has a warning list a mile long for people but it looks so fun I could die. Which some people thought would nearly happen to them a few years ago. Heh. It wasn't a big deal at all, but people are silly.
Jo's had a lot of back problems, though, and figured it would not be a good ride -- that initial five-second shoot upwards looks like it might pack a bit of a punch. And honestly, I have no idea how I'd handle that with the vertigo -- most of the coaster wasn't a problem, except the drops. I had to close my eyes on the drops because I couldn't adjust them fast enough; keeping my eyes trained on a spot helps check the dizziness and nausea if it's bothering me really bad. Still, we decided we might try for the spring fair and pump ourselves up to get in shape for the ride next year. (Also, I desperately would love to ride the Sling Shot, but there's no way I can since it whirls around upside-down, which would be Very Bad for someone with vertigo. Sigh. This video shows what it's like from a rider's perspective, which is dull, but what is cute is that they're using the song written to market the fair years ago, which is adorkable beyond words.)
We had some okay barbecue and my favorites, the dairy barn's chocolate ice cream cones and the roasted corn on the cob, so dripping with butter that you have to eat it bending over, but I waited till we were leaving to get a bag of fair scones, and finally had to give up because my hip hurt so much I just couldn't stand in the interminable line. Apparently everyone else had the same idea because the queue was so long that they probably didn't get to everyone before closing time. Fair scones are a weird, unique tradition here -- the local Fisher Mills started serving them back in 1923 and they are still one of the most popular aspects of the fairs in this state. They're much more like real English scones than the dry, giant bricks of bread that people call scones here in America, and when I buy them I always get some clotted cream and make myself a little cream tea here at home. Alas, no fair scones for me! But I will go buy some mix and some jam and cream and do it myself (it's just always better to have someone else make them for you, and the smell of a dozen in the car on the drive home is divine).
We found some cool things to buy, and we debated over me buying a giant silly hat -- it was sort of Audrey Hepburn at Ascot in My Fair Lady meets Huggy Bear from Starsky & Hutch. I wanted to get it for Club Vivid next year, but not knowing if I can go makes it harder to spend the money, although there is always the spring fair. It did look quite smashing, if very silly, on me. We saw many cheapo silly things that would be awesome at Club Vivid. We spent a lot of time in the horse barns and chatted with many of the kids there -- one boy in particular had just come from his show with a gorgeous buckskin, and he was quite a character. I love the 4-H people because they always ask if you have questions and will talk to you at length, plus the barns, especially the draft horse barn, smell like nirvana to me. I really don't miss much about rural life at all except horsies.
We were both exhausted when we left and it took some time getting out of there, and I think I slept harder without drugs than I have in a long time. My teeth even hurt because I'd had my aligners out all night (which was really a nice respite), but that didn't stop me from sleeping hard. I love the fair despite crowds, despite noise and stupid people and all the attendant problems of large events. At one point this little boy was making a beeline straight for the Andean musicians we'd just walked past, and he rammed right into us (his head was down like he was a running back trying to make it through a line of tackles) and then fell down, we picked him, he ran off again, and I thought yeah, this is what I love about the fair. It's crazy but no one wants to stop having a good time.
feochadn last night at the Puyallup Fair. For readers not from this area, it's actually the Western Washington State Fair, but has been known as the Puyallup for as long as I can remember, since that's where it's held. Decades ago they came out with this incredibly successful marketing and ad campaign of "Do the Puyallup" so that's what people kind of hold on to round these here parts. (Pronunciation: pyoo-AL-up)It's been so many years since I've been able to find people who will go on rides with me. When I went years ago with Ex, he would only go on the ferris wheel. BOOOOring. And my friend Michael can't go on rides anymore since his heart surgery. Jo braved the rollercoaster with me last night even though she's never had the chance to go on a real live large coaster before -- it was a gorgeous night (although a little too hot until the sun went down, yeesh -- I was sweating up a storm) and there was an orange moon and then suddenly we were whooshing downhill really fast and it was just wild. We both had tears afterwards because of the wind, and I guess my hair looked quite amusing. That thing is always over too fast. It might not be the best thing for me with the vertigo, but I just love it so much. The fair's coaster is one of the few remaining original wooden coasters in the country and there's a certain fear in that clickety-clacketiness that makes it extra special. I guess if you're going to get killed in a coaster accident, what a way to go.
We also did the chair spinny ride and then moseyed over to contemplate the Extreme Scream, which I'd been talking about nonstop since we began. I really, really want to go on this: it takes you up about 20 stories (185 feet), super fast, and then drops you down almost to the ground, then back up, then down, up and down. It's huge and awesome and has a warning list a mile long for people but it looks so fun I could die. Which some people thought would nearly happen to them a few years ago. Heh. It wasn't a big deal at all, but people are silly.
Jo's had a lot of back problems, though, and figured it would not be a good ride -- that initial five-second shoot upwards looks like it might pack a bit of a punch. And honestly, I have no idea how I'd handle that with the vertigo -- most of the coaster wasn't a problem, except the drops. I had to close my eyes on the drops because I couldn't adjust them fast enough; keeping my eyes trained on a spot helps check the dizziness and nausea if it's bothering me really bad. Still, we decided we might try for the spring fair and pump ourselves up to get in shape for the ride next year. (Also, I desperately would love to ride the Sling Shot, but there's no way I can since it whirls around upside-down, which would be Very Bad for someone with vertigo. Sigh. This video shows what it's like from a rider's perspective, which is dull, but what is cute is that they're using the song written to market the fair years ago, which is adorkable beyond words.)
We had some okay barbecue and my favorites, the dairy barn's chocolate ice cream cones and the roasted corn on the cob, so dripping with butter that you have to eat it bending over, but I waited till we were leaving to get a bag of fair scones, and finally had to give up because my hip hurt so much I just couldn't stand in the interminable line. Apparently everyone else had the same idea because the queue was so long that they probably didn't get to everyone before closing time. Fair scones are a weird, unique tradition here -- the local Fisher Mills started serving them back in 1923 and they are still one of the most popular aspects of the fairs in this state. They're much more like real English scones than the dry, giant bricks of bread that people call scones here in America, and when I buy them I always get some clotted cream and make myself a little cream tea here at home. Alas, no fair scones for me! But I will go buy some mix and some jam and cream and do it myself (it's just always better to have someone else make them for you, and the smell of a dozen in the car on the drive home is divine).
We found some cool things to buy, and we debated over me buying a giant silly hat -- it was sort of Audrey Hepburn at Ascot in My Fair Lady meets Huggy Bear from Starsky & Hutch. I wanted to get it for Club Vivid next year, but not knowing if I can go makes it harder to spend the money, although there is always the spring fair. It did look quite smashing, if very silly, on me. We saw many cheapo silly things that would be awesome at Club Vivid. We spent a lot of time in the horse barns and chatted with many of the kids there -- one boy in particular had just come from his show with a gorgeous buckskin, and he was quite a character. I love the 4-H people because they always ask if you have questions and will talk to you at length, plus the barns, especially the draft horse barn, smell like nirvana to me. I really don't miss much about rural life at all except horsies.
We were both exhausted when we left and it took some time getting out of there, and I think I slept harder without drugs than I have in a long time. My teeth even hurt because I'd had my aligners out all night (which was really a nice respite), but that didn't stop me from sleeping hard. I love the fair despite crowds, despite noise and stupid people and all the attendant problems of large events. At one point this little boy was making a beeline straight for the Andean musicians we'd just walked past, and he rammed right into us (his head was down like he was a running back trying to make it through a line of tackles) and then fell down, we picked him, he ran off again, and I thought yeah, this is what I love about the fair. It's crazy but no one wants to stop having a good time.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-24 10:02 pm (UTC)But the Power Tower? Still fun.