Big Eeeee!

this is the second of two "cleaning house" posts i need to get up before The Thirteen Days of Halloween(!) begin. it's much more recent than the last post, but like the last post, i uploaded the pics and then they just sat here, waiting for words, boring words. 

these are from our trip to the Big E, or Eastern States Expo. of the four of us, i was the only one who had been before, and i hadn't been for years and years. so long in fact, that i was surprised that the big E hadn't met a nice little someone and had some little e's. har, har. heh. 

it's kind of like a Fair, with an emphasis on the agricultural exports of the eastern states. there are rides, fried foods, and live animals. too much to see in one visit, really, but we were going to cram in as much of it as we could!

mmmm. pot roast.

one of the first places we hit was the midway. funny that it was up front, being the "mid" way and all.

we weren't sure what bebe was going to make of all of this. it's a real carnival atmosphere, where all of the games have barkers trying to reel in folks to win prizes. even worse, it was the final week so they were desperate to unload stuff they wouldn't have to pack. some of them basically stood there yelling "just give me a ticket, and i'll hand you a prize. you don't even have to play. hell, if you do play, i'll give you two prizes, whether you actually "win" or not!" 

bebe doesn't do well with strangers just approaching her, but she weathered the storm long enough to make it to where the rides were, where she surprised both her mother and me by pointing out the kiddie rollercoaster and declaring she wanted a ride. mommy and i both kind of looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed. i mean, there was no way we were actually letting her ride the thing. it would be three seconds of smiles as they fastened us in to our seats, followed by at leaste two laps of her screaming and pleading through tear-gushing eyes that we let her get off, which we would be powerless to do.

this predicted outcome, coupled with the fact that neither of us is predictably fond of rides of any kind only complicated the matter. even if we did agree to let her ride, one of us would have to ride with her. it's strange- i've never been a fan of carnival rides. i like to drive fast, bmx and mountain bike ride, skateboard, rockclimb, etc. but being raised into the air and then dropped at a high rate of speed, or driven around a track with loop-the-loops etc. just never appealed to me. i don't even really like the swings at the playground. 

but she was so sure, so quickly! she saw it, said she wanted to go on it right away, and never relented or took her eyes off of it. i was half panicked/half really proud! in te end i suggested that we watch it go around the next time, just so she could see what the real deal was. as it took off i explained what was happening so she'd know what she was really in for- here's where it goes nice and slow, beebs. right before it plunges down this track and whips you around the corner like a car accident. it's like having your eyeballs shaken out of your head, or getting struck by lightning, or something. bebe, are you listening? bebe!

it turns out she was not listening. or only listening enough to hear when i had finished and demand that we go buy some tickets. 

i don't remember exactly how it was decided, but i drew the short straw. i think we gave her the option, and she chose to go with me. it's the only time she's chosen me over her mother for something, and i just want to take a moment to say, thanks, bebe. thanks alot.

WHEEE! WHEEE! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"daddy! daddy! stop screaming! it's all over!"

huh. that wasn't so bad.

"you're right!"

"let's go again!"

she didn't even want to get off the ride at first, but i explained to her that even if we wanted to ride again, we still had to get off and pay with more tickets. she was completely unfazed. it was amazing. 

and it was only the beginning:

the only ride eloise was big enough for was mommy. sorry, chicken.

"i don't see what the big deal is. sometimes i throw-up in my mouth, and then swallow it again. that's what being on one of these rides is like."

no, it's not. and it's also gross.

"whatevs."

after riding any and every ride she was tall enough to get on, it was back to her first love, the roller coaster. this time it was mommy's turn. i told her not to be scared, that it was going to be okay.

"wheee!"

yay! another successful ride!

now, let's get some lunch!

"is that cheese made of plastic?"

pretty much.

our last stop was to see some baby chicks hatching in the nursery:

okay, actually our last stop was to get mommy some ice cream. 

we had a great day, everyone had so much fun, and there was so much stuff we didn't get to see! we're pumped for next year, where a perk of living in the west means stuff  like this is so much closer to where we live! next year i'm trying the fried watermelon. and the fried beer. and the friend bacon. and the fried shoelaces... and the fried old phonebooks... and... and...

p.s.

if you want to see more artsy pics from our visit to the big E, check out a week's worth of posts at my photo blog: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!