Category Archives: Classic Kitsch

State Fair of Texas – Fried Beer, Football, and Fun

  By Anne Patrone | December 17, 2010 - 10:00 am | , , , , , ,
3 Comments
Big Tex at the State Fair of Texas

 Although our main reason for visiting the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, Texas, was to watch the annual “Red River Rivalry” between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns, we couldn’t resist sampling the food and fun that the fair offered.

Billed as the largest state (based on annual attendance) in the United States, the State Fair of Texas is held annually for several weeks in the fall.  With livestock competitions, rides, musical performances, and the rides on the Midway, the State Fair of Texas is a fun experience even without the extra attraction of a football game.

We arrived early and ventured over the car show – held in two separate pavilions to see the latest offerings from Ford, Chevrolet, and other car manufacturers.  My guys were amazed by the HUGE trucks on display and couldn’t get over their size. (Don’t forget – my guys rarely see these kind of working pick-up trucks back in NYC!)

Latest Ford Mustang

While the guys marveled at cars (like only guys can do), I stood in a LOOOOONG line to buy tickets for food.

Note to the organizers:  Surely there is a better way to pay for and distribute these tickets.  The lines were outrageously long (although I did meet some very nice people as I chatted in line – for 45 minutes!)

By the time I got the tickets, it was nearly noon and we were starving.  So what to get?

Something fried.  Why fried?

Because everything . . . and I do mean everything is fried at the State Fair of Texas.

Fried chicken fingers, french fries, fried pickles and jalapenos, fried ice cream . . . even . . . fried beer.

Fried beer?

Yup.  And it even won one of the People’s Choice Award for best new food at the State Fair.

With that kind of build-up, hubby and I (sorry, no one under 21 allowed to eat it) HAD to try it.

Fried beer at the State Fair of Texas

So how’d it taste?

Well, the first bite into the ravioli shaped squares was a disappointment.  The beer had soaked into the dough and it was mushy.

But the second taste . . . oh my, the second taste was a perfect explosion in my mouth of Shiner Bock beer just like the liquor-filled chocolates.

We filled our belly and then it was off to the Cotton Bowl and the main reason for our visit – the game.

Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas

 Sigh.

Even though we had a chance to win it at the bitter end, we still couldn’t pull it out and OU beat us, 28-20.

All I can say is that we’ll do better next year and that the guys had fun even though our team lost.

And thank goodness for the pig races and Blue Bell ice cream to soothe hurt feelings.  We wandered over to the livestock area after the game and cheered on “Lindsey Lo-ham,” “Squealy Nelson,” and “Jean-Claude von Ham.”

Pig Races at the State Fair of Texas

 It was a riot to watch the pig race around the track and a great lift to our spirits, putting a smile back on my little ones’ faces.

Then it was off to the neon-lit Midway to ride some carnival rides and try our hand at the games (no, we never win).

By the time the fireworks exploded over the sky, we were exhausted and headed back to our hotel via the DART light rail system.

For anyone visiting Dallas, you don’t have to wait until the State Fair is in town to explore Fair Park.  It’s open year-round and offers access to many wonderful museums and the Cotton Bowl.

Side Trips on the Way to Sedona

  By Anne Patrone | November 11, 2010 - 4:28 am | , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment
Wigwam Village Hotel

With wild wind and I-40 in Arizona still closed, it’s fortunate we still had Route 66 open as an option to travel on.  We passed the famous Wigwam Village Hotel on our way out of Holbrook, AZ then wound our way over to Winslow, AZ.

I’m pretty sure my boys were embarrassed by their parents’ off-key rendition of the famous Eagles song “Take It Easy” which features the lyrics:



Well, I’m a standing on a corner 
In Winslow, Arizona
And such a fine sight to see
It’s a girl, my lord,
In a flatbed Ford
Slowin’ down to take a look at me.
that we sang as we drove through town, but they were suitably impressed by the flatbed Ford the town installed as a tribute to the song.
  By the time we got back to the interstate – yeah! – they had reopened the highway and we zipped to our final stop before heading down to Sedona.
And where did we go?
Meteor Crater
Meteor Crater, where for a hefty entrance fee ($15 – adults, $8 – kids) we looked at the enormous hole (one mile across and 570 feet deep) created when a meteorite hit the earth.  The wind was still intense, so there were no tours around the crater’s rim, but the guys were able to go outside and look at . . . a really big hole.
Inside, we wandered around the museum devoted to meteors and space.  The best was a cool computer simulation where you could pick the size of the object and its speed and the computer would show you how the earth would look after it hit.
Our side trips were an enjoyable diversion from the boring sameness of the Interstate and I’m curious:  Anyone have special quirky places they’d like to share?

Four Corners, USA – A Strange Bit of America

  By Anne Patrone | October 29, 2010 - 10:50 am | , , , ,
13 Comments
Four Corners USA sign

Four Corners USA

In Getting Our Kicks on Route 66 I mentioned how the only thing my husband wanted to do on our trip to Arizona was drive Route 66.  Strange as it may seem, going to Four Corners, USA was my “must-see.”

It was a little bit out of the way, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the geographical spot where mapmakers decided to make four states meet at a point.  (Before you whip out a map, the states are Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah).

Marker at Four Corners USA

Marker at Four Corners

The monument is located on the Navajo Reservation, so in addition to being an oddity in the map world, you’re technically not even on United States soil – you’re in the Navajo Nation.

We paid our entrance fee, bypassed the tourist stands, and waited our turn to take the classic picture EVERYONE takes at Four Corners – you know, the one with a hand and foot in separate states.

Sigh.  I know it’s cheesy, but hey, what else are you going to do?  Besides, it’s a classic.

Four Corners USA

Standing in four states

And lest you think that’s the ONLY thing we did at Four Corners, USA – DH got a thrill by driving the car around the monument.  Woohoo!  Four states in less than a minute – gotta be a record.

One last note about our visit to Four Corners, USA.

I always make picture books for my parents, in-laws, and ourselves of our travels (I use Blurb.com an excellent site)  When my mother took a look at her book, she said, “Oh, how cute.  But did you know the mapmakers made a mistake?  It’s actually two miles away.”

NOT SO.

According to National Geodetic Survey, it’s in exactly the right spot and is in fact, part of the National Spatial Reference System to mark boundaries and help current mapmakers plot their locations.

Guess it true that you can’t believe everything you hear on the news.

Niagara Falls & Canadian Kitsch

  By Anne Patrone | August 23, 2010 - 10:59 am | , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

Niagara Falls is about a two hour drive from Toronto (and less with my DH driving), so this was an easy day trip for my gang.

Once there, we got in line and ponied up the cash for the classic Maid of the Mist tour.  The tour is a wet one, but so iconic, you can’t miss it.

Basically, after donning rain ponchos, you take a 30-45 minute boat ride REALLY close to the falls and depending on where you stand, you can either get wet or really wet.  The noise is deafening and you have to shout to be heard, so keep the young ones close.

The experience can also be frightening to little ones.  My youngest was definitely glued to my side as the spray hit him in the face.

Once we returned to dry land, everyone was all smiles and ready for lunch.

Cue the tourist trap music.

We settled on the Hard Rock Cafe and paid outrageous prices for hamburgers.  Unfortunately, our options were limited and the kids were starving.

And after lunch?

That’s when the Canadian kitsch factor came in.

After driving two hours to see the falls, we didn’t want to turn right around and return to Toronto, so we decided to explore the main street – an area filled with a carnival-like atmosphere specifically designed to separate parents from their money.

Rides, haunted houses, and stores are bunched up next to each other along a strip less than a mile long.

My kids suckered DH into a haunted house tour, then ran screaming out before they got half-way through (and no, we didn’t get our $30 back).

Sigh.

There are other, less touristy spots in Niagara that are worth a visit, but let’s face it.  Once you’ve seen the falls, everything else is a let-down.

Twenty-four places visited, 476 to go.