The PNE is the place to get your corn dog fix

And you know that I got mine. It was warm, greesy, breaded, pork on a stick goodness. Sadly, it was no footlong corn dog like I was hoping and praying for. I kept my eye out for a stand, but they only carried the “regular” sized ones. They were probably jumbos, and I wasn’t complaining once I started devouring this artery clogging product. A real symbol of summertime, let me tell you.

Oh yeah, and there’s an entire fair that goes on at the Pacific National Exhibtion(PNE). We ventured out there with some of Rebecca’s family to ride some rides, see the sights, and toss money at overly priced stuff. This was my first time ever experiencing this event, and I have to say that I had a really good time, even if local folks, like The Vancouverite(which has expanded to a podcast), say otherwise .

The “fair rides” are a meshing of makes up Playland, plus some additions for the PNE festivities itself. A buzz killer to the excitement of running from ride to ride and giving your senses a good whiplash was that some of them cost some extra cash on top of the $30 stamp that was supposed to get your onto all rides. I’m tending to think that they do this on the really popular attractions or for those that require a little extra time and effort to run, but it sucks. I just wanted to ride the Hellavator. Geez.

I grew up just blocks from the county fair grounds in my home town, so there was a lot here that reminded me of home. I’ve never been to the Iowa State Fair, but I would imagine it to be incredibly similar to the PNE. Well, there’s probably a lot more “country flare” that you won’t see at the PNE, but it’s the basic idea that I’m getting at.

I saw dogs do some cool things, watched some ducks race, saw some pigs race, caught a cow getting milked, was cut off from getting my pulled pork sandwich fix by a parade with painful music being blasted into my ears, got a free Gillette Fusion, got a token fair lemonade, and got a candy apple that I just remembered is still in the fridge and will be eaten shortly.

I liked it. It’s a good time that only comes around once a year. Crowds, on the other hand, is something I still dislike. I was a little tired going into our adventure, and they got to me just a little bit, not to mention waiting in lines for rides. We actually got lucky and didn’t do a whole lot of that, but as the day progressed, I lost steam in my legs a little bit. That was mainly do to the fact that I wore flip-flops. When you get on something that flips you upside down and all around, you really have to work hard to keep those suckers on your feet.