We’d been staying at Jenkins Towers in Austin for a few days – soaking up the autumn rays and generally taking in the sights and sounds of Austin. (Matt and Katie have a first floor verandah across the width of their house – it’s ideal for watching the world go by… though in this part of Austin it’s mainly joggers and dog-walkers.)
Saturday arrives and we’re off to the Texas State Fair in Dallas. Our opportunity to see Texans at leisure as well as visit the city that JR called ‘home’ and JFK called… well, best not go there!
Anyways the Fair was an eye-opener. As well as the odd foreign vistors like us (we heard French, German, Italian and Spanish) there were Texan and Mexican couples and families, cowboys, cowgirls, hippies, trippies (probably) – all out for the final weekend of the Fair.
There were traditional fair rides, of course – roundabouts, wheels, towers, which seemed wider and higher than we’d ever seen (this is Texas after all), and people whooping and swooping on the end of long elastic ropes above our heads. There were commercial shows (for example, the whole Chevrolet range was on display for you to try and buy), all kinds of livestock shows (we cosied up with the grand champion longhorn steer – his owner looked mighty pleased with himself !) Not to mention pig racing, horse whispering, live music, dancing (the Korean folk dancers were a bit of a surprise), and so much more.
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- Before the BIG wheel
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- Enjoying the beer
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- Run forest run
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- The 2010 State Champion Long Horn
Oh, and there were a few places to eat. Quite a few. In fact zillions of places to eat – with every kind of delicacy on offer. We couldn’t walk past a booth advertising ‘deep fried beer’ (yup, that’s right: ‘beer’). For a Brit this was a proposition combining disgust with a certain wonderment.
Frankly (sorry Texas) it was the most foul thing I’d ever put in my mouth! A small sachet of batter containing lager beer, deep fried! As a result we passed on the deep fried cheesecake and margaritas… By comparison the corndogs (frankfurters in a corn-batter overcoat) were passable… On any other day – who knows?
Anyways it was a fun day and, bearing in mind that the fair is on for four weeks, thousands of others seem to think so too. Definitely the kind of thing you want to experience at least once..!