Minnesota State Fair - 2012 Visit #3

The Fair has proven to be a mighty good and considerate neighbor during its run, and each time we approach its gates the excitement level only goes up!  We made our third trek there as a family on Saturday (Ann & I had actually gone there the night before, too, to see the Jeremy Messersmith / Dessa / Jayhawks / Semisonic concert...)  and Uncle Paul came along this time too (because he's always good for going on the rides.)

This time we had a later roll-out - walking over about 9:30 am.

Up on Machinery Hill the Mr. Bubble people have a giant bubble pit.  KID MAGNET.

As the kids got out, most of the parents' reactions were of the "oh, you're all dirty" variety.  Really?  Your child is actually the opposite of dirty!

Taking a hydration break

Goofy Gelato Girls

I tried the Fried Snickers Bar ... for $4 it was about what I expected, not magnificent but not unsatisfying. If you want to try it, you should (they have fried Reese's Cups and Milky Way too)

She didn't want to go on the Giant Slide, but the River Raft Ride was OK ... she went with Ann & Paul (I knew my back wouldn't care for it.)  The grownups got pretty drenched but Wynn was sheltered.  The ride actually broke just as they were finishing...

There are actually healthy snacks at the Fair - the peach was deliciously juicy

Most of the people in the DFL booth fell over laughing when she struck this pose with President Obama

Gotta use up those Kidway tickets... getting her ride on with the flying elephants

Getting strapped in to the Kite Flyer ride

Holding on tight but having a blast as she flies around on her tummy

Handling all that Fair swag takes a lot of effort!  Balloon, chicken hat, inflatable unicorn...

We got back home about 1:30 in the afternoon ... by 2:00 we were in the backyard pool:

"Come in, Baba!  (I did...)

 And after that, many naps were taken. Altogether a most awesome day.

Riding the Dragon

Before the State Fair begins and parking becomes impossible, we decided to use up Wynn's ComoPass ride card Friday night. She had a few turns at the 'drive a car around a circle' rides and one at 'drive a mechanical horse & buggy around a circle' - but for her last ride, she wanted the roller coaster.

She's not quite big enough to go on by herself, so I got drafted to go with her.

The ride was not designed for someone of my size. The first turn has about a 50-degree bank & I was seriously hanging on not to fall out. Then a series of spine-cracking whips...  Repeat three times. I've been nursing a sore back and headache all weekend...

If you're Wynn's size you don't experience the change of inertia the same way. She was glad she rode it but said she's done with roller coasters until she's maybe 10...

Copenhagen Trip - Day Four

A late start this morning – we didn’t get out of the hotel until after 10:00 am – but we managed to cover a lot of ground nonetheless.

Our exploration today took us first to Copenhagen’s Central Station – a vast and magnificent building from 1911. Virtually all the long-haul, regional, and local trains pass through here and the place is alive day and night. There’s a small shopping center inside the main hall, and hotels ring the station for blocks around.

A big model railroad diorama inside the train station - how perfect! For 20 DKK you can run the trains around, too.

Our next train took us 35 minutes west to Roskilde (pronounced ROASH-keel, rhymes with “roast eel”), the ancient capital of Denmark. Narrow streets, cute houses, six-hundred-year-old graveyards, ethnic restaurants – plus the home of one of Europe’s biggest annual music festivals (happening in another few weeks), and also home to the Viking Ship Museum.

Inside the museum they’ve partially reconstructed various vessels that were recovered from the fjord outside. They’ve also built a new vessel using ancient plans, and sailed it all over the North Atlantic.

While the reconstructed ships are quite delicate, most of the museum is actually hands-on, and there are a couple replica boats in the main hall kids can romp around in.

Here's the replica longship the researchers built and sailed - the performance was better than anyone had expected. These guys were really tough to have this in the open ocean!

Wiped out, passed out on the train back home.

For dinner tonight: fresh Danish strawberries, mixed greens salad, multigrain toast, and chicken breast sauteed in creamy sweet Danish butter.

The train back to Copenhagen delivered us straight to our home base, and after cooking dinner we headed out again to Central Station and across the street to Tivoli – the famous amusement park. It’s not terribly large, but the location downtown can’t be beat, and there are dozens of restaurants, several live performance stages, thrill rides, and private halls for ticketed concerts. The mix of food, activities, and people-watching appeals to little kids, teenagers, and grown-ups equally. At night the entire place is lit up with thousands of electric bulbs on every tree, ride, and building.

We walked all over the grounds, and Wynn got to go on a couple kiddie rides. We left about 7 pm – the crowd was getting pretty thick as we headed out – it’s a nice Friday evening and Tivoli is the place to be to start the weekend.

In front of the Chinese Pavilion - they stage pantomime shows here. Wynn wants to go back tomorrow for more rides...