We picked an awesome day to head out to the Great Minnesota Get-Together – otherwise known at the Minnesota State Fair. Our fun day ended with Weird Al and fireworks in the grandstand. It doesn’t get more kitschy than that.
For the whole day, Erin had a list of things to do or try at the fair. Here we stand in line at Bayou Bob’s Shack for some alligator.
Our choices of alligator included sausage and deep-fried. Since everything tastes about the same deep-fried, it was a safe selection.
She complained that they were a little “chewy” to get down, but it was a clear success. I enjoyed the hush-puppies that they served with the alligator much better. I’m pretty sure this was the first time, and the last time, both of us would be eating alligator.
We decided to take the Space Needle ride – which is something I haven’t done since I was a kid. I was a little surprised how high it goes and it was a joy to see both “twin” cities from one single location.
Although it was a quick ride, we couldn’t have been happier with the views and a new perspective on the utter size of the entire fairgrounds.
Another item on Erin’s “Fair Bucket List” was a bag of mini-donuts from a particular stand near the kiddie rides. I’m not sure what was so special about THAT stand – but it gave us an excuse to hit up the old “machinery hill” portion of the fair.
We also hit another classic ride which I haven’t participated since my youth – Ye Old Mill. It was celebrating it’s 97th anniversary, which is reflected in the piles of dust on display in the various little alcoves along the ride.
We capped the evening in the fair grandstands for the Weird Al Yankovic concert. It was my daughter’s first “real” concert and she was excited to see what a “rock” concert was like.
Having bought the tickets the same day from the grandstand kiosk, our seats weren’t that great. But, in classic nerd fashion, we made sure to get there plenty early to check the place out.
Weird Al was awesome and took several opportunities to wow the audience with his accordion skills during various polka medleys of today’s hits. Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” on an accordion? Why not!
He closed the night with his classic – The Saga Begins – parodying the song “American Pie” with the Star Wars story. It doesn’t get much more nerdy than that. I thought it was AWESOME and Erin liked it, too.
Weird Al’s last song of his encore was “Yoda” – just before the State Fair Fireworks exploded right from behind the stage. It was a great closure to a perfect day and a perfect concert. Erin’s quote was that it was her “best fair day ever!” I couldn’t agree more.
