Walworth County Fair

In my family, we have our traditions, like Christmas Eve at my Aunt Ellen's house and going to the Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo every year, and then we have our "traditions". By "traditions", I mean we do something once and then claim it as a tradition from that point on like we've been doing it for decades.

Take in point, the Walworth County Fair. Last year on Labor Day, we were lounging around home doing a whole lotta nothing until someone suggested we try going to the fair. So once Labor Day rolled around again this year, what's a family supposed to do but keep up with "tradition" and go to the fair again!

Now I might have gotten a little bit snap happy so go on and grab a cup of coffee to enjoy while you stroll through the fair with me!

There's just something about the fair that makes me happy. All the people, the food, the laughter. I dare you to not enjoy the fair.

Now the weather wasn't perfect that day. The sun was feeling a teeny, tiny bit shy and kept hiding behind big gray clouds. But that did not stop us from having some fun.

Usually I make a b-line for the closest food stall but this year, I tried to play it off like I wasn't the crazy, obsessive girl and instead the cool, nonchalant girl. So we strolled through the games...

But who am I kidding, I stopped at the first funnel cake stall I saw

Just look at it! Covered in a blanket of powdered sugar and hot from the oil. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Exactly what fair food should be: INDULGENT.

Now that I got my sugar fix in, I could finally turn my attention back to the games.

My little cousin is like the skee ball whisperer.

That girl has an arm on her built for this game.

I might be biased but if skee ball was an Olympic sport, she would easily get gold. One year, the game vendor banned her from playing anymore because she just won too many games! Luckily for the skee ball man, I completely suck at the game so I think we balanced out in the end.

Hannah took pity on the skee ball man and stopped playing after winning her minion but the look on her face let him know that she could have cleaned him out.

Next we moved on to the football toss. The game seems like it would be pretty simple. Just throw the football through the hoop. What can be so hard about that?

The little kid before us was dominating this game so Jeffrey thought he would give it a try himself.

Sadly, Jeff lacked the hand eye coordination and we walked away prizeless.

I was starting to get hungry and looking for my next sugar fix but Hannah wanted to play more games. So we went to play a tried and true fair game: Whack a Mole

The whirling lights, ding of bells, and cheering really gets your blood pumping. It also helps you work up an appetite.

The Walworth County Fair is a breeding ground for all types of foods from many different cultures.

One of my favorite stops at the fair is to Anderson's.

Anderson's Candy Shop is hands down my favorite candy store around. They have the best chocolate covered pretzels and salted caramels, along with so much more. But what's so special about Anderson's at the fair is that they have MINI CINNAMON SUGAR DONUTS!

Just look at that bad boy. Sweet on the outside, pillowy on the inside, and still warm. They are perfectly washed down with a milkshake of the strawberry variety.

Next up some corn. I'm not the type of girl that can just eat all sweet things. I need something savory to balance it all out.

Now while so far my food as been tame, the fair has some interesting cuisine options.

Case in point, the blooming onion. A whole onion cut into strips, drenched in a batter, then deep fried to a crisp before being dunked into creamy, tangy ranch dressing. Definitely an artery clogger.

Now I know what you're thinking, why am I showing you just a bag of Doritos. Of course they're delicious but not picture worthy. But this is no ordinary bag of Doritos.

I introduce you to the walking taco...

A bag of crushed chips, taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, salsa, and sour cream. My curiosity got the best of me and I had to try it. The concept has a lot of potential but the canned salsa and cheap seasoned ground beef was a let down.

After I had my fair share of food, it was time to see some animals.

Sadly, since it was the last day of the fair and towards the end of the day, not a lot of animals were left but I did manage to make a few friends.

This little guy was the only one left in the pig barn. 

I was ready to take him home with me but I don't think the co-op board of my apartment would approve nor did I have the space for him.

I sadly left pigless.

When we left the animal grounds, those heavy, gray clouds finally decided to lighten their loads. We took this as our sign to head back home. 

I say this was another successful trip to the fair. I can't wait for next year!