Trip to the Texas State Fair

So the weekend before last, we made our annual trip to the state fair.  I shudder to think about what all I ate.  There is always a fried food competition that is voted on before the fair opens, and when I go, I like to make a point of trying all the vegetarian, non-nut, non-banana entries.  As much pain as it might wreak on my intestines and arteries, I love the fair. 

We went to see a few shows -- a marionette show, a horse training show, and a Cirque Shanghai show (acrobatics, like most Cirque shows).  They were all really awesome. 

A few shots from the shows:

The Cirque show was crazy and amazing.  Those people are so strong, balanced and talented, it was shocking. 

And of course we got to see lots of animals, a fair staple:

Can you tell I really liked the pigs?  They were so cute, even that huge one.  Why I don't eat pork in a single photo.  And I've heard pigs are smarter than dogs!

And we also saw dancers of various kinds:

And we rode the big feris wheel, called the Texas Star, which always yields a great view of downtown Dallas:

And we went to the Hall of State, which had a special Texas exhibit, but all I photographed besides the entrance were the cool murals, and some minutes from the Republic of Texas constitutional convention:

And we spent some time checking out the Dallas "mounties": 

And one of the highlights for me, the butter sculpture (and yes, it's exactly as the name implies -- a sculpture kept in a special cold enclosure made entirely of butter): 

And of course that leads to fried butter, my all-time favorite fair food in Texas.  Only 4 bites all year, but probably enough to stop up my arteries eventually.  Thankfully I've only discovered fried butter the last few years, so I probably have a few more decades of enjoying it before it causes me to croak:

And some other fried foods that I sampled (or photographed the signs for): 

Hubby is not a vegetarian (though he doesn't really eat beef or pork), but he said he wasn't even mildly tempted by that fried chicken skin advertised above.

This is the fried autumn pumpkin pie (a new fried food this year that I tried):

And back to more signs:

The fried upside down pineapple cake (another new entry this year that I tried):

And the fried bubblegum (winner for most creative fried food this year, which I tried):

Overall, the three new fried things I tried this year (the fried pumpkin pie, the fried pineapple upside down cake, and the fried bubblegum), I wasn't too impressed with any of them.  The pie and cake were good, but not particularly special, so not something I'd seek out to eat next year.  The bubblegum was downright disgusting -- the center was basically a fried marshmallow.  I'd heard it was too sweet but I didn't believe it, thinking nothing is ever too sweet for me!, but yikes, they were right.  Way too sweet.  Not good at all.  Yet somehow I ate all 3 bites.  Never again. 

The fried butter remains my favorite and I can't see anything beating it anytime soon.

But another year, another set of fun fair memories...