NC State Fair in Raleigh, NC

I nearly forgot what it felt like to walk through the gates of a fair. It's been so long since I've been to one, it's no wonder. The lights.....the smells....the sounds. They all compound to cultivate an evening filled with good times and lasting memories! It's almost too much to take in since everything hits you all at once, kicking your sensory overload into hyperdrive. I swear that I was on the brink of explosion as I attempted to take it all in.



Aside from making our minds up about what we wanted to do first, there was also the dilemma of trying to gain your bearings in a land where every corner looks exactly the same as the last one you passed. We were completely overwhelmed by the amount of options they had available. Between the food, rides & other fun stuff, everywhere you turn is a sea of potential gluttony just waiting for you to give in. Giving in to your whims in this place is unavoidable!



The NC State Fair in Raleigh, NC is supposedly the biggest and best fair in the state. While I haven't been to many, I can definitely say that this fair takes the "deep-fried cake". It was positively massive! We walked all over the place, and got a pretty good workout, before finally making a decision on what we would do to jump start our evening .



Since the best place to survey the entire grounds would be from the air, what better place to get a grand view than from a ride on the Ferris Wheel! I was hoping that we would get stuck at the top for a moment or two so I could take a photo, but we didn't. And to think, we almost waited until daylight hours on Sunday for our fair fun. I'm glad we didn't because I am a huge fan of all the lights, it's much more dazzling in the evening.



After our ferris wheel foray, we elected to get some grub. Good thing our insatiable appetites are only met with these indulgences occasionally. Otherwise, those deep-fried delectables would greatly lower a persons life expectancy!



Our pattern seemed to be ride,



food,



ride,



food.....you get the idea. At first, our reasoning was that we didn't want to eat too much all at once or else we would get sick when it was time to be thrashed around on a ride. Thankfully, our tummies were tame and didn't disagree with any of the tasty tidbits we were consuming. You know, to have as many vendors and food options as we did, we were quite subdued compared to our normal ravenous natures.



Our favorite fodder was most definitely the deep-fried pecan pie! Yep, you heard right....deep-fried pecan pie! They deep-fried just about everything in this place, mac & cheese, pickles, butter (?!?!), candy bars, it was pure ridiculousness!



The only reason I can come up with as to why we didn't have anything more than a foot-long corn dog, slice of pepperoni pizza, roasted corn & cotton candy (for the road) was that we were off our game, or maybe just spending wisely, or perhaps we were just crippled by indecision, which might explain why I didn't get my sausage with onions & peppers and why Cody didn't get his giant turkey leg?! Who knows.

Make no mistake, though, no matter how wisely you try to spend your money in this place, it is expensive! But it was well worth the expense to experience "A Whole Lotta Happy" because I was sporting a perma-grin the entire night! I can't wait to go back next year :D

N.C. State Fair Website: http://www.ncstatefair.org/2009/