State Fair, among other important things

First off; Woo freakin' Hoo! I? Came in last place in the Blog contest!!! I thought Breezy would be too hard to beat, so I am thrilled we tied. Thank you Carey! It's the first time I've ever taken so much pleasure in losing. Other than pounds, of course. ;-) Now, on to the fair...

So after our plans to attend the State Fair on Thursday night were foiled (by SILFH) we decided to go on Friday night. We knew the crowd would be larger, but we wanted to all be together and on Thursday, my brother had to tend to yet another mess created by his wife.
Anyways, we started by putting the kids on rides right away. After many rides, we went to eat. You'd think with all the fair food I'd have had something unusual (or fried, lol) but instead I opted for a small bowl of chocolate covered strawberries. *yum* We ate and listened to the Commodores playing live.

After that, mom and I went into the exhibit building. I hate the exhibits. Actually, I hate the ones *we* went into. They are not really exhibits, but rather, the booths selling stuff you usually only see on TV. Same 'ol same 'ol. Have YOU ever bought anything at the fair and if so, are you happy about it or were you suckered in and later regretted it? My mom bought a container for the back of her van that she is positive will make her life easier and completely organized. *waves "bye" to $20*
Anyhow, my parents and younger DB (with his baby and DCommonLawW) left at that time leaving my older DB and myself, with all the kids. We'd spent good money on unlimited ride bracelets and I was going to get our moneys worth! Last year, DD amazed us all by doing a ride called The Mega Drop. I promised her this year I would go with her. So there I was, on this:


All I can say is...*thinks*. Man, I'm still speechless. This ride was not exciting to me. It scared the carp out of me. By the time "crap", of "holy crap" came out of my mouth, we were at the bottom. The worst part I guess was the 10 second (or so) lull at the top, while you are sitting there waiting to drop. Not fun.

After we got off, my legs and arms were weak. All I could think was, Payback! She's going to have to ride something else with me! So we headed to the Zipper. Who knows that ride? It's pretty standard I think, at most carnivals and fairs. Here's a pic:

This was my favorite ride as a teenager. That also happens to be the last time I rode it. Still, I had no reservations, as going upside down does not scare me. The only thing I did *not* anticipate, was the tight cage I would be locked in. Duh. As soon as the bar locked across our legs, I got an uneasy feeling in my gut. It was like a heat, searing through my stomach and chest. We were already off the ground, but the ride had not started because they were loading people still. I had to decide whether to scream and hope they would hear me, or force myself to remain calm for the duration. I turned to the side and tried to inhale fresh air through the cage. It didn't work. I was not getting enough oxygen. I turned to my DD, who was already extremely nervous about the ride, and I confided in her. I calmly told her I wasn't sure I was ok. She focused on trying to talk me through it, which in effect took her mind off of her being scared. Within a minute or 457, the ride finally started. Once we were moving, I was fine. No time to think about being trapped when you are screaming and being flipped every which way! When the ride was done, we were let off pretty quickly, and I was glad I stayed on. DD said it was her favorite ride ever. Yay!

Still, it surprises me how one can become claustrophobic so late in life. And weird too how it hits so randomly. The other ride, I suppose because there was no cage around me, didn't have the same effect at all. *shrug*

So that was our night. I also did a three story fun house with the kids, which I think burned some serious calories, lol!

Tell me, who here does these rides? Do you get sick? Do you think they are safe (relatively speaking)?