Franklin County Fair

Last night, Carson and I ventured to Hampton, to enjoy some of the Franklin County Fair activities.  We had so much fun walking around, going through the different barns, and just enjoying a beautiful night outside.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous.  76 degrees, no humidity, a little breeze, and the sun was shining.  Now that is what I call a perfect night to spend at a fair!  

We got there, and the parking lot was packed.  We got everything situated in the stroller, and started our long track to the fairgrounds.  We got right inside the gates, and Carson immediately wanted to get out of his stroller.  And, I did just that.  I was going to let him roam around, and go, do, and see whatever he wanted.  So, he took an immediate left turn, which led us through the cow barn.  He liked them, but wasn't completely intrigued.  I was a bit nervous, as they were all tied up, and the only view we had of them was the rear end.  The picture of Carson pulling one of their tails, and them kicking him in return, ran through my head a few times.  So, I held his hand, and we prevented that from happening.  We walked right through, and he was looking for something new.  He did find a few calves on the way through the barn that he stopped to look at.  I really think that he just wanted to climb on the gate, but oh well :)

By this point, it was supper time, so I thought we would get something to eat before we both got crabby.  We walked past a few food vendors, but nothing that looked too appealing.  So, we continued on until we found a shed that was for a church youth group fundraiser.  The food looked delicious, so we found a seat, and waited for someone to help us.  It was very busy, which was fun to see.  I remember those days like it was yesterday.  Trying to raise enough money to go on a mission trip, so you didn't have to spend all of your Summer's income, which was a whole $250 to begin with, to go on the mission trip.  So, we supported this particular youth group, and it was fun to see the youth working hard for that trip.  We sat there for the longest time, because my little Wee Lad is the slowest. eater. ever.  I finally cut up his hot dog, put in on the tray of his stroller, and away we went again.

Next up, the sheep barn.  He was in love.  They had sheep, goats, and lambs.....and he wanted to touch them all.  He stuck his hand through the fence, and would try to pet them all.  We came to a friendly little goat, and Carson stuck his hand through the pen, and got a hand full of feed.  He had his eye on the prize, and got what he wanted.  He then stuck his hand out for the goat to eat the feed out of his hand....and it did.  He started laughing, because I think the nibbling on his hand tickled.  Carson thought he was pretty big stuff.

Carson led the way the whole time, and he followed other spectators into the pig barn.  We didn't stay long there either, because I think he thought they were "boring."  They just laid there, and didn't really move.  They were huffin' and puffin' the whole time, but that's about it.  Carson stuck his hand through the gate, and did touch one of their butts.  Good job, buddy. ha.  Oh, and he also shared a piece of his hot dog with one of the pigs!  This makes me laugh......it gives a whole new meaning to "you are what you eat" huh?!  :)  haha.

We walked through the pig barn pretty quickly, and that led us to the Rabbits and Poultry barn.  I knew Carson was going to love this one.  And, he did!  He tried to touch all the chickens, and laughed when they would peck at him.  This child of mine has no fear when it comes to animals.  It amazes me every time I see him stick his hand through the fences, to try and touch a not-so-friendly animal.  Like, this big turkey!  The loud gobble sound it was making was intimidating to me, but apparently not to Carson.  He snuck his little finger through the cage, and tried to pet his feathers.  I quickly tried to distract him with the cute bunnies that were to the left.  It worked....sort of.

Carson then led me out of that barn, and to the neat "Main Street" looking area.  It is so cool looking.  He walked through the first door that he saw open.  It was a quilt shop, and I knew this, but I was going to let him roam anyway.  He walked in, saw all the ladies browsing the quilts, and immediately turned back around, and hit the door running.  That gave me a pretty good chuckle. :)

Then, I decided to make a pit stop on this little stretch of stores.  I decided it was time for some dessert, so we stopped and got some homemade ice cream.  Yummm!  I haven't had homemade ice cream in a while, and it did not disappoint.  I asked for two spoons, and we found a spot on a bench.  We both enjoyed our ice cream, and Carson made faces indicating it was very cold.

After we were finished with our ice cream, and both completely sticky, we did some more venturing.  We walked past a few booths, walked through a few more shops, and then made our way to the 'carnival' part of the fair.  I wasn't planning on going on any rides, but thought I would let Carson decide.  He stood by the merry-go-round for the longest time, and made a notion indicating he would like to ride it.  We went and bought our 3 tickets, and made our way back to the ride.  The Carney took our tickets, and we found a spot.  Carson was positioned on a horse that was going to be moving up and down.  He was fine with that for about .2 seconds, and then instantly wanted to be held.  Well......this wasn't going as planned.  So, we decided to sit side-by-side on a bench.  I don't do well with rides that spin.  The image of a quickly spinning merry-go-round at a park is enough to make me sick.  I think I went on the 'silly-silo' a few too many times at Adventureland growing up, because you couldn't pay me enough to go on that ride now.  And, this would usually be about the time that I would offer my husband to ride with Carson, but that wasn't an option.  But I thought it wouldn't be so bad.  I mean, this is a little kid ride, right?  The ride began, and it wasn't so bad.  We were the only people on the ride, so I think the Carney wanted us to get our moneys worth, because I am pretty sure we were spinning in circles, ever so slowly, for about 10 minutes.  Or, what felt like an eternity.  Carson finally crawled up on my lap, and buried his head into my chest.  The guy saw this, and stopped the ride.  Thank you, good sir.

After the ride, we decided to head to the van.  It was getting late, and I felt like we had scoured the fair grounds enough to see all that we wanted to see.

Carson and I had so much fun hanging out, and looking at all that the Franklin County Fair had to offer.  I haven't been to this fair in a few years, but it is a really nice one.  It is clean, and very well put together.

 
I don't think that Carson made it through Hampton, and he was zonked out.  He did a lot of walking, and I think was really tired.  And, once again, Carson made me so proud.  He didn't make a single fuss, went with the flow, and listened to me when I asked him to do something.  I think he really enjoyed himself, and I did too.  I love to see my little guy having fun, and so content with his surroundings!