Sept. 20 — What has changed, and what has stayed the same

Sally Zeiger Hanson / guest columnist

Destination: The Puyallup Fair, days five to 10.

These are my questions: 1) How much weight will we gain after eating scones 17 days in a row?

2) Will we be able to afford to finish this project?

3) Is it possible to max out your personal Fun-o-meter?

It is day 10 of 17 and here are my answers so far: 1) We’ll be chubby, but not so much that strangers will notice. On the upside, I will have built up good tolerance for holiday eating. (NOTE: We probably won’t be playing the Fool the Guesser game after about day 14.)

2) One friendly reader has already offered to pledge money toward this project. I think a One Day Vacation telethon may be in order. Another reader suggested that we might bring in our own food and cut costs that way. It’s The Fair. I’m not sure it actually counts as Fair time if you pack your own lunch. Does anyone have a ruling on this? It is a good thing that The Fair offered us complimentary season passes. I am left to my own devices to manage my daily spending.

3) I think our Fun-o-meters are in good shape. Whenever we feel overwhelmed with the joy of it all, we find a place to sit down and remember that it will be raining soon.

We started our exploration of the Midway this week. We found a fishing game that guarantees everyone will win. We now have a whole collection of differently colored plush frogs. We’ve been throwing rings, tossing dimes, pitching balls and squirting water at balloons. We don’t have a single award to show for it. I see people carrying around animals that are three times as big as me. How did they win those? My son decided that he prefers to spin the wheel that the gemologists have in the Hobby Hall. Everyone walks away a winner, with a polished rock in their pocket.

All of my favorite rides from when I was in seventh grade are still merrily whirling along. The Enterprise, The Zipper, and The Octopus are all there. The white roller coaster still has long lines even at 10 a.m. on Sunday. There is one virtual reality ride on the edge of the Midway but it appears that people are coming to The Fair to spin, whirl, zoom and drop in real time.

We spent a lot of time in Sillyville, the ride area for the younger than 10 range. One great thing about this section is the kid-sized portions and prices offered by the food vendors. The $2 burgers and smoothies are always a hit with the kids and also with those who are trying to leave room for other Fair snacks along the way.

We spent time touring the vendors in the Showplex on Friday. I belatedly realized that it is not smart to carry a credit card through the vendors’ aisles. Who doesn’t need that super-absorbent sponge that lasts five years? With only a $50 down payment, I can get the night sky from a particular date painted on my ceiling. The artist from the Nickelodeon show “Magic with Marvin” sold me the greatest set of blendy-markers in my first 10 minutes in the building. There are three more rows for us to peruse and I’m not sure my budget can take it. How have I survived without all these great products that I now know I need? Among our favorite booths were the ones offering custom-fitted toe rings, teeth whitening actually done at the Fair, $200 chair massage gadgets and the Trading Post that sells shark’s teeth pendants.

Today my son asked me what I think The Fair will be like when he is a grown-up. It is hard to imagine what will change and what will be the same. I assume that the animal and agricultural core purpose of The Fair will remain in place. I know I have been enjoying those produce arrangements made by local Granges for 30 years and hope to for at least 30 more years. We speculated that maybe the products sold and the rides would be different because of all the advancements in technology. I know The Fair changes a little bit each year but it happens so gradually that it is now hard for me to say exactly what is different. The only big change I remember is the one year when the Green Gate area was sponsored by Disney. It was kind of like New Coke - short lived.

This last week of The Fair, we will be focusing on taking in the live entertainment on the various stages and finding the best food options.

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For more information

Sally Zeiger Hansen is visiting The Puyallup Fair and chatting about her experiences on her Web site. To participate in this project, post your input and comments on our web log at:

http://www.onedayvacations.blogspot.com.

As a lifelong Puyallup resident, Sally Zeiger Hanson has been taking One Day Vacations here in the Puget Sound for years. To join the conversation about the fun that can be had close to home, contact he at:sallyzeigerhanson@gmail.com or on her blog at http://onedayvacations.blogspot.com/