A Fair at Night, Part 3 - Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016

Continued from Part 2...

With the setting sun, all the incredible neon and twinkling lights came on. Oh how I wished my camera battery hadn't died! 

We somehow made our way over to a quieter part of the fair, a beautiful lake with a floating bridge and swan pedal boats. The trees around the lake were outlined in colored lights. We loved it. 

Swan Pedal Boats at the Texas State Fair
(Photo source: WikimediaCommons)

As we walked back across the floating bridge to the Midway, we saw the Dallas Police Department Mounted Unit lined up side by side by the lake and motorcycle police in the street. I told Bob this was probably the starting point for the Starlight Parade. We stayed right where we were and sure enough, about five minutes later, the mounted police came out. They allowed people to walk up to their horses for a bit before the actual parade started.

Police on motorcycles led the parade, followed by the mounted unit. Then the Bud Light Clydesdales came out pulling the beer wagon with a Dalmatian sitting in the front seat. Those horses are huge and obviously very well cared for. Their manes were braided and tails were pulled up short. They positively gleamed as they went by. 

There were a number of floats depicting events at the fair, and a big semi with a Shriners band playing in the back of it. The tail end of the parade was made up of more motorcycle officers. We enjoyed watching all of it go by. 

It was time for a snack, so we grabbed a chocolate nut dip ice cream bar on the way to the Esplanade to see the 8 pm Illumination Sensation show. All the benches and walls were full of sitting people, so we sat on a very low-to-the-ground curb along the sidewalk. A lot of people sat in the grass behind us. It was still 1/2 hour to showtime!

The Fair Guide describes the Illumination Sensation as follows: 

"Set along a scenic reflecting pool, Mattress Firm Illumination Sensation wows the crowd with dancing waters, fireworks and high-energy pop music blended with engaging performances by dancers and acrobats."

They forgot to mention the laser lights. The show was wonderful. If you ever go be sure to stay for the nighttime events. By the time the show was over, I had firework debris stuck on the suntan lotion on my legs: all part of the experience, to be sure.

We were pretty hungry for dinner by the time the show was over. We finally got a turkey leg.

There were big rocking chairs to sit in. Bob found a cell phone in his and there was a wallet under mine. We asked the people next to us if they knew who was sitting there. They did and chased them down to return their phone and wallet. 

As we were eating, I choked on a 2" turkey leg tendon (?). Bob and I were sharing the turkey leg. I was eating fast and didn't chew my food thoroughly. Next thing I knew there was a hard, sharp tendon going down my throat and I couldn't breathe. Luckily I have a good regurgitation reflex and I was able to get it back up, but it scraped my esophagus so there was lingering discomfort. Not to mention, I was coughing hard, my nose was running, and my eyes were watering profusely; all in reaction to the foreign piece of food. That was quite scary! 

After I calmed down, we went in search of dessert. Bob knew what he wanted: a deep-fried brownie. We found the booth that he had seen earlier and we ordered. The deep-fried brownies came as three round croquettes, with a batter around the brownies. We shared those too. They were quite good and made me forget about my throat.

After that, we walked around the Midway marveling at how pretty the Texas Star Ferris wheel looked with all its lights ablaze. Fairs and amusement parks are enchanting at night!

It had been a long but enjoyable day and we headed back to our motel. Thanks, Bob, for taking me to the fair!