The dawn of the ride

If there is a fair or a festival within 20 miles of our house, we will go there. Show us a corn dog vendor and lemon shake-up stand, and we'll make ourselves right at home.

Saturday marked the first stop on our summer fair/festival tour. Centerburg had its annual "USA Days" festival, a standard street fair meets small community park. We went for dinner, with a distant thought that maybe Noah would be interested in riding a few kiddie attractions this year.

When we arrived, we took the obligatory stroll around the grounds to scope our options. As we walked toward the fresh-cut french fry stand, Noah stopped dead in his tracks, pulling on my hand and staring at the helicopter ride circling just a few feet from him. "I go?" he asked.

We stalled, and rounded the corner to gyros (my personal fair favorite). This time, Noah spotted the cars. He stopped again. "I do it?"

David and I looked at each other with a combination of resignation and (for me) a tad of worry. Though I thought Noah really wanted to ride, I wondered if once he got on and everything started moving, would he feel the same way?

We bought four tickets—good for two rides—and tried to shoo him in the direction of what we thought were "beginner" rides. First up: the cars.


I strapped him and gave him a kiss. And then David and I held our breath to see if Noah panicked when the cars began to circle—rather swiftly—around their never-ending path. We needn't have worried. He was delighted!


True confessions: I was both proud of my little monkey and a bit misty watching him ride all on his own. On this earth just 24.5 months and he's a carnival rock star!

As soon as his disembarked from the cars, he wanted more! So we walked next door to the worm ride (which adds just a touch of up-and-down motion) and strapped him in for another adventure.


Nothing to worry about here, either. Although he did get perturbed with the little boy who hopped into the same worm as his. I'm pretty sure Noah was thinking, "Get your own dang worm," but at least he didn't sock the kid.


It's hard to believe we've morphed into the ride zone already. I already see visions of the Giant Slide at the State Fair and the ferris wheel at the Knox County Fair. Such fun, I can't wait!