Insomnia

What should one do when one cannot sleep? I am up for suggestions as I have not been able to get a full night's rest since moving into this house. Perhaps it is cursed, or I allergic to it. I don't know, but it's definitely getting old.

On a completely different note, I think I might try mixing things up a bit. I thought I might might start blogging about things unrelated to my life in addition to updates about the goings-on in the Davis house. I think I'll start right now.

Have you ever noticed that there seems to be more and more people at the State fair every year? I know I've definitely noticed an incline in attendance and general craziness surrounding the most wonderful time of the year. Today, while looking up guidelines on some of the culinary competitions, I stumbled upon some statistical information on the state fair. Last year, over one hundred forty-five thousand people attended the fair on the last Friday it was open. One day, people!! The grand total for attendance for the two weeks was a record breaking 858,611 fair-goers. (For anyone who's interested, they have information about attendance going back to 1986 here)

While this may shock some of you (namely my husband who honestly can't find a single good reason to go other than his wife would disown him if he didn't), but let me assure you, there are good times aplenty to be had. Between the deep fried milky-ways and the opportunity to milk a cow, courtesy of the NCSU Animal Science Program, there is so much to do; it can't be done in a single visit. Here is a guide to help you optimize your fair going experience:

1. Plan ahead: Don't wait until the day of to buy your admission tickets and ride booklets. If you buy in advance you will save two dollars on admission and eight dollars on ride books.
2. Go during non-peak hours: Unless you love crowds (and the ridiculously high percentage of amputees in said crowd), try to go during the day, or on a Monday or Tuesday. Check out the previous attendance link to give you an idea about the best time to go.
3. Have a loose idea of what you want to see: I'm not saying that you need to have your timetable all sorted out in advance, but you should try to figure out what is first priority on your to-see/to-do list and make sure you see those things first. Then, everything else is just gravy. It's amazing how much time it takes just to walk back and forth from places and to avoid disappointment, do the most important things first. If that means eating a deep fried twinkie first, then go forth and conquer.
   
4. Give yourself a good amount of time to be there: Like I said before, walking around takes a lot of time and if your list of things you want to do looks anything like mine, you'll probably need to spend a good portion of the day at the fair. Plus, if you like to ride the rides, you'll be spending a lot of time in line, so bring a sudoku or something. Also, parking is a nightmare. Allow 45- 60 mintues to deal with parking and the accompanying traffic around the fairgrounds.
5. Go with a group: Going with a group can increase the potential for having a good time. Granted, sitting alone in a bucket on the ferris wheel with your honey is sweet, but sharing the 20 minute wait in the line with a bunch of your friends will make it even sweeter.
6. Be sure to people watch: Honestly, this is my favorite part of the state fair. People come from all over to be at the fair and it's interesting to see what North Carolina has to offer.

Ok, so I think that about wraps up general fair pointers. This year, the fair is being held October 16th through the 26th. It looks like it's going to be a great year.