First Trip of the Summer!

Its summer. Megan moved. Nana and Pop went to help. John was working a booth at the fair. Jama, Matt, Renee, and Aiden were in town.

Why wouldn't Shane and I drive north? 

Shane and I dropped off a GPS for Carrie's work in Centreville and then scooted over to Celebrate Fairfax. We caught the free shuttle at Fair Oaks.

Shane loved the bus ride, but he got really excited when he saw all the rides. Meanwhile, I realized that the fair wasn't free on the ride over.

It was $15 for me and $5 for him to go in. The last time I went to the fair was in 2005 when Better Than Ezra played.

This time, I made a beeline for the library tent instead of a stage. 

John was on duty. Shane got to use a Sphero to paint some bookmarks.

There were some free books up for grabs. I may have donated this book to the library once upon a time....and I probably picked it up from a garage sale or used book store. Crazy how some things stick in your head.

I want to take Shane to Busch Gardens or King's Dominion. He's finally tall enough to go on some of the fun rides. He really wanted to go on the fair's mini-rollercoaster. He could ride if I went with him.

It took 6 tickets to ride. Twelve for the two of us. So how much is a ticket?

HOLY INFLATION, BATMAN! That'd be $15 if I bought the 20 ticket 'bargain.' 

Sorry, Shane. No dice.

Shane wanted to try all sorts of games and rides. Unfortunately, they all wanted cash.

"Can I throw the ball!?" Shane asked.

"Here, let me teach you a lesson about money. Make a throwing motion," I replied.

Shane swung his arm.

"Alright, that was $2. Swing your arm three more times."

Shane did.

"That was $8. That's an hour working at McDonald's. We're not playing any of those games. I'd rather buy you a pack of Pokemon cards later."

The kiddie rides were all at least three dollars. There was a stamp for $25, but I'd have to get stamped for Shane to go on anything fun. We weren't planning on staying that long.

There were some great free events. First, there was the library tent. Second, there was a STEM camp.

Shane had a lot of fun playing around with the high-tech toys.

I tried to get Shane to stop by the Caps booth to play some hockey (They just won the Stanley Cup!), but he refused. We met up with John inside and Shane saw Starcraft for the first time.

I haven't been in the new government center. It's fancy.

Shane was more impressed by the model trains than the architecture.

We puttered around looking at the free stuff while we waited for John's shift to end. Shane does a good job of finding ways to have fun regardless of the situation (assuming he doesn't pitch a pity party tent).

John had a good spot, so he drove us back when his shift ended. We went to Chic-Fil-A for lunch. Nana and Pop dropped by.

By the time we left, Shane had worked up a lather of sweat in the kid's area. We headed to Baskin Robbins for dessert and then to Best Buy to walk around.

Shane's curious about everything. I love that about him.

Yeah, it can get him into trouble, too, but overall it's a good habit to have. Learning helps you fully live.

I sent Carrie a couple of pictures here and there. I like to let her know she's on my mind. She spent the morning riding with Jenny.

There was a documentary on Netflix about Funko we watched the first ten minutes of. I know I got a laugh.

Everyone rendezvoused at Jama's for dinner. Megan and B came with a friend!

Megan brought toys, but the boys started running laps in short order.

Here's a picture of the room.

Nana had baby Aiden, of course.

Pop ran interference on the boys.

We had to relocate to make room for a Bridge club I'm not sure even met.

The boys slowed down (some) to eat.

John was the hero of the hour. He set up his Nintendo Switch with Mario Kart.

John played with the kids and came in first. Then he handed the controller to me. I admit, I felt some trepidation, but I nailed a first place finish, as well.

So I passed the controller on to Megan and told her, "No pressure.....but really, there's pressure. If you don't come in first, expect teasing."

She came in third.

Not bad, but still fair game for some humor. Not that I had enough energy left for many. It wouldn't have been totally fair anyway. Mario Kart has a tendency to give better items to the racers not in first, so upsets happen.

All good things must come to an end.

Megan gets around well for being due in a month! I'll make another trip up to see the new baby when he drops.

Shane and I shared Jama's room with Nana and Pop. They had an air mattress on the living room floor. Shane and I got the bed.