Frugal Florida State Fair

 This year the Florida State Fair in Tampa, FL had a bargain day for us frugal folks. It was $2 after 2 pm, plus selected rides were $2 and most food vendors offered an item of their menu for $2. There were $2 cheese curds (from Wisconsin), hotdogs, corn dogs, sautéed mushrooms, lemonade, cheese fries, water, pizza and veggie pita. We still spent over twenty bucks but it was actually nice to just get a sample size of something. Definitely a diet buster day.

I started out back near the Equestrian center to see the Moto Maniac show, and happened by the #FairClysdales. These beautiful horses are having a nice time in Florida where amazingly it was an 80F day. And Sunny. Too bad for the rest of the nation where weather pretty much is typical winter.

 The ferris wheel

 The Lady Houdini was impressive, she stayed in that tank for 2 minutes unlocking locks and chains and padlocks while submerged in water.

 The Zaji #amazingacrobats was my favorite show, There was lots of activity, skill and fun.

 Plate twirling - not a single plate toppled.

 Amazing to watch 11 people climb on this bike while one dude was riding it.

 The circus has changed over the years, no more dogs, elephants or horses. The only animal act is the camels walking in circles, no riders. Still entertaining show though.

 All these aerial performers do their acts without nets or safety lines. Quite scary.

 The Clydsdales friendly pet, Bud

Night time for the horses, the handlers were taking out all the braids in their manes and tails.

 Bello Nock and his kids performed, includes being shot out a cannon over a running helicopter.

 The beautiful ferris wheel at night, changing colors

Not quite as good as the Minnesota state fair, but worth going to. The Florida state fair really is missing out on sponsorship and local participation. The difference from a Midwest state fair is that there are no give aways of bags and junk. They could add local radio station booths, TV broadcasts, local celebritys, local companies like Publix, Hospitals, Sporting Teams, Tourists destinations, Busch Gardenss, Disney, colleges, local police and sheriff agencies. There is very little corporate involvement, other than the Fl Dept of Ag. There is so much opportunity here.

How To Pack For A Trip

Yesterday, I read this post on Wisebread about packing for a trip. A friend of mine always says, when you're traveling put your suitcase on the bed, take out half of what you've packed, and put twice as much money in your wallet - and you're ready to go. I always am reminded of this piece of advice when I get home from a trip and I'm unpacking all the clothes I never touched on the trip - but hauled them across the nation.

 

Well, since we're thinking about planning our trip to Minnesota to see our families and attend the Minnesota State Fair, the blog post was definitely an eye opener and confirmation that I was going to bring too much crap with me. So, I took the 10 tips seriously and declared my intents to DH last night. No I would not be bringing a suitcase, instead I'm packing a backpack. And yes I'm only bringing one of anything - one pair of shorts, one pair of jeans, one pair of capris, one swimsuit, one T shirt, one long sleeve shirt, one short sleeve Columbia shirt, one polo, one tank top, one sweater and one pair of shoes, but I would bring 2 pairs of socks and underwear. So I packed and it all fit in half of the backpack.

 

Another tip is not to bring toiletries, but here I'm minimizing and bringing only what I know I will use - deodorant, floss, toothpaste, qtips, and shampoo. I also am not bringing a gps, or books, (these are on my smartphone) or my big clunky Nikon DSLR camera. I have to break the rules and bring my Dell Duo. The only reason I'm bringing my tablet PC is because I can't be sure of reliable wireless internet everywhere we're staying and I need to update my blogs and print coupons, neither of which I can do with my smart phone. I will spring for the extra "Hotspot" service from Sprint for the trip at a cost of $1 per day to make my smartphone into a wireless hotspot which I can connect my PC through if I'm anywhere there is cell service. So into the backpack go the laptop and a pocket camera. I'm skipping the neck pillow even though I do have an inflatable one and I do really enjoy the comfort.

 

So far everything still fits in the backpack and I have extra room. We don't need a guidebook so skip that. And we don't really have a solid itinerary so we have flexible plans which are a lot less stressful. I'm not really into drama and I'm going to avoid any drama while we're there. A few get togethers are planned and a ride-a-long for DH with the MPLS Police, plus two days at the Fair to eat all that yummy food like Deep Fried Cheese Curds. And a day at Valleyfair amusement park with the grand kids if mom decides its okay. Whatever the weather we're not letting it keep us indoors, we also packed a poncho. And we can handle the heat if it's below 100F, since we've never had 100F in Tampa, I'm not sure what it feels like to be that hot and clammy. LOL

 

What A Glorious Day for The Fair

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Well, I wish I were in Minnesota today going to the Minnesota State Fair, but since I'm not I have a special treat for you today. I'm going to pretend I'm at the fair and share my day with you of all the great things I ate and fun things to do. You too will wish you were at the State Fair.

Free State Fair Admission

On Thursday, February 11, the Florida State Fair is offering free gate admission after 4pm to all guests.