Do the Puyallup!
Back in September, as is tradition, we went to the Puyallup Fair! Yes, it may be called the Washington State Fair now, but as long time Puyallup folks, we will always call it the Puyallup fair. My (Zeek) family goes back generations in the valley, and I’ve been going for years. When Denice and I were first married and living near the fair, we used to drive near it, and drop one person off. We didn’t have the money to go spend a day at the fair, but the street between the fair and Cattins Diner used to be filled with food trucks, just like it was inside the fair. One person would run over and order food, and then go back to the same corner and jump back in the car next time it came around.
Years later, it was a family tradition to take the kids to the fair each year. We would eat too much fair food (Zeek’s favorite part), see the animals (Denice’s favorite part), shop through the Showplex, and the kids would get on rides or play the games. Now-a-days, we’ve started to enjoy the fair a little differently. We still eat too much food and see the animals, but this year we made it a goal to find all 7 beer and wine garden within the fairgrounds WITHOUT a map. We didn’t necessarily stop at every one of them, but it was so much fun making ourselves find some of the new alcoves and see the renovated spaces that the fair has been working on in the last couple years.
In and amongst stops for photos and sometimes drinks at each beer garden, we ate our favorite and some new foods. One of Zeek’s favorites, and the first stop every year without fail, is the Fleishchkuechle truck! This is a pillar of our fair trips! If you haven’t enjoyed fried meat pockets before, some with jalepenos, some with mac and cheese, you are missing out! We also stopped at one of the new food places, Big Island Poke and Grill. This is a new addition to the fair this year, but we both love Poke bowls! And it was an awesome fun fair food lunch option while not being greasy sit on your stomach food.
Overall, it was a fantastic fair day! Our smart watches estimated about 9,000 steps just in the time we were in the fair. We walked away a little sore from trapsing on concrete all day, but thankfully one of our Showplex purchases was a massage chair mat that got plenty of use right away! The Puyallup Fair is a hallmark of the start of fall, and we thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the start of this next season with a perfect day at the fair!
