Chapter 70
Arm. Band. Day. If I thought the previous day was chaotic and full, it had nothing on this day. The caballeros rode every ride multiple times. Even the Tilt-A-Whirl. And miracle of miracles, no one puked. I didn’t even have to ride with them every time unless they needed a fourth so no one had to ride alone. They’d all three finally hit that magic inches mark for most of the rides they wanted to ride. There were a couple of rides that Nat and Daniel didn’t want to go on and Knox was going to skip them, but Derek said a compromise was in order.
“Daniel, Nat, and I will go get some refreshments. You ride with Knox. How’s that sound?”
In a rather serious tone of voice Daniel told Knox, “Uncle Derek and I will watch out for Nat. Promise.”
It was so funny I nearly laughed. Knox fist-bumped Daniel and then told Nat, “Won’t be long. Uh … nothing spicy. The Himalayan goes fast forward
and backwards.”
Nat giggled and Daniel covered his mouth and belched. I’m thinking it is the going fast
backwards he wasn’t interested in.
We didn’t eat nearly as much as we did the previous day, but we did eat. More fried pickle chips with Derek eating his share. Yuck. I’ve already found a recipe
[1] to make now that we are back home. We shared another batch of fried deviled eggs
[2] which aren’t as gakky as you might think. A waffle cone of strawberry shortcake ice cream
[3] that we all shared (glad I brought extra sporks for just in case they were limiting the plasticware). Deep fried Oreos
[4] were almost too sweet, even for the kids. Bacon-wrapped corn on the cob
[5] (minus the hidden jalapenos thank you very much). Chocolate covered bacon
[6] which isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds. Corn in a Cup
[7] which I have been searching for a recipe for and not quite finding the equivalent; close but not quite. One of my favorites was Tacos on a Stick
[8] which is more of a kabob than anything else. Loaded stuffed potato pancakes
[9] which I’m going to makea soon as I have leftover mashed potatoes. Sweet corn ice cream
[10] which I am still trying to decide whether I liked or not. Pizza on a Stick
[11] was another favorite. For our big meal of the day we had BBQ turkey legs and split sides of Poutine
[12] (it sounds like a rude word but isn’t) and corn fritters
[13]. I’m probably missing a couple of things but it already sounds like we didn’t do much but eat but when you are buying one of something then splitting it five ways, it doesn’t go nearly as far as you think.
About three hours before closing, Derek and I noticed the crowd had gotten rowdy. The authorities must have noticed as well as there were more security guards walking around. That didn’t seem to help so at two hours before closing then sent in the “big guns”. I don’t know if these guys (no gals among them) were regular military or national guard but the “big guns” had big guns. Derek and I looked at each other and silently agreed it was time to head towards the exit. Problem. The main exit was closed due to something that was going on in the parking lot. So head to the rear gate even though it meant having to walk quite a bit to get to the van. Problem 2 (or 3 depending on how you look at it), before we could get to that exit, it had been closed as well after someone kicked up a fuss because of the facial recognition equipment that had been installed.
Actually, facial recognition equipment had been installed at all four of the exits, and at the entrance/exit solely reserved for vendors and park employees. Knox had already figured out something was going on and asked Derek, “Is this like when Mina had to shoot that weirdo in the butt?”
Derek was surprisingly calm and answered, “I hope not, but just in case, don’t let Nat and Daniel out of your sight.”
“Yes, Sir.”
I nearly tripped at Knox using “sir” but like I said, I’d already figured that Derek had been accepted and now I knew that Knox also respected him. And if he did Nat did. And I knew Daniel already did.
I reached into my string bag – the only thing they’d allowed to come into the park because we had kids – and put one of my sporks into my jacket pocket. I know that sounds like a weird thing to do but this particular spork was a tactical spork that I’d bought from Mrs. Shepard (of Sheepdog) on the sly.
I was prepared to use it as well. The blade was only 2.5” long but that was enough of a poke to get someone to leave us alone. And why did I feel the need to do it? Because you could hear the roar of a fight or riot outside the fair on several sides. I wasn’t just worried about us, I was worried about the van.
Derek and I maneuvered the caballeros near where there was one of the cameras, with a prominent sideboard explaining that as the fair was a public area, no one had any expectations of privacy, therefore cameras were being used for security. A sign had been added that facial recognition was being used. While there were some fights inside the fair, most of the violence was kept outside the fenced area. Amazingly many of the vendors continued to operate and people were taking advantage of things and eating and riding rides up until the very end. Finally, the all clear sign was given but everyone had to go through a gate and get their picture taken and show their ID. And if they had an address inside the Atlanta Beltway, they better have a pass. The people directly in front of us didn’t and the entire family got pulled to a trailer where they had to explain themselves. More than a few were exiting those trailers in handcuffs or zip ties. Even some young teens and what may have been a few pre-teens that were missing adult supervision.
We headed straight to the camping area and had to go through the routine all over and were directed to go straight to our spot. Well, no freaking kidding.
[1] Fried Pickle Chips
[2] Fried Deviled Eggs
[3] Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
[4] Easy Deep Fried Oreos
[5] Mouthwatering Bacon-Wrapped Corn on the Cob
[6] How to Make Chocolate-Covered Bacon
[7] Corn In A Cup
[8] Tacos on a Stick
[9] Loaded Stuffed Potato Pancakes
[10] Sweet Corn Ice Cream
[11] Pizza on a Stick
[12] Poutine
[13] Marina’s Golden Corn Fritters