WELCOME! If you are new here, I am Sarah. I took a break from nursing and decided to buy a one way ticket to travel the world solo.
Every week I reflect on where I am at, what I am learning, and music I am listening to among many other fun travel and personal growth topics with some pretty cool pictures.
Thank you for reading and following my journey. Please share, comment, or subscribe if you love travel and the transformation it can bring.
My Mom is from Iowa and my Dad is from Nebraska. When God made me I was created with love in middle America with a heavy dose of the curious explorer genes, a heaping dash of affection for any large body of water, sprinkle in green eyes and DONE… little Sarah was created.
The Midwest of the United States could be described as the muffled heartbeat of this country, where you don’t notice it as long as it’s pumping steady, rhythm regular and strong, maybe you can’t always hear it or feel the pulse but the second the heartbeat stops or goes awry we all have a major problem. No one likes to see that VTach1 rhythm on the monitor.
When I was a very young child before school and maps were in my consciousness, I naively thought the entire world was split down the middle: one side was Iowa and one side Nebraska.2 What a logical developing brain I had.
My parents were hardworking teachers with very little disposable income while growing up. I didn’t step foot on an airplane until I was sixteen and even then it was facilitated by family friends who invited me to watch a professional women’s soccer match in Chicago.
Our summer vacations consisted of anything that was close to free. There was ample time of camping near a lake, roadtrips, swimming at the local public pool, picnics in the park, grilling out, and spending time on my grandparents farm in Iowa. It was humbling and heaven for me as a child. It taught me there is beauty in where you are and to appreciate that grounding feeling that the Midwest anchors in.
I can’t imagine how snobby and unappreciative I would have turned out to be if those summer vacations would have consisted of curated European trips, all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, and mansions on the Florida coastline. Simple beginnings initiate a habit for appreciation of what’s in front of you. Throw in that positive American outlook and I can find something I love in everywhere I travel, something I notice my non-American peer traveling friends struggling to do at times. They seem to be a bit more critical of destinations and it’s people.
There is one summer activity though—the most Midwestern of them all—that takes the cake. It’s the grand finale of summer ending with that internal knowing of Autumn, school, and football will all be ushered in soon. Summer gone in a blink of an eye.
It’s THE Iowa State Fair.
It’s the only place in the world where you can guarantee consuming your weekly caloric intake in one single day.
I’ll take everything fried. Please and thank you.
It’s only two weeks in the beginning of August every year, so almond moms just take that chill pill and let your child have the fried Oreos and bucket of cookies. I promise it will become a core memory of peaceful chocolatey bliss.
When I arrived home a few weeks ago, I didn’t just try the slow slide back into the culture of the Midwest. Nahh, I said give it me straight up, fully fried with side of ranch, and a pickle beer. To fully remind me where I was born and the places that helped shape me.
Take me to the Iowa State Fair to relive those happy memories from my grandparents taking us as kids at the end of every summer, to help me forget that I ever had to grow up and become an adult, and that time moves quicker than tickets bought for the kids at Thrill Town3 .
How do I even begin to describe and write to someone about something so sacred and special as the Iowa State Fair?
Well, I’ll give it a try.
It starts the night before the fair. You can’t sleep because your brain is already anticipating the rush of dopamine that will be coursing through your body for the next 24 hours. You lay out your cute but comfortable outfit you have planned and tennis shoes, grandma always said to wear the tennis shoes.
You wake up early prepared for a full day of walking, eating, seeing everything you possibly can, and some more eating. You take the drive to East Des Moines and wait in the long line of traffic to the entrance while being shamed by Farrells gym posted street signs that say “you can’t outrun the corndog you eat”.
I kindly disagree Farrells… also I lift weights.
You find parking in someone’s front yard and then follow the crowds of people all walking in the same direction. You grab your tickets and are herded in the entrance like cattle. You step inside and take it all in. You finally made it and you’re ready to explore one the world’s largest playground of fried food and farm animals.
You grab your first pickle beer that is surprisingly refreshing but not overly salty. You start making your way down the grand concourse and hit up the DNR building to see the fishtanks which is easily located next to the State Fair cookies. You get a cup of cookies to share instead of a bucket because it’s all about balance. You admire the grandstand and the neon food stands lined up while you eat your chocolate chip cookies feeling like someday you will go to one of the concerts here.
After completion of the first snack you continue making your way up the hill and come to the iconic Ye Old Mill. You thank the generous woman who gives you her unused tickets and you hop in the small continually moving boats floating in the blue water and are transported into total darkness, not even able to see your hand in front of you while learning about the history of the fair in about 7 minutes.
The ride is over and your eyes readjust to the sunlight. You then make your way over to the Animal Learning Center to see all the little babies. The piglets are a favorite. You see a few of the live births playing on the T.V.’s while staring at the baby goats and are reminded how witnessing livestock really teaches you about life, birth, and death.
You now are on a mission to see the butter cow and you head to the Agriculture Building. You see the giant pumpkins and wonder how they even grow that big. You get your egg on a stick (only free food at the fair) with the spicy seasoning and admire the flowers who received a ribbon while gazing at the butter cow and sculptures from afar because you don’t want to stand in the long line.
You make your way through all the animal barns, watching the young kids show their animals for the coveted blue ribbon, and get a little depressed seeing the largest boar lay in it’s pen. You watch the cattle get their showers with their hides blown dried and done up real pretty. You never knew they could look so fluffy and soft. You want to reach out and pet them but you will not give into your intrusive thoughts. You feel a little jealous you never grew up on a farm and that you didn’t get to participate in 4H.
You leave the animals behind and by this time it’s the experience of picking out lunch. You can’t decide between the turkey legs or pork chop on a stick and the decision overwhelm is starting to kick in so you settle for AE balls, the loose L'Roy sandwich, and a cotton candy beer.4 You find an open half of a picnic table in the shade and share all the different food you bought together while resting your legs getting recharged for the afternoon.
This is the point in the day where you should ride the sky gliders to the top of the hill to check out the Pioneer Building and Cultural Center and on the way down you might stop to see one of the live performances, but you are with your friends who have young children that can’t wait to get to the giant slide and Thrill Town which is conveniently located next to the Iowa Craft Beer tent. The fair board really knew what they were doing when picking out where the beer tent should be.
You ride the giant slide down with a gunny sack and realize this is what pure bliss feels like. You record the smiling faces of your friends and their daughters as they make their way down wondering why they took away the microphones. There is something about hearing people squeal as they ride down the giant slide that makes it so enjoyable. You start walking away from the slide thinking you never wanted to enter the Snakes Alive building as a child and you still don’t as an adult.
You admire the hot tubs and above ground pools with the fountain in the middle wishing you could rip off your clothes and jump in for a swim. You watch kids get their faces painted and ride the rides in the blistering heat of late afternoon. You sneak away to get some water and air conditioning in the 4H building and Exhibition Center and are absolutely amazed by the beautiful horses getting ready for show.
You make it to the Iowa Craft beer tent as a reward for surviving Thrill Town. You sit and try multiple beers, sway in your seat to the loud music, and people watch. You sincerely hope that when you order your next beer they need to replace the tap so you can get the free t-shirt. You enjoy your last beer while you watch acrobats practice diving into the deep pool below and brave people riding the slingshot, pondering how much that ride costs nowadays.
You decide that this might be all your nervous system can handle for the day… after all you have made almost eight hours at the fair. You do one more walk around getting some ice cream, a funnel cake, and some salt water taffy to-go for your older sister. You run into some old friends you haven’t seen in years, thinking this is a small world we live in. You smile and think about how your grandma’s favorite story to tell is when your younger sister went to the fair for the first time repeating at the end of the day “this was the best day of my life.” You walk down the grand concourse one more time and wave goodbye for now.
You make it back to the car but barely, it’s absolutely exhausting having that much fun. You arrive home in almost in a zombie slumber, you don’t want to shower because you are beyond the point of exhaustion but then you realize you are covered in sweat and the smell of cheese curds. You take an everything shower and then crawl into bed, eyelids heavy with the last remaining mental space expiring on carbohydrate fumes.
You are fully horizontal now with sore feet and a deep sleep calling your name and you think to yourself damn I can’t wait to go back next year.
Because…
Nothing compares to the Iowa State Fair.
xoxo,
Sarah
VTach or ventricular tachycardia is life-threatening irregular heart rhythm. A little nurse humor for ya!
These two states would be considered a rivalry in football, food, politics, and everything else of the competitive nature. From a non-Midwestern perspective they are basically the same place but trust me there is a lovely little love/hate relationship here especially during Football season.
Thrill town is the ride park at the fair for small children, Thrillville is the separate adult park ride section. Yes, there are two carnival ride areas lol. The ticket price is absolutely insane for rides and I was thankful I didn’t have a small child as my friends were filling up their children’s cards multiple times. Just buy the damn day pass wristband for 40 dollars for the little one- it will probably be cheaper in the end.
AE balls are made with the popular sour cream dip brand of Anderson & Erikson and shredded potatoes fried up into balls. They were a good food choice but I wish I could have eaten mine straight out of the fryer. The loose meat sandwich is a Midwest staple with seasoned loose ground beef, pickles, and mustard. Cotton candy beer is a must try! It’s super sweet and the funnest color of pink, I could only drink one max.
Love the Iowa State Fair!!!🎡
Awwe thoroughly enjoyed reading this!! Midwest gal here too, although didn’t make it out to the local county fair this year. Lovey read that made me feel I didn’t totally miss out on the fair this year! 💛💛