The North American Midway is the world's largest traveling amusement park
There is a treadmill in our house. It does—occasionally—get used for something other than a laundry rack. So finding Matt running on it last week was not as much shocking as it was…suspect. In hindsight, I realized he was preparing for the Craz-E burger, the culinary creation born at The Big E, or the Eastern States Exposition. It’s the state fair of Massachusetts and several other New England states, and it’s where you’ll find the world’s largest traveling amusement park, the North American Midway.
Where we went, and who was coerced into going:
The four of us went to The Big E this past weekend, and brought along our appetites. After a few days cooped up inside with incessant rain, the sun shone on a clear, cool autumn day, and we happily hit the road.
WHY did you go there, exactly?
With a name like the “Big” E, we had to go. We wouldn’t be living up to the Blogocratic Oath (no such thing) if we missed it.
I learned about the Craz-E burger while doing my research, and that pretty much sealed the deal. Matt has never met a burger he didn’t like. The more beef, the better. He’s been known to eat the triple patty Baconator at Wendy’s, but has stopped short at the quadruple BK Stacker at Burger King. He prefers food which could seal his arteries in under ten minutes.
Yes, his life insurance policy is up-to-date.
I've read an unsubstantiated claim that this is the world's largest corn dog!
So when I reported that the Craz-E burger is a bacon cheeseburger sandwiched between two halves of a glazed doughnut, he got a glint in his eye I haven’t seen since our first date. “Lustful” is an apt description.
Okay, what was so cool about it?
The Big E lives up to its name. It’s massive, and we walked miles that day. There’s a lot to do and see, and I’m sure we missed most of it. Of course we hit the expanse of midway rides. We also saw out first horse show, and visited some of the 4H pavilions. The Girl made friends with Doug the Llama.
We caught a hysterical show by Hilby, the Skinny German Juggle Boy. We’ve also—purely by chance–seen him at the Woodloch Resort and the Dutchess County Fair this year. So now we’re juggler groupies, I guess.
And of course, there’s the fair food, which never disappoints. Matt’s 1,500-calorie Craz-E burger held him over most of the afternoon, until it was time for the other specialty, the Big E Cream Puff, and its cousin, the E-Clair. We also made room for hot dogs, pierogi, samosas, and overpriced ($5.00!) milk shakes.
You’re dying to find out how the Craz-E burger tasted, aren’t you?
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I’m a sucker for “Top Ten” lists. The promising alliteration makes my pupils dilate with excited anticipation. Over the past few months, several print and online publications have embraced the road trip and presented their own lists of America’s top roadside attractions. When I read these, I’m at once enthralled at learning what’s out there, and bummed about what I haven’t seen yet.
I was hardly surprised by his smirk and raised eyebrow, because this has been an idea of his for a few years. But now that it’s MY idea, you see, it’s viable. 🙂 Actually, his version emerged two years ago, when The Girl was still a toddler. And it involved more than a week on Route 66. So naturally, it didn’t happen.
