Your Tri-State Fair Survival Guide – Mary Lyn’s Top Five

A must have for obvious reasons. Holds your money, phone, Kleenex, and a Texas size bottle of Pepito-Bismol. Caution: Over filling your fanny pack may cause a 'funny' fanny profile, so, just carry the essentials. What essential did I miss?

Remember you're walking on concrete, gravel, dirt and sand for hours and, depending on where you go on the fairgrounds, you're going to need something comfy and sturdy. Flip flops are fine, but chances of them flying off during one of the g-force rides is likely. There's really no 'age appropriate' shoe to wear, so, wear what feels good, looks good and no black socks with sandals, k?

Now I wouldn't recommend taking out a small loan or carrying around that change jar you've been filling since last fall, but, cash is king at the fair so, here's a simple way to calculate how much money you'll need to bring: Take the amount of money you have to spend and divide by the number of rides and food vendors at the fair. If you come up short; grab the hammer, smash the change jar and enjoy the fair.

Smile and say: "Cheese" on a stick. Make sure you have the camera ready when the funnel cake slips off the plate and lands on Uncle Ernie's lap. Every picture tells a story and bringing your camera will document every crazy episode at the fair.

After eating your way down the food midway and then riding every ride 3 times, you'd better have your favorite tummy tonic with you. I personally recommend papaya enzyme which you can easily find here in Amarillo.