Kids These Days:

Our first trip to the Orange County Fair on Saturday wasn’t exactly a family affair because one of our kids, Roy, closing in on 17, doesn’t like it all that much.

Instead, our group of “kids” included our daughter, Kaitlyn, and her friend Sae Hee Jong, both 19.

Kaitlyn is not a kid anymore, I know, but any parent will tell you that your kids are always your kids.

We missed Roy, but it was a wonderful time anyway, in part because it was the first trip to the fair for Sae Hee. I told Kaitlyn before we left that the plan was to stick together and that she should not be tempted to wander off with Sae Hee. She understood.

I was warned before I got to the fair that a major reorganization had taken place. Fortunately, that did not include changes to the auxiliary parking lots, which we have used for years.

The parking lot at Orange Coast College is across the street from the fair and depending on one’s arrival time, it is either a few yards or a couple of blocks to the green gate off of Fairview St.

My wife, Cay, was feeling lucky, so I drove to the lot closest to Fairview Road, then drove to the aisle closest to the street. I found a parking spot in the second row. In fact, I found plenty of spots in the second row, and third and fourth, which is not a good sign. At 6 p.m. on a Saturday, the lots and surrounding areas should be so full we should have to park in Irvine.

Inside the green gate, the changes were noticeable. The game and ride area meant for the littlest kids had been pushed away, replaced by a tent village of merchants selling everything from double-stuffed olives to toys.

We used to spend a lot of time in the family area. But as our kids got older and graduated to the big rides, we now zip right past the ponies and baby slides that used account for so much time and money.

Instead, we devised a plan to see the Peking Acrobats. Kaitlyn and Sae Hee were to secure four seats, Cay was assigned food, and I would do what I am good at, which is wander around aimlessly.

The plan worked. Kaitlyn and Sae Hee got four good seats, Cay got two delicious ears of corn and a stuffed pepper and the show, as always, was exciting.

After the show, I ate a bratwurst, then wandered over to the Orange County Wine Society to see what was new. We met Dick Wolsfelt there, who has been a society member for many years, and he directed Cay to a good champagne and me to a delightful Zinfandel.

That was the first time we split up with the kids. So much for my admonition. The second split came later when Sae Hee decided her fair food of choice was a corn dog. Cay and I started making a circuitous route to the midway, where we were to meet the kids and lose some money on the games.

On the way, I bought a cinnamon roll and spent $7 on a couple of useless gadgets.

“I’m ready to win something,” Kaitlyn said at the bumper cars, our rendezvous point. But at the end of the evening, Sae Hee and I had each won a small, stuffed dinosaur by throwing a ping pong ball into a floating red dish. Later, Sae Hee won two larger stuffed animals by squirting water into a target.

That was mildly frustrating for Kaitlyn because the water game is her particular area of expertise.

“Sae Hee has a gift for it,” Kaitlyn said.

It was a very good trip to the fair and we’ll be back. We still have to go on the Ferris wheel and I did not drop nearly enough money on the midway.

We missed Roy on this visit and I am hoping he’ll want to go back when we return. Teenage boys bring a dimension to families and to life that teaches parents the arts of being patient and picking their battles.

And the fair is just not the same without them.

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to dailypilot@latimes.com.