Wild time on wild rides at the fair

Screams of delight sing out above the midway music, carnie calls and roaring roller coasters.

The thrills and chills of the carnival rides remain a classic element of fair festivities. Children, teens and a few daring adults continue to step up, strap into and clamor aboard the whirring, spinning, dipping mechanics for a bit of fun.

"The rides are what bring me to the fair," said Danielle Soba, 17.

She and her friends Pernica Joshi, 15, and Marisa Jayne, 14, ran from one ride to another after making it through the opening gates Thursday. The Yuba City teens agreed their favorite ride is the Sea Dragon.

"It's scary, like we're just gonna drop off or our phones are going to drop out," Joshi said. "And we really love our phones."

Hannah Hawkins, 13, strapped into the Super Shot alongside her dad as her sister and friend watched from the grass. They flashed thumbs up as their seats began to carry them sky high.

"Hands up! Hands in the air!" Gary Hawkins urged his daughter as they rose, but Hannah was hesitant to release her white-knuckle grip on the shoulder harness.

Two screams and lightning-fast drop later, they were laughing as they unbuckled and made their way to the next ride.

"I like the feeling I get in my tummy, and the adrenaline," Hannah said. "It goes in mid-air and it goes up and I get the butterflies."

Gary Hawkins was enjoying his share of the fun, too.

"You don't feel 49 anymore," he said. "You have 2 or 3 seconds of just feeling weightless."

Biggs resident Justin Chand, 17, and Live Oak resident Jennifer DeWitt, 17, gasped, laughing, to catch their breath after they stumbled out of their metal Zipper cage.

"I screamed the whole time," DeWitt said. "It was crazy. My back was hitting the cage."

Two Loma Rica teens were only too eager to let their vocals loose as the rides scrambled their stomachs.

"I scream really loud," said Georgia Tolbert, 15.

"It just makes it funner," added her friend Peri Daley, 14.

Zoe Newton, 8, made a grab for her grandmother's hand as she darted to each ride. The plan was to squeeze in as many thrills as possible before the professional bull riding and then return for a few more before the evening ended.

Aboard the Himalaya, Zoe's pigtails flew in the wind as the bucket seat spun forward and backward, widening the girl's smile with every turn.

"It's always so awesome," she said. "It feels like I'm being pushed every way."