Our Weekend

I love going to Renaissance Faires. I love them. There is just something about the whole experience that I get caught up in. Maybe it's the food, there is nothing like chowing on an oversized smoked, grilled turkey legge while watching human chess or the joust. Maybe it's the people who work there, dressed in traditional attire and affecting an english accent. It could be the atmosphere of the tents, selling everything from hand fired, hand made silverware from a blacksmith to those selling attire of the period. A lot of it is encompassed in the attendees, those that dress up for the fun of it, or people like us who just go and want to bathe in that whole affair. We try to go once a year, and it's getting more fun now that Allison knows more about what is going on. More on that later.

We arrived a little later than we usually go, since Rachel wanted to stop at the Carter's outlet in Lancaster to try and get some more accessories for an outfit that she picked out to take the baby home in. I was a little annoyed, since it took us a long time to get to the outlet due to traffic. Neither of us knew how to get to the Faire from the outet, so I decided to stop at a hotel and see if they knew. Yes, I stopped for directions ... sue me. Rachel popped in, and they actually had directions typed out for people. I was impressed. The Faire is held on the grounds of Mt. Hope Mansion (http://www.parenfaire.com/ if you want to check out the site), and once we were inside and got a schedule of events, we found that the first joust was just about to start. We meandered over, and found seats on the ground. Allison loved the horses, and Ryleigh loved that she was able to run around for a little bit, free of the stroller. After that was over, we went to find the childrens area for a show that Allison would like. There was a guy dressed in a jester's outfit who was doing some fire-eating. Allison was a little freaked, she turned to Rachel and said, "Mommy, he shouldn't play with fire like that." We chuckled, and assured her that nothing was wrong, and that it was safe if you knew what you were doing.

We checked out a black-smith demonstrator, who was showing people how to do make some basic items using iron and a simple coal forge. He was good, we saw him make a toilet paper dispenser and he was also refinishing a knife, fork and spoon that he made the previous year. Allison and I were mesmerized. She loved the hammering mostly.

Before we arrived at the Faire, Rachel and I discussed what we had to do while there. Rachel wanted to see human chess most of all, and I wanted to see the Ultimate Joust. Well, it was time for human chess once the blacksmith guy was done with his project. We got there, and found a perfect spot for viewing. Basically, human chess is pretty self explanitory, it's a large chess board with the pieces being humans. Every year there is a theme to the Faire, this year being Sir Walter Raleigh and the Duke of Essex quarrel and Irish rebellion. Last time we went, the theme was the feud between Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth, before that it was Queen Elizabeth against the Spanish something or another. It's always been Queen Elizabeth, though. So, human chess pitted the Duke of Essex against Sir Walter Raleigh. It's a predetermined outcome, and the pieces have set-piece fights as they fight over spaces on the board where they've been moved.

The end came when the Duke of Essex demanded that Elizabeth name him as her successor, and Raleigh defended the Queen. The outcome of this disagreement would be determined during the final joust of the day. We never stayed long enough for the Ultimate Joust, as it takes place at 6 PM, and the kids are usually wiped out or we are after that long out in the sun. Well, we decided to stay this year. I'm glad we stayed. It's a full on joust, albeit with-out the full armor. I am assuming later in the year, when it's cooler, the Knights probably wear more armor as heat exhaustion is less of an issue.

They have special effects and everything, I wish I had known that the English Knight, Sir Lucas, was going to enter through wall of fire caused by burning hay and gas. It was sweet, and would have made a great picture. So, they have the joust between the 4 knights, and at some point the Duke of Essex gets pissed and decides to storm the throne and take by force. There ensues a battle between forces, and Sir Walter Raleigh is successful and the Queen orders that the Duke be imprisoned in the Tower of London for the rest of his life. So, at that point, we were walking out and Allison was upset, because there were no dragons. Well, the place we told her had dragons was right outside the joust arena. They sell these dragons that sit on your shoulder, and you can animate by playing with their tail. They also have a dragon egg bazaar, where you can buy a dragon egg, and they'll hatch it by putting it through this machine that drops a cannon ball through a series of ramps and smashes into your egg. They have different size eggs, at different size prices, so Allison picked the egg out she wanted to try. Well, she ended up winning two dragon sculptures from her egg. She is so proud of them, and shows everyone. She also plays with them. It is so cute to see her tell people, "These are my sculptures. My daddy got them for me." So, she has two pet dragons now. Man, I love that kid. In the meantime, I told Rachel that I think it would be cool to dress up for the next time we go in some simple costumes. I want to have a kilt and tartan, and the girls in matching peasant dresses. Mom said she would help me work on it, because she thinks it's a neat project. We'll see though.