Carl's Blog

First, last night’s arrival… The drive up was just as Google maps predicted, this is a first.

Check-in at the campground was quick and efficient, now finding a site wasn’t so much…

I arrived just a bit after 11:30 PM and quiet hours start at 12 AM, so I was rushed to find a site, in the dark. Why, yes the moon was nearly full, but other than one or two street lights on the dirt roads it was very dark, and the street signs didn’t really glow in my truck’s headlights. I did find an open area and someone was setting up their RV across the road. I decided to gear up with my head lamp and pitch my tent. I should have aired up the mattress first, since I completed the tent placement a few minutes after the bonfire revealers headed to their abodes. The ground was hard, oh yeah that moon… Seems my tent’s back panel is all darkened mesh, so the moon light shows right through. Glad I brought my eye mask. 👍

Ok, on to the real reason you are reading this… The renfaire..

The other travelers started to awaken from their castles around 7:30 AM, and everyone in my eye sight seemed to be up and moving by 8:15. As I type this, I’m smelling someone nearby cooking bacon. I personally am saving my appetite for some food from the vendors. I chose at the last minute to leave my portal stove at home and just make sandwiches if I get hungry because I ran out of my food allowance. Don’t worry, I plan on eating as much as I can. 🍗🍔🥨🧁🍪🍻🍽️🍷

Well, I think it’s getting close to time to dress to meet the King and his court at this year’s 51st Renfaire.

To start the morning off right..

You need a pint of Black Death, an imperial stout, some Scotch eggs and a breakfast juggling show.

After the show I visited some shops.

I had a schedule of shows I wanted to see, but I skipped the next show for more window shopping.

My next pre-purchased event was mead tasting.

This new brand is a combination of 3 meadries that individualLy couldn’t meet the demands of the festival but together they could. Thus 3 became 1 and the juggling fools became their logo.

Time for lunch… which was fish and chips. Sorry no picture.

I wanted to make sure I knew where my final booked class of the day was, so I again skipped my planned schedule of shows and went to find the glass blowing shop.

In this class you are guided by the artisan in the process of glass blowing while you make your own pumpkin. The artisan manages the heating in the furnace and does most of the important shaping but you do feel a part of the experience. 

I’m hoping to pick my pumpkin up on Sunday, but if they will mail it to you as part of the package deal when you book the class. This was the best thing of the day.

Speaking of the day, sleeping on the ground, and all the mead I had been drinking, started to get the best of me. So I headed back to my camp site, err castle, to take a short nap with the intention to return for the final events of the night at the arena…

My nap was 4 hours, and I probably would have slept more if the fireworks show that concludes the evening hadn’t awakened me at 8 PM. 

I was still very tired so I just made a sandwich and went to bed for real.

So ends day one.