We traveled to southern Ohio for the Renaissance Festival this past weekend. Those who know us, know that Brian and I are Rennies and we are bringing up the little ones to enjoy these excursions too. We opted for this fair since we hadn't been to it before and we hadn't been to this part of Ohio either. The bonus was that the ticket prices were buy one / get one free (yeah!). The downside was it was quite a drive, but we had books on tape (Tam chose the boxcar children mysteries).
We camped in the nearby state park for the two nights we were there. The campsite was full, probably because it was a holiday weekend. Our site was toward the back so it was a bit quieter. We successfully got the tent up before dark and before the rain. The strike out was that we forgot to back the grill for the campfire...and forgot the stove for when we couldn't get the fire lit because of rain. Yes...it rained...
The majority of the first night, we all stayed pretty dry...but we woke up to rain. And more rain.
We gave up and headed into town to find breakfast and a weather forecast, which called for more rain for the morning hours. We did end up at the visitor center for state park and nearby dam. This was a pretty fabulous visitor center with many interactive attractions, hands out wooden lock system, animal furs, and even a short movie. We all stayed intrigued until the rain finished up.
All the rain meant lots of mud at the festival.
Oh well...we have slung through this conditions before.
It take us a bit of time to get all garbed up...especially with two wriggly boys. The boys' doublet and shirts were what I had been working on for the past month. Blue and grey corduroy, lined, trimmed, with buttons, made from scratch (including the pattern) = kept me busy! I did run out of time for pants...next year the are getting puffy slops, I promise. Tamlin loves dressing up and loves all the attention he gets for be so darn cute at these festivals. Brian let him carry the small horn and taught both boys how to blow / make noise with them. Tam knows the drill of adding jewelry and feathers (he wants a peacock feather next year). Jude was a bit more reluctant...he didn't sleep too well last night and was a bit ornery this morning. Jude also doesn't like button-up shirts so he was not pleased with his doublet. Brian and I had these outfits for a while. With my recent weight loss, my bodice fit a bit loose, meaning that the girls weren't quite displayed as nicely as in the past.
The day was overcast most of the time until 'round 3 o'clock when the sun decided to come out in full force...and gave me a sunburn during that brief time.
We did lots of fun things at the festival...I love letting the kiddos enjoy the fun and wonder of the place. Brian and I enjoyed seeing new shows and meeting fellow people like us.
We danced the maypole dance. I helped Jude and Tamlin went on by himself. He had so much fun, we did the maypole dance the next day too!
Both boys had fans to help them stay cool. Jude was having problems manipulating his... a kindly pirate helped him out.
We met the Queen Elizabeth and the boys were knighted. This is one of the few photos that I got both boys looking at the camera...and I do love the royal guards photo bomb.
Since it was overcast, the crowd was light which meant we had great seats for the mid-day joust. I usually opt not to see the joust because it is in an arena with no shade and the show is staged. Not here...this was with real jousters who tried their darnest to unseat their opponents. The horses they rode were the same horses that appeared in the TV realty show "Full Metal Jousting." I was impressed...especially when one of the jousters was a woman!
The knight had several passes...and then after a full on strike, the lady knight fell off her horse to a jarring crash.
She was ok and walked off the field, but conceded the match to her opponent.
The boys were awe-struck by this.
I mean they really watched what was going on...
We let them ride the horses after the show. Now, I usually don't pay for pony rides...but these were big honking jousting famous horses and the money went right toward their care.
At first, I didn't think Jude would be big enough to ride...he was majorly disappointed...but the handlers said he was welcome to ride and that the horses are very gentle with little riders. We let him up with Brian walking beside him just in case he got scared.
Neither boy was scared....and both had HUGE grins.
Brian saw the gleam of happiness in Jude's eyes, so he gave in and bought them toy horses. Oh-my-Gawd...the horses were Jude's most favorite thing all weekend. He knew right away he wanted the little brown pony with spots and was not swayed to any other. Tam opted for the big white horse that looked like the one he rode. Jude loved playing with both horses, pretending the white horse was the momma horse. They even had to have blankets and be put to bed with them that night. Very cute.
Another fun character we meant was this pirate captain with an animated parrot. Tamlin had a hard time trying to figure out if it was real or not...the bird could move its eyes, beak, head and make various sounds. Jude totally thought it was real.
I let the kiddos each pick out one ride... Jude chose a merry go round with carriages. It didn't go very fast, but he still loved it. Tamlin felt more adventuroues and opted to go in the maze, which ended in a super fast slide. With the help of some older kids, he did great in the maze.
We saw several shows during the day as well as wandered around the shops.
I had wanted to stay for the pub sing at the end of the day...but Jude was done by 4 o'clock. I don't blame him...we made him walk much of the day, and he didn't get an afternoon nap.
Brian looked at the little tyke and asked if he wanted carried.
Oh yeah...he did...
And then he fell asleep on Brian's shoulder.
In the middle of the festival...
With all that noise and nonsense...
He fell asleep :-)
So Sweet...
Tamlin conked out in the car on the ride back to the campsite. We let them sleep in their car seats for another hour or so while we assessed our rain-drenched gear. Yep, with the torrential downpour in the morning, we did have a leak in the tent and quite a few things got wet. We had enough evening sunshine to dry out quite a bit of things, but Brian did opt to hit up a dollar store for a dry towel. A fire was conjured after much effort and we had brats and marshmallows for dinner.
While Brian was on the hunt for a dry towel, the boys and I stayed to tend the fire. We had fun watching the dark settle around us and the stars come out. Jude is convinced that the moon follows him when he is walking and that it plays hide-and-seek with him and the trees. We ended the night with telling ghost stories, well, Casper the Friendly Ghost stories :-)
