Sunday, February 17, 2008

Hear Ye, Hear Ye......

You won't believe where we spent our day....ALL day! 

OH.MY.GOLLY.GOSH.GOSH.GOSH.ANOTHER.GOSH! For years I have wanted to go to one and about 2 years ago Curt was sent to Nellis AFB, Las Vegas for a two week assignment and the local Renaissance Fair was going on there, needless to say when he came home and told me that he went I wanted to kick him out the house and make him take me again.......but that wouldn't be very nice, so I let him stay with the promise that if we were ever near one he HAD.TO take me. 

So yesterday morning started like any other, I was cleaning the house, had just finished the master bathroom and was in the guest one, swishing around the toilet and all that fun stuff, the radio playing in the background while I hummed and danced. Yes, you see when I clean the house I turn on some music and it makes it go a lot faster, plus I get exercise while I dance so it really is a win win situation for me. *snort* 
 
But anyway, sorry I went off track there....I was so engrossed in cleaning the bathtub that I kinda tuned out the radio but suddenly I hear Jasmine scream from her bedroom (she was cleaning her room too). 
 
Jasmine - MOMMY......the renaissance fair!  
Mommy drops the cleaning stuff and gets deer caught in the headlights look - WHAT?!?!?! WHERE?!?!?! 
Jasmine - I just heard it on the radio, it's going on right now....from February 9 to March 30....can we........  
Mommy cuts her off - OH.MY.GOSH.......get dressed, we're leaving! 
 
Really, that's how it went. I ran into the living room like a drill sergeant and said to Curt and Nicholas "Boys get dressed, we're going to the renaissance fair" and I was met with YAY.......so anyway, off I go to the computer to get the directions. It's actually an hour from us, in Apache Junction which let me tell you......is GORGEOUS
 
Oh wow.....absolutely breathtaking area. The Festival is held near the foothills of Superstition Mountain which are just...wow. That's all I'll say about it, because you really have to be there to understand. As we drove up to the festival the sky was littered with these small puffy Cumulus Clouds. 
 
 
And HERE we are, at the Renaissance Festival. Just one quick tip, remember to take a stroller or wagon for the little ones, mind you mine didn't complain once that they were tired and we were on our feet for 6 hours. But after a while, you want to put down the drinks and bags and stuff, so it's a great idea to have something for that. 
 
But let's go in....by the way, throughout this post you'll find some videos, so I hope you enjoy and if you don't have your coffee cup refilled....you may just want to go ahead and get it so you can sit back and allow me to transport you back in time to the village of Fairhaven in 1590. 
 
 
Go ahead and buy your tickets, I'll wait...... Now before we start, since the drive is an hour, I suggest you use the Privies LOL 
 
 
Right as we step inside, we see this announcement, apparently Robin Hood is wanted and Maid Marion is missing, which makes me believe Robin Hood took her? Just saying! 
 
I have to laugh at the kids expressions, Nicholas Hood really does look guilty doesn't he? LOL 
 
 
 
Now we have to step out of the way because there's a funeral going on. 
 
 
 
Here's where the King and Queen gather....they were all sitting in these beautiful embroidered chairs and drinking wine. 
 
 
See this lady? she's the Rag Lady, she walks around the city and hands out rags to people who are dirty LOL 
 
We had just tried some free chocolate samples and Nicholas' mouth was a disaster, just brown all over, sort of like our shoes in the dirty mud....so she handed him a blue rag to clean his mouth. 
 
 
Curt bought one of these for himself, a green Knight to go with his Squadron Emblem which are the Emerald Knights. I was looking for a SAHM pink one but no luck LOL 
 
 
This guy was really good, he had this whip on fire and did all these neat tricks. One thing I loved about the entertainment is that it was all really funny and the performers were friendly and wonderful with the audience. 
 
 
I had to take a picture of these two, I wanted to get them so badly. I don't know why, I mean I can't exactly imagine me in that get up driving Jasmine to school or cleaning the bathrooms LOL And it's not like I can see Curt in those tight pants either....AND it's not like I have $300 for each either so...well.....maybe next time LOL They're both gorgeous though aren't they? 
 
 
 
Now we're heading into the Fairhaven Farm, see that big white horse above? That's Nellie, that's the horse that takes the King and Queen around in their wagon. 
 
 
This Goose was so funny, she kept coming right up to the fence and sticking her neck way up, then just standing there. 
 
 
After a few pictures though she got annoyed, and she went over to the husband and they both turned their backs on us. How Rude! LOL 
 
 
For a dollar you could get a huge handful of feed for the animals. The kids had a lot of fun doing that and you should have seen those sheep/goats/whatever they were (sorry I am SO not a country girl, I have no clue which is which). 
 
 
Hahahahah Nicholas always crouched down to feed them, it was so funny watching him. 
 
 
Here are the kids giving some words of advice to Nellie for her upcoming traipse around town with the King. I couldn't understand what they were saying but whatever it was she either liked it or was bored to sleep, cause her eyes kept closing LOL 
 
 
I just love this cow, this is a Scotland Shaggy Cow, isn't she cool? Now let's head into the Storybook Castle for some myths, legends and stories. 
 
 
Sleeping Beauty....must be nice to get a full night's sleep LOL 
 
 
Snow white....that's the stepmother and her magic mirror 
 
 
My favorite, Goldilocks and the three bears..... 
 
 
Mmmmm porridge!
  
Hansel and Gretel 
 
 
Watch out...dragon above! 
 
 
The kids with a beautiful mermaid. 
 
 
One of our favorite shows in the festival. Pirate Shantyman and Bonnie Lass. They were SO funny. 
 
  
Then we decided to get the kids some armor, I mean, after all, they would have to duel to see who would get dinner later. 
 
 
Next we went on the boat ride, which is for little kids but hey, I'm short *shrug* 
 
 
This was one of the pirate's dog and he just sat there with the banner on his nose...."Surrender Thy Treasure" that's what it said LOL 
 
 
One of Jasmine's favorite things....the Harp. 
 
 
Royal Stables right outside the arena where we're heading next, for the Jousting Tournament. I was so giddy with excitement at this point....I've always wanted to watch one. 
 
 
The jousting tournament was the last event of the day so before we left, Curt told the kids they had to duel for their dinner. Whoever won, got McDonald's, whoever lost got nothing. LOL (we were just kidding, but Nicholas thought we were serious....poor thing. 
 
 
Can you see his face? He was loosing and at one point he yelled out "I'm hungry, I really want some dinner" Hahahahahaha 
 
 
There goes the King and the Queen.....and Nellie. She's not really standing up straight I wonder if the kids pep talk from earlier backfired LOL 
 
 
They divide the crowds into four and each of them have to support one of the Knights. Ours was Joseph, the one in red and green....of course he was the first one to get killed. Really, I have NO luck LOL  
Here are the kids and our cheerleader. She was so cute and so funny. 
 
 
 
Just before we left some random sword wielding squire came running up and the kids defended our honor. They did great LOL 
 
 
What an amazing day we had with the Lords and Ladies, the insulter, the jesters and the pirates, but now it was time to head home, off into the sunset, our swords at our side....but never fully disarmed, see how Jasmine is bringing up the rear, making sure NO thieves loot our booty??? 
 
I tell you, if you are near a Renaissance Festival and have never been to one, or even if you have, just GO. Get your family and go...I promise you will have the best day ever. Just another tip though, you might want to eat beforehand....things at the festival are expensive, and not just the crafts and goodies, the food and the drinks too. 
 
 But other than that, LOVED it and would do it again in a heartbeat. Here's the sunset as we drove out, I have never seen so many people stop to take pictures with their cameras, it was just breathtaking. 
 
 
 
 
 
And here are the videos....enjoy :)
 

23 comments:

Kelly said...

What a great day! And a well told story.

I love the first picture of clouds that you show. You did an excellent job taking that picture.

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic day! Aww I want to go! Lol ;)

I love the clouds picture too, amazing, what a God hey?

Hugs n' love
Sarah x

Jillina said...

why didnt you call me!! i would've gone with you!! :D

<3 hope you guys had fun, our local ren fair is little tents around the duck pond at ou, i'm sure curt can tell you how BOOOORRRIIING it is--unless they have one elsewhere in oklahoma that's worth a flip...which is doubtful, since this is the arm pit of the U.S. :P

anyways..

YARR!! Thanks for the pirate video, that's hilarious!

Jamie said...

I haven't been to this Ren Fair forever (and with us in Tucson and a mom in Phx it just taunted us). They didn't have the storybook thing and they had some executioner that was hilarious when I last went (probably 13 years ago). I want those outfits sooooo bad!! I don't think I've ever seen one advertised here in Atlanta : (

Mike Golch said...

Sandra,I'm glad that you were able to go the the Faire.Hope that you had a great time,did you see any dulicner players while you were there??

Bonnie said...

Oh my goodness that looks like it was sooo much fun. Loved reading the story you wrote to go along with it too !! Waiting for us to get our tickets, the rude wife and husband geese, the kids dueling for dinner, and Jasmine bringing up the rear ... looting your booty !! Oh man those statements CRACKED me up !! Have I mentioned before (like a 100 times) that I love reading your blog !?! :D


Oh and those clouds and sunset ... so purty !

Anonymous said...

We LOVE the Renaissance Festival! We went a couple of years back when dh's friend gave us FREE tickets! (He had a leather-working shop at the Fair) It rained part of the day, but we had a great time anyway.

To let you know -- I FINISHED Christy! (*SOB*) I know what you mean about the ending now..... and I will be ordering the 3-part -- what is it, a miniseries? I read where you said you changed from rooting for David to the Dr. -- I want to see if I feel the same! As of the end of the series I was nearly in tears shouting at Christy to say YES SAY YES to David!!! *sigh*

Sherry

Jen said...

Wow...it looks as if you had a blast. I'm so glad you got to go.
The sunset is amazing too.....it looked like a small area of Epcot at Disney in some areas...pretty cool.

jennwa said...

That look like so much fun. Thanks for sharing all those picures. I wish I could have gone.

j said...

OOH OOH ME ME ME! Me next! How fun that looks. I'm glad that you had fun and I am so Jealous. I want to do that TOO! Jennifer

Michelle said...

oh how fun!!!thanks for sharing it.:)

Stacy at Exceedingly Mundane said...

That looks like a total blast! I'm actually quite jealous, I'd love to go to something like that :) Great photos!!!

Cheri said...

What a blast. I bet these are memories none of you will forget.
I'm thinking you'll all sleep well tonight.

Unknown said...

Oh my Gosh, I love those kinds of festivals, looks like you all had a great time. We have something like that here but much smaller scale, its called "The Festival of the Strawberry Moon" Its all about life back in the 1800's living & trading on the banks of a local river. They are all in period dress & act the part to a tee...

someone else said...

What an incredible serendipity of a day! Wow!!

Susanne said...

Sandra, you drew me right in with the telling of this fun, fun day. I would love to go to something like this. How fun!

heidi @ ggip said...

WOw, there sure is a lot to do there. They have one not too far from us, but I've never thought of actually going.

Those outfits are a gorgeous color of blue.

Karen H. said...

Good Morning Sandra,
Wow, I have never even heard of a Renaissance Festival before. I guess they don't have them here in the South. LOL. It looks so fun tho. If there was one close, I would like to go to it. "THANK YOU" for taking us along. Nicholas does look guilty in the Robin Hood picture. LOL. I wonder if Nicholas Hood took Maid Marion? LOL. All of the pictures are just so lively. Makes me feel as tho I was actually there. I know what you mean about eating before you go. All festivals and stuff like that are always expensive. The Sunset at the end is just breathtaking like you said. Well, did Nicholas win the duel? LOL. Did he get to go eat at MacDonalds? Take care my friend and have a great day. May God Bless You and Yours.

Love & Hugs,
Karen H.

smilnsigh said...

Ohhhhhhhhhhh you were so lucky!!! And great that you heard of it and zapped right off to it.

And thank you for taking us along!

Mari-Nanci

La Dolce Vita with LeAnn said...

Oh My Gosh, what a great day you must have had...oh to be one of your children! As always you are amazing. I've never made it to a Ren Fair, hoping I can find one close to take my grandkids to. Thanks for sharing.
Blessings, LeAnn

Lulu said...

wow, you guys always have so much fun...Love the cloud pics..

Jenileigh said...

I'm speechless. Those were absolutely beautiful pics and I sooo wish we were there with you!!

Mary said...

Sandra,

I loved your photos essay about the Renaissance Festival. I've always wanted to go to the one here in southern Ontario but haven't had the chance. Maybe this summer. It looks like you had a wonderful day. Glad I found my way here.

Blessings,
Mary