Sunday, November 23, 2008

Password reset

So, I haven't posted recently because I forgot my password. I had to notify google to get a new one, and they sent me a url to do that. Unfortunately, I clicked on it a couple of days later (today) and they expire after an hour. That wasn't really a problem. I submitted for a new one, got it a few minutes later and got a new password. I actually think it is my old password, I just finally remembered it. But now I can blog again.  So I'll do that some time this week, not to sweat.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Rest of Day Three

So, as I mentioned, for most of the rest of the day we all pretty much walked around.  There were always at least two of us working in the tent, which was really all we needed.  I tried working when there were three of us in the tent and I'd feel in the way.  If I was a third working the tent who wasn't showing merchandise or taking money, I'd stand outside and be the "Wal-Mart greeter", as I liked to describe it.  I didn't really need to hawk our wares.  The pretty colors and shiney ribbons pretty much spoke for themselves.
One of the things Brigg wanted to do when we first walked the fair (before it had opened) was archery.  There was an area devoted to archery lessons, and it was somewhat popular.  It came in waves, or as I like to say:
 "Everyone gets the same great idea at the same time."
By this time, we were all pretty low on our faire money, so when we walked by, Brigg said she didn't want to do it.  One of us asked how much it cost, so I looked at the sign: $3!  Along with our booth, this was probably one of the best deals at the faire!  So we all chipped in a dollar and paid for Brigg's archery lessons.
Photo opp!
When Brigg got in line, there were only a few people in front of her.  Once she was the second person in line, the line was super long.
So, you go onto the field with seven arrows.  An instructor shows you how to hold the bow, how to place the arrow between your fingers, etc.  Brigg was a really good shot!  All but one of her arrows hit and stuck the haystack, and the instructor immediately took the credit. "She couldn't have done it without me!" He boasted, so we all applauded him.
This is my artsy-fartsy movie poster-type shot.  I like it.
So Brigg got to do her archery, and we walked around some more.  That was pretty much how our last day at the faire went.  I forgot to mention that on Saturday, we had also seen this show on the Field of Honor called "Blood of Heroes", I think.  It was essentially tag football with armor and (real) weapons.  It was pretty cool.  Our team lost, but it was lots of fun.  After the first play, one of the men from our team proposed to his wench in the audience.  One of the players brought her down onto the field, and the guy got down on one knee.  He was literally her knight in shining armor!  It was awesome, she said "yes", they kissed and the crowd roared!  In the next play, a guy got injured.  He was okay, but couldn't play anymore and had to be escorted off the field.  While we felt bad for him, everyone was extra-relieved it wasn't the guy who had just proposed to his girlfriend.
Once the faire closed, it took us about an hour to take the rest of the merchandise down and pack it up.  But Brigg's uncle insisted on taking down the tent and loading the trailer by himself, so we sat in the van for another three hours.
Once we got back to the room and into our present-day clothes, Brigg's aunt wanted to go out onto the strip.  So all of us ladies went out to Excaliber, Luxor and Mandalay Bay.  We didn't do anything crazy, we just walked around.  If you ever want to go to a coffee shop with great service at midnight, go to the one at the Luxor.  Our waiter was great!  We were really craving ice cream, but there was any listed on the late-night menu.  Our waiter said he thought he could get us some, and when I was a waitress we had to get it ourselves, which could be a time-waster on busy nights.  He came back with these huge sundaes for us!  Jan asked for chocolate ice cream, and he served it to her in a large martini glass with a chocolate swizzle stick!  Put simply, it was above and beyond what we were expecting, so he got a generous tip.
Walking through the Luxor while it's going through it's "ix-nay on the amily-fay" remodeling was interesting.  I hadn't been to Las Vegas in about four years, and the last time I had I stayed at the Luxor.  So seeing it go from it's golden/archeologist theme to it's blue/Chris angel theme was a little bumming, but not so bad.  
After all of the walking we did, we headed back to the hotel for some rest. 

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Day Three, Continued

More shots from the last day of the faire.

It's the group that shoot the cannons at that little boat made out to look like a ship!
The Romans.  Yes, the Romans.
These girls danced a lot that day.  I just didn't think they had enough enthusiasm.  I know, when you think ancient Egyptian, the first word that comes to mind isn't usually "enthusiasm".  Still, they weren't my favorite.
This was during the jousting show on the Field of Honor, the arena our tent was right in front of.  We heard this show so many times, we decided to go and actually see it.  Pictured above is the MC.
Random crowd shot.
Did I mention Lord Fred?  He sat beside our tent, and attracted children and adults, alike.  The story for Fred goes that he once ruled over a piece of land in Europe, when a wizard came and stole the land from him.  Poor Fred was turned into a gargoyle by the wizard, and he's been stoned ever since.
 
Brigg and her sister, Bran, who came on Saturday and helped us on Sunday.
Brigg's Aunt, the lady who made all of the wonderful stuff we sold.
We walked around again, and saw the warriors posing for pictures. I decided it was time for a photo opp!
The first time, Brigg accidentally pushed the button too soon.  The warriors were kind enough to pose again.
There we go.
After the picture, the big guy on the left motioned to give me a hug.  I went to hug him back, and the warriors started to close in on me!  It was fun.
I noticed that the atmosphere was much more relaxed and cheerful on Sunday.  Maybe it was just me?  Maybe it was because it was the last day?  Maybe it was because the weather was finally starting to improve?  Who can say.
The heathens love the Romans.
These gentlemen are the King's Swordsmen.  I saw them earlier this year at the Koroneberg Festival in Corona, CA.  They fence to a few Shakespeare scenes that normally don't have fencing in them, such as the wooing scene in "Taming of the Shrew", as shown here.  Richard, the gentleman on the ground, is Kate.
 

Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Faire, day three

On the last day, we decided not to have breakfast at Terrible's despite the nice buffet (did I mention the omlette bar? Oh yeah, take that, reorganizational bankruptcy!). Instead, we decided to get to the faire a little earlier and have breakfast at the great coffee and crepe place on the other side of the lake by the stage! Mine had ham, cheddar, mozzarella, spinach and tomatoes! It was a good thing we got there when we did, because the guilds were having a parade right along the lake!
Here are those barbarians I mentioned who looked as though they came out of WoW or a Raiders' game:

One of the gentlemen in this particular guild shouted, "God bless the women!" Then all of the other men shouted, "God bless the women!" Then I shouted, "Yay! God bless me!"
The Scottish guilds seemed to have the most authentic-looking garb.

Why yes, those are samurais.
This is the guild who hosted the fire eater and the uncomfortable belly dancers. The dancer in the picture is not the dancer from the story, by the way.
This is the cardinal who was whispering in the noblewoman's ear (the woman in the picture above, whom the lady is holding an umbrella over). I don't suppose he recognizes me from watching the night before. I'm assuming he's just smiling for my magic devil picture box and blessing the crowd.
We knew we'd reached the end of the parade when the gentleman in the back of this picture shouted, "The end is near!" And then the woman behind him shouted, "The end is here!"


 

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Day two, continued

By now, I'm sure some of you are dying to ask me:


"Hey, Pretty, you're pictures are stunning! What camera are you using?"

Well, frankly, I'm flattered. And I'd be happy to tell you. I'm using a Kodak Easyshare from 2002! And apparently, the lens needs to be cleaned, because I took no decent pictures at night. This is the best one:

This is on the other side of the lake. A small motorboat done up like a pirate ship was shooting canons at a camp, and they were firing back. Occassionally, a camp on the side of the lake would fire randomly, just to be in on the fun.


At night, we wandered around. Mainly to keep our circulation going (did I mention it got cold?). We wandered past a lot of camps, and eventually came upon a guild having and outdoor feast and being entertained by a handsome fire-eater. A lot of people, including us, had stopped to watch. The guild themselves were actually very entertaining to watch. There was a noble woman of some sort sitting at the head of the long table. A Cardinal was sitting next to her, confiding in her every now and then when someone would exclaim something. She had many guests eating at the tables, and several servants standing behind her, watching over the feast. I would've taken a picture, but you saw my boat pic.
Suddenly, this peasant-like man who was keeping watch by the fence invited the bystanders to come in and enjoy the entertainment. We decided to stay on the outside of the fence, as we had a good spot.


The fire-eater left, and two belly dancers came out. One was a girl and the other was a guy. Both had bob hairstyles and long skirts. As the music started and the two began their dance, one thing became very obvious: the guy was way better at this than the girl. It started to get a little uncomfortable, however, when the guy began to have a wardrobe malfunction. The waist of his skirt began to sink, and he just kept twisting and turning. I was wondering if the dance would stop, because he was pretty skinny and didn't even bother to pull it up. As the dance went on, I wondered if maybe the cold was just getting to me and it was playing tricks with my mind. Then people stood up, grabbed their kids by the wrists and left the camp. More and more people left the camp, not just the ones with kids. The peasant kept asking the people not to leave, exclaiming, "It's amazing!" I think the guy dancer started to catch on, because he then hiked up his skirt. But it was too late.

The rest of the night was just cold. But there was one more day of the faire to go.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The Faire, day two

We did not camp at the faire. We actually stayed at Terrible Herbst, now the Hard Rock Hotel. It was pretty nice! I have nothing but respect for those who do the authentic thing, but there's a lot to be said for living in the future (like plumbing)!


The next day, I decided to ready myself for the elements as best I could. I went down to the gift shop and purchased allergy medicine and little packets of kleenex for everyone. I opted out of my contacts, because the wind and dust had swollen my eyes the night before. Brigg was kind enough to braid and wrap my hair. And since it was freaking cold, I bought a shawl at a lady's tent. I was ready!
Allergy-wise, it was a much better day. Weather-wise, it wasn't nearly as bad as the day before, with the exception of the cold. Rain had been forecasted, but it never actually hit. This surprised no one, although I was told it rained the year before (or the year before that). Either way, the clouds stuck around all day, keeping the sun away and bringing the temperature down to the 40s at night. Blankets, boots and cloaks were being purchased at an incredible fast rate.


Since we were right in front of the Field of Honor, we got mobbed every time a show let out. This was pretty cool, and considering our low prices, we did pretty well. Lots of interesting customers, and loads of cute kids!

A bag piper decided to play outside of our tent at one point:
If you are a die-hard renn faire-goer, you might be wondering about his ability to wear sun glasses. As I may have mentioned before, the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism - they're the heavy reenactors in fairs and recreations) does not have as heavy of a hand at this faire as they do at others, the Rennaisance Pleasure Faire in Irwindale, CA for example. There were a few guilds who had their own strict rules. A girl from one guild that Brigg met had McDonald's food in her tent, and they scrambled to hide it under blankets when their guild leader came by for inspection. I think the rule for those working the faire was pretty much this: Dress appropriate, and have common sense. Things such as sunglasses and windbreakers at night tended to be overlooked. The windbreaker thing was especially good for Jan, who dressed as a summertime gypsy.


Once a day, there was a parade of the giant trees and the faerie folk! They'd go all around the park, with the faeries shouting, "Make way for the trees!" And people beating drums and shaking... shakey things that made noise. As a worker of the faire, we had to be discreet with our cameras (or as I liked to call it, my "magic devil picture box") but I managed to take a few pictures:
This little guy was a shrub! Make way for the shrub!