A Merry Olde Tyme At the Renaissance Faire!

I'll be the first one to admit it, I'm a Renaissance Faire geek. Think what you want to think, it is what it is.  I can't help it, as Lady Gaga says, "I was born this way."

I love dressing up in my "garb," seeing all of the wonderful, colorful costumes and makeup the other people come up with to wear, I love the shops, the smells, the music, the food, the language, the jousting, the parades, the fairies, and most of all, the escape of reality it offers, if only for the day. 

When I walk into the faire, I feel like I am among my peeps.  I know it's silly, but that's how I feel. It's a wonderful group of completely non-judgemental, open-minded, fun loving, free spirited people of every age, size, and color. I feel like I fit right it - and honestly, I don't feel that way very often. It's almost as if it's a daytime Halloween party with 2000 strangers. Yup, that's the feel of it.  No wonder I love it so much! 

Below are some of my pictures from today.  I only took my little point and shoot, so they aren't the best quality, and some of these were actually taken with my phone - I had to send a couple to friends throughout the day to tease them and show them what they were missing (you know who you are, and you know you were drooling!)

Do any of you remember Phillip (the "Federal Agent") from Survivor: Redemption Island? Apparently he is a Ren Faire geek too!

I love a good turkey leg!

Anyone want a pickle?

Anything goes at the faire, and I do mean anything!

This was a DUDE dressed as little green riding hood - I think.

Boys, guns, and beer, oh my!

You go green chick!

Make way for the Queen!

Merry wenches indeed!

This was a hot costume, I mean literally, the guy must have been melting! It was around 80F today!

There are always good looking men willing to pose for a picture with a bar wench.

This fairy hung out in a tree ALL day!

This lady told me "I'm about to get married!" I said, "Congratulations, you look lovely." She said, "Thank you, it's the dress I wear every time I get married!"  Well, alrighty then!

Like I said, people of all ages enjoy the faire.

This was Bear's BF Barry's first time and he thoroughly enjoyed himself.  I'm sure he'll be joining us again. Don't they look great!

An old fair favorite - I see this gentleman everytime we come to this fair.

More fantastic makeup!

The "Washer Women" - Wet, dirty women, and good clean fun!

Every fair needs a knight in shining armour. This was ours for the day.

"Good day my Lord, my, what an interesting....cod piece you have." 

People may not understand the appeal of going to an event like this, and all I can say is - don't knock it till you've tried it! 


 

Good Day My Lord!

So much for posting these on Sunday. No excuses other than the normal - I've been swamped! But, at long last, here are some pictures from our adventure at the Renaissance Fair.


We LOVED it!
The Renaissane Fair is for people of all ages....
And it's VERY popular! There were thousands of people there Saturday!
People come up with very inventive costumes!

Bear bought herself a complete new costume.

There are always fun things to buy.

and see.

Men in bloomers? You bet!

Ah, the Queen!

hmmm...interesting...at least they don't poop like real horses!

Bear and I each found a new boyfriend for the day. Ha!

This old timer has been at the fair every time we've been there. He's one of the long time merchants.

It's fun to listen to the various musical groups too.

Blogger is being a bugger, and won't let me post any more pictures - so I'll have to make a second entry. Grrrr.

Pretty little thing...HA!

This little doll is just one of the many characters Bear and I saw today at the Renaissance Fair in LA. Needless to say, we had a BLAST! More pictures to come tomorrow, right now, I need to go scrub myself down! (Don't ask!)

Slacker? Hardly!

Ok, so you've probably noticed that I've been slacking off a little on keeping up with my blog. Hey people, I've been BUSY!



Since coming home from Las Vegas I've been dealing with a nasty cold, and having nearly the whole family sick. On top of that, up until this morning, my computer was taking a siesta. My AOL was on the blink, and my email was out of control.


Kona and I dove right back into therapy visits - 4 visits in 3 days, thank you very much, and I'm back to work at my treasure hunting too. (If you are wondering about that - message me, I'll fill you in.)

(A dog's work is never done!)

When someone took a quick break, Kona jumped right in to help answer the phones.

What a good sport!

Kona and Happy LOVE their job!

Our VA group from today.

I'm looking forward to a visit to the big renaissance fair in LA tomorrow, and I'm just hoping I'm feeling well enough to dress up like the proper wench I know I can be when the occasion calls for it. Wish me well, it's been too long since I've been in a corset!

Another Whirlwind of a Weekend

Here it is, Monday already, and I don't know where the weekend went. The days flew by because they were so jammed packed with fun and activities, but seriously, I feel like a need a weekend after my weekend! I didn't get anything done around the house that I should have gotten done, laundry is piled up, the kitchen needs some attention, the backyard and pool need tending to...but, hey, it's not like that stuff is going anywhere, and you know, there was fun stuff going on that I didn't want to miss.

The weekend started off early with our Golden Group's participation in the San Diego Humane Society's 15th Annual Walk for the Animals. Our team raised $750 for a good cause, and although the turnout from our group was a little lighter than I thought it would be, there were actually thousands of people in attendance, and it was a fun event. We got interviewed by a local news station, which I posted Saturday, and we all had a great time.


Part of our group from the walk.


Jill loves these kinds of events.

Just walkin the dogs...

Part of our group with the news reporter, in pink.

Yup, there were a few people there.

After the walk, we came home, dropped off Jill and headed to our Therapy Training class. Jack and Kona are both doing very well in class, and as of the end of class, they are half way through their training. I am very pleased with the progress they've made since the first week of training, when I was absolutely sure we'd be kicked out. They are getting really good at their "sit-stays" "down-stays", "paws up" and "leave-its"...they are also both very good at ignoring the distractions the trainers present to them - an umbrella opening up close to their face, loud noises, squeaky wheel chairs and walkers, etc. It's been a very interesting experience so far, and we are all really enjoying it.

After training, we had just enough time to get home, get cleaned up, and head out again. We joined a large group of friends for a birthday party at a restaurant called the "Gulf Coast Grill"...we'd been there once before, and really enjoy the food. They offer all types of seafood, among other things, with a Cajun flair.

We topped off the evening with a stop by our favorite Gelato place, and then headed home to hit the sack.

Sunday started off bright and early again, with another Golden Group activity. We had a holistic health seminar for the group that turned out to be very popular and informative. We learned about options for natural flea care, massage for our pups, food options, herbal supplements, etc. One of the best parts of the seminar for me was meeting one of my favorite blogger buddies. She is Mom to two sweet Golden Gentlemen, Milo and Achilles and lives in the area. I'd mentioned the seminar to her, and invited her to join us, and I was so happy that she did! It was so cool, and somewhat surreal, to meet here after having gotten to know her and her family through the blogging community. Scooter and Kona daydreaming about a little sister for Scooter...
A pretty nice sized group for the get together!
After the Meetup, I came home, dropped off Hubby and the pups, picked up Pickle and headed north to Escondido, where there was a Renaissance Faire being held. It was very small compared to the faire we went to up in L.A. a couple of weeks ago, but it was still fun. I was searching for additions to my costume, but didn't find anything I couldn't live without. Since we went up there late, we didn't even bother to dress up, and dressing makes these types of events so much more fun.

As always, we did see lots of interesting characters...

and my quest for the perfect man in a kilt continues... he wasn't it...but a nice try.