Celebrations Continued
Saturday, I recovered from Friday by watching soccer and football. It was a great TV day. Pete, Matt, and Megan came over to relax. Pete even brought crabs. Thanks Pete! I was happy to lounge around because; our Oktoberfest celebration was to continue Sunday at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.
Sunday morning Pete, Ritch, and I ate breakfast at Grumps then met up with Megan, Denby, and Jason. We piled in the Jeep to ride over to the Renn Fest. I have not been in so many years. Maybe not since High School? The traffic off 450 wasn't bad, and we parked in the large grass lot outside Revel Grove.
The entrance fee was pretty steep - $17. No matter, Revel Grove has so many activities to see throughout the day! Plus, this past weekend was their Oktoberfest! How can you go wrong? Before it becomes to confusing, Revel Grove is the name of the "castle" created by the MD Renn Fest. It is populated by different entertainment venues and shops.
We began the day by admiring some Glassblowers near the entrance. It is amazing that glass turns to a thick liquid at a high temperature. We soon were bored by the slow moving exhibition so, we stopped by a vendor for some beers. Everyone else grabbed a commemorative pint while I filled my plastic cup with Fordham Oktoberfest. Our local Annapolis beer never disappoints.
We continued on Meadow Lane toward the Joust Arena. A Lancers Joust was set for 2pm. Did you know that jousting is the State Sport of Maryland? Weird huh? We had a few minutes to kill so, we grabbed some more beers off Tiltyard Path. My beer of choice this time, Blue Moon Belgian White Beer. MMMMmm... tasty. While in line, I admired the Elephant rides in the corner of the castle. That is right, two full size Elephants!!! Crazy.
We walked back to the Joust Arena just in time for the beginning of the competition. England was set to joust against Ireland. Either side of the arena was given a country. Our side supported the home team of England. Two Knights and their squires started the competition by trying to joust a gold ring. England was more successful, and we had an early lead. Next, the jousters tried to knock blocks of wood off of a fence. Ireland took back the lead, but it was not over there. The Knights now went against each other. They tried to hit or knock each other off their horses. I'll say real quick, these horses were huge. They must have been over 20 hands. Neither Knight was able to knock the other off his steed, but England prevailed with points. Yay for the home team!
After the joust, we filled up our cups and continued walking. Jason pulled us into a shop that sold family seals. Megan, Denby, and Jason were able to find there family seals from Scotland and England. I really don't have one. I am not sure the origin of my last name. My grandfather was an orphan. It was cool to see what seals went with Arid, Chew, and O'Flynn. Maybe they'll purchase some at a later date.
Next, we walked back to the Gatehouse stage for the Music and Dance of Ireland. Here is their official description. "High energy performance of the Ditty family and friends: Bill Palmer on guitar, Cathy Palmer on fiddle, Abbie Palmar on celtic harp, and dancers Christa Palmer and Jennifer Silverman." They were awesome! First off, Abbie might have been 17. She had been playing the celtic harp for five years! It was amazing. Here mother and father were not to shabby on their respective instruments. Both Christa and Jennifer could dance so quickly with such precision. It was a very entertaining show.
The afternoon began to wane so, we took up residence at the White Hart Tavern. It is a great place to sit and watch the sites. If you enjoy people watching, this is an amazing experience. There are so many different types of folks around that range from 0 to late 90s. Some of them even dress up in full Renn Fest costume. It is insane. Our table was right next to a mime on stilts. We watched him poke fun of passers by for a good 30 to 40 minutes. During all of this, two bands played from the tavern stage. I really enjoyed Michael Hooligan's group. They covered the likes of Led Zeppelin with an old world flare. We also saw The Pyrates Royal. They kept it pretty classical with a full horn section. Good music.
When the sun started to set, the festival wound down for the weekend. We gathered what was left of ourselves and proceeded back to the gate. What a fantastic Sunday afternoon. The air was cool, the beer was cold, and the Oktoberfest celebration was awesome! I'll have to say, we will be back for more next year.
Comments
you left out one very important activity that happend AFTER the ren fair and yes ladies and gentleman that would be me throwing up at Simeon & Ritchies.....AWESOME The perfect ending to an awesome day I must say. hahahahaha
well i must say that i too can vouch for jasons alleged vomiting. i had the pleasure of listening to him blow chuncks all over my bathroom. it was the coolest thing ever. we "high fived" after the festivities. and by festivities i mean projectile vomiting. i'm going to watch tv now.
i don't remember the projectile vomit. my face was preoccupied with a large vat of cheese whiz and 6 pounds of french fries :P
Ah yes.....projectile vomiting is good!!! ;-)
i love awesomeness...
I had no idea there was projectile vomit involved! Now Im sorry I went home! I missed the show! It does make sense though...Jason was the town drunk that day. Simeon- you also left out the turkey legs and the little X rated tatoo "show" that Ritchie and Jason got from their girlfriend the belly dancer...:)
