Greetings from the cave!

Today's tale is one of adventure, fun, and camaraderie. 

For today, I shall relate the adventures of Lia, Megan Chappie, and myself as we experienced the Ohio Rennaisance Festival. 

(Granted, this post is quite late, as we went on our adventures quite close to Hobbit Day. Oh well, such is the life of a grad student.)

Now, like all good adventures, it required some planning. We had set this idea into motion about two months before it actually happened. Because...how else were two people in the food industry going to get days off?!

For my costume, I chose the blue medieval dress that I had made for my Collegium Musicum days. But as we were going during Highland Weekend, I decided to ramp it up a notch. I made a narrow cloth belt and a lined cloak. I even bought a set of Celtic rose clasps and my Scottish clan badge (Mackinnon) on Etsy to complete the look. This was quite an undertaking with months of preparations. 

But this is not a post about the preparations! This is a post is about adventure! 

And like any good adventure, it started at the front gates...and the map station. Because maps are absolutely important on an adventure (their usefulness is a debate for another time). 

And thus, our wanderings began. We caught the joust first because we arrived just a few minutes before the first one. And I totally was going to go to all three. 

Until we made the horrible discovery that the group of knights jousting were a bunch of old guys. And I mean stodgy old and SLOW gray-haired guys. 

RUDE. The whole reason we women watch jousts is FOR THE HANDSOME KNIGHTS. It's like football guys. We women want strength and vigor in our men! 

The joust (we were way in the back, oh well)

(sorry. Rant over now, I promise)

Anyway, we next went in search of a pub, for it was after noon and...well, the body was quite adamant that food was needed ASAP. 

And we betook ourselves to the Rose and Crown, for it had the most authentic Ren Faire food. I had a very nice Steak on a Stake with fries, and Lia had some sort of tater tot with crab dish. 

While there, we were gloriously entertained by Robert the Bard, who sang everything from sea shanties to the theme to Muppet Treasure Island. Does he not look like an epic Pirate captain? 

While in between songs, the three of us caught each other up on our various life dealings and our literary children's shenanigans. 

Here poor Megan is reacting to my news that my editor had cut out half of Karsten's lines and rewrote them! My thoughts exactly, my dear. Never fear, my betas, Karsten's lines will NOT be touched!

Once we finished there, we browsed about the shops. We were stopped by one trader with a lotion that smelled quite sweet, even he hinted it might be poisonous, LOL. And then we found a vendor selling...swords!! 

Now, if any of you recall the really long Q&A vlog that Lia and I did, you may remember that the two of us commented that we should get swords. Well, I figured right then was as good of a time as any! I did have birthday money to spend, you see. And a shieldmaiden needs a good sword. 

I ended buying one with a really nice hilt that came with its own scabbard. And it was only $89, which is pretty good for a sword. It had literally everything in my aesthetic - cross, crown, Celtic knots, a rearing lion, eeep!! 

Scribbingly yours, 

Catherine