Oct 18, 2011

Our little weekend away…..

Wow---you are getting 2 posts from me in one day!  What does that mean?  It’ means that DH is playing poker tonite so I have more time to write! :)

A few weekends ago DH and I made our annual trip to Maryland.  We’re one of those couples who enjoys Renaissance Festivals (RenFest).  Although---we are NOT the people in the above photo!  That just cracked me up. 

DH introduced me to RenFests when we were first married.  Where else can you shop, eat, drink and see shows in one place outdoors? The whole scene is just fun and I enjoy supporting artists who actually make their own wares to sell.  Much of the artwork and other items in our home are from various RenFests all over the country.  We have everything from fountains to perfume and then some.

When we lived in MN, were certainly were spoiled as that RenFest is the one of the largest in the country.  But when we moved back to Pittsburgh, we were told to visit the Maryland RenFest.   It does NOT disappoint!

We leave early on Friday and take our time driving to Savage, MD where we stay.  Right down the street from our hotel is our must visit restaurant: Frank's Diner.  We learn to always ask the locals where to eat and someone at the hotel suggested this to us. It’s a REAL diner. When I say real I mean it’s a dining car.  The manager told us it was bought in NY and transported to Maryland.  The decor is still the original 50’s, with the stools and booths.  The food is so delish too.  We always stop for a big breakfast and DH loves their biscuits and gravy.  The owner also has at least 6 cakes on her counter in glass cake stands.  This time she had cupcakes and we each tried one, caramel and chocolate.  YUMMMM.   If you are ever in the area, check them out!

On Saturday it’s festival day!!!  We eat and leave early to get there when it opens. Yes, we are the geeks that stay most of the day.  This year, the festival takes place during the time King Henry VII was married to his final wife, Katharine Parr.  Here they are arriving to the festival:

King Henry

Generally, we don’t plan our day there.  We check out the programs and see what shows look good.   Puke & Snot are never to be missed.  They always make me laugh and they usually break up in the middle of their own show!!

renfood And of course we love to eat!  There are always tons of great stuff to try.  I had been itching to try deep fried pickles for months and there were here!  So of course I sampled some:

friedpickles

There were delectable.

We tend to get a bit spendy at these festivals, but we always plan and know we are going to spend a bit. This year we got a fountain from Bronze Age Studios.  Last year we got a big dragon light that everyone seems to love. This year I wanted a fountain.  DH wants to keep it in the house this winter but I reminded him some kitties would have the entire house wet if we did that!

fountain

We also got a Pirate head pumpkin from the pottery store, some lotions and soaps from our ‘soap guy’ and a few other trinkets.  Mainly we just like to go and enjoy the day there.

On Sunday, we met up with a friend of mine at a wine festival which turned out to be a bit lame but at least the band was good.  Monday we spent at Annapolis.  DH always wears Air Force gear to annoy the Navy guys, esp since AF beat Navy this year in football! 

The best thing we saw was the ‘half Steeler fan’ at the RenFest.  We have seen this little boy before and realized that his mom is a Steeler fan and dad is a Redskins fan.  As long as he’s not a Ravens fan, that’s fine with me!

Steelerfan

I finally got a pic of him and had to show you!  I thought it was a pretty cool idea for parents who like different teams.   Never an issue in our house---HERE WE GO STEELERS!

If you’ve read this far—thank you!  

Question—Have you been to a RenFest?  What did you think?

 

 

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