Pennsic Recap, part 1

[felis_lupus]

Ok, so it's been a few days... I'm back in the routine of work (feels like I never left... kinda... I'm humming and singing a bit more, which means I'm more relaxed... that will stop soon, but I'm going to hold onto it as long as I can.), laundry is almost done, still need to do grocery shopping, the house needs cleaning, and I still can't get in my garage bay. This weekend, perhaps, all will be completed. But first...

PENNSIC.

What a wonderful, perfect week.

ludicrose and I packed Mingulay (the Prius, our noble steed) in about an hour on Thursday night. Everything. Fit. Perfectly. Not much room for another solitary item. Poles and rug on the roof rack, all other stuff inside, and enough room for us in the front seats. Perfect. We got a few hours of sleep, awoke at 2:30 AM, and were on the road by 3:10 AM on Friday. A fantastic trip. Pretty sunrise, once we got out of the gray fog and drizzle. Stopped in western MA somewhere for a quick breakfast and driver switch, traveled the NY throughway (which TomTom did her best to get us to go back to Syracuse, several times... I have since learned how to better program waypoints...), and then down to PA. There was much singing, and laughing, and good conversation. Jean finished a song on the way, at least one. Attempts (mostly successful) were made to learn 'The Queen of Argyle' and a few more songs were added to the repertoire.

We arrived 12 hours and 10 minutes after we left Maine, at 3:20, were through the front gate by 3:30, and enroute to the campsite very shortly thereafter. Tent was set up by 4:30, we made a quick town run for last-minute essentials, and were settled in to Pennsic with the wonderful House Thanet by 6:30 or 7 PM. Perfect, wonderful, vacation. And camping with the Bards means music is always in the air. Xavier wandered by, thought he was in the wrong camp to find me, seemed confused when told he wasn't (by me), and then apparently decided it all made sense, somehow, and stayed a while and sang and listened to Jean sing with us all. Wonderful.

This was to be a Fencing Pennsic for me. I had decided that as long as I was not collapsed in complete exhaustion, I was going to make it to at least one event every single day, possibly more. Saturday was the Seige of La Rochelle. Though I really didn't have fun three years ago, I was willing to give it another chance. I had more fun. I got to stab people. And defend a tower. And run around in the grass. And share delicious delicious pickles with my fencer friends. (Side note: I love my new camera bag. Expandable. It holds a bottle of water, a jar of pickles, 4 oranges, and a bunch of granola bars, AND my camera and extra lens. Fantastic, and the perfect choice, finally.) Did some pickups afterward, wandered back to camp, headed out to the East-Mid Bardic Exhibition, hosted by Jean and Aneleda, after dinner. Some were entertaining, some not... I was ready to head back to camp when it was done. Post-bardic, we hung out at camp the rest of the evening. Friends wandered by, there was singing and laughing, and sleep, eventually. New song: Trapdoor. Inspired by some of the not-so-entertaining bardic pieces that came out of that night's exhibition. New idea for a bardic: Performers get 2 minutes to be entertaining... if not... then... TRAPDOOR. Gone. Next!

Sunday was Tortuga. Pirate ship battle. Fun Fun Fun Fun Fun. Jean and I were in the first group of pirates, and we swarmed and captured the merchant ship in all of a minute and 37 seconds or so. Efficiency. And FUN. I did not fall off the plank, nor die in vain. Took some folks with me. The other two groups took 3m30s or so, and around 4m45s to clear the merchant ship. Success! And fun. RBGs still are not my favorite. Headed back to camp for a quick shower (Thanet has a SHOWER. In camp. With hot water! Blisssss...) and lunch before opening ceremonies. Heard familiar laughter from somewhere beyond the tent, and poked my head around to see Cynan sitting at a table a few tents over. Yay! Bounced over, said hi, met some new folks, stayed and talked for a while, and then we took off for the battlefield to watch hundreds and hundreds of people process in to opening court. Saw lots of friends. Took lots of photos. We somehow ended up standing on the wrong side of things, though... we discovered this when we were cheering whenever a kingdom declared to be an Eastern ally, and found that nobody else around us was... I turned to Cynan and said "we're gonna get lynched..." only half-joking... ha... We scooted over to the Eastern side of the field before the end, safely among our own people... I wandered camp a bit after opening ceremonies, found Wyatt, headed back to the battlefield in time to see the Belted and Unbelted heavy list matches (both of which were won quite handily. 45 seconds or so, for the Unbelts?? Impressive.) Ran into Cynan and Xavier again, hung out with them and others for a bit, and then took a wander through the merchants and around camp with Xavier. Ran into all kinds of people I knew. It was so. wonderful. to be within walking distance of so many friends that I usually have to drive at least 3 or 4 hours to see.

Sunday evening I wandered a bit, found a few more friends, and ended up back at camp, listening to more songs and stories of the day. So nice.

Monday marked really settling into a nice routine. Breakfast in sleepwear with the rest of Thanet in the Megolino, realizing 'oh god, I have to be at the battlefield in an hour!', followed by a scramble (sometimes less panicked than others) into fencing gear and preparing the bag of snacks. Fencing today: Town Battle. FUN. Objective: Protect the flag-bearer. Jean and I were split up, despite our protests... but it worked out OK. Kinda. I didn't get to fence much in the first scenario, it was over too quickly. Planted both of our flags within a minute-30 or so, again. The second two scenarios were much better, and ran for nearly the full 18 minutes they'd planned for. We still beat the midrealm, quite handily.

Post-dinner, I was invited to Lochleven for their Opening Ceremonies, which was truly, truly wonderful. Such a good group of folks, a lovely household, and a welcoming crowd. Was nice to sit for a while among people I don't often see around a nice fire... Made it back to my own camp a bit late, but no fencing was planned till 2:00 Tuesday, I didn't think...

To be Continued: The woes of a Tired Camille, who missed a tourney because she was buying postcards...