A Faire for the King! Huzzah!

We are gluttons for punishment. The state fair and the Renaissance Festival both in the same year.

Well, we never miss the state fair, so I guess any time we go to the Renaissance Festival we're going to hit both of them within a short timeframe.

"Have fun looking at the crazies!" a friend told me before we left.

And boy, there are some interesting characters there. And I don't mean the people working it.

But really, where else can a girl wear flowers in her hair and not have people think it's odd? Or a man, for that matter?

And camels, really, who doesn't love a good camel ride?

We love the "Goblets of Fire" stand, where you can watch artisans making beautiful glass objects. I have a new appreciation for the technical skills of knowing when the glass is hot enough, or just cool enough, and being able to shape it. Makes me understand why handmade objects fetch a high price (and if they don't, they should).

First thing on the list was the newest display, the mermaids.

Then off to find the wine stand. No really, we did. We sipped away at mugs of wine, feeling like we were getting away with something. The dust and sticks of hay that flew in every once in a while gave it a certain flavor.

Some kettle corn, a sucker, some games and, of course, the stocks.

"How can you tell a blonde's been using a computer? There's White-Out on the screen."

Festival goers can pay one of the characters to "arrest" someone in their party and put into the stocks, where they will be mocked and made fun of until the person admits guilt, sings and song and is let go.

You can imagine the jokes being told for this one, whose crime was being blonde. We had to sit a bit farther away so the girls couldn't catch every word, but we still got the gist of the jokes.

Wayne was lamenting the cold weather, as many festival-goers who usually show midriffs were covered up. But the paid characters were still in costume. 

Something for everyone!

"How YOU doin'?"