The Fair

O.k., it is later, we can talk about the renaissance Fair(e) now.
So I have been trying to pack our weekends full of fun day trips here and there since I can't get my act together to go on an actual vacation. Last weekend it was the renaissance Fair. Yikes.
I had this great image of us wandering through the Ren Fair as I remember it, jugglers and performers everywhere, princess hats, and good food. We packed up the ladies, grabbed Uncle Tony and off we went (with my ass wedged into the back seat between the carseats- more on that later).
Abby loved that we got to drive on the grass, but kept saying that she was going to stay in the car. After some coaxing (and I think a little threatening) we were all off to jolly old England.
Have you ever been to one of these things? It is kind of fun, but also kind of ridiculous. The people who actually dress up to go the the fair dance a line between cute/cool and freaky. The families who were all into it were fun to see. The mom and dad with their kids who haven't figured out that it is lame to dress up with your parents were adorable. The people wearing large black wings and chain mail are not. (I swear I am going to flickr the pictures soon, I still have to get the Black Light mini golf ones on there too...) I thknk that we noticed the costumes more than Abby did, but hey, she is 3.
We wandered around looking at everything, and it was kind of cool. But therer was this underlying theme of commerce that kind of bugged me. At one end there was this big pirate ship, which Abby wanted to go on. After paying $5, and showing her around, I wanted to ask for my money back. It was ridiculous and she would have gotten more out of watching Capitan Feathersword. Everything cots at least $3, and it wasn't worth it. Tim and Abby rode an elephant ($15), Abby rode the butterfly thing ($3), Tim and Tony shot arrows ($10), we ate frozen stuff in fruit peels ($15) and so on. Ithink it would have been more efficient had we just given them Abby's college fund a the door.
I remember this girl in high school that I knew who went to the Ren Fair every weekend. She sang or something and got all into dressing up. She was a freakshow, so I should have know that it would still be filled with freakshows. I felt bad for some of the little kids who had to dress up at their parent's request, or who were too young to really object. I really think that some child labor laws were seriously violated, but hey who am I to judge?

At least we got to go to the Brat Stop. (because I was not going to eat a giant turkey leg prepared by someone who hasn't figured out that the Ren Fair really isn't that cool.) On our way home Tim decided he was too tired to frive so he decide dto wedge himself in the back seat. His exact words were, "I don't know how you fit back here! I can't even get MY ass between these seats!"
He still doesn't think he said anythign wrong.

I thkn we stayed too long at the fair.