Maryland Renaissance fair

Something about hearing about renaissance fairs always makes me think of the movie "role models."  But even with that thought in my mind, I have heard nothing but great things about them.  How they are so much fun, and a unique experience you should try to do if there is ever one near you.

When my sister in law told me about one coming up about an hour north of us, I knew we had to go.  If nothing else, it would be great to see some family.

We headed up to Maryland saturday to our friend's house.  They are about 10 minutes from the fair, so we decided to stay overnight with them.  They also have a daughter that is close in age to the boys.  Which means toys.  And they have a yellow lab.  A friend for N Step.

We attempted to go on saturday, but the traffic getting there was insane.  After a call to the front desk, we realized we weren't going to get in.  We decided to instead make a trip to downtown Annapolis, and head to the fair first thing in the morning with pre purchased tickets.  This worked out so much better.

We got there early enough to enjoy an opening ceremony.  Today was the last day of the fair, so you could tell the energy was high.  The volunteers were fantastic, and very in tune with their characters.  It was a great show, that really gave us a feel of what was to come.

There were truly some amazing things to see at the fair.  Not only were volunteers dressed up, but guests were too.  Some were dressed in Renn themed costumes.  Others in costumes that had nothing to do with the Renaissance era.

This was one of the classier costumes.  

They even had weddings

The fair was fun to walk around and sight see in.  We made a "dibs" game, which I think our friend Kevin won.  We each got to pick the funniest man and woman.  There were so many to choose from!

This one pretty much won.  Yes, that's a man.  

I got this one.  Not quite sure what's going on with that top there.  And the belt?

The food was something else.  It was fantastic.  They had turkey legs (of course we had to get one!) and so much more.  No forks were allowed, which is fine in our book as we tend to eat like cave men most of the time anyway.  Daddy Step had a couple beers, and I was temped with the mead.  I was amazed at just how much Americans eat.  It seemed everyone was walking around with something to eat.  We gave in to the temptation of cheesecake on a stick.  No judgement.  

Of course the main goal with this renn fair is to get your money.  They succeeded with many of those I saw there.  There were games, shops, and food galore.  We even had to pay a dollar for Z Step to get to go down a slide.  He loved it of course, but Mommy's heart nearly stopped watching him go alone.  He nearly fell off.  My brother in law got to throw some axes, and there was a "drench a wench" game.  

Renaissance fairs are a unique experience to say the least.  It was fun, and something I would tell anyone to check out at least once.  I think the people watching was my favorite part.  The Renn fair gets a big "HUZZAH!" in my book!

strawberry fields forever

One of the biggest things I missed being in Japan was strawberries.  They are my favorite fruit, and the strawberries in Japan were always moldy and very expensive.  So when we got to America, we were excited for strawberry season.  Luckily, strawberry season was already upon us in Virginia.  The weather has been a bit odd in Virginia this season, so we were concerned about the picking conditions, however I think we choose the perfect morning.

We headed down the the beautiful countryside of Fredericksburg and arrived at a tiny little farm.  It was not nearly as big as the farm we were used to Connecticut, but it had a wonderful southern charm to it.  Along with some wonderful goodies in their country store.

We grabbed a basket that held 10 pounds of strawberries, and a smaller one to hold 5 pounds.  I don't think we actually picked 15 pounds, but we most likely picked 12 pounds of beautiful strawberries.  Not to mention all the ones we ate along the way!

My sister in law, Liza ready to pick some strawberries!

Beautiful strawberries

Love

He ate more then he helped

picking while holding an infant was not easy

Zach's happy face

he wouldn't stop eating!

Yum!

 After picking and buying some yummy farm fresh items (milk, pumpkin butter, local honey, and some wonderful vinaigrettes) we headed to the store to pick up some things to make preserves.  I've never done this before, but I was dying to try to make a healthier version.  Most jams and preserves are loaded with added sugars.  Turns out the pectin required for them works with sugar.  But after a bit of research, I learned that there is a pectin sold that doesn't require sugar.  Wonderful.  We headed to the nearest healthy grocery store and found it right away.
Making jam turned out to be quite easy, however I did make the mistake of following one recipe from the internet that came out as more of a sauce (which was still good!) and the other came out exactly how we wanted!  It was not fun making it, only because our AC was out and it was 90 degrees.  We also don't have all of our things still, so we were using small pots and pans!  It was worth the effort because our fresh made jam taste wonderful.

Mason jars and strawberries

ready to be "jammed"

Did you know a straw perfectly cores a strawberry? 

America the beautiful!

After over 3 years in Japan, there are many things we missed from America.  Produce was without a doubt the number one thing- as prices in Japan were insane.  They were also always bad by the time they got to us.  We are so happy to be able to get real, organic, fresh food at a good price again.  We even started a garden in the back to get the freshest we could find!  We are looking forward to attending a weekly farmer's market soon too!  

Here are some photos of some of everything- America!

Giant grocery stores.  They are the same company as Stop and Shop (the store my brother works at)  They have great stuff, and are one of the best stores in the area in my opinion (after Wegman's of course!)

Oh how I missed you!!  Apples were 3 dollars a pound in Oki and they didn't taste very good.  We are so happy to have apples again!  Can't wait for the fall!

Strawberries!  Yum!  We missed Strawberries too.  They were always moldy in Oki!  And about 7 dollars for something half this size!

4 dollars for this huge bag?!  Talk about culture shock!

Mangoes were no joke about 60 dollars for THREE in Japan.  I kid you not.  

Mommy's new ride!

My favorite cooking oil.  This is a huge thing of it.  I use this stuff for everything.  I even use it as moisturizer and deodorant and in my hair!  

My beautiful tomato plant.  I've already gotten 2 tomatoes from it!

You know you're in Virginia when you see these on the shelves!  These are limited edition ones so they're different from the regular ones.  I didn't buy them because the best Krimpets are the original ones!

Creating our garden.  Cardboard on the bottom, then leaves and grass to help the soil, and then tons of dirt on top.  Can't wait to get some yummy veggies from it!