It Was Hot but Fun at Renaissance Festival

Yesterday was our first day at this year's Renaissance Festival. We walked the grounds, listened to my favorite choral group and walked the grounds again. DH's hip is really hurting him today as a result. I got my miles in and was quite pleased at the day. We finished the day with a drink on the patio and worked on our computers until bedtime. 

We got a late start yesterday, so missed the opening dialogs, 
but it was an easy check-in because we were late too, so that 
was a plus. We got our medallions for the year and we're set 
for the season. Voila! 

The fire certainly hit the Ren, although not quite where I thought it had. I thought it was on the far end of a stretch, instead it was on the near end. But, most of what burned were food stands, and the few shops that burned will have to think about whether they want to reopen in a different space or do a rebuild for next year. Right now there are "Tuff Shed" storefronts along a stretch of the main drag leading towards the wine bar and coffee stand. Thank goodness they weren't affected, nor were the two Mead booths that are the very beginning and the very end of that stretch of Fest. LOL

The damage caused by the fire was extensive, but mostly 
hit several food booths. It hit Pterodactyl Leather, a jewelry 
booth and one other crafter's booth, then two food booths, 
and a beer booth were toast. There was damage across 
the way at the soft drinks booth, and the wine booth 
also had some damage, but was able to be open again by 
this weekend. It was VERY close to the coffee stand which 
would have been truly tragic! LOL

After walking the grounds, which really bothered DH's hips, we settled in to listen to my favorite chorale group who gave their usual excellent and rousing performance. They were a bit disorganized, it was the first weekend after all, but I suspect they'll have the routine totally under their belts by the time Sharon arrives and we're back out there in two weeks. 

I adore listening to the Court Revelers. They open their 
day with an 11:00 am performance at the Vikings Pub. They 
have three additional performances through the day, 
but those are at the Queens Pub which is quite a bit smaller. 
These guys are my favorites, though. I've been listening 
to them every time I'm at Ren Fest for years and years. 

The State Fair opens on Thursday and Chickie, as usual, will take the day off to wander the fairgrounds, sample lots of different foods, and generally give us updated texts throughout the day. I'm not looking forward to working solo with DH for two days this week, but she's certainly entitled to her vacation days and always spends the opening day of the Fair out there. My friend Sharon flies in on the 28th (Sharon, please email me your flight information again, I have lost the printout somewhere on my desk or in my laptop bag - *sigh*). I can hardly wait for my days at the Fair. As I've said many times, there's just nothing like it. 

DH's hips are bone against bone so walking can 
be very painful. Renaissance and the State Fair 
are nothing BUT walking - from here to there to 
here again. It's going to be a tough few weeks for 
him. 

I am worried about DH's ability to walk as much as we'll be doing over the next few weeks. His hips are rubbing bone on bone - very painful. He was a trooper walking the Ren Fest yesterday, and we were parked at the very end space of the parking lot row, so it was a long haul in and out too. Add to that a second day at Red with Sharon, Chickie, Chickie Mama (?) and I, and walking the State Fair for one evening and a full Sunday ... I wonder how mobile he'll be after I drop Sharon off for her flight back home on Tuesday morning after Labor Day. Still, he's a trooper (and a stubborn goat). 

In the far distance of this photo you can see the skyline 
of Minneapolis. The foreground of the photo is all 
State Fairgrounds property. The buildings and other 
structures you're seeing are all on the Fairgrounds. It's 
a BIG spread of land and Sharon and I walk it several 
times each year. Lots of exercise. LOL

So I'm grabbing breakfast and heading out to the shop. I'm quite sure DH will have me doing many things I'd rather not be doing today, and I never know how busy we'll be as we head into Fair week. Sometimes we'll get dealers looking to get a few new items to sell there, other times we'll get people who have come in town for a few days and will drop by on their way to or from the Fairgrounds. It's always an interesting time of the year. Have a great Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.