a trip back in time: the maryland renaissance fair

one of the perks of being in a relationship is broadening your horizons via your significant others interests.  so, for the past few years, Jeremy and I have made an annual trip to the Maryland Renaissance Festival, aka one of his interests since he's been going there for a decade or something like that.  we missed out last year since we had a new baby and i wasn't ready for public appearances in those early days....

after our year away, we were ready to go back and decided to make the trip in to a family adventure/way to entertain the toddler.  this isn't your average county carnival, it's literally a village built in the woods for the sole purpose of hosting the renaissance festival each year. 

there are people in costume who work there, but the real sight is the people watching. apparently the incredible hulk lived in the renaissance era?

levi was unimpressed with most of it, but, luckily for us, he is easily entertained by shoulder rides. 

in spite of staying there for 8 hours (we drove 2 hours to get there...gotta get your money's worth!), levi napped for a hot second and didn't have any big meltdowns, so all in all it was a successful trip!  it wasn't incident thought, since we've entered the "dead weight" stage when he throws a fit. we had many episodes of him stubbornly pouting/sitting in the dirt when we wouldn't let him eat the gravel, walk down the hill and back up again 20 times, or just be confined in any way.....you know, typical toddler activities.

we actually saw lots of friends while we were there, which made the extravagant ticket price and overpriced food a bit more bearable. since we were there on the last day of the fair, we were able to watch the final jousting match...most of the matches are a bit "scripted", but this was the real deal and determined the champion for that year's fair.

 

the other baby with us was all in to it and would clap when the jousters hit each other, but levi was all like...

apprehension mixed with why aren't you letting me run around in the dirt?

i'm actually looking forward to going back next year when levi is older and can enjoy some of the shows more, although i don't think he'll be able to grasp the gravity of how awesome Johnny Fox, the sword swallower/magician extraordinaire actually is.

oh well, it was a fun (yet exhausting) trip.  see you next year maryland!

xo-
crystal