AKA the event out in Byers that no one can ever pronounce, but it is really fun and I highly recommend it!
It is hard to believe it has been a year since this event and I can honestly say I have grown a lot and felt much better about this year’s event!
This was also the first and last time I will be camping with my sister, we had good plans and good intentions however we learned fast we don’t make good tent mates and for the sake of not doing each other in we will be splitting up for Battlemoor.
That aside she did get us set up on her Don’s House’s meal plan, and I can say they saved many lives by having coffee ready every morning! (and with hazelnut creamer!!) So with food taken care of it left me free to really play.
Thursday night was spent packing, we traded cars so that my sister could go out at noon on Friday and coordinate land for us all and get the tent up in the daylight. I then spent the night trying to remember every thing I needed as I only wrote half a list…my bad. But to be fair I had all my gear pre packed, so it was more remember tooth brush type things.
Friday
I rolled in after work, and my sister had the tent up and the cots in, spoiler it is a one cot if you want room. Also being new and the first time we had set it up we kept needing to adjust the poles and tension the ropes. We also decided that about 3 inches needed to come off the bottom of the uprights as it was sitting high.
Chelsea was in and we spent some time trying to get her tent to able to sleep under as she is about 90% done with it, the walls still need their hooks and we improvised with binder clips and rope.
Our other two first time campers also showed up and we spent some time helping them unload and get set up.
We then parked the cars in the last space for our other two Canton member who had a 10X30 tent that would be coming in on Sat.
Dinner was Taco soup, something I enjoyed and plan on noting down for a good dinner for the first night.
Saturday
I was reminded that when camping you are up late and up with the dawn. There is none of this sleeping in. However taking in to account how cold I had been at Battlemoor and the fact that the overnights had been projected in the 40’s I was testing out my theory of a down comforter, down blanket and sleeping bag. I also brought a hoodie and sweat pants and wool socks to sleep in and let me tell you I was super toasty and in a better mood then if I had been cold.
Breakfast was eggs with Bacon and Coffee and more Coffee. By the time I had finished our last campmate had rolled in and was looking for hands to help set up.
For being a massive tent it was just under an hour and half of work to get the thing up and we all had to marvel at how it came out. They have been sewing this tent for a better part of the year, so to see it up and working was amazing!
Once they settled in I finally got dressed and set off to check out what was going on. The first thing was helping cut oranges and strawberries for fighters. I was conveniently next to the coffee court and got to sample all the biscotti. After that, the actual court started officially opening the event.
Once the armor check was over and before the fighting started my sister was taken as a cadet. She was very excited and I am glad she has found her thing in the SCA.
I spent the afternoon with Arndis our Mistress of the Lists, watching the fighters and did a few passes of the merchant tent. Before going back for lunch, and then once the fighting was over Arndis and I took some serious shopping, only for me to realize I missed the roman grills the Cooks Guild was doing.
After that, there was some downtime in camp before court. I was excited as I had Illuminated 2 of the scrolls being handed out. They both were well received, and I am happy to say the Herald is getting better at my name. Arndis also received her AoA! And Sigric an Aspen!
Dinner was included in the site fee so once court was over it was time to eat! They moved the brewing tasting to dinner, a wise choice, and I was able to sample several beverages! I learned I am not a fan of Cordial or at least none that were presented struck my fancy.
I was very glad at sunset that I had made a bog jacket and despite it being only half done it was cozy and kept the chill off. The household was content to sit about their fire but I ended up checking out the main bar and stopping by other camps before ending up back at the main firepit. We had done a belly dance class for 12th night but ended up cleaning up and never made it to dance so we made up for it dancing until the drummers called it a night and made our way back to camp watching lightning on the horizon.
Sunday
It was a slow morning filled with eggs and bacon and more coffee. Her grace stopped by to chat and take advantage of the coffee, before checking that morning court was off for the time being. Leaving us some time for needlework and more chit chat. My sewing kit was raided by our camps toddler who had a blast showing everyone the balls of handspun thread and asking what everything was. Very cute and amusing as she was finally warming up to us.
Chelsea was kind enough to help braid my hair back up and by then I was awake enough to remember I had offered to come cut oranges again so I scampered off to help with that and ended up water baring for the light fighters. After the first few rounds, I realized that if I wanted to keep them hydrated I would need to go over to the other dragon wing they had all set their gear at and offer them all a snack when they took breaks. It worked and the mess of oranges I had cut up disappeared. I also took the time to do more needlework and chat with folks who were around.
Lunch was back at camp and we had ice cream, a welcome treat as the heat had settled in. I lost half an orange to the toddler,
The afternoon was the thrown weapons and I got a quick lesson in tossing an ax before stepping back to watch as champion was selected from a much more skilled set of folks. We go word at the end of the tournoment that the 10X30 had fallen and we scampered back to see if it was damaged.
Lucky while it had gone down the damage was minimal but Arndis made the call to pack up, and we quickly worked to get it packed up as we watched a very nasty set of clouds roll in. At this point, Chelsea also broke camp and then our other canton mates decided if they wanted home before the rain they needed to go to. Once that was done we moved over to Destash and helped get them buttoned down as the storm had really rolled in and we started seeing lighting and the wind pick up. By then court was over and the Dragon wings and the big tent had to come down and people scrambled to make ready for rain and a possible tornado.
By the time dinner was ready I was exhausted and grateful someone else had made dinner. The sky also opened up and we got a pretty good downpour going complete with large clouds and more lighting. I ended up huddled up in my chair around the campfire as I was far too exhausted to move and wasn’t keen on all the lighting. We had groups of people in and out as people scampered from one encampment to another. The rest of the evening was put on hold as the rain kept coming down and at one point there was a bit of song and then just giving a newcomer all the info we could muster.
The rain finally let up around midnight and we called it a night knowing we would be watching canvas dry the next morning.
Monday
It was a slow break of camps, knowing that we needed to let the canvas dry as much as possible. So we took our time with breakfast, and in my case just sat trying to wake up as I had got up before dawn with a tummy that was less than pleased with me.
At one point in breaking down, another camp stopped by with Chai Coffee a brilliant invention that made the hauling of stuff slightly less painful.
Once the canvas had reached good enough because there are more rain clouds rolling in, I shoved all my stuff in the car and after helping the last part of Destash break down and finally reached my very done point and headed back to a nice long hot shower.
Overall it was a good weekend. The upside of splitting with my sister is my husband agreed he would come to Battlemoor for the weekend so we decided to take the plunge and buy a Soulpad. Not as period as I would like but it makes sense for us right now. A bug-free space that we can pack in the Avalon and still have room for the kid and us. and If I truly want a just me weekend tent I may get a small A-frame.
I also need to rework my boxes….they are 4 inches too long to fit in my foot-wells of the car. Not good if I plan to use every square inch of packing space. I think I will still keep them for the day we have a better vehicle and look for now into things that fit.
