Wonderful Weather for the Renaissance Festival

Published Date Author: , Posted September 18th, 2011 at 9:34:03am

A mite chilly for some, the weather yesterday was utterly glorious by my standards.

We arrived early and found an excellent parking spot close to the gate.

Went shopping and managed to get exactly what we were looking for, including three new hand-made coffee mugs with lovely purple and blue enameling. Naomi got skirts and I got shirts. Naomi also found a fun knick-knack in the staff, broom and wand shoppe. I even found a new set of hat feathers to replace the single white one which indicated that it was time to retire by falling out repeatedly.

We went over to visit my old leather master, Bill Baldwin, but he was not at the booth. I saw that there were belt blanks that needed edging, so I got behind the bench and began to work. It has been over 20 years since I was his apprentice. It was quite pleasurable to have the leather and the tool in my hands again.

Multiple Faire staff members came by to find out who I was, and what I was doing there. It was quite amusing to tell them that I was minding the shoppe for Bill.

I managed to do all of the belts without hurting myself, and deliberately left just one behind undone. We returned later, and all had a good laugh about it.

His booth is in the back, located in the Birds of Prey area. We got to see some magnificent birds while we were there visiting, including a peregrine falcon that skimmed my hat!

We left at about 3:30pm, since we were both getting tired from walking so much.

On our way home we discussed options for dinner. We were in garb, and looking for the right solution. Given that it was near 5pm on a Saturday night in central NJ, we felt that our choices were somewhat limited. Driving south on Route 287 helped us decide to to visit the Pluckemin Inn for dinner. It had been AGES since we ate there last, mostly because I rather dislike the spicy, limited style of cooking by the new chef. Naomi called over and was given the good news that we were free to join them and be served outside, which is what we wanted. We arrived at 5:15pm and walked in with hats and cloaks on. The reception was very warm and friendly, and we were quite pleased to be greeted by our old friends with such enthusiasm. Many of the other patrons gazed at our attire with amusement, and nobody seemed offended. The food was quite good, but the dessert and cheese plate was outstanding. We are looking forward to resuming our foodie relationship with the Pluckemin Inn!

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