Friday went pretty much as I had expected. We got there after a long drive on US 10, had dinner with smuzikant, her partner, rhymeswithghoti, LS and the other representatives of her family, then went to the campground and did what setup we could. After twolodge arrived we were able to set up most of the tents, the big exception being the Tavern. However, everybody had a place to sleep. Also, the cook’s tent and cook’s fly were up, the fire pit had been dug and a supply of firewood collected, so we would be ready for breakfast. basil80 kept us well fed all weekend.

Saturday was cold and wet. mia_mcdavid and I had not brought modern clothing for this, but our period plaids worked just fine. We got the Tavern Tent up before the rain started, so we were ready. In the morning and early afternoon we got in two dance sessions, some pike drill and fired the mortar a couple times. twolodge, mia_mcdavid and I did a sword demo. twolodge was the “victor”, but I think Mia and I “died” with great style :-)>

By mid afternoon the rain was heavier, and we did not do any more formal demos. I spent a lot of time on guard duty by the weapons racks. This is important because

1. Patrons may wander by and that is a chance to explain who we are and what we are doing.
2. Some younger patrons may wander by and start playing with our stuff. Despite the blunt points and edges, someone can get seriously hurt that way. So nobody touches our stuff except with an experienced member present to supervise.

I did not have a lot visitors that afternoon–the event seemed poorly attended generally. I was wearing a belted plaid (great kilt–normal dress for a male Highlander in our period) and another plaid over my shoulders as a cloak. It was still cold and wet. The other members were quite concerned about me and opened a corner of the Tavern Tent’s wall, so I could sit under cover and still watch our stuff.

The evening dance was fun. The band played quite ordinary Country and Western songs, but they were danceable and Mia and I had a good time. rhymeswithghoti accidentally knocked twolodge down, but not before she had clearly outted him as a good dancer :-)>

There was less rain on Sunday. We had another dance presentation, with more audience participation. A couple more mortar shots, for which I was the gunner–actually firing the thing. Quite deafening up close, even with my free hand covering the ear closest to the weapon. It is easy to understand why veteran artillerymen of the period were hard of hearing.

There was a black powder rendezvous going on as well. We had several visitors from it, who were understandably interested in our matchlock weapons. As is common at these events, there is a Native American presence as well. An elegantly dressed woman from one of their camps walked by, looked at our neatly arranged conical pike rack and said, “You need some canvas on that tipi.”

We were told we could start teardown at 3:30, and two hours later everything was packed and we were headed home. For once twolodge was not the last one out–Mia and I were. On the way out I noticed the sign posted for the event. We–Clann Tartan–were the featured act. Distinctly flattering.

As I expected, we had a really great group up there. Everybody worked hard and stayed cheerful despite the bad weather. It was a pleasure and an honor to be part of that crew.