The Texas Renaissance Festival

We were lucky enough to snag a couple of free tickets for Renfest from Callie so Keith and I packed up the Toes and The Twins (my nieces, not something dirty) this weekend. We drove an hour through Conroe and a cool little country town called Montgomery. I was expecting a dusty field and some crafters selling their wares from white plastic tents. To my surprise, it was a well-organized, well-staffed extravaganza. All of the buildings are permanent structures and there are shops, eateries, amphitheaters and more over a huge expanse of land.

There was jousting, Shakespearean players, elephant rides, medieval games and contests, people of all shapes and sizes dressed to the nines, and even the occasional ninja! (?) Reminded me of one great big LARP, and gave a lot of truth to the movie Role Models. It was very entertaining, a cultural experience to say the least. I am just not nerdy enough to have fully enjoyed all of the possibilities that Renfest has to offer...
The Birds of Prey demonstration featured beautiful birds AND my favorite two owls!
Remington loved the goats the size of Baxter. He especially loved the snoring pigs.
The joust was a little anti-climactic but still fun.
Keith taught the girls to use a bow and arrow.