Greetings from the Village of Merriwick

Quickie after a day at the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire in Snohomish! It was over 85 degrees and there aren't many trees on the fairground, which is enormous, but though it may not be the most accurate faire I've been to since there are many tents and stands made of metal, it is very comfortable because there are shades over the numerous picnic tables and all around the jousting arena and smaller theaters. We arrived right when the gates opened at 10 and went to the falconry show at 10:30, followed by tournament games, mostly on horseback, including a shirtless Scottish knight. 

Then we walked around to some of the merchants, ate crepes and shaved ice plus butterbeer in the food court, met the Queen, listened to minstrels, saw sword-swallowing, heard the Seadogs chanteys at The Hammered Troll, visited more merchants, bought a sun hat (my only purchase for the day), and earned a reward -- in our case, D20s -- for recounting our adventures and completing quests. We ended up back at the arena to see the mounted archery show, performed by three women who are also acrobats on and off horseback. We got home for the end of the Orioles victory and just watched the Mariners win in 10!