August 1997

Let's see, Lord Jaric, Lady Cerridwynn and I were supposed to leave at midnight Friday, but Jaric hadn't finished building their yurt.

So we rescheduled for Midnight Saturday.

See above.

Then we planned to leave at 6AM Sunday.

See above.

We left at 3:30 PM Sunday.

(It's only an 8 ½ hour drive.)

We got to the site about 6:30 AM ⁽¹⁾ Monday, checked in and started driving around in search of the "Blinded Sun" encampment ⁽²⁾. We knew it was between Northwoods of the Middle Kingdom and Standing Stones of Calontir, but that wasn't a lot of help since we weren't sure where either of those encampments were. Finally Jaric and I saw Lord Vlad de Jaffa heading toward the showers and were escorted to the correct location. The tent I had been told would be waiting for me was set up and ready--it was conveniently located near port-a-castles and the stave church. I got into garb ⁽³⁾and we headed to breakfast.

That morning Katrinn introduced me to the wonderful selection of meat pasties at The Bakehouse, where I made it a point to eat breakfast every day. (For those of you familiar with Pennsics past, the lady who runs it is the lady who ran the "Sated Tyger" many years back. For those of you who aren't, just remember the words, "good period food".)

After that I went to see where Howdy's booth was in the Marketplace, running into a minimum of ten old friends on my way. At some point after that I found out where Jaric and Cerridwyn were putting up the yurt. (A series of miscommunications had led to them being forced to take one of the most sought after camping spots next to Dave Cooper's House.) The yurt was not up at that point, but I did get to see Doug Malkemus doing his imitation of a Christmas tree while holding up the tension ring on the yurt so the roof beams could be put in. (He was later rescued by a kindly soul with a support built for that purpose.) The yurt was successfully assembled and remained up until it had to be taken down Saturday night during the storm for the safety of neighboring structures.

When Howdy to Your Face opened a short while later I helped sell until it was time to get to the Middle Kingdom Laurel's Show and Tell. Lord Vlad escorted me down the hill to the approximate area--a fair walk by my standards, at which point I found out that the Show and Tell had been moved elsewhere. Luckily it was only to the next encampment over. Once there, the other Midrealm Laurels and I were shown the work of new candidates for the order, and were fed wonderful pastries and beverages. It was a pleasant hour or so and I was given a ride back up the hill in Master Hroar Stormenga's van.

When I returned to the merchant's booth Katrinn was gone. She had been feeling poorly all day, and had finally been convinced to go off-site for the night. It turned out that she had pneumonia and was unable to come back for more than a couple of brief visits the rest of the week. Poor lady was required by the emergency room doctors to stay in a room with cable TV and whirlpool. Actually that's not true. The ER doctor gave her the choice of staying in a hotel or being admitted to the hospital. As it happened the only hotel with a vacancy was a brand new one which was aimed mostly at newlyweds. Since Katrinn was in no shape to drive, Ragnar opted to stay with her so she could occasionally get back into the site.

I started to crash out early, but was prevented by a small crisis involving Katrinn and Ragnar's two daughters--Kara and Chelsea--who were NOT lost ⁽⁴⁾, but were thought to be. Since they hadn't had dinner, after they were found, I accompanied Lord Vlad and had an excellent time with the three of them.

Tuesday, I sold stuff all day. As night fell black clouds and lightning appeared on the horizon and were obviously moving our way. While the storm was brewing I wandered down to take a nice ice-cold shower. On the way back I passed the Troll Tent, where I was hailed by Duchess Heather, Head Troll. We talked for a few minutes and I mentioned that I was in the middle of my usual evening dilemma at Pennsic--I don't party much, which means I sit in my tent and get depressed or sleep 12 hours. She suggested I work troll that night since they were short-handed. So I did a two hour stint, while the storm came in. It was fun--the people were interesting and we were fed and kept amused by minstrels who were waiting for evening parties to start. I'd planned to work more, but--ominous music--it was Not Meant to Be.

Curled in my blankets that night, I discovered that the tent leaked--luckily not on me. However I never trust "waterproof" tents, so, when camping, I wrap everything in plastic even if in the middle of a summer-long drought--which Cooper's Lake was.⁽⁵⁾ Next morning proved to be cool and clear after I bailed out my tent. Over breakfast I was assured by several friends that the weather forecast said this was all the rain we were going to get this year . So I went back to wrap my dry clothes in extra layers of plastic bags.⁽⁶⁾

Wednesday is a slow selling day, but after dark it's Midnight Madness, when Merchants are open late and usually have special bargains. Unfortunately Wednesday was also the day that most people who had kindly volunteered to help out at the booth in Katrinn and Ragnar's absence, had other commitments. During the day it was no problem--that night however, it was just Lord Vlad and I and several thousand ravening customers.

On Thursday, sales were slow and it rained. And rained. And rained. In the evening Lord Vlad and I took two wet, woebegone little girls into Butler to see their Mom. We also ate out--my first experience at a regional chain called "EatandPark". The food was decent, but I missed the strolling minstrels found at the on site eateries. On the other hand it wasn't downwind of any portajohns. After dinner we went home for the night and it rained.

On Friday it rained some more. I did a short tour of the Merchants area though, and made some contacts for selling copies of Puffs and Slashes wholesale. It was also my preliminary scouting for Saturday's power shopping. That evening Vlad, Chris, Kara and Chelsea and I gave up all pretense at enjoying tent camping and were forced, FORCED, to stay at the hotel in Butler.

Saturday was overcast, but not actively raining. Katrinn was able to come in for her necessary shopping run. I delivered copies of Puffs to retailers and then budgeted spending money and took off. I scored--1 oak medallion as a present for my apprentice Megan, 6 skeins of naturally dyed black silk embroidery floss, a copy of the latest Lady Tudor Glitz, another cartoon book from Calontir, 10 little gold Laurel wreaths suitable for sewing on garb, and the best- looking of the Pennsic XXVI t-shirts. I missed getting a stuffed Cthulhu for my husband but I got the catalog.

As evening approached so did ominous black clouds. I was back at the Howdy booth as they closed and battened down the pavilion. At first it looked like we would only get grazed by the edge of the storm, then suddenly it turned and aimed directly at us. We could see funnels forming. At that moment the H. L. Katrinn arrived in her vehicle. ordered everybody who was willing to get into the car now and drove us out of there as if the Nazgul were chasing us.

(I'm told there was a small funnel touchdown on the outskirts of the Serengeti. The only reason I put any credence in the story is that the person I heard it from was one of the people whose yurt it demolished.) Lord Vlad spent that night working with the other chiurgeons in the barn, where the SCA rallied in its best form. Hot soup and other food was available via various households and the food vendors, dry garb and blankets were furnished, and a hand fasting scheduled for Saturday night in a now drenched encampment was held with a much larger than planned guest list in the barn.

I was in a hotel room watching the weather channel and worrying along with Katrinn, and the girls. Especially worrisome was the fact that Katrinn's son Chris had not been in sight when the storm hit, and Lord Vlad hadn't called into say he was safe.

Lord Ragnar left the next day to pack up the camp, and didn't return until evening. Lord Vlad, however, came to the hotel about noon for a hot shower and reported that everyone was safe and both the campsite and the merchant's pavilion had come through just fine. It was late enough, however, when things were packed that we spent another night in the hotel before heading back to Bloomington.

And you know what? I had a great time.

Musings and memories: This was my first Pennsic since XVIII. I knew it was going to be a lot bigger, and it was, but I also noticed that it FELT the same as it had eight years before. Sure there were longer lines and colder showers--if possible--but the greater numbers also allowed for more scope in the setting. Temporary buildings were all over the site--a stave church (complete with Quasimodo in the belfry), the Bakehouse, Potters Hall (two story buildings), a pirate ship, innumerable encampment gateways made to look like castle fronts, a delightful miniature medieval garden set up next to Potter's Hall, a row of small merchant houses near the barn, and the Ansteorran Battle Tower with its four torches aglow through the night..

And then there was the pageantry. I missed all the courts, but my breakfast was usually timed so that the armies were progressing to the field for the morning's battles. I remember how proud I was that my household, the Great Dark Horde, looked impressive as my brothers marched to the field behind the King of the East, and I watched the King and Queen of Drachenwald in full Celtic panoply being pulled in a chariot by their retainers.

And old friends--I saw people I hadn't seen in the eight years since my last Pennsic. People I 'd thought were long out of the SCA. I also met people I only knew from E-mail and made a lot of new friends.

My only regrets are that time and the weather didn't permit me to get on a hay wagon and do a tour of the whole camp, with camera. That I didn't spend more time at Horde Camp--I was there for half-an-hour on Friday. And that next year I have to be elsewhere that week, so I won't get back for at least two years...

If you're new to the SCA I recommend Pennsic, even if you only do it once. Duke Syr Finnvar de Taahe, one of the handful of people who have been to all 26 Pennsics, wrote an article on Pennsic past and present for the War Chronicle this year. Among his musings and memories he made the statement that Pennsic is the SCA's one and only urban experience, and that is what sums it up best.

The final estimate of gentles on site was 9300, roughly the size of London in the time of Elizabeth I. The merchants area alone was the size of a medieval market town. Give it a try.

⁽²⁾Howdy to Your Face's alias for land grab. Return

⁽³⁾ What Cerridwyn and I had been doing while Jaric made the yurt was frantically sewing garb for Pennsic. I have a lot of garb, Cerridwyn has a lot of garb, but one of the great truths of Pennsic is that no matter how much garb you make, buy, borrow, or steal for each Pennsic there's never enough the following year. I think it's a plot by the textile industry. Return

⁽⁴⁾ They knew where they were every minute. Return

⁽⁵⁾My first Pennsic was IV, aka The Pennsic Puddle and other colorful appellations--especially by the people who were there. Return

⁽⁶⁾ Never EVER believe Pennsic weather rumors. I told you my first Pennsic was IV. Return

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