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Estrella War
Feb. 20th, 2007 12:49 pmI’m not quite sure where to begin. Here in the lovely land of Southern California, the SCA exists in a unique fashion. Unlike areas that call for extreme distances, or rustic sites, or overnight camping, most Caidan events involve a pleasant morning and afternoon in the park. I joke that we don’t actually have medieval events. We have Victorian High Teas that are themed in medieval style. Quite lovely, actually. So having gotten used to it, my travel to Estrella brought back many a flashback of traveling to wars in faraway places. Ah… the massive week-long packing culminating in the 24 hour drive to Pennsic. Ah… the couple of days packing culminating in the 10 hour haul to Gulf War. Fortunately, the gang decided to make this as easy as possible. “Let’s do minimalist!” we all decided. Perfect. Relatively simple packing, and an eight hour drive later, and we found ourselves nearing the site.
By about the 457th cactus, I began losing interest in the desert landscape – especially after I realized I had not seen a Starbucks in what seemed like ages. Primitive! After arriving, going through registration, surviving the Scary Nun behind the registration desk (a story in and of itself), we eventually found our campsite. I must admit, I like the new site. Even though it is very long site, with Caid as far back and away from the registration area as humanly possible, we found ourselves surrounded by picturesque buttes and farm area. On either side, man-made burrows left us in a large gully. The burrows helped to block the wind from two sides, which was quite nice. If one is allergic to dust or alfalfa, it would have been hell (thus, the reason my honey stayed home).
Much happened at the event, and I am happy to report that I had an absolutely wonderful time, despite the temperature extremes and the wind. Following, I present my top ten for the war…
10. The memorable quotes. Whether it be “LADIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, “Tag!”, “I’m just explaining it. It’s lame as hell, but I understand it”, or quoting Dr. Seuss to dombeks, the one-liners were classic as can be.
9. Suppertime! Colette, Lasairfhiona and I traded off cooking duties. Each night, we ate very well and drama-free – always a good thing.
8. Midnight drunken de-bocce-ree. Take one part battery-powered bocce balls, one part total darkness, two parts battle field, and ten parts booze, and you have the recipe for a really great time.
7. The travel – even though the drive would be boring under normal circumstances, I got to bond with my apprentice which is worth a million bucks.
6. The coverlette. Giley made the most wonderful heavy brocade and faux-fur coverlette. On cold desert-nights, that thing kept me from diein’.
5. Playing with the period ovens. OK, I realize that this sounds like hell for most people, but I am a foodie geek. A group in the period encampment built four clay and brick ovens open (by reservation) to people at the event who wanted to cook in the period way. SWEET! I made up several loaves of sourdough bread to bake. For me, it was such an uber-geeky moment, I just loved it.
4. The parties. There is a phenomena in the SCA known as “walkin’ the Merald mile.” This refers to the amount of time it takes Duke Merald to walk a mile given that every inch somebody stops him to talk to him. I got to experience this phenomena at the parties. On my way to get a beer, I would see another familiar face I haven’t seen in ages, chat for a while, move another foot and run into another friend. I love the reunions.
3. Hangin’ out with the gang. Even though the constant volley of barbs had to keep me on my toes (I haven’t hung in the shark tank in a while), my west-coast peeps rock!
2. The ball. I do not get to dance anywhere near as much as I would like to in the SCA. And 95% of the time that I do, I have to run things to make the ball happen. Not only did I not have to teach at the ball, but Master Nicollo focused on a wide variety of dances and styles, the combination of which I absolutely adore. It was one of the single best and most memorable dance experiences I have had in years.
1. Colette bonking herself on the nose with a bocce ball, leading to a cascade of doubled-over laughter.
By about the 457th cactus, I began losing interest in the desert landscape – especially after I realized I had not seen a Starbucks in what seemed like ages. Primitive! After arriving, going through registration, surviving the Scary Nun behind the registration desk (a story in and of itself), we eventually found our campsite. I must admit, I like the new site. Even though it is very long site, with Caid as far back and away from the registration area as humanly possible, we found ourselves surrounded by picturesque buttes and farm area. On either side, man-made burrows left us in a large gully. The burrows helped to block the wind from two sides, which was quite nice. If one is allergic to dust or alfalfa, it would have been hell (thus, the reason my honey stayed home).
Much happened at the event, and I am happy to report that I had an absolutely wonderful time, despite the temperature extremes and the wind. Following, I present my top ten for the war…
10. The memorable quotes. Whether it be “LADIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, “Tag!”, “I’m just explaining it. It’s lame as hell, but I understand it”, or quoting Dr. Seuss to dombeks, the one-liners were classic as can be.
9. Suppertime! Colette, Lasairfhiona and I traded off cooking duties. Each night, we ate very well and drama-free – always a good thing.
8. Midnight drunken de-bocce-ree. Take one part battery-powered bocce balls, one part total darkness, two parts battle field, and ten parts booze, and you have the recipe for a really great time.
7. The travel – even though the drive would be boring under normal circumstances, I got to bond with my apprentice which is worth a million bucks.
6. The coverlette. Giley made the most wonderful heavy brocade and faux-fur coverlette. On cold desert-nights, that thing kept me from diein’.
5. Playing with the period ovens. OK, I realize that this sounds like hell for most people, but I am a foodie geek. A group in the period encampment built four clay and brick ovens open (by reservation) to people at the event who wanted to cook in the period way. SWEET! I made up several loaves of sourdough bread to bake. For me, it was such an uber-geeky moment, I just loved it.
4. The parties. There is a phenomena in the SCA known as “walkin’ the Merald mile.” This refers to the amount of time it takes Duke Merald to walk a mile given that every inch somebody stops him to talk to him. I got to experience this phenomena at the parties. On my way to get a beer, I would see another familiar face I haven’t seen in ages, chat for a while, move another foot and run into another friend. I love the reunions.
3. Hangin’ out with the gang. Even though the constant volley of barbs had to keep me on my toes (I haven’t hung in the shark tank in a while), my west-coast peeps rock!
2. The ball. I do not get to dance anywhere near as much as I would like to in the SCA. And 95% of the time that I do, I have to run things to make the ball happen. Not only did I not have to teach at the ball, but Master Nicollo focused on a wide variety of dances and styles, the combination of which I absolutely adore. It was one of the single best and most memorable dance experiences I have had in years.
1. Colette bonking herself on the nose with a bocce ball, leading to a cascade of doubled-over laughter.
