Places to Go - Swords, Jousting, and Hair Braiding at Maryland Renaissance Festival (Annapolis, MD)

We first visited the Maryland Renaissance Festival about seven years ago, before T was born. I found the whole place a little large and overwhelming - not particularly stroller-friendly and full of people who take RenFair super seriously (I pointed out a women in costume to F, saying "look, there's a princess." And was then told, in a not very friendly voice, that said woman was most definitely NOT a princess, but a lady in waiting. um, sorry? I think.). Plus, even after you pay a decently-large admission price, all activities cost an extra dollar or two, making me feel like I was being nickel-and-dimed out of all my money.

That experience, however, is all in the past. BECAUSE I NOW LOVE RENFEST!!

This year we had more than a few friends go and tell us how there's nothing more fun to do with the grade school crowd. Regarding the cost issue, one of my friends noted that when you look at the total amount of money spent, Renfest is still much cheaper than most county fairs and/or theme parks. So even though everything (games, rides, slides, mazes, animal houses) costs an extra few dollars, you'll still spend much less than you might at a comparable location. Plus, all performances are free, the food is cheap, and they serve alcohol.

So a few weekends a go, when Dan was on a guys' trip, the kids and I met up with some friends and had a fabulous afternoon. In fact, now they keep asking when we can go again.

The Renaissance Festival goes through October 25. Tickets cost $24 for adults and $10 for children 7 and over (younger children are free). Two day passes are also available. For more info, click here.






I am awful at girls' hair (hence why mine never grows longer than shoulder-length). And I have all sorts of mom guilt about the fact that I can't even french braid (P asked me to study on youtube, but I quit after a few "lessons"), so I splurged at the fair on hair braiding for the girls (P's braid cost about $20 and F's updo was closer to $30). Don't they look gorgeous?














Regarding the staged fighting, the girls found it somewhat boring, but T was entranced.







The maze could not have been very hard, but apparently we have no sense of direction. We spent quite a long time in there, which was sort of awesome.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY EVERYONE!! What have you been up to this autumn?