Posted: May 31st, 2011 | Filed under: Just for fun, Travel | Tags: Tennessee Renaissance Festival | 6 Comments »
Did we go back to England?! Nope. Try the Tennessee Renaissance Festival. There is a “castle” in the middle of the Tennessee countryside, just down the road from the Tractor Supply, (aren’t they all?) with a complete set up for the month long festival. The Things and I decided we needed a little adventure over the holiday weekend, so we headed out to Arrington, TN to check out the fayre.
Sadly, we didn’t take the castle tour this year, so no snaps…that line was crazy long.
If you’ve never been to a Renaissance or Medieval Festival, you need to fix that. Treat yourself. The people watching alone is worth the price of the ticket. Carnie GOLD. The Things were captivated, and even a bit scared at times, but in the end we had a HUGE time.
When we saw this guy…all I could think of was this. That song was stuck in my head ALL AFTERNOON.
The fairies/elves were everywhere…we were in love with the ears…..
I wouldn’t be a true patron of the festival if I didn’t partake in a little something…..maybe even something that might embarrass my kids?
Indeed, it is.
Turns out they LOVED it. Gotta try harder next time.
Posted: March 31st, 2011 | Filed under: Art, Travel | Tags: Big Ben, Claes Oldenburg, Do Ho Suh, Jenny Holzer, Picasso, Robert Morris, Roy Lichtenstein, Tate Modern, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Westminster | 4 Comments »
This is it..I swear.
Soooo….we’d had enough countryside…we had some urban needs. London calling and we had 2 days to hit the highlights…strap on your comfy shoes.
Pretty buildings, and uniformed people in funny hats……
Speaking of those in uniform…security is so much more apparent. Remember the old joke about the bobby chasing the criminal? “Stop!… or I’ll say stop again!” I don’t think that’s a problem anymore. Check out the size of that gun. He also had one strapped to his upper leg. Granted, this was in front of 10 Downing Street.
Oh, and while we’re taking about the size of guns….I think Henry VIII was quite proud of his….
….and the Crown Jewels, (obvs not THESE) no snaps for you…no cameras allowed near the shiny diamonds…boo.
Moving on to the final stretch…ART!
We had just enough time to hit the 5th floor and part of the 3rd floor of the Tate Modern.
The way the Things lingered over the Do Ho Suh Staircase, I thought maybe it was their favorite. Video of the artist interview and this piece’s installation are here and here.
Nope…in typical young boy fashion, they both liked Lichtenstein’s Whaam! best….
photo via wiki - I didn’t snap this one…of course mom forgets the fave.
Since it had only been installed 2 days before…we felt obligated to go check out the new Picasso, heralded as the most expensive piece ever sold at auction. $106 million and change in case you were wondering.
Warm beverages on the top floor of the museum with the killer view and we were DONE.
Our feet hurt, and it was time to go home. Back to school on Monday in the land of the 2 syllable monosyllabic word.
Posted: March 29th, 2011 | Filed under: Travel | Tags: bath, england, stonehenge | 1 Comment »
So we decided to be road warriors again and drove down to Bath….
The weather was back to being predictably gloomy……
I’ve always loved this town for the architecture, but time was short, so we went strictly to get our Roman on…..
Oh, oops..not that….how about this?
So very much to see…but travel photos are BORING. I’m trying to minimize your pain. Let’s finish up with a little druid action…driving from Bath, we arrived 10 minutes before closing, so it was a hectic, yet hilarious end to a jam packed day.
We were kinda punchy at this point, running madly around the rocks, as the uniformed guides were attempting to herd us out. “Closing time!” = Could you tiresome Yanks just please GO AWAY.
Next time I”m bringing my hooded cape….showtime! They have no idea.
Posted: March 22nd, 2011 | Filed under: Travel | Tags: warwick castle | Comments Off
Yup…we went to the Motherland to visit family and friends. We also decided to tackle some of the tourist spots at breakneck speed. We chose quantity over quality, since the Things don’t have the attention span for a 2 hour audio tour at this age…so we raced from one site to another. Remember the Griswalds at the edge of the Grand Canyon? That was us, stumbling into Stonehenge 10 minutes before closing. I’m not kidding.
After spending the first weekend with family at their home in the countryside, we struck out for Warwick on a day trip.
The castle there is spectacular…one of the best preserved in the country. We love this place, and they cater to school groups and kids very well. Castle’s site is here.
After climbing lots and lots of these……
….we got to see this. It made all the moaning from the Things worth it.
Yes…that is SUN you see. REALLY. Spring was busting out all over…NOT what we’re used to on visits this time of year.
Inside there was lots of wax action….
…and weaponry.
After we finished touring the castle interior…we came out just in time to catch the falconry show…how lucky! I was quite excited, and the Things seemed pretty pumped too.
Meet the six month old baby owl named Ernie…cute eh? Especially when he was being hand fed mice…yum. I’ll spare you that shot.
Then, the fab Eagle.
Love it. Anyway..it was time to scoot…we were due back at the homestead in time for “tea.”
Time for me to scoot too…all that laundry isn’t folding itself and there is no food in this house.
More adventures later….
Posted: March 21st, 2011 | Filed under: Travel | | 4 Comments »
It’s a crazy world. We left the country right when disaster after disaster struck in Japan. One of many ways to help is here.
The exact same thing happened when Katrina hit. We were watching the horrifying images unfold upon our arrival on foreign TV. Kinda makes us think we shouldn’t go anywhere!
Thing One is starting to worry about the Mayan apocolypse predictions coming true, so it might be time to turn off NPR during breakfast- for awhile anyway.
After I get my sleep patterns sorted and laundry washed, I’ll have some fun photos of the trip to share, along with some finalized treehouse plans. Yup, it will be the Spring for the Things. They’ve patiently waited, so the circle patio and bathroom will be deferred to put all our efforts into their castle.
I’ll leave you with a random shot from our trip…titled GINORMOUS STAG HEAD.
Posted: January 2nd, 2011 | Filed under: Just for fun, Travel | Tags: Chad's Winter Wonderland Nashville | 3 Comments »
This is for my local yokels. I never got around to telling you about my trip to Chad’s. We went. It was awesome. You probably knew about this and have been there, done that…new gal in town had not. It did not disappoint. This is Christmas in America dammit.
We drove about 40 minutes out to Lebanon, TN before Christmas along with hundreds of others……
Really? Oh Goody. Let’s slog on, shall we?
What have we here…ah, yes a life sized nativity, very nice…..
Whaaaaaat?! Is Jesus GLOWING? Hey, HEY! LOOK….It’s a glowing tiny baby Jesus!!!!!! TBJ is GLOWING. Gotta use the flash…..
That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Fan. Tastic.
Now we head into “Santa’s House” Oh, look…he has a dog!
Next year, If you haven’t been, GO.
