[Ansteorra] Return from Pennsic

[ylwrose2 at juno.com]

Greetings to all our friends!

Andre, Dante, and I have returned (safe but tired) from Pennsic XXX (our
first).  Thank you to everyone who kept us in their thoughts, wishing us
safe passage.  The trip there and back was long and grueling, but
uneventful.

Congratulations Mistress Stella, Mistress Su Jin (please forgive the
misspelling), and Sir Guy on their most recent accomplishments and
accolades.

The weather reminded us very much of home, though not quite as hot and a
little more humid.  Attendance topped 12,100 and there were 234
merchants.  I was there 5 days and still don't think I saw all of them.
There were probably a half dozen food merchants, who all served excellent
fare.

The most remarkable sight was the new "castle" or "fort".  It is HUGE.
And beautiful.  There are kingdom devices on the turrets and wrought iron
work on the entry gate.  I am told it has been constructed on the site
where the archery range was, and the archery range was moved west of the
main battlefield.  Some archers had a few complaints, but I'm sure the
kinks with the new location will be worked out quickly.

My sons, Andre and Dante are now "on fire" for the SCA.  Seeing the Youth
Chivalric tournaments, the castle and bridge battles, and the archery has
inspired them.  Watching the procession and return of fighters to the
woods battle was amazing (actually, it looked like rush hour traffic,
with marshals directing traffic like traffic cops).   My sons are already
asking if we can go again nest year, by which time I'm sure Andre will
have his armour complete, and Dante will be a contender in Archery.

I made a few new friends and caught up with some old ones.  Thanks to the
advice of many of you kind gentles, I arrived prepared.  We lacked
nothing and actually had a few things we didn't need.  But better to have
them and not need them, than to need them and not have them.

We all have other stories to share and I will hopefully be able to afford
to get pictures developed soon.

Thank you again to all the good gentles who kept us in their thoughts
during our absence.

In Service to the Dream
Lady Francesca Laviana Sansovino
Andre Sansovino
Dante Sansovino

**************************************************************
The heart has reasons which reason does not know.
                                                      -Unknown
**************************************************************
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.