[Ravensfort] Event Report: Pennsic Day 1 (Sunday of War Week)

[Corbisier, Barbara L]

Due to some very large attacks of Real Life, Gregor and I did not have the chance to pack properly as 
we should have for Pennsic.  I was out of the state until late Monday before we left. We were planning 
on leaving on Friday morning.  If you have not been to a big event like Pennsic or Gulf, trust me when 
I tell you that three days is not enough to get ready for War, not to mention that I had last-minute 
sewing that needed to be done.

I decided to sew as much as possible, and then throw everything in the vehicle at the last minute.  As 
we have been to Pennsic before, we know pretty much what we need to take.  Finding it all and 
putting it in one place is another issue, but I would worry about that later.  I sewed through Tuesday, 
Wednesday, and Thursday.  Gregor was working Thursday night/Friday morning.  After some 
discussion, we agreed that we should pack on Friday and leave on Saturday.  Unfortunately, that 
didn't get us to Pennsic until Sunday, but made our lives slightly easier packing-wise.

We ended up leaving Saturday around 3:30 p.m. after running around to pick up last-minute things 
like batteries and water.  Gregor drove most of the way.  He works nights, so it wasn't quite the 
problem for him to stay up all night and drive as it would have been for me.  I slept for a bit while he 
drove, and took over Sunday morning.  Yes, we drove straight through, only stopping for gas and 
bodily functions.  Driving time alone is around 23 hours.  We stopped around 1:00 a.m. to help out a 
family that had caught a flat by the side of the road.  It was about an hour's delay, but we figured 
that we'd want somebody to do the same for us if the situation had been reversed.

We arrived into Enemy Territory, aka the Midrealm, on Sunday morning.  The populace of the Mid 
seemed completely oblivious to the conflict.  Merchants and tavern keepers along the way happily 
did business with us, despite the fact that our vehicle had obvious Ansteorran markings on it, and 
that Ansteorra was fighting for the righteous cause of the East Kingdom, the Mid's enemy in the 
conflict. We even saw people golfing on courses beside the roadway!  Perhaps the King of the Mid 
had kept the true nature of the conflict hidden from most of his people lest they revolt against him.

We arrived at Cooper's Lake at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.  As always, those working gate were helpful, 
courteous, and cheerful.  And it's always nice to hear "welcome home" as I'm handed my site token. It 
was raining a bit, and we were anticipating setting up in the rain.  At least it would keep us cool. 

Within three minutes of checking in, we saw people we knew on the road as we drove to our 
encampment.  Bear in mind that there are probably 10,000 people on site at this point, and yet we 
still managed to find friends.  This usually happens every year, and seems to be a Pennsic 
phenomenon.

We easily found our encampment.  We camped with our former Barony of Bergental, as Pennsic is the 
only time we get to see many friends from there. We were warmly greeted and were just in time for 
dinner!  We ate, and had a break in the rain right after dinner, so we didn't have to set up in a 
downpour. We found ourselves helped by probably 10 old friends who helped set up our tent amidst 
many puns and very bad jokes.  Gregor was quite happy with the puns, and I groaned many times as 
we set up the tent.

We finished setting up just as the encampment Bardic Night got going.  We stayed up way too late 
sitting around the fire enjoying the stories, songs, and good company.

And thus ends the event report for Day 1.

In service,
-Lady Catherine Barbary
-- 
Orationem pulchram non habens, scribo ista linea in lingua Latina.