Pictures: http://www.renaissancefaire.net/Folsom.htm

I had a busy weekend planned. Friday work then the office party until almost midnight. Saturday and Sunday I attended Hips Of Fury http://www.renaissancefaire.net/Hips-Of-Fury.htm and got home at midnight. Thus, by Sunday morning I was pretty wiped.

I wanted to see Folsom faire though. I'd heard many good things about the faire from the northern faire participants, and thus felt like this was a "most see" event. In addition, my friends Andrea and Amanda were going to meet me there so we could pal around and have fun together.

I planned to get to the faire when it opened at 10am, but decided to sleep an extra hour (well, actually, I slept through the alarm). I left at 6am, and arrived at the faire grounds at 11:45am. It's a long, long drive...

I immediately noticed this faire was full of people. Lots and lots of people. Now I got excited, as a faire needs people, both participants and patrons. A sparsely attended faire is just not that much fun.

Okay, park the car (dodging around some people and kids), hike up a small hill (got to start exercising more), wait in line (it went fast) and get into the faire at last!

The first thing I did was to get a hat. I had neglected to bring one, and I knew that if I didn't solve that right away I'd have the sunburn from hell tomorrow! I picked one out that I really liked - it even looks great with my new costume.

Next, I looked for my friends Andrea and Amanda. I found them quickly, shopping of course, and gathered them up to get some food. I hadn't eaten yet, and the chili bread-bowl looked good (and it was good).

Okay, I felt better now and we wandered. Amanda and Andrea looked stunning in their pirate outfits. Amanda decided she might want to join the pirate guild, so we wandered over to their headquarters and talked with the pirates, er, privateers, for a while. The captain talked with the ladies for a while and I took lots of pictures of the ladies (Amanda and Andrea).

The pirates "married" the two women just because they could in a quick little ceremony.

The girls wanted to shop and I didn't mind, so we wandered some more. I ran into quite a few friends from Northern (Casa de fruta) and got lots of great pictures.

Now, if you look at my Folsom pictures you might think I have taken lots of pictures of Andrea. You'd be right. In my opinion, she's one of the prettiest ladies I've ever seen. Better still, that beauty translates exceptionally well in a picture. Like Cassie from Northern, Andrea is not only gorgeous, but it shows in pictures.

We spent some time on the rocking horses. I rode with each lady separately, and they rode together as well. How could I resist the horses?

When I rode with Andrea, I jokingly said the puzzle for the guy on the back was where to put his hands. She turned to me, looked me right in the eye, and said if I put them anywhere I shouldn't, she'd "throw my ass off the horse!" Ahem. It was a long way down and I didn't think I'd enjoy it at all. Besides, I really am a gentlemen...and she was armed...

We watched the joust, which was short but good. We politely ignored the person in the "Darth Vader" costume cheering one of the knights onward. I did manage to get a few photos of him, though...

After the horses, Amanda and I exchanged an evil glance and decided it was time to have some fun with Andrea. So we decided to sell her.

We tried selling her to one of the yeomen, who was very interested in her cooking skills and her obedience (she rolled her eyes heavenward when we claimed she'd be totally subservient to her new master) until his "wife", a yeobabe, was discovered to be standing right behind him, sporting an evil glare. He hurried away, professing he was just humoring us...

Sigh. Amanda and I were determined, and we soon found another "gentlemen" who was interested in the purchase. Amanda did the negotiations and soon struck a deal. Half  a dozen gold pieces for the totally obedient, dark-haired lady. He took her away and we rushed off before she knew what was happening. It was bad of us, I know, but Amanda did get half a dozen gold pieces for her...

I really like the Folsom faire. It's small but it has lots of booths, and a huge number of participants. Best of all, these participants were not at all afraid of participating. They were playing together and with the crowds constantly, making the faire extra fun for all.

(In the picture, I was pretending to put my hands where they shouldn't be. I wouldn't dare, though, as Andrea made it clear that she would "throw my ass off the horse" if I even thought about it! She was serious...she had several daggers...and it was a long way to the ground...)