Return to Sherwood Forest

Last weekend we attended the Sherwood Forest Faire out in the woods of McDade, TX.

Our knight and princess were ready to party Renaissance style!

At Jackson and Olivia's insistence, our first stop was the Tomato Justice booth. They remembered it from the last time we went, two years ago.  Being allowed to pelt an adult with tomatoes is an event that sticks in the memory of a child.

Next up, the archery booth. Tony actually does know archery and he was happy to give the kids a brief lesson.

After that, we were just in time for a falconry show with various birds of prey. I happened to be sitting right next to one of the perches, so I was able to get a close-up view of Mr. Horned Owl.

Next, rides!

Whew, time to refuel. Fried foods were in abundance.

Jackson and Olivia got soft pretzels. There were a few vegan offerings such as fried artichokes or olives, but I just munched on a Larabar I had in my bag.

While we had our snack, a magician happened by our table and offered to give the kids a go at spinning plates.

We then made our way to the jousting grounds.

Our section was supposed to cheer for this knight. And he won!

Jackson and Olivia had been behaving great up to this point, walking around checking out the various booths and entertainments without complaining. We decided to stop at the Magical Grove and let them play in the kids' castle for awhile. 

While they played, Tony and I hit the beer booth, and I discovered the magic of Guinness mixed with mead.

Bees really liked my drink, too. Because of the honey, I guess. Mead is fermented honey wine, so I suppose that makes it not vegan. *Sigh* It was so good. Well, at least the mead was local and hopefully that means the honey was sustainably harvested.

Finally it was time for the last event of our day, swordfighting school!

"Bring your bloodthirsty children!" called out the instructor, and we did.

Swordfighting diplomas, how cute!

We had such an awesome day. A great family memory. Already looking forward to next year!

For dinner, we had a couple of dishes from The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of the East -- Shahi Paneer with Rice Pilau. The tomato sauce is so creamy thanks to ground cashews.