Journeys Near and Far

Knights to Remember

Three Area Renaissance Faires to Catch before the Season Ends

Hear ye, hear ye -- if you love medieval times, jousting, bawdy stage shows and turkey drumsticks (and steak-on-a-stake, stuffed spuds, spinach pie, baked apple dumpling, "fryed" mushrooms, funnel cake and all sorts of other scrumptious faire-food) get thee to one of these three renaissance festivals as soon as ye can.

The New York Renaissance Faire

The final weekend of the New York Renaissance Faire is here.  This is one of my favorite Ren Faires -- the setting is just beautiful.  It's held in Sterling Forest in Tuxedo Park, New York, in the heart of the Hudson Valley -- think greenery, trees and slight rolling hills.

Just 40 minutes from Manhattan, the streets of this festival teem with brilliantly costumed performers.  There are swashbuckling pirates, haughty queens and kings, Robin Hood and his merry men and of course, knights in shining armor. 

I love the shops, the food, the stage shows -- and everywhere you go, something is going on.  In fact, so much goes on that it can be mind boggling trying to decide what to do when (and this applies to all three Ren Faires that I'm covering here.) 

The festival ends September 20th.  The fairgrounds are open from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM. 

Click on the map to see where Tuxedo is.

A Ghostly Walk In Fell's Point

Baltimore's Supernatural Nighttime Stroll

Want to meet some of  Baltimore's more "ethereal" residents?  On a recent visit I did just that -- with Fell's Point
Ghost Tours, a company that took us on a nighttime stroll through the cobbled streets of historic Fell's Point, which has been a part of Baltimore since 1773.

I'm a huge fan of ghost walks, and this one ranks high in my opinion.  First, imagine life in old Fell's Point:  Seamen and sail makers, prosperous merchants and sea captains all packed this once-rowdy seaport town's streets, as did foreign sailors who poured off ships, immigrants anxious to start a new life, and ladies-of-the-evening struggling to survive.

Some of these residents never left.  Is it any wonder that many of the Fell's Point pubs, shops and residences are replete with ghostly characters?

According to spunky Leanna Foglia (right), who led our tour, "characters" are exactly what they are.  She regaled us with witty commentary as she showed us her favorite haunts, from the pub that the restless spirit of Edgar Allen Poe frequents to the building where Doc the dancing sailor can't stop doing the polka.

Actually, what scared me the most during the tour was a lady who lived in the neighborhood who came outside and stood guard on her porch, giving us the evil eye the whole time Leanna was talking.   Whether she was a ghostly specter or a disgruntled neighbor, I don't know, but she certainly added to the atmosphere. And to be honest, after this tour you won't catch me strolling along any of those streets alone at night anytime soon -- in Fell's Point, you never know what you'll come face to face with.

[Note:  If you're heading to Baltimore, check out the Fell's Point Guide, and the Squidoo guide to Baltimore, by Ghostgirl, the company's owner.]

For information on a fun daytime tour of the city see my previous post about Baltimore.

Top photo courtesy of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association; middle photo courtesy of Fell's Point Ghosts Tours; photo bottom left photo courtesy of Fell's Point Ghost Tours, photographer Michele Kraus.   

Baltimore's Ride the Ducks

Learn About Baltimore from a Duck's-Eye-View

If you read my last post and haven't had enough duck related stuff, here's another, uhh, "Quacktacular" idea --  experience history on Baltimore's amphibious Ride the Ducks tour. 

I'd heard of these tours before but have only recently been on one, and it was a lot of fun.  The 70-minute land-to-water sightseeing adventure began at Light Street Pavilion in the Inner Harbor, one of America's oldest seaports, and provided not only entertainment but historically factual information about the city.  Guests got complimentary Wacky Quacker yellow-billed duck whistles (Okay, they're a little obnoxious but the kids love them.  Think: lots of loud quacking noise.)   

As we boarded the vehicle we met Captain Andy, whose enthusiasm and passion for the city really came through as the tour progressed.  He sang, quacked and talked about the USS Constellation, the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, Federal Hill, Fells Point and more as we passed by each place.  We learned unique details about the city, too.  For example, as we passed Edgar Allen Poe's Grave at Baltimore's Westminster Church, Captain Andy told us that every year on Poe's birthday, a mysterious stranger clad in a billowing, black cloak visits Poe's grave with a bottle of cognac and three red roses. 

Half-way through the tour we splashed into the Inner Harbor for a cruise and a great city view.

What's cool is the Duck vehicles used for the tours are 1945 era Army DUKWs that have been converted into open-air vehicles accommodating 36 passengers each. For those of you who want the details:  A DUKW has the automotive characteristic of a conventional 6x6 truck and is equipped with a watertight hull. The vehicle uses four driving wheels and an eight-cylinder engine by land and a marine propeller and rudder by sea.

A Ride the Ducks tour is a fun way (for all ages) to learn about Baltimore, and it gives a great overview of the city.  But you don't have to go to Baltimore to Ride the Ducks.  You can also Ride the Ducks in Philadelphia, Branson and Memphis.

For information on a creepy nighttime stroll in Baltimore, read my post about Fell's Point Ghost Tours.

Photos courtesy of Baltimore Ride the Ducks.