Castle Gwynn

The fifth reason to go to the Tennessee Renaissance Festival is to see 'my' castle.  (See reasons 1-4 here.)  My maiden name is Gwin and it's rare to come upon another Gwin (spelled any old way) here in the U. S.  I bet I'd run into loads of them if I ever went to Wales, where the Gwin name originated.

Before entering the castle, there's a man who gives you a brief history of Castle Gwynn.  It turns out he's the guy, Mike Freeman, who has been building the castle for several decades and that he and his wife actually live in it.  People assume it takes wealth to build a castle, but he's not a rich man.  He adds to it when he has money and stops when he doesn't.  He's a photographer and does a lot of bartering - photography for castle supplies and labor.  He and his wife also generate income from the Festival that's held on their 40 acres.

I can't believe that I'm just now learning this, but 'gwin' in Welsh means 'white'.  Mr. Freeman named his home White Castle because white is a great color for defense at night - it's easy to see intruders scaling the walls.  

The tour starts in the unique cylindrical kitchen where modern conveniences are stealthily included in the design, which includes 16 brick archways.

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The tour appears to be over when you enter the next room and you discover it's the souvenir shop in the bottom of the right turret.  Seriously!?  But, we discovered that we could explore the next floor up - the one containing the two-story great room.

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I just googled the Welsh flag to see if it's one of the flags adorning the domed ceiling.  It's the one on the left.  The cool dragon flag was adopted in 1959 - a very interesting year for me!

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Check out this article for more information on Castle Gwynn.  I just learned from the article that Taylor Swift used the castle in her "Love Story" music video.  Have fun storming the castle!

Castle Gwynn and Deep Fried Candy Bars

Yesterday Howard and I transformed into Basil and Sybil when we went to our first Renaissance Festival, the Tennessee version.  What really compelled me to go, though, was the castle.  I just had to see Castle Gwynn!  

Before we 'enter' the festival, though, we must review the rules:

So, why are pets and coolers lumped in with firearms and replica guns?  Maybe back in the day there were pet ocelots or skunks or wild boars or other dangerous pets.  And, although you mustn't bring guns or fake guns, you can certainly bring your sword - but don't forget to sheath it!  The guy in front of us in line almost didn't get in because his 'sheath' was a rifle case.  I wouldn't want to be him in a dual - he'll be dead before he gets the case unzipped!

There are basically five things to do at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.  First, there are lots of shows to see.  The shows have movie ratings and most of them are rated G or PG.  The first show I dragged Basil to was the PG-rated belly dancing show.  See how the ladies are mostly covered, especially the one in the middle.

Buckle and Swash put on a G-rated comedy pirate show.  They were pretty entertaining.  They started the show by telling the rules.  

Rule #1:  Kids, don't ever get a Liberal Arts degree.

Of course, there was jousting.  It got up to about 90 degrees yesterday.  I would not want to be the fair young maiden who does this guy's laundry after a hard day at the arena!

Second, there are lots of things to buy: steak on a stick, deep fried candy bars, turkey legs, fresh-squeezed lemonade, medieval clothing, real swords, play swords, and lots more.

These guys sold marshmallow catapults.  They had lots of fun shooting at passersby.  This guy shot some at my mouth.  I was 'all astonishment' when I caught the 3rd one.

I took this picture for my dad.  I'm pretty sure it's not the same King Cone that he frequented in Oregon.

Third, there are games, activities, and a few rides.  The unique thing about the rides is that they're human-powered.  This kid is ready to go.  Behind him you can see the gear-thing that the guys are going to spin to get the ride moving.

These guys were going through gallons of liquid.  Again, I would not want to do their laundry!  After they got the ride going, they would manually spin each kid in his hammock.

On this ride, you pay to do all the work.  These kids were moving pretty fast and I was hoping that the ride would not live up to its name!

Fourth, and my favorite, you can people watch.  It seems that going to a Renaissance Festival is an excuse to dress up in any bizarre outfit that you want and get away with it.  I didn't take nearly as many pictures of the people as I wanted to.  Next year, we're going to come back with Basil's good camera and take lots of people pictures.

With this guy we tried to do the sneaky 'I'm taking a picture of my wife and you happen to be in the picture' trick.

Then I just gave up and talked to him and asked if we could take a picture.  He wasn't in any of the shows and confessed to just having 'an expensive hobby'.  I was surprised to learn that he bought his leather armor at Esty.

A medieval butterfly-lady?  There were lots of butterfly wings.  Or maybe they were fairy wings.  Basil thinks it was more like a Renaissance/Tolkien Festival.

This guy was big and imposing.  I named him Horse Guy.  I have to post three pictures of him.  The first one to show what I saw first, the second one to show his profile, and the third one to show that he doesn't look so scary after all.  See, you just can't judge a guy by his Renaissance regalia.

It's funny that, after seeing all these crazy outfits, the family that stood out the most was the Hawaiian Renaissance family with elf children.  Can you find the dad?

Here's one more people-watcher photo before we move on to the castle.  Seeing the castle is the fifth thing to do when at the festival.

On second thought, I'll post about the castle tomorrow because this is already waaaay longer that it needs to be.

Prepare to Be Touched and Inspired!

I know, I'm constantly blogging about a place called Thistle Farms.  Watch this documentary and you'll discover why I love it so much.  There's another story entwined with the Thistle Farms story that is also inspiring.

What They Didn't Teach Me in Thistle School

Gorgeous, right?

So, I harvested thistles for the first time today.  This video makes it seem pleasantly easy.  But, here's the real story.

All the thistles we found were growing in ditches along busy narrow roads.  Speeding cars and semis constantly whizzed past us, making this not a kid friendly activity.  Next time I think I'll wear a neon orange reflector vest.  Passersby might think I'm a prisoner picking up trash, but in this case I think it's probably better than looking like a plant.

I laughed out loud when a friend suggested wearing falconry gloves for this, but after today it doesn't seem like such a bad idea.  Check out the spines on those things.  By the way, this is my accomplice, Nancy.  She wore rain boots which was really a smart idea.

 I hope Nancy's arms didn't get all scratched up!

Here's our haul for the morning.

Here are some other things you should know about harvesting thistles:

• There are lots of big bumble bees buzzing around doing their bee pollinating thing.  If you don't like bees, this is not the project for you. 
• You'll find lots of other little critters crawling around in your bag of harvested thistles.  When it's time to leave, they'll infiltrate your car if you don't have a way to contain them.
• Don't even think about spreading these out to dry in your house, due to the bugs and...
• When the thistles dry, they burst.  You can put them outside but your neighbors will probably not be happy with you if you've got exploding thistles on your deck, especially if it's a windy day!  I'll tell you tomorrow if it was a good idea to put them on the garage floor.

A few thistles burst after drying for just half a day.

Here's a close-up of another one bursting.

Howard took this close-up.  The colors are amazing!

 
I can now say that, "I am a thistle farmer."

Finally, I'm happy to report that no one shot at us for trespassing and that the local police didn't pursue or arrest us.  I was worried about both of those things.

P.S.  It's the next day.  The thistles seemed to do well in the garage - especially now that it's raining!

It's Time to Harvest Some Thistles!

Thistle Farms needs thistles for their handmade paper.  You've probably seen thistles blooming along the roadside or maybe they're growing in your very own yard!  Here's your chance to put those prickly but beautiful plants to good use.  Watch this two-minute video on how to harvest them for Thistle Farms.

So, grab a friend and go harvest some thistles!  I'm pretty sure you'll have some good stories to tell about it later - maybe even some Lucy and Ethel type stories.  Contact me (via the comments section of this post) if you need help or more info about delivering the dried thistles to Thistle Farms.

By the way, here's some great advice about serving in your community.  Happy thistle harvesting!

P.S.  A few days after writing this post I harvested thistles for the first time.  Please read here before going yourself!