"Buy my Fresh Apples"

This was the first year that a Renaissance Faire came within 2 hours of us. Considering costumes for a $2 discount, I went to help my sister find something.
"Here this doesn't match," I said, and she gave me a bewildered look.
"Match?..." she queried. Then I remembered who I was talking to.
 She blinked and realized what'd she'd naturally said then repeated "Match?!..." with a laugh that followed her down the hall.

So sans costumes, we went, finding my way to the parking lot by my sister's directions on the phone. "Turn left through the trees, over some boards--jump the curb, down a dirt road to the parking lot." And the adventure began. (Right after some rosemary bread, grapes, and string cheese.)

The place was teaming with characters and costumes.
We saw the "Jester in Polyester" ( as my sister dubbed him) which brought out giggles when I finally met him because the title was SO hideously shiny green-and-purple perfect.
 We climbed aboard a model pirate ship setting off a prerecorded sea chantey --which Kingfisher immediately memorized. My sister tried on a $150 leather bustiere which, no joke--is guaranteed for life or 150 years. Which really is quite a bargain.
A random woman dressed simply in comparison to the heavily armored, big skirted, tightly laced typicals kept wandering in and out of little crowds softly singing "Fresh Apples! Buy my fresh apples." Which--I can't help it, maybe it was all the exposed corsets walking around-- just didn't sound all that innocent.

In the Artisans Circle we saw a woman cutting out a stained glass nativity, a simple lathe work--and get repaired, a fire eater (wearing as much or little as you'd expect), and a Robin Hood-like character explained the power and workings of a long bow while his beautiful retired greyhound lounged in the
shade nearby.

 

We heard Celtic music and saw a potter's kick-wheel at work
(just after he slammed the ball of clay on, splattering mud in our eye). I missed the Lady with the Kestrel--or was it the Kestrel with the lady? But heard they were beautiful. Saw a Punch and Judy show where the puppet heads kept getting ridiculously mixed up. Saw some elegant calligraphy Bowery Bird was interested in, and other bustieres I had to tell Mockingbird she could try on over my dead body (not really).

It was a simple, but novel faire swarming with school uniforms. At the exit as I steadied myself against the waves of children and chaperons, Good Queen Bess teased a "young squire" showing off, a balloon popped,  then as the throng of people dispersed I heard softly in the distance, "Fresh Apples...Buy my Fresh apples"...a perfectly surreal ending to our day.