Why Monday is missing...
Folks, it may be Wednesday or Thursday before the Salamander manages to open up again. And the horoscope doesn’t appear until Tuesday because I am exhausted.
We had a fantastic Moonfaire, except for the weather on Sunday. I was awakened in the hotel at 3 AM by the worst storm in history. Imagine the poor people who were camping. Two corners, one on each tent, had lifted up in the storm but we had little damage because George had covered all the merchandise tables before we left. He learned that waterproof canvas is NOT waterproof on Sunday morning. It leaks!
Although the weather report said 80% chance of showers, George decided to take the tent sides down and dry them. You guessed it. It started raining. So he ran to get the sides up and managed to get the last one up as the storm of the century hits. Trust me, you never want to be in a pop-up tent in 30 mph winds, driving rain and lightning. I knew we were in real trouble when the tent started lifting with 200 lbs. of me attached to the ceiling trusses. Then, the thought slowly crawled through my brain that I was holding onto a metal frame in a thunderstorm. I concluded the trees we were between were taller, more likely to be hit and it wouldn't matter if I was holding on to the frame or not: I was getting it! So I held on for dear life. Finally an idea hit me and I screamed for George to start lowering the tent legs and Armando ran over and started helping. Once lowered, the lift stopped. BUT then clothing rack then fell over, being tall, with me under it. Talk about the Keystone cops. I survived that without loss of blood and eventually the storm was over. One person lost their tent, another was injured holding theirs down and we survived without injury except for the loss of some stock. As I said, at worst, I have some new cloths to wear. I think we will all be coming up with new ways to tie down tents and I even checked the web site today and discovered they have super anchors for E-zup Tents and weighted bags for sand to attach to the legs. I am coming up with my own gutter design for between the tents because the tops hold water, really, really well.
After that experience, the poor tourists that had been trapped in the Castle parking lot were in a buying mood. I think they figured if they were finishing their vacation in this Hades Spot called South Florida, they might need a little Magick to survive! Welcome to the Tropics, Ladies and Gentlemen! We were all about ready to pack up when the customers descended, slightly damp, and made our day. So, we stayed the day. I learned the value of dry underwear. Trust me, if you are ever soaking wet for a couple of hours you will know what I mean!
Naturally everything was wet which makes it twice to four times as heavy and packing was a bear. We arrived home too tired to do much. George knew the end was near when I started giggling hysterically at nothing. After a night's rest, I felt like I had been beat up by something big and nasty. We still have to unpack, having paid for an additional day for the van.
It occurred to me that all we women do before a fair is wash and it's all we do after one. The guys just pack and unpack. I've got about 8 hours of laundry ahead of me.....
All I can say is if you weren't there... you missed quite an experience. We had a great time, with great people in a great location. Each time better prepares all of us for dealing with the vending experience and one of these days, we will get it down pat. Until then, it's the cheapest adventure you can get.