August 2005

NEWSFLASH! The Tortugas are in Minnesota, and we're lovin' it! That's right, we've had four weekends thus far here at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival with a fifth fast approaching, and the fun is well underway.

The boyz and I have already begun gearing up for the next installment of the Tortugapalooza 2: Spies legacy. We've held rehearsals, we've worked on the new playbill, hell we've even dragged our collective asses down to the Women's Club Theater and Café Lurcat to scope out the new digs for our Minnesota show and afterparty. And, ooh they gonna be sweet!

 

Yea, though I walk through the shadow of the valley of Little Splashy Things...

I dreamed I loved a butterfly

Sometime's we're too close

But first, there are the last few weeks of the Great Lakes Medieval Faire to contend with. That's right, the first part of August still found us in the metropolitan Mecca that is northeast Ohio. Fear not, my Tortugaholics, we found plenty-o-fun to keep us entertained 'twixt thar-n-har. We are Tortugas after all, and the fun doth not fall far from the freaks. What fun, pray tell? Well, first off there's been a little bit of travel happening since my last journal entry, and not all from yours truly.

Party-powerhouses Amy and Anne came all the way from Florida to hang out with Tortuga-wife Sharon and celebrate Amy's birthday. They and our own "Halls of Happy" (Jef & Sharon Hall, duh!) took a sightseeing tour of Niagara Falls, then spent the rest of their quality time hanging out and enjoying the stunning sites of Ohio's wine country... or is that county?

Next, Webmaster-Flash Andy Blau [I appreciate the name, but I hate Flash...-AB], whom some of you know better as Zoltan the Adequate, made a weekend visit to Ohio and the Great Lakes show. He came in as a guest performer and tantalized folks at each one of his shows with feats of magic and daring-geekery. This working holiday of his was good for us Tortugas, too. It gave all of us a chance to hang out, which is an opportunity that doesn't happen often enough with our Ontarian friend. Todd & Ruth - who were putting me up/putting up with me - offered he and his two rats(yes, rats... that's not a typo) crash space while they were in town, and a good time was had by all.

 

Andy Blau - more than Just Adequate

Birthday Momma Susan

The Boyz are back!

I took a trip recently to Colorado. No, not to visit the Colorado Renaissance Festival, but to help my dearest friend throw her mother a surprise birthday party. We spent the week in preparation, and we had a good time at it, too. When all was said and done all the right people were there, Mom was surprised and tickled, and everyone had cake - what could be better! During my visit I got in some sightseeing and shopping on Pearl Street in scenic Boulder, and I even attended class at Colorado University.

The teacher was entertaining enough to make a dry subject palatable, though my classmate reminded me that I was still in the "novelty stage" and hadn't been forced to endure the lectures on beyond bearable like she had. Too soon I had to leave the state where so much beauty grows free as weeds. As always, I had to work on the weekend.

Finally, the last of our friends to visit the land of Ohio wineries were Earl & Therese Perrin. Some of you might recognize Earl from his cameo appearance at the end of our first DVD project, The Beer Show. He and his wife came up for a (wedding?)... (funeral?)... I forget. Anywho, they showed up and were given a tour of the local vineyards by Jef & Sharon - I think they'd actually earned their Tour Guide badges by this point. Later on we all (including Ronn) met for dinner, and again... a good time was had by all.

I can't tell you how nice it is to have some of our non-festival friends come and stay for a visit. At any time during our festival season, we'd love to see them. Whether it be in the moist Arizona desert - lotta rain this year in that there desert - the Amish-speckled back roads of Ohio, or anywhere in between, seeing our friends brings a sense of home and family to us that does our Tortuga hearts good.

 

Fine as wine

Tropical Paradise at Chez Sarina

Chef Marshall grills while Rosie and Jef enjoy the aroma

This now brings us to Minnesota where we were welcomed merrily with what was labeled a "Tortuga cookout." Sarina Stone opened her home to us - or at least the back patio area - and invited friends and family over for a very healthy-yet-yummy cookout. Of course, it didn't hurt things that her brother Marshall is a renowned Twin Cities chef. We ate and drank and toasted our fortune well into the evening. Aah... good times, good times.

The most interesting thing we've done in a while came up soon afterward. We were hired to perform for Special Ed. teachers at their monthly get together in Katy Trottier's - aka Tortuga fan, Ms. Torture - back yard. There was a multi-level deck, power lines over head, and a dog that kept wandering oh-so-close to the action. This all made for a highly entertaining and visually surreal swordfighting show. But, you know us... we'll perform almost anywhere and under almost any condition.

 

Teacher gig at Ms. Torture's Pad

Hot for teacher

Tiger Tortuga

Well, that about sums things up for me. Next journal I'll tell you about my trip to New York for my ex-rennie friend Melissa's wedding. I might even toss in a word or two about Palooza 2: Minnesota. Who knows, but either way you'll have to tune in right back here if you want to get the goods on what's happening in the Rikker's life. Ciao, my Tortugaholics!