Arizona Tea Party
Anisa at the Lotion Candle Booth
Lotion Candles
Griffin's Leather Booth
Griffin's Leather
Musketeer Display
This month we start the Arizona show. We also start the Tampa show and say goodbye to an old friend.
February marks the beginning of our festival season. I look forward to Arizona each year. We have lots of friends there. But, it means I have to leave home and Sharon behind in Florida since she has to open the Tampa show. So, I’m always conflicted. It was so much more fun when Sharon did that show too.
So, off I went to Arizona. I made my usual pit stops in Houston and Fredericksburg. But, I added a stop in New Orleans. So, it went; New Orleans to visit Mike and Bethany, Houston to visit Mark and Family, Fredericksburg to buy hot sauce and then on to the AZ festival site. I left Tuesday afternoon and arrived in AZ Thursday night. Not bad time. I only had to put in one 16 hour day.
After getting loaded in, it was time to open the fair. This year we hope to finish training the B team or Tortuga 2.0. So we have our #2 guy here in Arizona training. Our hope is to have him ready in time for Tampa. His name is John Wray. He’s training to do Ronn’s lines. Not an easy task I might add. He has his own brand of “in your face”. We all have our own style, but since we’ve worked together so long Riki and I understand how his mind works. We could step into his role if needed much more easily than anyone else. So a newbie trying to fill his shoes is a monumental task. John will soon have his first on-stage performance. Wish him luck! Heck, wish us all luck!
After the second weekend (a three day), I flew home to Florida to help Sharon set up our new booths at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival. In addition to Sharon’s booth for Ruth, we’re opening a leather booth and a lotion candle booth.
Lotion Candles is an amazing new product on the festival circuit. It’s a shea butter based candle full of natural ingredients. It’s completely natural and hypo-allergenic. There’s like twenty different fragrances. We’re only carrying ten. They come in three sizes; Small — 2-3 months, Large- a year, X-Large — 2 years. They are good for your hands, dry elbows, stretch marks, cuticles and much more. And, there’s no wax, paraffin or chemicals of any kind. The candle heats the lotion to 2 degrees above skin temperature so your pores open and absorb all the nutrients. That way there is no need to re-apply throughout the day. If you’re interested in the candles drop me an email.
Our other new booth in Tampa is Griffin’s leather. I worked for Ken Wilson’s Excalibur leather in Colorado last year. I’ve been good friends with him for years. So, he’s wholesaling to me. Excalibur’s stuff is by far the best leather on the circuit and everyone knows it. They make the most amazing hats. But everything from their pouches to their baldrics to their gloves is amazing.
We picked up our tents on ebay. I LOVE EBAY!! There is nothing you can’t find there. Then I had my friend Jay help me put together the displays. All I have to do now is SELL, SELL, SELL!! Hopefully it’ll work out. I’ve got thousands of dollars invested. But I, like Ronn, want to be diversified in the festival world and realize we can’t be Tortuga’s forever. Time will tell.
James and Sharon at Animal Kingdom
Michela, Amy, and Sharon at Animal Kingdom
Everest at Animal Kingdom
Sharon and Jef at the Rose and Crown
Spaceship Earth at EPCOT
Tasty Morsels! Amy and Sharon
After the first weekend of Tampa we had a couple of days to relax. My friend James works at Disney. So, he got us into the parks and showed us around Animal Kingdom. He’s a tour facilitator, so he’s a font of Disney information. Some of the stories and tidbits of info he has are amazing! If you ever go to Disney World and want to take one of the behind the scenes tours, ask for James Songster. Trust me you won’t be disappointed.
We had a great time. Sharon’s friend Amy and Michela of the “Washing Well Wenches” joined us. We met James at animal Kingdom. After going on Expedition Everest James took off and we headed to MGM. It was our plan to go on the Tower of Terror and the Rockin’ Rollercoaster, but the lines were too long so we got a drink and headed to EPCOT. We stayed at EPCOT till about 6pm then headed home. It sure is nice to have friends in high places.
Unfortunately, I have to end this journal on a sad note. During my trip home, I had to put my eldest dog Silk down. She was an awesome dog! She was smart, loving and beautiful, not to mention a big part of the family. She was the first dog Sharon and I got together. I’ve always had dogs in my life. My mother bred and groomed poodles. So my household is no stranger to animals of the canine persuasion.
Two years ago during a routine check up the vet told me she had declining kidney function. Old dogs usually die from one of two things. Either heart or kidney problems. So when she stopped eating I knew there was a chance it was her time. I’m glad she held on till I got home. It would have been really tough on Sharon to have to deal with this without me there. And it gave me chance to say goodbye. You might not understand what a big part of your family a dog can be unless you have one.
Anyway... goodbye my friend. We miss you very much. I promise to take good care of your sisters. You won’t be forgotten.
Silk and Jasmine Napping
Jef and Silk
Jasmine and Minois miss their sister
