I will not be at Pennsic this year due to not having enough vacation time at work after our trip to Wyoming. When I woke this morning, I realized just how sad I am about missing it and started thinking about what I love so much about it.

-Driving down the highway near the camp ground and seeing the hundreds of tents set up and the smell of campfires coming through the vents in my car.
-Rounding that corning on the road leading into the camp ground and seeing the battle field to the left and troll straight in front of you and knowing you’re finally there.
-Hugging all the friends that I only get to see at Pennsic.
-Walking at night and seeing the many camps set up and aglow with candles and fires and lights. Hearing the laughter and joy from the friends gathered around those fires regaling their day and what they’d done.
-Being (mostly) disconnected from the modern world and reveling in the simplicity of the immersion into it all.
-The classes! Oh the classes and how much I have learned over the years from so many gifted gentles.
-Enjoying an ice cream cone in the shade of a tree in merchants row on a hot day with my boys.
-Strolling through the merchants during Midnight Madness, the lanterns hanging from their pavilions casting a golden glow from within. Seeing everyone dressed in their finest for one of the biggest social events of the week.
-Wolgemut.
-Court and all the pomp and circumstance that goes with it. Seeing friends being recognized for what they love doing be it art, service, martial arts, etc.
-Seeing the starry sky as clear as I have ever seen it while sitting in a chair after a full day of activities and having a beverage with my chosen family. Its so peaceful and calming to my soul.
-The A&S display where you can see so much talent!!! It blows my mind what people can do. Its inspiring and makes me want to learn more and try something new.
-The “schtick”. Oh yes…shenanigans abound at Pennsic and how I have laughed (and cried) when I have been lucky enough to be involved or around when they happen.
-Trying the tasty brews that people have concocted in the previous long town run.
-The drums. I miss the drumming in the evening. Many a night they have lulled me to sleep with a smile on my face.
-Taking photos of…everything. I would come home having taken thousands of them. The battles. The fencing. The arts and sciences display. Court. Candid shots of people in the food court or walking the streets or sitting around the fires having a drink and laughing. All. The. Photos. This is my favorite thing of all I would say.
-Baron Ernst, my Pelican and mentor. He always made Pennsic that much more fun and enjoyable. I miss him so much.

There are, of course, some things about Pennsic I won’t miss.
-Weeks of garb making and repair prior to leaving because the boys have all outgrown what they had last year (or last month).
-Staging and packing all the shit that goes along with a week + camping trip.
-The long drive there in a van you can barely see out the back of the window because of all that you packed into it.
-The heat and humidity that tends to happen during war. Oh..and the rain. And while I love thunderstorms, my back and neck does not. Nor do the weasels in my brain that bring up the fear of being hit by lightening.
-What goes along with the rain…wet canvas and packing it up because inevitably, it always rains either the Friday or Saturday at the end.
-Damp sheets (well this one is more Ryan’s than mine) and sleeping on a travel bed of some sorts.
-Port-o-Castles
-And at the end..packing it up and driving back home to unpack it all, air it out to dry and then store.
-Mostly though, saying good-bye to friends and family I see too infrequently. Hugs and tears are in abundance then.

So, my friends going to war, enjoy it to its fullest. Savor every memory, cherish every friendship be they old or new and relish every experience you have. Say the I love you’s and give the hugs. You know why.

And remember – “If you’re not having fun, then you’re doing it wrong.”

Ciao.