Birdsboro, PA 2008 - Part 7 - Let's Get the Truck Outta There!

So I am going to go on the assumption here that after 6 parts to this Daniel Boone Homestead epic, you are pretty sick of hearing about the mud. Well come Sunday morning we were all sick of hearing about, seeing, and being in the mud too. But we couldn't get away from it, so sadly, neither can you. The night was rather cold, and we were all curled up under as many blankets as we could find to try and keep warm in our tents. It didn't work well. So come morning, we were all just muddy, wet, and cold. Doesn't that sound like fun?

I actually got up before the sun and took a stroll fast paced walk run to the bathroom. And I am pretty sure I saw Bruce hanging around outside. I just snapped a quick picture since I didn't want to disturb him, he looked so content.


I think he was becoming one with the mud, or I could have had one too many of those lovely drinks from our lovely bartender and imagined the whole thing. Hard to tell which it was.

The night prior we had decided that we would just get the truck out of Birdsboro in the morning. We all had a long drive (let's hope ours wasn't as long as the drive up), and it was still muddy, and we just didn't want to stay anymore. So we had to face the music and pack up in the mud.

By Sunday morning our tent looked like a tornado had struck it, I couldn't put things away neatly because everything was muddy, and I didn't want the muddy stuff touching the clean stuff, so I had just let it all go where ever it went and pretty much just shoved it all in plastic bags when we were ready to pack the car.



As the tents were brought down, we saw all the glorious mud underneath. Of course it made folding up the tents a tricky situation, but I think we all survived, and our tents just look all the more worn in!







Now I am going to take a slight departure from the mud and packing up (don't worry we'll get back there) to show you a glimpse of just how some of these pictures get composed. I can tell that by now, this being part seven of our series here, you are asking yourself What happens behind the scenes of all those beautiful pictures? Well in the spirit of learning, I thought I would share with you how the following picture was put together.

Rachel walks back from filling up car with lots of muddy boxes and bags
Bruce: You know you're taking pictures of everyone else, but none of you.
Rachel: You think everyone wants to see me like this?
Bruce: Yeah.
Rachel hands Bruce camera: Okay, but only if I can get a picture with the captain.
Captain: My wife's gonna love this.



And there you have it! A masterpiece. That's magic people, you can't force that.

Moving on.

Once our individual camps were down and our cars were packed, we all teamed up and broke camp. It was all done in lightening speed. Before anyone could even blink all the tents and tarps were down ...









the fire pit was filled with water ...



and the truck was packed.





And of course the kids had to get in one last battle before we left. I think they found that mud monster I had seen earlier in the morning. Don't shoot till you see the white in his eyes!



Scratch that ... SHOOT! FIRE!! DO SOMETHING!!!



After we were all packed and ready to go, we decided to go out for breakfast. Everyone was looking especially dapper and mud free.





Except for this one crazy lady who wouldn't leave us alone. She followed us here and she wouldn't leave. And she brought the mud with her. Who let her in here anyway? SECURITY!



All in all, this weekend was an adventure. We had fun because we survived it. And we get to be a part of the story.

Remember that time we went camping in Arizona?
Oh yeah, and we had to cook eggs without a spatula.
And the mud monster came out at night.
And he was sending me text messages.
And then we found the spatula as we were packing up Sunday morning?


Good times. Good times.

And they all lived happily ever after.



The end.

To see all the pictures from Sunday, click here.

Believe me yours faithfully,
Rachel

Birdsboro, PA 2008 - Part 6 - The Homestead

This is the view I had of the colonial encampment after coming back from the battle. As you can see, there are rows of MUD in the grass. I know how much you all love hearing about the mud, so I can't very well leave it out of this portion either, now can I? I just love the look of these tents all lined up, it's one of my favorite vies at these events.



The kids decided not to watch the battle with us because they were having so much fun playing together. I snuck over after the battle to see just what the kids were up to, and the tallest one was giving orders to his "troops" and they were all too happy to follow. They darted in and around the tents to get a good shot at the "enemy." It was too adorable. I am sure they will all make find Rev War soldiers one day.





Kitty had started roasting dinner for us while I was away watching the boys in battle. She was cooking a beef and pork roast over the open fire. She had turning the spit down to a science and they both turned out perfectly cooked. I boiled up some carrots and potatoes to go with it, and it made for a very hearty meal.





The men arrived back from the battle, proudly marching through the camp. I actually didn't see the end of the battle, and I never bothered to ask who won, but I am sure whether they won or lost, they put up a good fight in the end.





Not all of the guns worked properly while fighting, Kris' gun didn't fire at all. It can be very frustrating when you want to be a part of the whole thing and you can't because of a non-functioning gun. I believe Art's gun was also having a little trouble in the battle. Here he is inspecting it afterwards.



Before dinner was served, Kris and I went to explore the Homestead. There were living historians there that took the time to explain to us a little bit about Daniel Boone's life and the time he spent here. Here is one of the first rooms we visited. Check out the videos to hear some music and a good explanation of this room.







We also toured the rest of the house. It was set up as it would have been during Daniel Boone's time. Check out this Wikipedia page to learn a bit more about Daniel Boone and his life. It's very interesting. I always thought of him as a frontiersman, a pioneer, which of course he is, but he is so much more! I learned a lot about him just from our small tour.



Here's a rare shot of Kris and I together outside the house, Art was kind enough to take it for us.



When we headed over to the blacksmith shop, the blacksmith offered for Kris to climb in and take a closer look. I snapped a quick picture of the two of them. The blacksmith was a very engaging speaker and really gave us some great insight into Daniel Boone's life.





Kris took this shot of me taking a rest after walking so much. I have a hard time standing and walking for a long time because I have a bad back and shin splints, so I laid down for a bit to try and take a small rest. I think Kris did an awesome job composing this picture. I very rarely like pictures of me, but I really like this one!



As the night wore down, we all were very tired. There was of course some after hours spirit to be had, made by our favorite bartender.

Hey woman, make me something strong!


Okay Bruce didn't really say that, I just thought it was funny. But Debbie does make a mighty fine drink that always seem to make me feel a little bit lightheaded at the end of the night!



We even had a first on this trip! Debbie has been doing this for 8 years now, I believe, and she admitted that this was the first time she has ever drank in 3 inches of mud!! How about that! Glad we could be there to experience this first with you!



There were also some snacks to be shared, and some lively conversation to be had.





We were even joined by Janie for a little bit!!



But, even with all the good drinks, food, and conversations, everyone headed off to bed a little earlier then usual. Fighting with all the mud can really wear a person out!

To see all the pictures from Saturday afternoon/evening check out my photo album here.

Believe me yours faithfully,
Rachel

Birdsboro, PA 2008 - Part 5 - The Battle

After lunch the boys had a battle. First all the colonists formed up in the field behind our tents, and the coordinators came around in their orange shirts and checked all the guns for safety.



While the calvary looked on to make sure their troops were doing as they were told.



The First New Hampshire had a small turn out of guys this time, only four! But they joined up with some other small groups and all together they were rearing to go battle some British!



There was actually a strong showing of colonists overall. Because this was a Continental Line event, we saw groups all the way from Virginia. Usually we don't see them at the events we do, because it's too far for them to travel to our events and we don't travel to theirs (though we will be doing another Continental Line event in VA this year). So it was neat to see colonist groups from NH to VA, and all points in between.



After the safety checks, it became just like the modern military, hurry up and wait.

They brought their guns up ...



Then they brought their guns down ...



Then they finally headed off to battle.



Oh and it wouldn't be a post about the Daniel Boone experience without mentioning some more about the mud! Here's a bit of what our captain had to say about it:

Just a quick note to intrepid few that made the trip to Boons. Never in all my years have I ever seen that much deep mud. Flanders field in France was the only one that could have surpassed it.

I literally had 2 inches of red clay mud caked on the bottom of my petticoat. Lindsay took this picture for me as we were headed out to watch the battle.



The battle started with some fighting going on around this little house. I didn't get any pictures of that part, because we decided to set ourselves down in front of the lower field to make sure we could get some good pictures and videos of the guys.



The colonists pushed the British past the house and into the lower field.



I got some pictures and video of a group of loyalists, who were the first into the field, but I wasn't sure who they were, so I asked if anyone knew when I posted the video on YouTube. I got a response from lgrzerostr:

It's the Jagers!! loyal to King and Country! HUZZA!! (there are umlauts over that a in Jager)Signed "a happy lobsterback"







Eventually all the British moved down into the lower field and they were handing out some good volleys to the colonists.





The Indians joined in the battle and were seen ducking in and out of the bushes, putting up a good fight.



Once the colonists were in the field completely, our guys were right up front, which was great. Most times I have a hard time getting good pictures of them because they always seem to be towards the back side of the field. Our captain had a few things to say about the battle as well.

We also had a battle, that turned out well. We captured a gun position, that went over well with the attending British commander. After the battle he conceded he never expected that to happen. It was done safely and swiftly. Stunned would be a good explanation.

Unfortunately I missed that part, so I don't have any pictures of it, but I did get a fun series of pictures that shows each step of them lowering their guns to shoot at the British across the field.





















And here is a picture of what they were shooting at.



I also was able to capture a few videos of the action:





After a short break ...



The boys started to move forward.







Pushing the British even farther back ...





Overall it was a great battle, probably one of the better ones I have seen. They were nice and close to the audience in the field and we really got a good view of all the action.

To see all the photos from the Saturday battle, click here.

Believe me yours faithfully,
Rachel