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The Good, the Bad, the Wet, the Dry...
Jun. 19th, 2006 08:22 amWe hauled ourselves out to Fort Meigs this weekend to try our luck at Muster on the Maumee. That's in Perrysburg, Ohio, in the greater Toledo area. We had the good sense to blow town Thursday evening and take a room at a Motel 6 in the greater Cleveland area. That left us a drive of something under two hours the next morning. We was smart, we was!
It was sunny, warm, and just a bit breezy (which made the "warm" part very endurable). Setup was properly boring and a bit lazy. The ground was a bit firmer than it was for Baron Wars in May. Drier, too...can you say "cracks in the ground"?
The company was splendid. The business sucked. Apparently, the event was not very well publicized; Saturday's gate was 500 less than last year. Given the size of the site (ten acres inside the walls with lots of traverse berms chopping it into relatively small areas), it's easy for 1000 people to look real sparse. Saturday, we didn't even cover gas money. *grumble* At least the weather, while hot (most of 100 in the shade in the tent), was dry and breezy. Sunday dawned somewhat overcast and much more humid. *blech* We did about the same business Sunday as Saturday, but at least we covered our travel expenses, and someone bought one of the triangular shawls Megan has been making lately.
We decided that 3pm would be a good time to start breaking down, even though the event nominally ran until 5pm. I was ready to bring the car into the fort when they opened the gate at 4:30, and we had the car loaded and ready to go before 6. Dry canvas, even!
That was when the wind really kicked up. One vendor had (we think) gone to get her vehicle, and the wind started flailing her pavilion badly, while her neighbor was struggling with just getting the tent down. We decided that rendering assistance (we and eight or ten other people) was a Good Thing, and, when the rain started, it was clear that we were right.
Fortunately, it was only a minor disaster involving, mostly, wet people and canvas (as opposed to wet books and other merchandise). There were enough people holding onto poles and dismantling tents to keep canvas from ripping and flailing to bits in the gale. It can also be reckoned a Good Thing that it was just a passing shower.
We were on the highway by 7pm facing a lengthy drive home. Oh, and I was planning to come into work on Monday. Megan drove from 9pm on, with one stop at Breezewood. We rolled into the driveway at about 0330. Fortunately, I had been able to get something resembling sleep most of the time after she took over, so a couple more hours in my bed let me get up at my normal time.
Woof! We won't be doing Muster on the Maumee again...
It was sunny, warm, and just a bit breezy (which made the "warm" part very endurable). Setup was properly boring and a bit lazy. The ground was a bit firmer than it was for Baron Wars in May. Drier, too...can you say "cracks in the ground"?
The company was splendid. The business sucked. Apparently, the event was not very well publicized; Saturday's gate was 500 less than last year. Given the size of the site (ten acres inside the walls with lots of traverse berms chopping it into relatively small areas), it's easy for 1000 people to look real sparse. Saturday, we didn't even cover gas money. *grumble* At least the weather, while hot (most of 100 in the shade in the tent), was dry and breezy. Sunday dawned somewhat overcast and much more humid. *blech* We did about the same business Sunday as Saturday, but at least we covered our travel expenses, and someone bought one of the triangular shawls Megan has been making lately.
We decided that 3pm would be a good time to start breaking down, even though the event nominally ran until 5pm. I was ready to bring the car into the fort when they opened the gate at 4:30, and we had the car loaded and ready to go before 6. Dry canvas, even!
That was when the wind really kicked up. One vendor had (we think) gone to get her vehicle, and the wind started flailing her pavilion badly, while her neighbor was struggling with just getting the tent down. We decided that rendering assistance (we and eight or ten other people) was a Good Thing, and, when the rain started, it was clear that we were right.
Fortunately, it was only a minor disaster involving, mostly, wet people and canvas (as opposed to wet books and other merchandise). There were enough people holding onto poles and dismantling tents to keep canvas from ripping and flailing to bits in the gale. It can also be reckoned a Good Thing that it was just a passing shower.
We were on the highway by 7pm facing a lengthy drive home. Oh, and I was planning to come into work on Monday. Megan drove from 9pm on, with one stop at Breezewood. We rolled into the driveway at about 0330. Fortunately, I had been able to get something resembling sleep most of the time after she took over, so a couple more hours in my bed let me get up at my normal time.
Woof! We won't be doing Muster on the Maumee again...
