[random] The boy and I go reaving

Reaving. Not the usual sort of activity one engages in, eh? Even if you live in an area with as strong a Scandinavian heritage as Seattle, it's ya-sure-you-betcha loggers and fishermen most folks identify with, not Vikings. In our house, we dig Vikings... At any rate, the boy and I went to the Viking Festival in Poulsbo, WA. I know, the place was founded by squarehead[*] loggers and fishermen, but what the heck, right? The weather didn't look too bad, we needed to get out of the house, so I figured we'd go the long way, up to the Edmonds ferry. After his initial reaction ("Oh boy! Vikings!"), the boy was kind of skeptical. "Are there going to be real Vikings there?" No, there will be people dressed like Vikings, showing you how Vikings lived. "Aren't there any more Vikings?" No, they stopped being Vikings after a while and became farmers and traders. "Why? Did they run out of monks?" Snort. Heh. Like I said, in our house, we dig the Vikings. Pirates are okay, too - but there's just something about Vikings... At any rate, despite a horrific downpour that struck just as we were looking for parking, we had a great day. We rode some rides on the carnival, we ate some typical Kiawanis/Cub Scout/Lions Club festival food for lunch, rode some more rides, then the boy got to wear a 'real' Viking helmet (excellent craftsmanship), check out some superbly-made chain mail, and heft a dull but otherwise perfect throwing axe... "There", the interpreter says, as he shows the boy what he looks like in a mirror, "ready for pillaging." "Cool.", I say, "Let's go find us some monks." There is an appreciative chuckle from the latter-day Vikings behind the table. All-in-all, it was a good day. * Yes, squarehead... I figure having more than a couple of Gunnars and Carls on one side of the family gives me some latitude ;-) Oh, and the Irish monk jokes? That's covered by part of the other side of my family... [back]