Our Alternate Lifestyle

We spent this past weekend immersed in the years 1860 -1864 and it was a wonderful adventure! It was our first time as civil war reenactors and we all truly enjoyed it. Getting all geared up for the event was quite a challenge as everything needs to be period correct. So I spent a lot of time researching what clothes we needed. I was able to get my dresses and Bryce's uniform easily but clothes for the boys were another matter. I ended up getting clothes from the thrift stores and altering them to be period correct (with a LOT of help from my mom!). My fingers were numb by the time I had re-sewn on all the buttons!
We drove up to Duncans Mills (near Bodega Bay) on Friday and got our camp set up and settled in to our tent.
Saturday morning the bugle wake up call was at 6:20 am (way too early after not sleeping well on the hard ground the night before!) We got all dressed and ready in time for breakfast, which is planned and cooked by one family with others assigned to kp duty to help. Meals were much easier than I anticipated. Everything was streamlined and even cleanup was easy. Washing our dishes was even easier than it is at home!
The soldiers and cadets would drill in the morning before the battle. Austin is a little young to be an official cadet but the still let him participate and he did great (besides talking a lot!). He even went on the 2 mile hike with them. I barely saw him all weekend long. When he wasn't with the cadets or eating with us he was with his friend in the next camp over. It was wonderful to be able to just let him run and enjoy!
Danny spent his time hanging around camp with me, running around and playing in the dirt. He loved drinking out of the tin cups and playing in the tent. We would take walks down to see the horses, the battles and the town. And everywhere we went he would get his picture taken. He just looks so cute in his period style clothes. I think the hat was my favorite part. I love him in it and he loved wearing it too, which is ironic because at home I can hardly ever get him to keep a hat on!
This experience was a dream come true for Bryce! Even though all the marching wore out his feet and the battle cries cost him his voice by the end! We were able to spend a lot of time together which was really nice. We even went on a date to the ball on saturday night!
One of my favorite thing was the campsite at night. All the tents were lit up by the soft glow of lanterns and the stars were very bright above. It was so peaceful. Learning how to do my hair and wearing a hat and a hoop skirt were very different for me. Thanks to my Grandma for the hat pin, it sure helped a lot! It is fun to be in my 30's and still be able to dress up. I am sure bring a decendent of a southern belle helped (it is a good thing I married a northern boy!)
Here are some more of my favorite shots from the weekend:
This weekend was a definite learning experience! We have a list going of things to remember for next time, such as gel insoles for Bryce and not forgetting our sleeping bags!