Duncans Mills 2010

Last weekend we had our second Civil War reenactment experience at Duncans Mills.  It is such a beautiful place, right along the Russian River, and next to the coast, so the weather was nice a cool.  My camera battery died the morning of our first day so I did not get that many pictures, but luckily my cousins Andera and Miriam, Miriam's hubby Gatlin and their French foreign exchange student Antoine, came up for the day and so I was able to snag some pictures from Miriam!

Here are the few pics I got:

Austin now gets to sleep in a dog tent with the other cadets and he loves it!

Bryce and his brother Michael getting ready for drill

Danny building a train in the hay pile.  He laid out long line of the firewood kindling, for the tracks.  He even had bridges.  He then used a piece of bark for the train.  That pile of hay was the best entertainment, he played in it all day!

Austin and the cadet cannon

Danny washing the dishes, he loved doing this!

And these are the pictures from my cousin Miriam

The boys and I at the hay pile, you can also see Danny train tracks in this pic.

Antoine,Andera, a sleeping Danny, Bryce,  Michael, Austin, Me, Gatlin and Miriam

Bryce and Michael on the battlefield

Danny and I crossing the field and *gasp* you can see my ankles!

My new fancy bonnet!  I also got a new carpet bag so I can carry around my camera and lens but still look period correct!

Roaring Camp

Last weekend was our first Civil War reenactment of the season, and it was just down the road at Roaring Camp Railroads.  The boys had a great time as usual.  I barely saw Austin all weekend.  This was his first time getting to sleep out on his own in a dog tent, he is getting so grown up!  For Danny the best part was getting to see the trains going by constantly!  My mom, dad and grandma came to down to spend the weekend with us as well!

American Civil War Association Ball

Bryce and I got to take a weekend getaway to attend the American Civil War Association Ball in Sonora, CA.  It was great to have some time, just the two of us (the boys stayed with Grampy)!

We learned a valuable lesson!  When traveling to destinations unknown to you, always print up a map because it is very possible your navigation system won't get a signal!

But regardless of that minor detail, we made it to the ball and it was wonderful!  It started off with dinner, followed by the Coming Out of the debutauntes, then danincing, dessert and a raffle.  We learned how to dance the Grand March, the Virginia Reel, the Sicilian Circle and a couple others that I can't recall the names.  I loved the dancing!  We even had dance cards!

That's us trying to figure out our dance cards!

The dessert was so good and we won 2 raffles item - some books and a ladies haversack (a bag)!

I am so glad we went, we had such a lovely time and I can't wait til we do it again next year!

Civil War Days, Fresno, CA

(sorry the pictures turned out so small! You can click on them to see them bigger!)

We just returned from a wonderful weekend in Fresno, CA. We were at Kearney Park for the Civil War Days. It used to big, open fields, with a mansion set right in the middle of nowhere. Now it is a beautiful park, full of trees and green grass.

There was so much to see and do, and I really enjoyed it all. We watched a blacksmith make a lantern hook, that stakes into the ground. That was Austin's favorite. We watched artisans spin wool into yarn, weave on a loom and make lace. There was always music being played somewhere; the fiddle, the drums, the bugle, the fife, which made for a fun atomsphere. We listened to 2 ladies from Ebony Verses, who were portraying Harriet Tubman and Sorjourner Truth, sing some of the songs that the slaves would use to pass along coded messages about escape. That was my favorite part. Their voices were so beautiful! We also toured the mansion. It was built in 1903 and still had so much of the original furniture, wall paper and paintings. It was lovely.

Bryce and I had an actual tintype taken of us. It was fun to watch the process. It took about 10 minutes to prepare and take the photo. We had to hold still for about 5 seconds, so that wasn't too bad. It then took another 45 minutes to finish processesing and dry. It is quite an art form!

Danny loved to play in the trees, which I loved because it kept him busy and close to the camp! He also loved to follow the big boys around and try and play battle with them. It was very cute but someone needs to teach that boys how to hold a rifle!
Austin was very busy running wild with his friends, and traing with the cadets. But by Sunday afternoon, he had come down with a fever and all he wanted to do was sleep. Poor guy, but it did allow me to get an amazing shot of him.
Bryce was finally able to get his musket, and it made him a very happy boy! The stock is walnut and very beautiful but I didn't think to get a close up shot of it. I am sure will have me rectify that soon!
The pics of me are kind of random. The first one, I was just loving the evening sunlight, and the second one I was just messing around in the tent.
Here are some more random pics. The first is of the flags at day break. The next is of the park at sunset. Then the camp ground at night under a beautiful moon. And finally some lanterns. I love the magical glow that the lanterns give to the campground at night!

Nevada City

This past weekend we went and did our 2nd reenactment, this time at Pioneer Park in Nevada City. We were camped out in baseball fields (we were in out in left field - haha!) and it was wonderful to be on the cool, green grass but having backstops and chain link fences in the background of the pictures was frustrating for me!
Austin spent some of his time training with the cadets. He and his little friend are still a little young to be official cadets but the lieutenant lets them join anyway, and he says they do a great job! I went down to get some pictures of one of their drills and they were teaching the cadets how to take hits and make it look and sound real. Austin was good at taking the fall but then he would just lay there and laugh!
Danny had a cold and so he was a bit cranky all weekend but he would NOT take a nap for me. Which is ironic because I have spent the last week trying to not let him have naps (because he was waking up at 4 in the morning)! Well, I went to get us some lunch and came back and this is what I found:
While watching the battles Danny liked to climb on all the rocks. So I was trying to chase after him, in a hoop skirt and corset, which amused all the onlookers, and trying to get pictures of Bryce in the battle as well!
After a morning of intense heat we were all so glad for the afternoon rain. We all stood outside and just enjoyed it! The rain then gave away to some beautiful clouds at sunset.
In our tent that night I was trying to get this picture of the lantern but was having a hard time because . . .
my picture monster kept jumping in front of the camera!
Here is Bryce enjoying the campfire that night. We also spent some time laying on the grass and star gazing. We saw some amazing shooting stars!
Here is the ammunition loading table. Bryce taught me how to roll the paper cartridges, fill them with the powder and fold them closed!

And here is Danny, playing on the field. He got so dirty from that red dirt! He had fun stacking up the firewood, drawing in the dirt, splashing in the dish washing tubs and escaping from me - a lot!
One of the sweetest moments was on Sunday morning. I saw our Chaplain walking slowly around the field, reading the Bible in his hands and preparing for the morning sermon. When I looked up again, Danny was walking right along with him, in a companionable silence, while eating his granola bar. The Chaplain was so inspired by this that it made its way into the morning sermon. I went to grab my camera and snap a picture of them but Danny was gone (again) by the time I got back.
Despite his crankiness he was still a charmer and people loved taking pictures of him. He even had some repeat fans who saw him at the last reenactment!
My handsome boys in front of our tent.
A family picture. See what I mean about the fencing and backstops being annoying. I had to constantly try to get the right angle to avoid having it in the background!
I am wearing the dress that Bryce picked out for me, and everyone loved it! It will double as my ballgown as well.
We also got to meet President Lincoln!
And here is all the wonderful family that came out to share the day with us!
My brother Mark, holding a sleeping Danny, Maysie and Tanya, my Mom and Dad, my cousin Kathleen and my Grandma.
We ended the weekend by watching the Constitution Day parade downtown and having dinner with the family on our way out of town. It was a wonderful weekend and we can't wait til the even in Fresno next month!

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!