It was a great day to be outside enjoying history, well history with a large side helping of humor :-)
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Dazzle and I visited the Renaissance Festival today. He did great with the odd costumes, and the unusual sights, sounds and smells. We were a bit too close to the front for a whip routine and he starled and barked at the whip crack, but recovered well. He wasn't too keen on the cannon fire of the Pirate ship either (though we weren't anywhere near it). But other than those two things, he did quite well!
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We strolled from one show to the next, so mostly I was sitting and he was relaxing in the shade chewing on sticks or snacking on grass. :-) I did bring a bully stick for him to chew on (apparently certain sticks were better) and a ball for him to play with during the down times. He was pulling a bit at the start because he kept wanting to go faster, but relented and walked nicely when he realized it was a "slow pace" day and not a "dog event" for him :-) We saw a few other service dogs and spoke with several people who have, had or train service dogs as well as several people inquiring about his breed.
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Here's a few photos from the day:
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It was a VERY busy day there! But it only felt crowded in a few spots, like the "road" in this photo. The rest of the event was more spread out and didn't feel so crowded.
We even saw the Queen! This was a parade of merchants and performers followed by the Queen on horseback.
- no big deal! :-)
I sat in the "chapel" to rest in the shade and this performer sat down and was talking to me about Dazzle and when she strummed her guitar he was all ears! I wish I had gotten a photo of his head turned sideways, but this was the best I got. Dazzle really liked the sound and had his tail wagging and eyes riveted on her as she played for the first couple minutes. After that, he laid down and chewed on a stick :-)
Muuuuudddd Shhhooowwww!
The Mud Show is THE BEST! We went to two of their shows and I emensely enjoyed both. It seems they didn't practice their routine in the past 10 months because one guy kept forgetting his lines (and said "I guess we should have rehersed!") But they did a great job of ad-libbing and kept the audience in stitches. During the second show, they found a sign on stage that said "sauerkraut balls" and they found that to be funny, so they worked it into the show and it was hillarious! They said it worked so well, they might keep it in the routine!
I had Dazzle pose with 2 of them after their show. What he really wanted was to check out their mud pit! Yes, the guys are covered in mud! The one guy (that had wiped his face) is still holding their donation bucket.
I saw this guy in front of a shop that sold all kinds of fairy stuff and it just made me laugh so I had to take a photo. It is the legs and wings of a fairly sticking out of the frog's mouth :-)
Over all a great day and great socialization for Dazzle. We're both tired now and he's sleeping soundly near me. I'm going to go lie down to rest my legs and back.
