Category Archives: Family Adventures

Family Adventures, Photo-A-Day

Granite State Comicon 2023 – Day 1

technoblade
Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01718

Today I took Eva to the Granite State Comicon in Manchester, NH. The con is one that we have enjoyed going to since our first family trip in 2018. I did attend the very first one way back when they started because I was friends with the organizers. I still am and love to see them at the show each year.

Packed for the con

We packed up the car with our materials for our costumes. Eva was showcasing two of her characters this time out with one on Saturday and one on Sunday. This meant a couple of wigs plus my wig for my costume. We arrived at the convention just as they opened the showroom floor and we got our passes and made a first pass through the entire show. We would do this several more times throughout the weekend because that is what we do, w tour the floors and then go to a couple of the panels.

Cosplay at the con

Eva’s cosplay is of a character called Technoblade. I was doing an original character and when I got to the con I immediately picked up a foam sword to carry around. This is an interesting one with a black blade and what looks like a hand brake for a motorcycle and two parts of brass knuckles. It went with my costume which had a very tech heavy look.

We attended a couple of panels. One on doing makeup and special effects using latex and the other on using different materials in cosplay. I think that Eva enjoyed both of these and got some good ideas. We were able to check into the room at 3pm and I did that on the app and when it was time we went to the car and got our luggage. I stayed in the room for a bit to relax. MY head was hurting from my wig which was very tight. It was so tight that I had a line across my head from it.

I did make it back downstairs to see the costume contest. Eva did not enter this year but there were many great costumes to see. She had a great time and then we headed to get some dinner.

no cjs tonight

We were going to try and get dinner at Cactus Jack’s because they are closing at the end of the year and that was one place that we enjoyed when we were in NH in the past. However, even at 7:30 or so there was a 40 minute wait for two people. We decided that that was too long so we ended up over at T-Bones for dinner instead. Another NH restaurant that I enjoyed when I lived there. It was early to bed tonight because we were exhausted and we still had another day at the con tomorrow.

Family Adventures, Photo-A-Day

Experiencing King Richard’s Faire 2023

Family Photo at KRF
Photo-A-Day 2.0 #01706

Today we went to King Richard’s Faire. We were guests of the realm as we have been for the past 10+ years. this has been a family tradition for so long. We get press passes to come to the faire as a family and we have such an amazing time each trip. This year there were some new attractions but there were also some of our old favorites. We never miss the Jacques Ze Whipper show. We also make sure that we watch both parts of the musical the is created every single year. The parody songs are incredible and the cast is fantastic. We also make sure that we see our many friends around the realm.

Jacques Show

We got to the Faire and we sat for a photo with Kind Richard the 11th. Our friend Julie took the photo and I will share that once it is published.

Family Photo at KRF
Photo by Julie Dennehy, APR
Dennehy Public Relations

We then walked through a few shops and I picked up $100 worth of food tickets (we ended up needing $110 total for the four of us to get lunches, drinks and a snack at the end of the day). Prices are high but you should expect that going in and make sure that you bring cash. I was lucky that I sold Andy’s bunk bed and that I found an old lockbox with $1 and $5 bills in it so we could tip the performers. Make sure that you bring cash to tip the performers. This is their living and they work very hard at it.

Jacques

Our first show as Jacques Ze Whipper and Andy got into the show and helped Jacques by throwing a ferocious animal to him so that he could whip it in mid air. Andy is dressed in their “human Rayla” costume. The shirt says, “I like bread and complaining” which is a line from the show The Dragon Prince when Rayla a Moon Shadow elf tries to pass herself off as a human doing human things. Andy thought that was funny and made the last minute costume and called themselves “Bread Man!” to Jacques when ask for their name.

Andy on rides

Andy also spent much of their money on playing every game in sight and also riding rides. Andy also bought a beautiful leather bound journal and one small set of armor for one finger. Andy never ceases to surprise with what they can find at The Faire.

The Musical

We made sure to watch this year’s musical which was called “Six Rotten Producers…”. The musical was in two acts and we went to both of them. It was really well done. I love the songs they create each year. Fantastic entertainment! We also enjoyed the musical stylings of a new act this year, The Rowdy Bardlings Celtic Music & Shanties. They will be performing weekend until September 24th. They perform at the stage near the dining area so we enjoyed their music as we ate our lunch. We had a fantastic time and love going to the Faire each year.