Entry tags:
Estrella
This was the first time we've been to Estrella. I assume it would have been a lot more pleasant weather-wise if we'd been coming from Edmonton instead of driving North to get there.
Highlights:
* Seeing all my friends from Avacal. Especially spending lots of time with Robert, shopping with Ian and Mona and the lunch with Coryn and her husband discussing some of the unfortunate skin:clothing ratios just cracked me up.
* The Norse costuming class
* The lovely neighbours that provided me with boiling water for tea. Actually, the whole An Tir encampment was pretty cool
* The shopping!!!! All the lovely things I came home with! I'll post pictures later.
* The showers. I was stunned that there were no line ups and hot water!
* Coursing my hounds for the first time. Thanks to the other beagle-owner whose doggie showed them the ropes. It's funny, when it was retrievers and greyhounds coursing they paid absolutely no attention. But as soon as they saw another beagle doing it they totally got it! My dogs are breedists, they only like other beagles and they only do what they see other beagles do.
Things that sucked:
* Some douchebag stealing one of my lanterns on the last night.
* Beagles being cold and cranky. They had a total tantrum our last day, so it was good we were taking them home early.
* Having to sleep 12 or more hours because I couldn't force myself out from the warmth of my bed
* The A&S tent
* The weather
* Porta-johns with urinals. There's no way to wrestle with cloaks and skirts and all that fabric we wear in that cramped space without brushing up against them. Are they really necessary? Do they really reduce the splatter? or just cause it to happen from a higher point? And do they have to be right at head-level when you sit? What idiot's brilliant idea was that? On the upside, there were a reasonable number of handicapped johns I could use.
Suggestions to the autocrats:
Don't just track the number of people who attended a class and use that to decide your schedule (I was told that is what the sign-up lists were for). Just because we attended doesn't mean we liked it. Allow us both to rate the class as well as providing feedback to the instructor. For example, there was one class in particular whose content was good, but whose presentation would have been better in a different format.
The one enormous tent for the A&S classes sucked. The wind whipped right through it so it was freezing all the time and with the tables all in one room it was hard to hear.
I'm not sure if I'll attend again in future. It's a long drive if there's not a bunch of friends there at the other end and I have a feeling this year was unique that way. If I do ever attend I will NOT be camping. I can't do that to my doggies again and I won't do it to a baby or small child.
Highlights:
* Seeing all my friends from Avacal. Especially spending lots of time with Robert, shopping with Ian and Mona and the lunch with Coryn and her husband discussing some of the unfortunate skin:clothing ratios just cracked me up.
* The Norse costuming class
* The lovely neighbours that provided me with boiling water for tea. Actually, the whole An Tir encampment was pretty cool
* The shopping!!!! All the lovely things I came home with! I'll post pictures later.
* The showers. I was stunned that there were no line ups and hot water!
* Coursing my hounds for the first time. Thanks to the other beagle-owner whose doggie showed them the ropes. It's funny, when it was retrievers and greyhounds coursing they paid absolutely no attention. But as soon as they saw another beagle doing it they totally got it! My dogs are breedists, they only like other beagles and they only do what they see other beagles do.
Things that sucked:
* Some douchebag stealing one of my lanterns on the last night.
* Beagles being cold and cranky. They had a total tantrum our last day, so it was good we were taking them home early.
* Having to sleep 12 or more hours because I couldn't force myself out from the warmth of my bed
* The A&S tent
* The weather
* Porta-johns with urinals. There's no way to wrestle with cloaks and skirts and all that fabric we wear in that cramped space without brushing up against them. Are they really necessary? Do they really reduce the splatter? or just cause it to happen from a higher point? And do they have to be right at head-level when you sit? What idiot's brilliant idea was that? On the upside, there were a reasonable number of handicapped johns I could use.
Suggestions to the autocrats:
Don't just track the number of people who attended a class and use that to decide your schedule (I was told that is what the sign-up lists were for). Just because we attended doesn't mean we liked it. Allow us both to rate the class as well as providing feedback to the instructor. For example, there was one class in particular whose content was good, but whose presentation would have been better in a different format.
The one enormous tent for the A&S classes sucked. The wind whipped right through it so it was freezing all the time and with the tables all in one room it was hard to hear.
I'm not sure if I'll attend again in future. It's a long drive if there's not a bunch of friends there at the other end and I have a feeling this year was unique that way. If I do ever attend I will NOT be camping. I can't do that to my doggies again and I won't do it to a baby or small child.