Applefest

See that tent in the middle? The old, broken down (read: well used) tent? The one in between the two very 'professional' tents? That one is mine. No need to let anyone know who the amateurs were at this past weekend's Applefest in Bayfield. It was Blue Egg Farm...eh...me. But, boy, did we have fun.

We received a last minute invitation to vend at the three day long event. The call went something like this, "We have a last minute drop out this weekend...it is a fairly expensive entry fee and all of the camping spots and hotels in the surrounding area are completely booked. The winds can be a bit crazy but we have only one spot left. Should we save it for you?"

Eh...our own mini adventure?

Of course! We packed up and made the almost six hour drive up North to spend three days right on Lake Superior, sleeping in our...eh...car, braving the lake winds and meeting some amazing folks.

Like Jessica and Steve Vickerman who owns namerings.com (the booth to the right in the photo) and makes personalized rings and necklaces (thank you, I absolutely LOVE mine) and have the most generous and kind personality. They found my mittens after the fair (bought from Scott at the sweater place on the left) and offered to ship them to me this week. We bartered some bath soaks and body butters for my new ring, necklace and a couple Christmas gifts for my children. They even rescued my poor tent with duct tape when the legs were too bent to stand up straight.

And the 'gyro guy' two booths down who spoke broken english, but well enough for me to understand that we were welcome to warm up in his van any morning we needed to. He also gave Yaya free lunch everyday and even brought her cookies for a treat in the afternoons. Nevermind that he initially and mistakenly took us for being homeless...(thus the free food).

The popcorn ladies across the way bartered gmo free kettle corn for bath paints and laundry suds and a customer offered to sell my goodies in one of her three stores in the Bayfield area.

And the countless folks that listened to Yaya's endless chatting, as she sat in 'her' tree. If you were lucky enough to sit on the bench below the tree, you were in for at least a 15 minute conversation with a six year old. She even rigged up a pulley system with a bungee cord to bring up her food and drinks and used her stuffed animal as a pillow to sit on. Ah...the life of an unschooled little monkey.

Simple living at it's finest..in a car. Who would have thought this introverted farm girl would have made the adventurous trek out into the world where others existed? Off of the farm. Away from the quiet life. And guess what? I really enjoyed it. Enough to start looking for a mini rv and do more three day long festivals (but less sleeping in the Subaru). New adventures are on the horizon.

Oh...and although duct tape really does come in handy to hold one's tent up, I think I am in the market for a new one.