Medieval Times

So Valerie and I went to Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament last night. It was her Valentine's Day present to me (in addition to "The Departed" DVD...awesome movie).
Anyway, ever since this MT opened (about one score and three years ago) I had always thought I'd like to go there. This was my first time and it really was a lot of fun.
When you first enter, you get crowned with a lovely paper crown like kids get at Burger King, except the color of the crown signifies what section you're sitting in and what knight you are rooting for. As you proceed through the next door, you are stopped to pose for an obligatory picture with either the "King" or the "Princess", depending on which way you walk in. We got a picture with the Princess and then they took one of just the two of us. Next, it was off to the bar. Now, if you're the type that likes to take advantage of what could possibly be a once in a lifetime event, and you drink, here's where you could drop some serious cash. We each had a beer in a purchased beer stein (Yeungling for Val, Sam Adams Winter Ale for me), as well as a shot (double actually) of Southern Comfort in a mini-stein/shot glass (also purchased). The whole shebang was $50. Sounds like a lot, but considering the fact that a similar stein (empty) at Spamalot was $25, and that the SoCo was actually four shots worth, it really wasn't too bad. And the MT stein is actually bigger and nicer than the Spamalot one.
We found ourselves seated in the front row just inside the entrance in a four seat section next to a nice young couple.
The staff refer to you as M'lord/M'lady, and with the exception of the royalty and knights, they are referred to as wenches and serfs. So along came our serving wench to take our drink orders and get us set for dinner (there was a separate beer wench to get the beer). The menu consists of (in order) vegetable soup, garlic bread, a half roasted chicken, one spare rib, one half roasted potato, and an apple turnover. Oh, and this is all consumed without utensils. The food was okay. Not the greatest, not the worst. Certainly edible...all of it. You're really there for the show anyway. The show commences very shortly after you're seated, and continues right through coffee. Actually, the show and dinner seemed rigidly timed and synchronized. The show was entertaining. Nothing much different from any other "medieval" type attraction you may have seen elsewhere, except this was longer and had a storyline.
Valerie got chosen by our knight to fight for. This was done by him riding towards us and extending his lance out to Valerie so she could retrieve the flag from the lance (on the flag were the words "Queen of Beauty and Love"). This meant that he was fighting in her honor. Now, I did some quick research on this, and apparently, a knight would choose a woman, preferrably one who was married to a man of higher rank. If the knight won, he expected to receive his "reward", and it was downright treachery for the woman to refuse. Turns out that our knight did indeed win. Lucky for me, he was killed by a traitor before he could collect any such "reward." ;-)

It was hard to get decent pics with the lighting and all the fast movement, but here's a few (clicking the pic should open a new window/tab to the photo album):

Medieval Times

Other highlights of the show were the choreography of the beautiful white horses, and the falcon, of which I got about 12 seconds of video footage. It simply flew around too fast to get any more. Here it is:




One year, ten months, one week, four days, 11 hours smober.
27299 cigarettes not smoked, saving $7,166.45.

Catching Up

Been awhile since I posted anything (what else is new?).

Let's see if I can recall a couple of highlights of the last 2 months...

Back in late December, Val and I went to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Meadowlands. It was pretty much what I expected based on what I had heard about them and seen on video. We probably would have appreciated the full experience more if we were sitting in front of the stage, but we were off to the side. It was a pleasant surprise seeing Alex Skolnick playing with them. I had no idea he was touring with them. Anyway, of course the show stopper was the appearance of Greg Lake to close the show.

Pretty much the only event in January was when I took Val's son Stephen to a Devils/Rangers game on the 16th (it was his Xmas gift from me). That was a lot of fun. I had never been to a pro hockey game before, and I really enjoyed it. Stephen seemed to as well.

The biggest thing to happen lately was that I sold my Subaru because it was just too small and uncomfortable for all the driving I do. I think I've developed sciatica from it. Anyway, I replaced it with what has been one of my "dream" cars for almost 20 years. I am now the delighted owner of a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. It is so much more comfortable than the Subaru, and I love being able to see in front of most other cars because of the added height. Here's my new baby:




Finally, for Valentine's Day, Val bought us tickets to go to Medieval Times on Saturday. For those not in the know, this is a dinner theater of sorts. It's basically an etiquette-free dinner (no utensils) with a medieval show (jousting and such). I've never been there, and I'm really looking forward to it.

One year, ten months, four days, 16 hours smober.
27027 cigarettes not smoked, saving $7,095.14.