We just got back from the Kalamazoo Living History Show. If you are re-enactor of any period, I highly recommend attending. They have just about anything and everything under the sun. This weekend also served as a celebration weekend for Ktreva and me. Tomorrow is our first day in our new positions, but enough on that, lets get back to the meat and potatoes of this post, the show.

Friday we left work and had the adventure of driving through Chicago on Saint PatrickÂ’s Day. People. Let me give you some advice, unless you HAVE to go to Chicago on St. PatÂ’s, avoid it like the plague. It didnÂ’t help that our esteemed (cough) governor has all the toll ways being revamped for his new I-pass system. I-pass in and of itself is not a bad program. Ripping out every tollbooth at the same time to make it more efficient caused a crapload of unnecessary back ups.

We arrived in Paw Paw, Michigan at 5:30 (local, stupid time zones) were we stopped at GallagherÂ’s Pub and Eatery. (Exit 60 on 94) We discovered this place last year on accident; it is now a destination spot for us if we are passing through. Great food, good beer, decent prices, you canÂ’t go wrong with that combination. Folks, let me just tell you the corned beef and cabbage was excellent. After eating we proceeded to Kalamazoo, checked in our hotel, had a couple of drinks and hit the sack.

Saturday we hit the show. We went last year and couldnÂ’t believe it. This year we were just as impressed. The only thing we couldnÂ’t find was a corset for Ktreva. There was a lady at the show last year that made customized period corsets, unfortunately this year she wasnÂ’t there. We spoke with some friends we saw there both vendors and re-enactors, they were surprised the corset lady wasnÂ’t there. Hopefully nothing bad happened to her.

I went looking to buy a rifle for Boopie. HeÂ’s turning 13 this year and I felt that as a right of manhood he should have his first firearm. This is where life gets tricky. There where all kinds of black powder firearms at this show, ranging from about $150 to $5,000.00. I was able to find a nice starter flintlock .45 caliber rifle for Boopie around $200.00. There are some funny stories about this rifle, but that is for another post. I tried talking Ktreva into letting me buy a rifle I found that I liked. She however decided that I did NOT need to drop $3,500.00 on this custom .50 cal. She also wouldnÂ’t let me buy any more artillery. There was a guy there selling some brass cannons and mortars that was willing to give me a great price on a brass swivel gun with a 2-inch bore. Her theory was that I already had an artillery piece; I donÂ’t need another. IÂ’m going to remember that the next time she decides she needs another hat for out at the events.

DonÂ’t get me wrong I didnÂ’t come home empty handed. Besides the rifle for Boopie, I was also able to finally find a period correct bonnet. It wasnÂ’t black like I wanted, but Jacobite Blue is just as good. Ktreva also purchased a bunch of stuff for herself. Really people, if you are looking for someplace to get those hard to find re-enacting items. You can get it at Kalamazoo. I donÂ’t know if IÂ’m going to need or want anything next year, but weÂ’ll be back. Even if it is just to see what the new items on the market are.

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