It was a busy weekend for this homeschooling family. We had two, yes TWO, field trips! Both, as it happens, involved grown-ups dressing in period costumes.
The first event was Friday night at Congaree National Park. Congaree National Park is the only national park in South Carolina, although there are other National Park Service sites such as Fort Sumter National Monument and the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.
The event this past weekend was the Congaree Campfire Chronicles. We followed a guide along the park's boardwalk to "see costumed interpreters reenacting life in the Congaree floodplain from the 1500s to the present." I think my favorite thing, though, was being in the park at night. Perfectly spooky.
On Saturday, the "costumed interpreters" continued with a trip to Givhans Ferry State Park in Ridgeville, SC. The event was put on by "South Carolina's only group of Roman Soldiers", Legio IV. Whew! I'd be nervous if there were more.
The Castra Romana Festival was actually quite well done and great for children (no feeding Christians to lions at this event). We talked to one of the Roman soldiers with a great sense of humor about it. He said that he only does events in the fall and spring, when the weather is good for camping outside. He's a former military guy who's had enough of being miserable in real life; he's not going to do it for fun.
Hmmm...I'm not sure how we'll ever top this.
