Things to Pack to Monmouth (Part 1)

Heimerich and I will be going to the Battle of Monmouth. 

Usually I put packing things into categories... kind of like this: 

- Reenacting Clothes/Things

- Modern Clothes

-My make up, etc

While the Reenacting clothes part will be a completely dedicated post, this one I'll just briefly mention what I bring to for a reenactment weekend. Some number 1 items are drier sheets and baking soda... Drier sheets are to keep insects and mosquitos away, and the baking soda is meant to deter ants away from our tent. Instead of being smart and bringing items like bug spray relief, because Heimerich and i are in our 20s, a pack of beer or 2 will be a lot more useful in the long run. 

As for modern clothes, I'll bring 2 outfits. Depending on my mood when we visit the camp on the set up day, Friday, I will show up in normal clothes-- this is a lot better to wear when driving. A bathing suit is an awesome thing to bring because there is a shower!  I bring at least 3 bras because no one wants to sit around in disgusting summer worn clothes.

If planning on drinking massive quantities of beer, I will bring some snacks specifically for Heimerich and I to steer the "drunkshies" away. There will also be massive quantities of water.

As for my side of things, being very face conscience and girly, I like to hug the modern feminine side of things throughout the weekend. Simple things like not being able to live without some sort of chapstick. I will bring all of my over night face things, like Queen Juliep's Mint mask, something to put on my face to keep oil away until morning. Bobby pins are a plenty... my favorite hair brush... and a very good toner. My face will break out if I do not take care of it at an event. An easy way to avoid this is to use a toner, at least for me.

Food

If it is anything that the Feldjagers can and will always do 100% right, its making some banging' food! At larger events, we love to get together and eat. Isn't that what part of being a family is all about? One of the members who joined about the same time I did, Joe, is in charge of this year's cooking at our weekend at the Battle of Monmouth in NJ.

This is Joe, he is one of the nicest people I know!

Joe decided to make a beef and mixed vegetable stew/slow cook. The second dish is diced chicken with peppers. Why diced? Because of the number of people attending, dicing chicken will feed more than several not-diced chicken breast.

The third dish will be a vegetable heavy stew/soup, probably with a thinner broth. Joe says that the first dish and the third dish are "very period" (period meaning historically accurate/during the time frame).

Simple meat cuts and root veggies were both common and inexpensive food options of the time. Joe explained to me that the actual cooking process will be unique. He will be using 3 cooking pots, which are all essentially slow cookers. With camp fire cooking, there are 2 basic formats. Either using a fire or coals (wood burned to the point where it is coal). The biggest problem with using fire is that it tends to be very uneven. 

Coal is usually the best option, but in order to make natural coals, the fire needs to burn hot and fast, to build up the coals. The fire also needs to be started about 2 hours beforehand. Joe will probably use semi-period charcoal at the event.

Bonding

The last tail end of April has been really rough on me... that is a kind understatement. Recently, Heinerich and I had one of our worst "fall outs" to come. Dealing with the healing process has been really hard, but we're doing it together and still plan on moving to Florida to live together. We attended a fun WW2 event in PA 2 weeks ago (or so), and it drew us together again. It was a good kick off weekend to get things back on track, and no better way for a reenacting couple to heal together (hunny covering my back with an MG). Point being, never stop doing what you love, an age old saying, right? Never stop doing what you love and take advantage of your hobbies and talents and take extra advantage if you're a reenactor who finds another special reenactor. It was a wonderful weekend to remind ourselves why and how we fell in love and it is something that a couple should do together as much as possible. I hope to continue reenacting in Florida as much as possible to retain that kindle between Heinerich and I, but, I know we will always have our late night history talk sessions. 

I am getting my associates degree in about 23 days. I'll try to post something more Hessian Prince related next time, and soon! As for now, I will break to post some pictures of the WW2 reenactment for curious people. 

I have been wondering if I should start a WW2 blog alongside this one-- they could be sisters!

Heinerich in the heat of battle

Me and my mosin nagant 

Though I surrendered because I got caught reenactment-tactically...

realistically and reenactment-tactically, I killed one man in a few seconds straight on and the other 4 would have been gone in Heinerich's mg fire behind me. Oh well, boys play dirty and we need to make the battle scenes last for the public. 

Hopefully something more Revolutionary War appropriate next time.

Jager Campfollowers

Although I'm leaving soon, it is so heart warming to see more campfollowers in the unit! This was at the Battle of Bound Brook this weekend. I was finished a Literature paper and attended a WW2 reenactment that was a bit closer for the afternoon. The WW2 event was a small, nice break, and I attended as a photographer for a few hours. It looks like I missed out on a ton of fun though!

My Prince

There's someone important who I've indirectly mentioned a bunch...

 but haven't introduced formally!

Heinerich has been my other half for 4 years. We very unexpectedly met at a WW2 reenactment. Heinerich and I started a very interesting relationship-- instead of dating, I moved in with him after visiting for maybe a straight week or 2. I had moved in and 4 years later, we are now planning on moving to Florida and getting our own apartment. 

Leaving the Northeast

It's always been some kind of goal of mine to create a historical blog like this one-- and keep it going somewhat strong for more than a year. But, as life is taking me, I'm not going to be living up in the Northeast by the start of August. I'll be leaving my Hessian Family to move to Florida and continue getting my Bachelors at UCF. Figuring out what I was going to do after community college was a long struggle for me, and the Uni in PA that I wanted to go to turned out to be so expensive.

Reasons why my prince and I are moving to Florida:

• Weather, beaches, flora 
• People are nicer
• It's cheaper and more affordable

There's a lot more reasons than that and the one that says "cheaper and more affordable" should be number one, in all honesty. Of course, moving means leaving this reenacting scene up here. I'm pretty positive there is no German related Revolutionary war reenacting scene in Florida, but I could be wrong. This blog was inspired by the actual reenactments I attended and I thought that much of the content would come from "after event/reenactment inspiration", but surprisingly, I've made this many posts without attending many events at all. Finishing school and general life chaos has kept me away from events-- including the one in NJ this weekend that I was really looking forward to.

The question is if I can continue this blog when I move to Florida. I guess I'll have to see!

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