medieval times dinner and tournament. there are a few locations but i chose to join the fun at the lyndhurst castle in lyndhurst, nj. just a short drive from nyc you will step back in time to enjoy a rousing jousting tournament and eat chicken with your bare hands. dont bother asking for a fork, they don't have them. but they do have pepsi. and pre packaged cookies. go figure. get there a little early so you can mingle with the other guests and maybe enjoy a cocktail or two (you can get one in a souvenier glass!) you will be ushered through the front door and guided to an area to get your picture with the king. the king! then work your way through to the bar area (yes, a bar!) and souvenier shop. grab a sword or a dagger or an assortment of princessy items, take your pick and head on into the arena for some jousting!!
i have to be honest in saying that i was a little bored in the beginning. there was much talk of how the horses are taken care of and the training of the knights...they kind of lost me and i didn't pay much attention until a trained falcon swooped over my head, that caught my attention. this went on for a few moments, the falcon flying around the arena coming perilously close to people's heads, then flying back to the center to it's trainer's arm. ok. so that was pretty cool. then came the food. the menu for the afternoon was chicken, roasted potatoes and corn. when you look at the menu online, you are supposed to get more with your meal so i am not sure if they scaled back on the food because it was an afternoon show (i was actually on a school trip with some scary teenagers) or what, but i definitely didn't receive what was listed on the online menu. anyway...i still left with a full belly because the waitress kept coming back and piling more and more food on my plate. apparently i looked hungry. they offer a vegetarian meal, but that one didn't include brains either (but then, i guess brains isn't a vegetable is it?) so i am sitting here with my pile of chicken and corn and the tournament begins. out come the knights into the middle of the arena riding horses and everyone starts screaming for their knight (prior to entering, you are given a color section to sit in...my section was the red knight). you can stomp, yell, pound your fists, clank your cup on the table...it's encouraged. and it's awesome! i've never had so much fun eating with my hands. and i do a lot of eating with my hands, believe me! the knights go through a series of events one by one and the losers being eliminated and the winner throwing flowers to young women in the audience. eventually one remains (there can be only one!) and the winner picks his princess out of the audience from the flower receivers and everyone cheers. any 12 year old girl would be in her glory. my only real disappointment of the day was the dessert.
on to my next adventure....
