Lisa Capps

June 5, 2000

English 111-Summer

Independent Essay

It’s Finally Rendezvous!

It is 3:00 in the afternoon, almost time to get off work and go to Rendezvous. As I drive over the James River Bridge to Smithfield, I start thinking, "What is a Rendezvous?" Well it is reenactment of the ate 1700’s and early 1800’s. Everyone’s home for a weekend is either a canvas lodge, some small and some big, or a teepee. But that’s not it! As I snap out of my daze, I realize I am almost there.

As I drive down the old country road, I approach the dirt road that leads to the Rendezvous site. I can see some people now, and I get even more excited. There are no cars allowed, so I have to park in the "parking lot," really a big grassy field. As I am walking up the long dirt road, I see even more tents, teepees, and one poles. Out of nowhere I hear "Where did you get those funny looking clothes?" When I turned around it is Dingleberry, also known as my mom. So we go into her lodge so I can change into my Rendezvous clothes.

The clothes people wear at Rendezvous are very different from our clothes today. My mom makes all of our clothes out of calico, the certain type of material that is used. We also have buckskin dresses, and the men wear buckskin pants. People at Rendezvous can not wear tennis shoes either we have to wear moccasins, which makes the stumps seem ever bigger.

Well now it is Friday night, party night! Everyone wears their best and meets up at the Spider Inn, the local "bar." Many events happen all weekend long at the Inn. On Friday the OVPR, Olde Virginia Primitive Riflemen, buy enough chicken to feed the majority of the camp, and the people who come and get chicken, brings a dish for everyone. On Saturday, all of the ladies go to the Inn for "Ladies Social" at Noon. And then on Sunday, the awards are presented for hawk and knife and the shooting competition.

Saturday morning we usually relax, because from 8:00 am to 4:00 PM, visitors are allowed to come and learn what Rendezvous is really about. Some of the other people that are here compete in different competitions. One of them is the hawk and knife. Here the person throws a small axe at a tree stump, I really never understood this competition, that is why I watch. The other competition is the shooting range. Here the people shoot with Black Powder Riffles, and shoot at a target in the woods and whoever shoots best gets a plaque on Sunday.

As the day slowly goes on, the sun starts to set. The night is always the prettiest time at Rendezvous. There is no electricity, so everyone has candles, lanterns. And fires, so the camp is lit up. As I sit there, I can hear everyone laughing and having a good time. I can also hear a couple of different people playing a guitar and singing a different "houses." Saturday night is usually a calm night. We usually just sit around the fire and tell jokes and try to stay out of "jail." Jail looks exactly like a port-a-john but made of wood with one handcuff hanging off the side of the wall. There are a few rules at Rendezvous that everyone should know if they want to stay out of jail. At Rendezvous we can not let the "chief" see any cans, plastic bags, or wrappers in sight. We also can’t wear watches that would be a whole 15 minutes in jail. No pets are allowed, just because we are out in the woods, there are a lot of kids running around and we would not want anyone to get hurt.

Mayo Jones, who is the kind man who lets us stay on his land, doesn’t camp, but he is always there. The campsite is an area of woods, located in Smithfield. When you first turn down the dirt road, there is nothing but a field of cotton in October for Fall Rendezvous or a field of Peanuts in April for Spring Rendezvous. That also helps add on to the scenery.

When I am at Rendezvous, the weekend always goes by so fast. One of the main reasons I love it so much is because I don’t think I will ever meet a nicer group of people, a little crazy, but hey. Everyone always has a great time whenever they come to Rendezvous. I guess this means it is Sunday. Time to pack up our "homes" and say our good-byes to everyone. But the one thing that is in everyone’s head is SEE YA NEXT RENDEZVOUS!!