Actually there was a bright side to 1996. A friend told me of a new renaissance faire, Hawkwood. It was early July and I visited their site. They were not ready, but I saw tremendous potential. I had been trying to hook up with a medieval seasonal type operation for some time. My castle would fit nicely into a renfaire setting. At this same time I was noticing little things with my Majestic ranch guy that began to bother me. I seriously considered moving the castle for the '96 season, but the faire owners could not make a decision in time.
After the '96 season was over I contacted Hawkwood again. Could not get anyone to respond. Well, I was at the bottom of my barrel and scraping the bottom to dig deeper. My personal life was a mess (divorce) and the haunt biz was looking none to good. I decided to sell Castle Dragon and look for a less painful career, er, hobby. October '96 through March '97 Castle Dragon was on the market. I talked with many potential buyers and was positioning for a sale when... I got this email. It was from the NEW General Manager of Hawkwood. It seems that they were in a form of management turmoil. He never heard of the deal, with earlier management, to move Castle Dragon to Hawkwood. He accidentally received an email from my bulk mail server and responded. With in a few days we had a deal and Castle Dragon had a new home, a permanent location. My potential buyer snoozed and lost the deal. He really thought I was trying to jack up the price, because he was trying to get the price down by playing me. Oh well, the castle was a heck of a deal at $100k. The Hawkwood location was perfect. The 4,000 sq. ft. part of the building was to be in the parking lot. Only the Grand Entry portion would be in the forest. Of course I was broke, actually I was beyond broke, should have sold, but I think I have pointed out that I am not very good at business. And in reality had the bozo with the bucks ever ponied up the dough I would have sold it to him and built a new castle. With barely enough money to keep gas in my truck (it gets 7 miles to the gallon) I take my ball of string and lay the lines for the castles foundation. Anything I can do that costs no money I do first. A few small trees and brush must be cleared, markers placed for postholes and the path in the forest connecting me to the faire grounds cleared. As soon as I get a few bucks I rent a posthole machine and sink 75 holes in one day. I cut scarp wood into posts and treat it with sealer. Whenever I find a buck in my pocket I purchase another bag of concrete mix and set another post. The construction process is painfully slow. Not because I am not busy, I am working 12 hour days on the site, but because it is only me. I am taking the castle down and putting it back up at the same time. Hawkwoods season is August through September and I am beginning to think that I will not make it. In my haste I break one of my Lava floor panels. It will take several hours to repair it, so I decide not to install the Lava floor. Skull Cavern was to have a five-year life and it did. As if on cue it disintegrated while being moved, something else not to be part of the new location till 1999. I did not have the materials to complete the new floor plan. Because this was to be permanent location, I made many structural changes. The castle was still portable and could be easily removed, but it now had more structural members and a sturdier design. The writing was on the wall, it was in red and the blood was mine. I would not complete the castle in time for Hawkwood and I may not complete it in time for Halloween. The task I have chosen is suicidal. Then a miracle... Out of nowhere I get an email from the local chapter of NERO (a live action role playing group LARP). They are willing to provide volunteers to help with construction in exchange for game time in the castle. Duh, this is a no brainer. They helped with the last of the posts and stayed with me till...Mad Hatter
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