Highland Games & Celtic Festival

Yippe!! We are off. Miss Lilly is spending the day with Walter and Carla is getting the opportunity to have a day of peace. We dropped off Miss Lilly early this morning and she and Walter were all set for a day of adventure together, as we headed off into still damp morning.

We were parked, I do believe, about as far away from the gate entrance as you could get - those little flag wavers kept shuffling us further and further away. When we first arrived we thought that we might have needed to pack in hip-waders to deal with all the mushy mud around. I was beginning to think that there wasn't a solid place to stand. Thankfully the sun came out and the wind helped to solidify our footing.

	These are just a few of the individuals that were in costume or members of the Piper & Drum Corps. I saw this piper standing amongst the reenactors, he was wear an old style kilt. The gentleman in the center was the husband of one of the vendors. The couple were observing a group of pipers warming up. I got two shots of the fellow on the bottom row. In the first he was observing the pipers and in the second he was part of a group doing cadences' at their tent. Everyone looked to be having a great time!

The Opening Ceremonies called together all of the pipers and drums together with the various clans and they all took the field. The massed band played and the clans paraded around the field. One of the pipe & drum corps was from VMI - they looked sharp!

Massing of the Bands

Following the bands, the Highland Games continued on the field. We stayed around in the stands to watch the caber toss. It was a true sight to see. There were about 10 competitors, they were trying out a new caber - it was 20-feet long and weighed some where in the neighborhood of 160 lbs. They were suppose to pick up the caber and toss it end over end. Out of all the guys that tried only one was able to do it. He flipped it over and it landed at 12 o'clock in the opposite direction.

We spent a lot of time checking out the Celtic Market and finding out what was new and exciting there. I ended up with a pinkie ring, necklace & earrings. Sean found a nice belt and buckle, no excuse not to have one on now. I found our new Christmas ornament for the year a very sweet Celtic Snowman. On the whole the market wasn't quite what it has been the last couple of years, I really missed the pottery from the Dancing Pig. They always have some unique pieces.

We picked up Lilly from Walter's place - she had been a good girl for him. She even took a swim in the creek back behind his apartments. He tells us she is a good swimmer.

Time Change

Don't forget about Time Change this evening.
Remember to set your clocks back an hour.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Gated Community

Security and peace of mind were part of the reason we moved to a gated community. Both flew out the window the night I called a local pizza shop for a delivery.

"I'd like to order a large pepperoni pizza, please," I said, then gave him the address of our condominium.

"We'll be there in about half an hour," the kid at the other end replied. "Your gate code is still 1238, right?"