Northeast Florida Scottish Highland Games & Festival

WARNING: Photo/video intensive blog

MacNicol	MacQuarrie

If you've followed me for any length of time, you know attending Scottish Games has been on my bucket list for quite some time. We originally planned to attend the games in Maryville, TN last spring but didn't make it. So when I saw two of my favorite Celtic Rock bands were going to be at the Northeast Florida Scottish Highland Games & Festival in Green Cove Springs, FL...well, I cheered. About 90 minutes away from us and admission of only $12. It was a done deal!

Waiting in line to get in...


I have to say it exceeded our expectations. Turns out we shouldn't have been surprised. This was the 24th year of the festival and they have everything dialed in. Not too hot a day, good attendance but not so crowded you couldn't enjoy everything, and something for all ages. Heck, I didn't even make it to the far side where the held several competitions in addition to many activities (including a petting zoo) for the kids.

We watched novices throw battle axes, then on to the caber toss and sheaf toss (something new to us). There were many more games on the field and everyone was having a great time.









While there were kilts everywhere (made my heart proud), there were a few more unusual outfits as well...










I browsed through some of the vendor displays while Stu and his old work buddy, Bill, continued watching the competitions. Kilts, shirts, hats, jewelry, costumes, pottery, paintings, photographs and so much more!










There was even something for those of us with a wee bit 'o Irish blood...


The duo caught up to me and while Stu paid for a shirt I found for him, Bill and I watched the opening ceremonies. Fantastic!



When the ceremony was over, we headed out to find the MacNicol booth. We found it and spent some time chatting with the knowledgeable folks manning the table. And yes, Stu was finally convinced to join the MacNicol Society (once home I joined the MacQuarrie Society, much smaller group).









As we headed over to the beer tent, we ran across the re-enactors area.




The beer tent was well organized, we showed ID and got bands so we could purchase beer. No one was allowed to leave the tent with their beer - smart move! We stood at a table and chatted while looking over the heavy event field which was still full of activity. We saw the MacNicol folks enjoying as well...




An hour of standing and chatting with friends, I wandered off to see more of the vendor items. Along the way I stopped into several of the exhibit halls where I got to watch Scottish dancers, listen to fiddles and lots more.








Just before 3pm, I heard the announcement that Albannach would be on stage at three and I hurried to find a spot. Wanted to get some video, I ended up plopping myself down in the dirt - front row to the stage (well, except for the concrete sidewalk area where people were dancing off & on). It was well worth the pain when I got up an hour later. LOL!

There are a bunch more short videos in our SmugMug Album...






I visited more of the exhibit halls and since it had gotten much hotter, rested for a bit in the one with all the dogs (Scottish Terriers, Golden Retrievers, Gordon Setters, Border Collies and more). That's where Stu and Bill caught up with me again.







This little guy loved riding in his remote controlled setup...


We sat and chatted until around 5pm when we noticed things were closing up. Bill headed home and we headed to get food. All but one of the food vendors had packed up so we "settled" for the fish and chips. The fish was perfect! Stu opted for an ice cream afterward, I had already indulged when I had left the boys at the vendor tent.

The bands were scheduled to start at 6pm and we opted for the bleachers. (Next year we will bring bag chairs, after three hours our backs and butts were killing us!) There were four bands featured, the first two we hadn't heard of but Albannach and Seven Nations were the ones I really wanted to see.

I had followed Seven Nations since discovering them back in 2002 while living in  St Petersburg, Florida. My late husband and I planned to attend the highland games that were being held in the area so I could see them. He ended up being too ill to attend, so that went on the back burner. I fell in love with Albannach and their heavy percussion sound when I watched a video shared on Facebook.

The first band turned out to be talented but more heavy rock than Celtic, at least the songs they played. They were Tuatha Dea and are billed on their website as "Pure Appalachian Gypsy Rock".

They did a neat percussion set seen here...


The second group was Syr (pronounced Sire). Well, they were amazing and are now on our favorite Celtic rock group list. There are a bunch of short videos in our SmugMug Album...





Seven Nations was next and for some reason, they appeared to be having some sound issues. It was hard to hear the lead vocalist, who gives the group their unique sound, over the drums and fiddle. But I enjoyed them anyway.





Albannach closed the set and once again, rocked the house!





We had so much fun, we now plan on coming back to this area next year and attending the games again!

[There are more photos and videos in our SmugMug Album...]

Ciao for now!

A little stew....errr, Stu time.

February is the annual Firefighter Reunion for Stu and his fellow retirees from the Anne Arundel Fire Department. He has missed a couple of years but always tries to make it. This year was no exception except for being in Georgia instead of Florida for the winter.

I haven't attended for a couple of years and Stu isn't the best about taking photos...oops. He did take a nice composite shot as he prepared for another DiveQuest at Disney (he did it previously, here are the photos) .

He enjoyed DiveQuest and then went on to the Reunion which is always a great time. A group went and visited Disney Springs together and did the AmphiCar ride with them. Here are some pics from that adventure!

Yes, a good time was had by all and Stu had great motorcycle riding weather as well!


Ciao for now!

A little Amazon shopping fun.....

Yes, we love our Amazon Prime and it's especially handy when we aren't super close to any major shopping areas. Thought I'd share a couple of things we've bought recently that we really like and find valuable (at least to us).

We have several odd sized, different material shopping bags but we tend to not take them into the stores with us. For the most part, they get used when we go to Sam's Club. Tired of wasting all the plastic, we looked for a set up bags that met several criteria. First, the material had to be sturdy and the quality first rate. Second, they should have flat bottoms. Third, they needed to be the same. Fourth, short handles. Fifth, not too big (or they'd be overloaded and I wouldn't be able to carry them). And sixth, a nicety but not a must, they should come in some sort of convenient carry case.

Not easy, is it...but I found a set that looked they hit all points and I ordered them. BagPodz! When they arrived, I was even more impressed with the quality and convenience. This set comes with either 5 or 10 bags. Since we tend to shop less frequently, I opted for the ten bag set (currently not available, keep checking) in the bright blue (they come in four colors). I had a chance to use them this week and LOVE THEM! Here is my shopping cart with 6-8 (can't remember exactly) and not all of them are filled full. (Note, they are about the size of a traditional plastic shopping bag but hold MUCH more weight.)

BagPodz @Amazon

Next up is something I never considered until hurting my knee this past week. Walking the dogs several times a day, initially I carried nothing with me. Most days I wear leggings and without pockets, hard to bring even a phone with two dogs. But after getting injured, I realized I needed to always have my phone with me. After several searches, I found the perfect wallet, Running Buddy.

Finally, remember the chewed up dog bed? Well, the price has gone up a lot on the same one, so I found another brand and ordered it. So far, so good! Good inside or outside a crate, I suspect the other crate will get a matching one soon and the old one will go in the back of the car. The only downside, no color choice. But hey, the #2doods don't complain!

Ciao for now!