Scottish Highland Games

For years and years, we've been wanting to go to the Scottish Highland Games in Westbury, Long Island.  Every year something comes up.  Guess what, we got to go this year!  I really was so excited.  I love all things Scot - the plaid, the bagpipes, the accent, the red hair, the kilts, the frugality.  My family is Scottish-English descent.

So we got up early and took the LIRR out to Long Island.  The event was held  at the beautiful Old Westbury Gardens.  We hopped off the train and following the kilted men to the shuttle bus.  So exciting!  When we arrived, I heard a few people in front of me asking for the LIRR discount for admission.  So, of course, I asked about that. Five bucks off and we got a free program, awesome! Those who know me, know there is nothing I love more than getting a deal.

We entered the grounds and were greeted by Scottish dancers.  Many families brought blankets, chairs, tents and food. I guess they were making a day of it.  We'll bring our blanket to sit on next time.  We decided to walk around to see where everything was and then decide what to do first. There were the games, food stands, vendors, live bands, dance demonstrations, a shortbread contest, a dog show, owls and other birds with handlers, an antique car show and Highland reenactors.  I didn't expect it to be such a production; there was so much to do.

We decided to eat first. The lines were long, so we decided to divide and conquer. I waited in the fish and chips line and Marlon waited in the meat pie line.  We passed on the haggis.  We did try IRN-BRU drink that everyone seemed to be going crazy over. They were selling it to people by the case.  It has an interesting flavor. I can't say if I liked it or not, but it an energy drink effect and I felt a little weird after drinking it.  They also had this lemonade deal. If you bought a large lemonade for $5, you could get refills all day for $3. We thought that was fair.  The guy in front of us didn't and was haggling over the price of lemonade. He wanted to know why he couldn't get refills on the small lemonade, which was $3 or if he bought a corn and a lemonade could he get a discount. The vendor looked exasperated and told him no. This is why Scots get the cheap stereotype.  There is a difference between being frugal and being cheap. It was pretty funny.

We checked out all the vendors. It was hard not to buy everything.  I saw a wool tartan blanket that I loved.  I also really wanted a t-shirt.  We decided to look at everything first and then figure out what we were going to buy.  I got the blanket and t-shirt. Thank you, baby.

We watched the caber toss and tossing the sheaf. The caber toss is basically flipping a telephone pole and tossing the sheaf is throwing a burlap sack over a horizontal bar with a pitch fork. I wonder where these guys practice?

We got a bird's eye view of some owls and hawks.  Ok, not really but I couldn't resist the pun.

The bands were pretty good.  One performer was Arvil Bird who was rocking some Scottish/Native American fusion flute.  I think he is pretty much a one-of-a-kind.

There were some great classic cars on display. The best was at the end of the day the cars were all drove down the driveway away from the Westbury mansion. It looked like a scene from Downton Abbey.

That's a Bentley!

It really was a lot of fun; I can't wait until next year!  Up next is the Renaissance Faire.

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