Serious Business

I stayed up way past my bedtime last night blipping, then read until 1:00 AM, and made up for it by turning off my alarm and sleeping until 9:00. I woke to the smell of smoky bacon cooking, and was treated to coffee in bed. That's a good way to start the day.

After a late breakfast we went to the Skagit Highland Games in Mount Vernon, about 30 miles south of home. We parked off-site and were promptly picked up by the shuttle bus -- a large and luxurious coach. We were the only passengers!

The first thing we saw at the Games was this cute two-week-old Highland calf and its proud (and very protective) mother. At first I was a bit hesitant about going to see the Border Collies up for adoption, but did eventually -- without being tempted to bring one home. (We acquired Miss Annie when we went to a herding dog show, or rather, she acquired us.)

After we watched the herding competition for a while, toured the various stalls, and tried a Scottish meat pie, Cynthia went to a talk about her clan history, and I advanced my knowledge about Scotch whisky.

The tasting was conducted by Simon Brooking, whose official title is Master Ambassador, Laphroaig & Ardmore. We tasted an Irish whisky (Kilbeggan), an Ardmore Traditional Cask, and two Laphroaigs -- a 10-year and a Quarter Cask. Simon kept us amused and entertained, while imparting a lot of information as we tasted the four whiskies.

After the pipe band competition was over we stood up on the stage as the massed bands marched in to play before the closing of the Games. It was a great vantage point for listening and shooting photos.

I've posted more photos in a flickr set.

Read Cynthia's account of the day here.