Charleston Highland Games 2012 . . . plus some

 Since some of us were down in Charleston for some doctor appointments anyway and it coincided with the Charleston Highland Games, Sara entered into the bagpipe competition for Grade IV.  It was to be held at Boone Hall Plantation (woohoo!!!).  On the morning of the competition, we turned in to what appeared to be a deserted dirt road . . . absolutely no sign of life, and no yellow signs announcing the Games.  The only hope we hung onto was the fact that there was a car following us.  At least there would be TWO of us at the wrong location! : )

But once we got to the parking area, we saw plenty of evidence of the Games!  Pipe band tents, pipers and drummers galore, and competition sites.

 Beautiful Charleston . . .

Sara registered, got tuned up and warmed up, and was soon at her competition site.

For a family snapshot, it's always nice to have everyone scrunch in, right???
Actually, I thought she was playing around when she made this face until . . .

Ha! Ha!  Apparently Allison's brace had pinched her! : )

 Never would have known anything happened! : )

This judge was the next station over and was apparently enjoying himself drumming away while waiting for the competitors.

{To hear Sara's competition tune go here. : )}

 Sara called Daddy immediately after competing to let him know how it went and that phone calls were permitted for the rest of the day.  It would have felt pretty weird for the phone to start vibrating her sporran in the middle of her competition! : )

The house is absolutely beautiful!  We toured it, but there was no photography permitted inside. : (  Oh, well . . . you'll just have to go tour it yourself someday. : )

This was located just on the other side of the main thoroughfare between piping section and the main field.

Needless to say, we traveled this path many, many times throughout the day.

One of the bands let her jump in with them for massed bands during the opening and closing ceremonies, so she had to tune up.  Otherwise, she would have been hurting everyone's (including her own) ears.

It was at this time that EVERYONE decided to show up.  It must have been close to an hour of solid traffic backed up as far as the eye could see.  Sara and I sat at one of the pipe tents as we all joked about watching the parade and picking out which car we wanted. : )

It was obvious when to head to the field for the ceremony.  All we had to do was follow the crowd of kilts!

Massed bands were assembling . . .

. . . and the clans were getting into position for the parade.

They still had a little while to wait for the athletic competitions to get to a stopping point.

This guy was the champ of the day . . . and he knew it. : )

It was finally time for the ceremonies to begin.

Peter Armstrong piping in the chief . . .

. . . and Ronald McDonald.

This is our clan . . . and, yes, we claim them! : )

The results were finally in, and we found out she placed 2nd in the Grade IV 2/4 march!
Woohoo!!!  (Needless to say, she made a few more phone calls!)

Pipe band competitions are always a favorite at the Games.  And the longer you stick around, the better they get! . . . at least, that's usually the case. : )

{It was hard to steer clear of that event photographer!}

The guy in the front middle made all their chanters!

Just gotta love our Campbell tartan!

We watched the sheep dog trials from a distance.  As Sara was chatting with some other pipers, she mentioned that she had herded sheep before.  One that was listening in responded with a snide comment, but soon backed down when she challenged him to a sheep herding competition.  He realized she was serious! : )

Adorable!  Her daddy is definitely her hero. : )  She was mimicking him ~ walking around in his shoes and back brace, throwing water bottles, and the cutest part . . . cheering herself on!

It had been a fun day, but we were all ready for the closing ceremonies!  The hot sun beating down on us all day had drained the last bit of energy from us.

The drum major's last command before they handed out the awards was "At ease!" so Sara did just that . . . she stood at parade rest not realizing that everyone else was relaxed. : )

She was glad that was over!  Hot, exhausted, and happy, she was ready for a cold shower and a bed!

Had to throw in a picture of this one . . . Gotta admit -- this is a necessity at the Games. : )

Little did Sara realize she was not allowed to leave just yet!
Not until we had gotten a chance to get some pictures of her with her medal! : )

We sure are proud of our piper!  The judge told her that if she had spent a little more time tuning her drones, she would have taken first, so next time . . . : )

So we said good-bye to the huge, beautiful house . . .

. . . and the Spanish moss . . .

. . . and the crowds,

and our excited piper filled us in on all the stories of the day, some making us laugh so hard there were tears in our eyes. : )

Well, most of our eyes. : )

We did drive around downtown Charleston a little Sunday afternoon between church services (as we looked for a parking place near the Slave Market -- there was none), but the most interesting thing to note was the man fast asleep sitting on the park bench.  Ha! Ha! : )

It was nice for Sara to be able to see Charleston again.  She hadn't been there since she was a wee little thing and didn't really remember it. : )

By Monday, we were all a little tired, but it was no time to drag our feet ~ we had some doctor appointments (the main reason for our visit, ya know!) and then were headed back home to Daddy, Keisha, Ray, and Bella by late afternoon.

But our piobaire (piper) doesn't remember much of the ride home . . .

She was dreaming of the next time! : )