Scotland Week

The past week has been Scotland Week here in New York City. We were really looking forward to Scotland Week this year, in light of our trip to Scotland last July! In fact, it was last year's Scotland Week that inspired our trip in the first place. We went to the Tartan Parade, where they were handing out fliers about various trips to Scotland - whiskey tastings, golf trips, historical tours. That was when we realized that Scotland had a little something for both of us: golf for Eric, and whiskey for me. Ha! Just kidding. (Kind of.)

But seriously, we were intrigued. I had always wanted to visit Scotland (I want to visit all the countries my ancestors were from), and Eric was definitely hooked on the idea of playing the Old Course in St. Andrews. Just three months after the idea struck us, we were there! Playing golf, drinking whiskey, touring ancient castles. It was awesome, and it was all thanks to Scotland Week 2009. So, we were excited to relive it all this year!

The Scotland Week festivities kicked off with the Scotland 10k Run in Central Park the Saturday of Easter Weekend. Eric's knee was feeling well enough after the half marathon that he was able to participate, and Achilles and I went to watch.

I had heard that people run in kilts for this race, so I thought that would be great fun. Of course, I wore my Baird tartan skirt (my maiden name), and added a new addition to my outfit - the luckenbooth pin I bought for myself in Edinburgh. The luckenbooth is sort of the Scottish version of the Irish claddagh ring (which I also wear daily). It's a love token, traditionally given to the bride from the groom on their wedding day, then later pinned to the blankets of their child to protect it from "evil spirits." A luckenbooth pin was the one souvenir I really wanted for myself from Scotland, and I found a beautiful one with a Heather Gem in the center (a Heather Gem is a lovely stone made from crushed Scottish heather stems), which made it even more meaningful for me.

My luckenbooth pin

So I wore my Baird kilt skirt and my luckenbooth (strung onto a chain as a necklace), but I was not the only one who was decked out in Baird attire. And no, Eric was not the other one. Yup, that leaves only one other family member - Achilles! Because I am kind of a psycho dog mom, I ordered him a Baird t-shirt to wear for the Scotland Week festivities. I searched online for one, but couldn't find any I liked, so I designed my own and ordered it from CafePress.com. And I must say, that dog looked dashing.

My t-shirt design, which features the Baird tartan as the background, and the Baird clan crest at the top.

Now this dog looks sharp. And with the moss-covered stones as the backdrop, I feel he looks like he's even in Scotland.
(He's not, though. It's just Central Park.)

So, we were ready to go! We got to Central Park around 9:30 that morning, where Eric stretched then got ready to run. I saw him off at the starting line, where we were treated to music by the Scottish Band "Whiskey Kiss" (love that name). There were indeed many runners sporting kilts, which was great fun to watch.

Eric stretching before the race

My boys

Go Eric!

People running in kilts!

Once the race was underway, Achilles and I walked over to the finish line to wait. It was a very nice walk, led by a bagpiper. I am a girl who loves some bagpipes! We didn't have much time to kill before runners started crossing the finish line, and before we knew it, Eric had made it across! Go Eric!

Yet another race under his belt

Awww. Achilles is proud, too!

After the race we spent some time at the post-race festival. The weather was gorgeous, so we enjoyed being outside. They had Whiskey Kiss playing more Celtic music, and breakdancers dancing along. There were also face-painting stations, a station to play the Old Course on Wii Golf, and a photo station where you could have your picture taken with either Edinburgh Castle behind you or on the Old Course. We had our picture taken with both, even though we already have pictures of us in both places in real life!

Happy family after the race

Wonderful Celtic music

Dancers

Achilles apparently wanted to dance, too. This is him jumping up at me. See how high he is compared to Eric's foot down there? That dog is crazy.

Our Edinburgh Castle photo from the festival. Those green screen fireworks were so bright we need our shades, apparently.

For comparison, here is our REAL Edinburgh Castle photo from last summer!

And, our Old Course festival photo. It was nice Achilles was able to join us "in Scotland" this time, don't you think?

And another for comparison: our REAL Old Course photo!

Overall, we had a great time at the run. The only disappointing part was that we didn't win any of the free trips to Scotland they raffled off at the end! We're dying to go back!

VIDEO: A look at the sights and sounds of the Scotland Run

There were many other Scotland Week festivities during this past week, including the "Dressed to Kilt" fashion show, whiskey tastings, Adam Smith business forum, etc. However the only other thing we participated in was the Annual Tartan Day Parade, which was this past Saturday. Once again, I got all dressed in my Baird finery, and Achilles did the same. The weather was very nice once again, and the parade is just great fun. It's fairly short by New York Parade standards, which is kind of a good thing (I mean, the St. Patrick's Day Parade goes on for like, 6 hours. Who has time to watch all of that?). It's mostly just bagpipers, some dancers, adorable dogs, and an occasional Loch Ness Monster. The spectators get into it too, with many of us wearing kilts and other tartan apparel. We had a great time.

With Achilles at the parade, sporting our Baird-wear

Enjoying the parade

One of the many bagpipe groups

More bagpipers

Adorable.

Achilles meets other festive dogs

These strapping Scottish men are carrying a pole used in the caber toss (part of the Highland Games). The object is to throw this giant telephone pole-type thing and have it turn over in mid-air, landing so that the top part is facing the thrower and the bottom is facing away. It's more about the accuracy of the throw than the distance, I guess. Sounds, um, dangerous.

Loch Ness Monster and dancers

VIDEO: Scenes from the Tartan Parade

Overall, we had a great time at these Scottish events, and reliving our time in Scotland through pictures and memories. It's great to be a Scottish girl!