It Was a Highland Fling Weekend

Yesterday was our second weekend at the Renaissance Festival. It was cloudy and threatening rain all day, but the rain never hit us, so all-in-all it was a good day to be at Fest. It was Highland Fling weekend, so DH was wearing his kilt - he looks great in a kilt BTW. The best part of Highland Fling weekend, however, are the Highland Games. The World's competition had been held on Saturday, so Sunday's competition was regional, but it was still stellar and a lot of fun. We spent most of the day around the Shepherd's Green, watching the men and women compete. 

The Highland Games started out with the Hammer Throw. In
this, the athlete swings the weighted hammer in a circle
around his head, releasing it and allowing it to fly away
from him. The goal is distance and not hitting anyone.  

The morning started out with the Hammer Throw. In this event, a round weighted sphere of 22 lbs (men) or 16 lbs (women) is rotated around the body and then released. They usually do this event first thing in the morning when the crowds are less because it's the most dangerous for the spectators if something goes off course. It's much easier to avoid or to control the other events. 

The bar was still raised a couple more times
before this competition was over. Here, it's
probably at the 27 foot level. Still a pretty
far distance to toss that sheaf. 

After the Hammer Toss (and the Stone Put which we watched, but I didn't take photos of), they progressed to the Sheaf Toss. In this event, a stuffed, weighted bag (16 lbs for men, 10 lbs for women) is pierced by a two or three-tined pitchfork, moved in a wavelike motion to gain momentum, and then released from the fork to be tossed over a high-bar. We tapped out at 29 feet yesterday, everyone failing at the 31-foot level, but the world record for men at this weight is an amazing 40 feet, 32 feet for women. That's seriously tall! Want to see a world record toss? Here's a You Tube link for Eric Frazure's 35.4 foot toss a couple of years ago. 

The Caber Toss is always a crowd pleaser. The poles weigh anywhere
from 110 to 150+ pounds each, and extend up to 20 feet in length.
Control and the ability to manipulate them is key to success. 

The final event, and most popular, is the Caber Toss, where very large and tall telephone poles are picked up, balanced, and then thrown end-over-end with the goal of landing perpendicular to the athlete as close to twelve o'clock as possible. That simplifies the explanation, of course, but basically, that's Caber in a nutshell. It's always fun to watch this competition and it's both a challenge and a lot of fun for the athletes as well. 

We left shortly after the Caber Toss, returning home to margaritas, a beautiful blue sky, and total exhaustion from walking too much. DH was asleep by 8:00 pm and I wasn't too far behind. My 'broken' toe from two weeks ago is really hurting me today and the thought of four days of walking beginning on Friday isn't a fun one for me, although it will be wonderful to see Sharon again. I guess I'll tape my toe today and I might have to tape it over the weekend to keep things healing. 

Have a wonderful Monday - enjoy your day. I'll hit the pool today, then it's on to the Chiropractor and then to work. DH's car is fixed again, so I don't have to play chauffeur which is a relief. Now to look into small pickup trucks and see what would he would like best. It's time - we need something reliable and the Saturn just can't do the job any more.