MID-ATLANTIC SEASON KICK-OFF
We got off to a bit of a rough start this year with David coming down with the flu just before the
Lexington Celtic Festival forcing us to cancel our participation this year. ;(
Now we get a break until Grandfather Mountain. So I am taking this opportunity to update the website, and
the tent display! I think you will be amazed later this year at the changes to our tent display, so plan on
making it out to the Virginia Scottish, Williamsburg and Richmond Games! The Gordon Grill will be in full
swing at all three and we are planning on having a great time!
Of course Grandfather is THE big event and David & I will be camping the whole week along with a whole
group of our fellow Gordons. It is going to be a week full of fun, food, frolic and fellowship with friends (how's
that for alliteration!) And, of course we have the AGM this year too.
THE GORDON GODDESS SHIRT MAKES ITS DEBUT AT GRANDFATHER!
But before we get to that I just have to say that we had the best time at Grandfather this year! David & I
celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on the mountain and we were surprised with a cake in our honor --
which I promptly lost hold of and dropped it icing down on the grass! LOL! We all got a good laugh and using
the 30 sec camping rule, scooped it up and ate what didn't actually land on the ground -- although David did
make an attempt to lick up the icing on the ground (well sort of!) The first few days were beautiful, and then
the rain came, and came, and came. We created what the kid's called tarp city at Gordonville and went on
our merry way having a FANTASTIC time. After all, we come from good Scottish and American stock and a
little rain never stops us from having a ceilidh! At the end of the week we were pleased to have the teens
and 20-somethings agree that the rain actually made it more fun since we all hung out together and it was
really a family time.
The Virginia Gordon Goddess Shirt made its debut and was a hit! The other clans were already planning on
trying to copy it by Saturday afternoon. It reads Don't Feck with a Gordon Goddess... Trust Me I Am One or
Trust Me I'm Married To One.
David built the rock oven and began passing the knowledge on to the next generation. This year's oven was
dubbed "Angus" and we all enjoyed some very tasty smoked meats @ Saturday's pot-luck where we had
147+ come through the line! The Uppity Wenches/aka Gordon Goddesses partied all week long, and our
Relay Team WON the Clan Kilted Relay! All in all it was a great time, and if you weren't with us at the Virginia
Gordon encampment then you should come join us on the mountain next year!
We got off to a bit of a rough start this year with David coming down with the flu just before the
Lexington Celtic Festival forcing us to cancel our participation this year. ;(
Two weeks later we hauled ourselves out of bed at 0400 and
were on the road by 0430 to make it to the Southern Maryland
Games in St. Leonard, MD. It was a nice day, but a bit cool with
a brisk wind off the river to our backs...so, we put up the tent
panels on three sides and stayed toasty while our neighbors
were literally chillin' out! It was a nice day and we had great
views of the athletics and rugby, but the downside to that was
that we were on the far side of the field from the rest of the
festival and got minimal traffic.
Since it was only David & I and forecasts were calling for
unpredictable weather, we did a one tent set-up that we could
breakdown quickly and minimize any potential storm damage. It
turned out still quite attractive and inviting, and had all the
essential information. And we rolled out the new Daisy Gordon
brochure giving a shortened version of the article I did on her for
the Virginia website and then the USA annual in 2007. We felt
that since the Girl Scouts of America are celebrating 100 years
this year it was only right to honor our Clanswoman who founded
them!
As always we were the photo-op place of choice! There is
something about those swords and bright yellow that draws
people in like a bee to a bright flower!
- The following weekend, May 5-6th found us out at the
Mechanicsville RELAY FOR LIFE with the tents and Gordon Grill
in support of the Hermitage MCJROTC who act as the support
unit for the event each year. This is a wonderful community
event raising money for cancer research. This year David & I
were up at 0700 to organize things and be onsite by 0900
Saturday morning when the cadets arrived to begin set-up. We
were there for the long haul -- until 0730 Sunday morning! The
day started out nice... until around 1500 (3 PM) when the storms
rolled in and we had rain the rest of the evening and night.
- Six days later we were up and running down to Petersburg, VA
for the Fort Lee Celtic Festival! This time we had perfect
weather and did the full two tent set-up complete with Pooh Bear
in kilt! This was Pooh's first time as the new tent mascot and he
was a HUGE hit with the wee lads and lasses!
Since we were by the stage and the kid's zone we had lots of
traffic all day and of course, everyone wanted their photo at the
Gordon tent with the claymore and Pooh! Juliette Gordon Low
Doll made her first appearance on the table too! Of course
being an Army Base, the Wall of Honor was the major attraction.
Everyone thanked us for it, and had comments to make and
stories to tell. Most impressive is the fact that we have four
pages of Medal of Honor Recipients from Clan Gordon! So while
the adults conversed and shared their war stories, the kids were
kept happy visiting with Pooh Bear, checking out the cool swords
(with supervision by me) and getting coloring pages from the
Gordon Kids' Corner.
We were also able to rescue the Kids Zone bouncy castle by
loaning them our tools during set-up (they were trying to pound
in stakes with a 2x4! Good way to tear the balloon castle), and
the Music guys by loaning them our third tent and a chair--
seems they forgot to bring the canopy and an empty pop-up tent
frame just doesn't give much shade!
The following Saturday we were up at 0300 and on the road by
0330 heading to the Colonial Highland Gathering in Fairhill,
Maryland by the Delaware boarder. Another day of perfect
weather! The only problem was that on the way home from Fort
Lee the truck had broken down... UGH! We had resolved the
overheating issues, but the engine was running EXTREMELY
rough and there was no way it was going to make the long
journey, much less haul the trailer on that trip. SO... with only
the little Ford Escort to make the trip we loaded in everything
needed (after checking the weather forecast several times) for
the bare minimum one tent set-up and overnight stay and hoped
for the best! Fortunately the weatherman was right and we didn't
need the tarps and tent panels, because we didn't have them!
We had lots of visitors to the tent, in fact I think that they set a
record attendance at the event this year! Folks were telling us
that there was a line looping the area to get in! Since this is the
EUSPBA Championship there was a lot of great piping, and 30
bands were on hand to compete!
Although Pooh wasn't able to fit into the Escort with us, the
claymores did make it, and as always there was much vying to
have the photo-op with them. Mark Todd and family made it out
and it was really good to see him again! Mark you have GOT to
come down to Williamsburg or Richmond or GRANDFATHER
one of these years! Speaking of visitors to the tent, we had a
dragon come by for his photo-op at the tent too! We were able
to visit with many of our friends, the Donnachaidh, Lindseys,
Wallaces, Donalds... even though the Campbells were beside
us! Our one tent had more visits than their three! If only Gordy
had been along to reive the Campbell banner again!
Now we get a break until Grandfather Mountain. So I am taking this opportunity to update the website, and
the tent display! I think you will be amazed later this year at the changes to our tent display, so plan on
making it out to the Virginia Scottish, Williamsburg and Richmond Games! The Gordon Grill will be in full
swing at all three and we are planning on having a great time!
Of course Grandfather is THE big event and David & I will be camping the whole week along with a whole
group of our fellow Gordons. It is going to be a week full of fun, food, frolic and fellowship with friends (how's
that for alliteration!) And, of course we have the AGM this year too.
THE GORDON GODDESS SHIRT MAKES ITS DEBUT AT GRANDFATHER!
But before we get to that I just have to say that we had the best time at Grandfather this year! David & I
celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on the mountain and we were surprised with a cake in our honor --
which I promptly lost hold of and dropped it icing down on the grass! LOL! We all got a good laugh and using
the 30 sec camping rule, scooped it up and ate what didn't actually land on the ground -- although David did
make an attempt to lick up the icing on the ground (well sort of!) The first few days were beautiful, and then
the rain came, and came, and came. We created what the kid's called tarp city at Gordonville and went on
our merry way having a FANTASTIC time. After all, we come from good Scottish and American stock and a
little rain never stops us from having a ceilidh! At the end of the week we were pleased to have the teens
and 20-somethings agree that the rain actually made it more fun since we all hung out together and it was
really a family time.
The Virginia Gordon Goddess Shirt made its debut and was a hit! The other clans were already planning on
trying to copy it by Saturday afternoon. It reads Don't Feck with a Gordon Goddess... Trust Me I Am One or
Trust Me I'm Married To One.
David built the rock oven and began passing the knowledge on to the next generation. This year's oven was
dubbed "Angus" and we all enjoyed some very tasty smoked meats @ Saturday's pot-luck where we had
147+ come through the line! The Uppity Wenches/aka Gordon Goddesses partied all week long, and our
Relay Team WON the Clan Kilted Relay! All in all it was a great time, and if you weren't with us at the Virginia
Gordon encampment then you should come join us on the mountain next year!
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Games Report
Virginia Scottish was a BLAST! We had a good turn-out and a lot of fun. AND we had several YOUNG Gordons
learning all about their heritage, and even eating HAGGIS! AWESOME! We even had a motor element to our
contingent of the parade of tartans. Barbara & Gordy got in on the fun with the "Brave" wig... and
learning all about their heritage, and even eating HAGGIS! AWESOME! We even had a motor element to our
contingent of the parade of tartans. Barbara & Gordy got in on the fun with the "Brave" wig... and
Continue to page 2 -- Williamsburg
and Richmond!
and Richmond!