Saturday we had the coolest experience. A bunch of us drove out to Braemar, a city approximately 30 miles west of Aberdeen to attend the Royal Highland Games. Its an annual event that occurs over the summer and ends on the first Saturday in September. The Queen is always in attendance at the final round in September and thereafter spends the rest of the summer at Balmoral Castle. (This Castle is open to the public before and after the royal family completes their stay).
As we entered the arena, excitement filled the air. When you hear the phrase "Highland Games" what comes to mind? If you said caber tossing, that's my answer. Caber tossing is a traditional Scottish athletic event where they throw a large wooden pole (caber) that is 20 feet tall and weighs 175 pounds. A perfect throw results in the caber flipping over on the ground. Here is a video we took of the caber tossing event (and of course a glimpse of the royal family). Man these guys are strong!
We also saw the tug of war (which was very intense), heavy hammer throw, sack race, traditional Scottish dances and an uphill race. A group of 50 or so people ran through the arena and up a hill (which looked like a mountain) that was the backdrop of the arena. The winner took 24 minutes to run up and down the hill. Talk about insane. I heard the winner threw up afterwards. I wanted to throw up just looking at that mountain hill.
As the temperatures began to drop (and once again I was caught being poorly dressed), the rumors of the Queen's arrival consumed us. So a few of us decided to walk around the arena and then stood at the entrance hoping to get a snapshot of the Queen as they escorted her and the family in Range Rovers. Much to my surprise the security was minimal and as the Queen and Prince Philip drove in, their windows were down and they happily waved at the crowd. Here's the video, we were on the side that Prince Philip was, so we got a good shot of him waving:)
I managed to get some good shots of Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, Prince Charles & Camilla, Princess Anne and a few others. No sightings of William & Kate though :( It was so cool to be within inches of the royal family. The Queen is SO cute. This was definitely the highlight of my week. I am the luckiest girl in the world!
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