Scotch Irish Combo Roots - Quinn, Connors - Ready to Celtic Festival

Scotch Irish Combo Roots
a Quinn
and a Connors

ready to Celtic Festival

link to Celtic Festival/Highland Games - Houston, TX...
http://www.houstonhighlandgames.com/

link to the Houston Celtic Festival Facebook page...
https://www.facebook.com/HoustonCelticFestival

Ceud Mile Fa'ilte
A Hundred Thousand Welcomes



image of metal sign from the Celtic Card Team
from Dublin, Ireland
(note: found an image on the local Celtic Festival Facebook page, but it would not copy... maybe this year's festival I'll find one for real & buy it/take my own photo...I like this sentiment--A Hundred Thousand Welcomes)

link to Rathkeltair webpage...
http://www.rathkeltair.com/

Yes, there was a Celtic Rock Band--complete with a bagpipe...
a sound you don't normally hear, only caught the end of the day set on the main stage

YouTube Video - Rathkeltair
Fermoy Lasses

I've never seen anyone play pipes like this...in the intro he (is that Neil) mentions this is the last song before the person leaving Ireland going to America use to hear before they passed out for the night, but I'm imagining whoever's left playing the pipes at the end of the long night of drinking farewells will pass out after this too...whew...
note: that I love the sound of a well played bagpipe, add to that guitars & drums like a rock band & it's even more interesting to listen to all together...now I'm belated sad I didn't sit in on the main stage earlier at the Celtic Festival in Houston, TX last weekend to hear more of them Live?!





link to The Pride of Bedlam (Pirate) Band...
http://www.prideofbedlam.com/music.html

Hanging with Bedlam CD--got that, had a lot of fun singing along in the car on the way home...
Yo Ho Blow the Man Down...Shiver Me Timers... Beer, beer, beer...
Liked the Dark Lady--am wondering now if she's a real ship...
note: for the Celtic Festival they had a lady fiddle player, which they may not usually have - she was Fab & was happy to catch her...tho know that I've always wanted to play the fiddle so have more interest than some, others will have enjoyed the pirate boys...yo ho ho...

link to Amazon.com - where you can order them if you will, or have a listen & a laugh...
http://www.amazon.com/Hanging-Bedlam-Pride/dp/B00EC580WE/ref=sr_1_3?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1399055582&sr=1-3&keywords=Pride+of+Bedlam

The Pride of Bedlam at Sherwood Forest Faire

video from YouTube - Feb 23, 2014 Sherwood Forest Faire
(is that like a RenFest, am not sure but hope to find out next one)

link to Scottish Accents - Cultural Gift Shop - Houston, TX...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scottish-Accents/147166185309990

plaid, plaid & more plaid
or is it 'tartans'
still don't know what the Quinn nor Connors tartans look like
research for another time, tartans & geneology
Quinn could be Scottish or Irish & Connors it appears is all Irish

link to the Scottish Clan Council of Houston, TX...
http://www.scottishcouncil.com/

Scottish Rag Dolls
from Scottish Accents cultural gift shop table at the festival
plust the official Scotland Flag clings for the car windows
wearing the Celtic Pride Proudly

Celtic knots

Celtic knots often found in circles or inside a triangle shape

earrings from another vendor
(forgot to pick up their card...next festival...)

not just a celtic knots in earrings, in silver
but that the triangle or circle they can usually be in is not there
so the number three is most evident--my fav number 3

link to more on the three knot celtic symbol - here called the triskelion celtic symbol...
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/triskelion-celtic-symbol-meaning.html
triskelion = 3 legged in Greek (as in 3 legs running)
~~~
And all my relatives, that I know of, are from Kilmarnock, Scotland
One day a revisit, as my mother is buried there with her sister & her sister's husband...

link to the Wiki about Kilmarnock, Scotland...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmarnock



see the red square?
that's where my Quinn Clan started, or at least for me...

link to the City of Kilmarnock, Scotland, UK...
http://www.kilmarnock.org.uk/

there's coal mining there
my mother's dad, my grandfather, was a coalminer
he could of come from Ireland to Scotland to marry a Scottish woman
but we don't know for sure, yet...

Google Map - Kilmarnock, Scotland - East Ayrshire, UK - see the green spot with the Kilmarnock Cemetery? that's where my relatives are buried...if only it were closer, across the 'pond' sounds so near...

Kilmarnock, Scotland - Google Maps

link to Visit Scotland - Kilmarnock...
http://www.visitscotland.com/en-us/info/towns-villages/kilmarnock-p243171

note: where the largest Burns Mounument in Scotland is located




new gaelic railway signs, this one for Kilmarnock (or read below, if you can--in gaelic)
from the link for the Scottish Rail webpage, photos page...
http://www.scot-rail.co.uk/photos/Infrastructure/page1/

link to knowing more about the (mighty) Quinn's...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinn

note: there may or may not be a Quinn DNA Genetic Genealogy Project going on...
again, further research...

~~~
Link to the Celtic Gardens - Houston, TX...
http://www.celticgardenshouston.com/about/index.php
No, it is 'not' a Gardens--it's a Pub with a Patio
I didn't know there was one in town--perhaps the social gathering place for the Irish & the Scot's
if they're in downtown or is that mid-town...but it's a big town, so there's bound to be more (big town as in the 4th largest in the whole of the US - Houston, TX)

And in reading about Pubs in Houston--tho I don't visit them...find the only Scottish Pub, Kelvin Arms is in the West Univ or is it Rice Village area...may go wander in there as I read there's a vaulted library room, if there's no smoking & even bad coffee then I'm up for a visit with some friends, who can order a pint on their own & I'll browse the books...




photo by Hande J. of the vaulted library room in Kelvin Arms - The Scottish Pub
from the Yelp page...

link to Kelvin Arms - The Scottish Pub - Houston, TX...
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kelvin-arms-houston

Do I get that island vibe from Galveston

Do I get that island vibe from Galveston

after growing up in Florida & visiting the beaches there ever after
or once an expat visiting the Caribe or Greek islands or the Adriatic & Croatia

perhaps it's not enough to visit the island for 2 days & expect to catch the vibe
in April with a day of clouds & waves & threat of rain only to have the sun come out when leaving

I drove in Thursday evening & left Friday morning

lunch at Olympia on Pier 21
ordered the Moussaka - which I always forget what it is, but it ends up yummy (it's the potatoes & eggplant with sauce combo that surprises me or my tastebuds but I still like it)
http://www.olympiagrill.net/

walkabout - The Strand
slaps, stickers, grafitti, street art
"the dog is watching"

Mod Coffeeshop
off The Strand on Post Office street

http://www.modcoffeehouse.com/

yes a real barista made machiatto & yes there is grafitti art or possible tattoo art
the karma kat karma cup/aka tip cup for one instance
from a previous barista turned tattoo artist we're told
I love the karma kitty, esp the blue eyes
I would like to look him up one day, this barista tattoo artist in town
we proceed to check out the current barista's tatts who takes our order
but funny enough I don't ask him where he got his ink
I also don't know who did the grafitti art tables as we sit down
especially like the bunny table we sat at
I would like to know more
I would probably come in here a lot if I lived here or come to visit ever again
oh & yes, I am drawn to grafitti/street art in about whatever form

kid art on the side windows of what I think is The Grand 1894 Opera House
since there's artist & school to list at the bottom am guessing it was a big school art project
there are 2 or 3 windows full of these slips, side by side, seeing lots & lots of animals...
http://www.thegrand.com/

back streets of The Strand
I would like to wander behind the scenes more
the power cables & on/off switches up in the middle of the archway in the back alley have me curious
how does it all work & why--was it the flooding, hurricanes or something else...

Hendley Market, Trading Company
could be better described as an emporium & novelty items comes to mind in trying to describe all the goodies to discover - a hunter gatherer will go mad in here, you will not be able to pull them away for a long Long while, be forewarned before you wander in here & get sucked in for an hour easily
I am drawn in by the eye glasses, inside I see there's another pair for sale (or I think they are, don't check for tags) - there is a lot of interesting stuff in here for the kids as well or the kids at heart

http://www.hendleymarket.com/

missed lunch at the Board Game Island Cafe, due to floors being redone--but then after 4:30 open for dinner
had the most de-lish sandwich on a croissant...mmm...The Islander BLT...
yes, as you can read, with Boar's Head deli meats...

but per the name of the place--Board Game Island...there were games on the tables & shelves full of games (a room divider shelf full on both sides) & in the front window even more game boxes, many for sale--many of which I'd never seen before...

had to check out the GoT/Games of Thrones game boxes, there were two here, only to see (maybe not so oddly) some tiny pieces are missing...imagine if there were a tiny iron throne in there then I 'know' that would of been gone first thing, sad but true...

another game box a friend checks out, The Walking Dead--I do 'not' look at the Zombie cards...I don't like zombies, I do 'not' watch the show, any of them with zombies in them so I left that one up to her...

there are classic games, do consider the mancla game with stone marbles rather than stones or beans
and remember the hours of games we'd play as teens or when we had teens games like--Monopoly or strategy games like Risk or word games of Scrabble (even once while living in Venezuela for the sake of language learning there was Scrabble in Spanish) or card games or on & on the list could go...

the new gaming I've never done...or none online games, friends play games on Facebook--I for one refuse... & can barely recall ever using the Atari Game System that came out after I was grown--then the boys moved on to the Nintendo & of course all the games/gaming systems beyond that...

Solitare, with real cards mind you, was the very first game I ever saw being played, by my grandmother.. after that maybe horseshoes or chinese checkers or checkers or chess or rarely shuffle board--my Dad really wanted me to learn to play chess, (me, the oldest daughter - to his credit no matter I was a girl or not) but I was not very good at that though since am not one for remembering lots of strategy moves...

more kids games or card games were learned & played & forgotten...Hide & Seek or Tag or Cowboys 'n Indians or Red Rover or Go Fish or Tic Tac Toe or Pick up Sticks or Jacks 'n Marbles or just Marbles or Operation or Chutes 'n Ladders or Candy Lane or Jump Rope/Chinese Jump Rope perhaps the longest played game, alone or with others in school or in the old neighborhood...so on & on the games go from childhood up...

growing up to more games...bowling or foosball or darts or Gin/Poker card games (never Bridge) or dice games with the ladies - Bunco (with money prizes & gifts was a lot of fun back when stuck up in the mountains especially while living in Colorado) or various forms of trivia (even an attempt at Star Wars trivia once) & at some point I have no more patience for such games...

when did I lose interest in hopscotch...swinging...monkeybars...teeter totters...merry go rounds... playgrounds... sigh... even as I outgrew them the boys grew up & they outgrew them & there are even more games for them & now...

there is play to be found elsewhere I suppose, perhaps not in board or card or computer games...
but if you're still up for it though, there is an island here on the island of Galveston--a Board Game Island...

http://www.boardgameisland.com/

walk about
street art, grafitti
meow

Sand 'n Sea

Dana Condo

West Beach

Galveston Island

State Park to the right far view

haunted house the Steward Mansion to the left far view behind the docks

first day on arrival it was 'not' sunny, then as was leaving--then the sun came out

sand 'n sea condo interior
Claire's Fish paintings--am guessing she's the owner maybe & she's painted them
would they be called primatives, don't know, but do think they are colorful & cheerful

what we were calling 'the boys of summer'
oh my--the shorts & those long/Long boards
3 old black & white surf boy photos over slat boards
they remind me of The Endless Summer movie--a surf movie I watched when I was a teen
one of the first movies I saw at the theater (didn't think of it as a documentary)
I grew up in/on St Pete Beach Florida, so of course I would be interested in surfing
tho these surf boys were in Hawaii a lot I think & I've never been to those beaches--yet

Endless Summer - Wiki...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Endless_Summer

Endless Summer - YouTube...
http://youtu.be/yZsuQXKkPdw

IMDB - The Endless Summer - 1966...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060371/

my friend took this photo of the 'boys of summer' photo on the wall of the condo with her good camera

I wanted to compare to what my camera phone could take

more interior/exterior shots
Dana Condo
Sand 'n Sea Rental
Galveston Island
West Beach

Stewart Mansion
so said in a lot of writings, that it's haunted
someone was into tile work, like that, was it a Spanish influence--possibly
and someone was also into pirates, as in full size wall murals of at least 2 pirates--if not Lafitte the pirate or did they call him a privateer (was there a difference in meaning, possibly)

photo credits: Google images

note: my friend took some photos with her good camera, she snuck out in the morning to go sneak over to take photos--after reading about the hauntedness she decided 'not' to venture over at night, either way I was 'not' going over...tho I did want to see how the Pirate murals had held up, apparently they are only covered more in tag/grafitti (which tho I do enjoy grafitti/street art, not so much tags & not for sure tags over other art...)

Wiki - Galveston Island State Park - mentions Stewart family...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Island_State_Park

note: here I read it's not just 'a' Lafitte Pirates--it was the Lafitte Brothers, so there is more than one...

Open Salon Blog - post: Stewarts Mansion, War, Cannibals, Pirates & Ghosts...
http://open.salon.com/blog/gypsyrose1972/2011/04/11/stewarts_mansion_war_cannibals_pirates_and_ghosts

note: I have a great urge, as in the Wizard of Oz, to add at the end 'Oh My'...so Cannibals & Pirates & Ghosts--Oh My...

The Islander Magazine - Article: Stewart Mansion...
http://theislandermagazine.com/?p=3037

Old Plantation Home - Stewart Mansion of Galveston TX: Pirate Legend & Indian Myth Collide...
http://oldplantationhome.com/stewart-mansion-of-galveston-texaspirate-legend-and-indian-myth-collide-pt-2/

what the UER have to say about the Mansion - as they say the Sealy/Stewarts Mansion...
http://www.uer.ca/locations/show.asp?locid=30084

note: UE= Urban Exploration...I do like that there's some brief history & lots of photos...
I could easily get lost in all this, so I'll stop--enjoy the mystery, haunted or not...

~~~
~~~

also on Galveston Island
on or off The Strand/Post Office...

The Witchery...

http://witcheryonline.com/

note: a shop that smells & sounds lovely when you walk in, you'll be sucked in like the emporium, it could be hours before you step out again...there is also Tarot Readings, I did not do that this trip--another time...I like these people who run it, my friend does too & they had her book on their shelves--so earlier, back in October when she first visited she signed a few of them...she makes Gris Gris bags so she picked up a few herbal supplies, they had drawer fulls (many I'd never heard of or would have to look up again to be sure even what they were...)


La King's Confectionery...

http://www.lakingsconfectionery.com/

note: so in here there is candy, old fashioned/saltwater taffy/chocolates & an old soda fountain, ice cream, & a coffee bar...again, I'm tempted to say Oh My after that list too...mmm...somone had a Malt here & someone else had espresso ice cream--coffee another time, I do have a limit on caffeine consumed in a day?!


Mosquito Cafe...

http://www.mosquitocafe.com/

the Betsy
or that's what I'm calling it
they call it the Nancy Bet-C
breakfast on Friday morning before leaving

cheesy grits on the side...I love 'em so...mmm...
poached eggs, peppered bacon on a croissant with swiss cheese 'n hollandaise sauce...mmm...
I got the roasted tomatoes on the side--really I can't do veggies in the AM so I shared 'em

airpot coffee on the side--that's OK, I was there for the food...mmm...
did I say mmm...mmm...

~~~
~~~

I will be back to see the sun on the beach, to walk the beach with a calmer surf
to eat more good food--I can skip all the Cajun Food on the island, as I've lived in Lafayette, LA for years & visited NOLA numerous times, I will be sampling other foodie fare...
to shop more, to stay more, to wander the streets more, to adventure more, to check out all the architecture--say all those preserved victorian homes...

like down the street from the Mosquito Cafe was the Bishop's Palace, which I would of loved to have a tour of--next time...from what little I've read--they saved lots of folks from 'the storm' at that seriously stone house, so I'd like to see/hear more about it...

Galveston - Bishop's Palace...
http://www.galveston.com/bishopspalace/

Wiki - Bishop's Palace...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop%27s_Palace,_Galveston