Junior Solitary Reaper's trip to Scotland

“Sunshine daisies butter mellow

Turn this car seat into a pillow”

How I wish I could twirl a magic wand and make these words come true? Wondering why??? Well you see, dad and mum took me on this incredibly long journey to Scotland and most of the time I was in the car I was either sleeping or listening to my mum and cousins singing nursery rhymes. If I could only turn my car seat into a pillow I could have slept better. Anyway let me share a few titbits of this trip. I've always heard mum raving about their annual trip to Scotland and how they missed it last year as I was a wee baby (hey look I have picked up a few Scottish words). So I was really curious to find out what makes Scotland such a great place to visit. We started the first leg of our journey from Petey town to Edinburgh by train. Now, it was not as simple as it sounds. As we took a taxi from our house to the train station in the confusion of stuffing in 3 adults, 3 children 2 car seats, a pram and a myriad of bags, we left behind atte's bag. Dad had to take a taxi back home to fetch the bag from the car park. Luckily for us mum had forced all of us to leave early and therefore dad was able to get back in time to catch the train. While on the train for 4 hours I really wanted to explore our compartment and socialise with everybody. I downright stared at all those people who did not smile at me. Most of the grandmas on the train kept cooing and talking to me. I ensured dad and mum got their daily share of exercise by making them run behind me up and down the train. Finally to their relief I settled down for my afternoon nap and by the time I woke up and ate a few strawberries we had reached our destination. Nestled in a cosy apartment we got revitalised to view the sights of Edinburgh. The imposing buildings, the colourful crowd and of course narrow winding lanes were all new to me and I enjoyed these new sights. Atte bought me a kilt as a gift. As we went up the Royal Mile and entered the Castle front, four bright coloured sports cars revved up the hill. I think all the cars were really hungry as I could hear their stomachs growling very loudly. Anyway, all this excitement was too much for me to handle and I fell asleep. Later that evening, we visited my brand new friend who is just 3 weeks old. I could not understand how he could be happy just lying peacefully in his moses basket and not wanting to run around and pull things apart like me? Hmmm, funny baby indeed!

The next day we went to visit some animals in Sterling Safari Park. I don’t know what fascination the adults held in watching elephants, lions and giraffes; I just wanted to run around like crazy and play with the mud which was in abundance all over the place. What I enjoyed the most was a hawk flying very close to me almost touching me while it took flight from the keeper’s arm. I clapped to glory watching more big birds of prey. As you might have guessed by now, I was very tired and bawled like a baby during the sea lion show forcing mum to take me away from the enclosure. I enjoyed a fresh nappy and some milk and silently fell asleep. For the rest of the day, we drove along fresh lush green trees and blue gurgling lochs. That night we stayed at the Clune House B&B. The hosts Ian and Jane were such a delight. Ian didn't mind a bit when I began exploring his printer with a fresh stack of clean white papers. I really wanted to pull down some and play with them but I had this distinct feeling that it would not go down very well with the adults. Dinner at a nice Italian restaurant at Aviemore ensured I fell asleep real quick in my own baby cot. Breakfast the next morning was delightful as I got to munch on fresh strawberries and corn flakes. We started day three’s journey with a two hour drive to the port city of Mallaig. We intended to take a ferry to Isle of Skye. Not only did my family get on to the ferry but our car did too. Dad drove the car into the ferry and parked it near the other cars. I think all the cars had a good time chatting with each other when all their passengers were on the upper deck enjoying the crisp sea breeze. In Isle of Skye we visited the picturesque Neist Point where I thought I would almost be blown away by the gale force winds. We capped off the afternoon with some tasty hot Potato and Leek soup and luscious chocolate muffins. Mmmmm, yummy….

Luckily for me I fell asleep (oh yeah! again) on our long journey to Oban. En-route we stopped at Fort William for a spot of Indian dinner at Spice Tandoori. I was so bored that by the time my Chappathi arrived, I tried to gnaw the table. I left behind my beautiful teeth marks on the table cover. We spent the night at Falls of Lora B&B. Dad swapped our room with that of Atte’s because her room had a bigger bath tub. The room was also bigger giving me more space to run around. Within 10 minutes of moving into the room, I had managed to inspire mom to hide 2 dustbins, 1 vase, 1 kettle and 1 statue from my onslaught. I just can’t understand the fuss - I just want to say hello to every new thing I find! I just like to socialise! Least did I know what an exciting day the following day would be when I nestled in my bed for the night after a long soak in the bath tub.

An action packed day started with a hearty breakfast at Fall of Lora. I had a huge banana and Weetabix. I would have eaten most of the cutlery too but mum did not allow me to. Our first stop for the day was the mighty Ben Nevis. I rode up the mountain in my pram on the Gondola. As we reached the tourist view point; lo behold; it started snowing. Snow in the middle of April…. unbelievable… but then that’s Scotland for you - truly a land of beauty and surprises. It was nice to watch my cousins play in the freshly fallen snow while sipping on hot soup. I really love my soup! After having a good time on the mountain we proceeded to travel to the famous Loch Ness in Inverness. Trust me I have no clue what happened after I got into the car. I had the heartiest of sleeps ever! Mum later told me that dad stayed back and did not go on the cruise just to keep me company in the car as nobody wanted to disturb me. I must have slept for over 4 hours that session. The place was inundated with snow while mum, atte and my cousins went on a cruise on Loch Ness. I was so charged up that evening that throughout our meal in an Indian restaurant called Coriander, I was raucous and bubbly and got told off by mom for not behaving like a good boy. Am I to be blamed if I am given an extra shot of energy?

After absorbing the cool evening air of Oban I struggled to get to bed at night. Both mum and dad were fighting their sleep to be able to keep up with me. Finally I took pity on them and drifted off to sleep. They should just let me sleep in the car during the day times and not force me to sleep at night times.

Monday dawned and we packed our bags to get back to Edinburgh. We visited the Falkirk wheel which is an engineering marvel, under heavy rainfall. Finally when we were close to Edinburgh we were welcomed by a hailstorm. The constant “tap-tapping” on the car windscreen kept me busy for a while giving respite to my cousins’ vocal chords. Getting into the city was not a problem, finding a fuel station was! Can you believe that in such a big city like Edinburgh, dad had to drive round and round to find a fuel station. With barely an hour left before our scheduled departure time, we managed to have a quick bite and got into the train with minutes to spare. The journey back home seemed fine for some time as there were not many people on the train and I was freely allowed to go up and down the compartment. All good things come to an end and so did my patience. With 90 minutes to go, I lost my cool and blew my steam off by bawling at the top of my lungs. Both atte and dad were dismayed by my antics not knowing what to do but amma kept her calm and finally calmed me down. I then slept like a baby (hmmppp...don’t smirk; I am not a baby any more. I am a toddler now).

Time seemed to fly and by the time I was awake the next day mum was getting me dressed to go the nursery. Ooh, was I dreaming all this while or did I really go on a trip to Scotland? Whatever be it… hmmmpppppp….haaaaa…. I am at the nursery now!