Tuesday we decided to head up to Edinburgh and wanted to see the castle and Mary King’s Close, a warren of streets beneath the Royal Mile where plague victims were rumoured to have been quarantined. We went to the castle first, but after climbing the hill up and noticing the price (£11 per person) we decided we were too tight to go in.
We grabbed some lunch and walked over to Mary King’s Close but found we’d have to wait until 5:30 to get in. We needed to be back in Ayr by 6:30 so gave up on the idea. While we were wandering around we found the Edinburgh Museum of Childhood and went in. It was free and it was warm – what more could we want.
For us adults it was a bit of a blast from the past. TB seemed to find it quite interesting but wasn’t too impressed with the doll section.
We finished the afternoon with a trip round the shops (it would’ve been rude not to) and then headed back to Nan and Grandad’s for Chinese.
Wednesday the girls offered to take TB so Y and I could get some peace. They took him to Pirate Petes and then Frankie & Benny’s for pizza before taking B1 to the airport. By the sound of things they had just as much fun as the boy did.
Y and I drove down to the Grey Mare’s Tail waterfalls. We climbed up the lower falls but as it was late didn’t feel we should go much further. Instead we walked up to Murray’s Monument and then made our way home. By the time we got back I felt awful; really feverish and I had a splitting headache. I’d slept most of the way back but still managed to fall asleep in front of the TV where the others took some horrible photos of me and posted them on twitter!
Thursday morning I felt better. We drove down to Creetown to visit the gemrock Museum. TB loved looking at all the rocks, especially in the crystal cave. Then we drove over to Carsluith Castle. By the time we drove home I was feeling awful again, and once we got in I spent the rest of the evening with my back against either the fire or the radiator.
Friday I was feeling better and C1 and I left Y and TB to go shopping. I came away with more Christmas presents and two new pairs of boots (well I needed ankle and knee). Y took TB to Pirate Petes again, then met up with Nan and Grandad to visit Dundonald Castle. Once we’d run out of money finished shopping we went over to Nan and Grandad’s for an hour before going home.
I drove back with C1 and when we reached her house there was a police car in the drive. Y had gone racing along the seafront because TB had decided he needed the loo. The police had spotted him and although he wasn’t speeding, he wass going fast along a road known for racing, driving a corsa. Nuff said. Apparently it reduces your boy-racer-cred when the police notice you have a small boy who needs to pee with you.
Saturday we took the dog for a walk and then headed off towards home. We stopped just outside of Dumfries for lunch in a high class restaurant called McDonalds and then stopped again on the other side of town to visit Caerlaverock castle.
Just after we’d passed Carlisle the oil warning light came on. We stopped at a station and Y checked the oil which seemed to be empty. He refilled it and we went off again but the light didn’t turn off. We stopped at the next station as the light was still on and there was still oil. The corsa from hell is known for having slightly dodgy warning lights on the dash, so we decided to keep moving.
As we neared Manchester the boy decided he was still hungry and we stopped to get something to eat. The service station car park was rather darkly lit and made me far from comfortable. I’ve never seen Y drive so fast as when some dodgy looking bloke offered to sell him a gold bracelet in the middle of the car park! Rapidly running out of ideas and wanting to make sure we were all fed before we got off the motorway I begged Suburban Mum for her help and she came to the rescue, directing us to her local retail park. Next time we will be more organised, cos she was down South that weekend.
We ate KFC and made a move again. Just after we came off the motorway Y was convinced he could smell oil. We pulled in and he had a look in the engine. There was barely any of the oil we’d just filled left and when I looked under the car there was a trail of the shiny stuff. Things were not looking good so we called the AA out. Yup, the oil sensor was busted, busted and leaking. Car MEGA FAIL. The guy didn’t have the part and it didn’t sound hopeful that we’d be able to get hold of one on the Sunday, so our only option was to be towed back down to London.
We got in at 5am on Sunday morning and after dragging the stuff in from the car fell straight into bed. TB hadn’t slept overly much on the journey but he was still up and wide awake by 8. We had quite a lazy day and today it’s back to work.
There’ll be pictures once we’ve had a chance to look through them ourselves, but don’t expect much in the way of blog posting from me for the next month. NaNoWriMo is now in full swing and thanks to the weekend’s troubles I’m now a day behind. If you want to check out what I’m writing you can see the story at 50k or bust.
Other than the car break-down it looks like you had a nice time, which is good.
All the best for NaNoWriMo! I’m not now doing it, but am doing NaBloPoMo instead.
Milo says Day 1 – A new beginning
Free and warm and my favorites. Add dry and well I’m all over that!!