It was another early morning today as Emmie, once again, was unable to sleep past 6 a.m. At home she is a solid 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. sleeper, however the extremely late sunset (10:30 p.m.) and equally early sunrise (4:30 a.m.) here really seems to be confusing both of our children. They aren’t napping during the day, and they aren’t sleeping much at night either!
Noah and Emmie stayed with Grandma Mac and enjoyed a hot breakfast at the hotel while Gee Gee, Brian, and I took a short car ride to the Highland Aviation Flying School at the Inverness Airport for my introductory flying lesson over the highlands! After filling out death waivers (very reassuring) and briefly going through a security checkpoint, our instructor Ben led us to the plane hanger to retrieve our american made Piper Warrior 4-seater plane.
Pulling the plane out of the hangar, toward the tarmac.
Retrieving the plane consisted of Brian and Ben pulling on the plane via propeller and a wheel guide (also very reassuring) while Gee Gee and I made sure each of the wings did not hit other planes in the hangar on the way out. Next up were the oil and fuel checks, then moving the plane again as we prepared for takeoff.
Ready to fly!
Gee Gee and Brian took the back seats.
While I expected to be able to steer us around while in the air, I was pleasantly surprised to be allowed to participate in takeoff by pulling up on the controls to bring the plane into the air. After cruising around at 2,000 feet (it’s harder than it looks to keep that plane at a steady level) and enjoying the view of Inverness, a castle or two, and some lochs, I was instructed to guide the plane in a square shape to prepare for landing. I was allowed to maintain control until we were only a couple hundred feet from the ground before the instructor returned to guiding the controls.
Amanda, co-piloting the plane with instructor Ben.
After landing, I was asked to use the foot pedals to steer the plane back to the hanger. Gee Gee let out a big sigh of relief when the key was taken from the ignition and her two feet were planted firmly on the ground. I’m not sure why: after all, she is the one who taught me how to drive!
Post-flight photo op with the plane.
After picking up Grandma Mac and the kids, we had a bit of a drive to Happy Haggis in Aviemore where we lunched. We all shared a family pack which included two orders of fish and chips, two kids meals, plus drinks and ice cream cones for all. Everyone enjoyed their food, and the fish was especially delicious. Emmie found it especially entertaining to paint the table with ketchup and to throw the chips during our meal.
Emmie loved the sugary Fruit Shoots drink.
Several minutes up the Cairngorm Mountains, after narrowly missing several cyclists crazy enough to hurdle their bodies and bikes up and down the winding roads, we pulled off for a visit to the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre. While the place was highly reviewed, we unfortunately were not able to visit during one of the twice daily tours where you trek up the mountain and are allowed to hand feed the reindeer. Instead, we saw four reindeer in a cage, and, while adorable, Emmalyn and Noah were way more interested with sifting through the rocks at the bottom of the fence. Fortunately, there were no reindeer droppings near the fence-line.
Noah sort of posed for a photo with a reindeer.
After the Reindeer Center visit, we found an opportunity to eat Scotland-made ice cream.
After dropping the car back at the Edinburgh Airport we took a taxi to the Doubletree in Edinburgh. Supper was a Chipotle-esque joint called Illegal Jack’s. Gee Gee questioned this decision on entry to the not-exactly pristine establishment, but it was on the itinerary, so we gave it a chance. Brian and I both had burritos filled with stale and chewy rice while Gee Gee and Grandma Mac ordered nachos and over-microwaved, rubbery shredded cheese on top. The kids mainly nit-picked, and one thing is clear: Chipotle would dominate competition if they opened shop in Edinburgh.
Before a disappointing dinner, Noah enjoyed his first taxi ride.
Poor Grandma Mac, who said “no way and no thanks” when presented with the idea of a spooky tour though one of Edinburgh’s oldest underground and historic communities, was again saddled with Noah and Emmie while Brian, Gee Gee, and I hurried to make our scheduled tour time at The Real Mary King’s Close. In old Edinburgh, hundreds of years ago, there were tenement neighborhoods with only the narrowest alley-ways, called “closes,” between the buildings where the city’s poor lived, worked, and died.
Over the years, these old buildings were partially knocked down and newer buildings were erected using the old remains as foundations. The Royal Exchange was built from the ruins on top of Mary King’s Close, leaving virtually an entire neighborhood entombed underneath the current streets of Edinburgh. During our underground tour, we were introduced to fascinating stories about the lives of the people who lived in the close hundreds of years ago.
On our return to the hotel we found an exhausted Grandma Mac along with two adorable bathed and pajama-clad kids. Gee Gee retreated to her room while Grandma wrote some postcards and Brian and Noah headed to the lobby for some wi-fi time. I cuddled with Emmie who fell asleep soundly and quickly for what turned out to be her best night of sleep for the trip.