走完城堡的公园，心里考虑要回家还是继续到另一个镇走走。听说那个镇靠近海，真想到海边看看。反正买的车票可以用一整天，而小镇也挺靠近城堡的，所以，我就带着靖恒搭巴士去了。
到了小镇，没有牌指示怎么到海边，我就随便选一条小路，拉着靖恒走下去。路是往下斜的，所以回头时得爬上来。虽然担心靖恒到时会太累，不肯爬，我们还是走到路的尾端，看到了 - 不是海，而是 - 河。有许多人向着河的上游走进树林，我们也跟着他们逆河流走。可是，我真的不知道还有多少路程才会走到较有趣的地方，所以走了一个时候我们就打道回去。回到树荫较少的草地，觉得时间不早了，也不知道怎么去海边，打算放弃回家。刚好，碰到了一位亚洲妇女，带着三个混血孩子 - 十岁的女儿，七岁和四岁的儿子 - 正要回家。靖恒兴奋地跟着她的小儿子跑，我便和那位母亲聊了起来。从她口中得知海边离这里不远，只要继续沿着河往下游的方向走大概七分钟便可到达。听她这么一说，我高兴地谢了她，又带着靖恒往前走。况且云早散了，已是列日当空。靖恒听说要去海边，本来不愿意回家的表情又亮起来。虽然我们已出来大概四，五个小时，间中也没什么休息到，他想到有得玩，根本不觉得累。
终于，让我看到海了。那时该是低潮吧，沙滩范围很广。这个沙滩，我想在涨潮时是被淹没的，如同连接陆地与一个岛屿的堤道。都快4点了，我尽管再想探险，也没有勇气带着靖恒走过那个堤道到对面的岛屿。所以，只让靖恒在堤道旁有沙堆的地方玩沙。靖恒还挺容易满足的，玩得不想回家，但最后还是跟我爬上倾斜的小路到车站。在巴士上，毋庸置疑，靖恒睡得很熟。到站了也叫不醒。没办法，硬撑着抱他到一个可以坐下来的地方，等他醒来。将近三岁的他，要抱他爬三楼回家已是不可能的事了。少了车的摇动，把他‘直放’，他不久就醒了。
The journeys I took with Ethan alone tend to be more adventurous. I would often look back at them rather satisfied as if they were some great accomplishment.
On 25 July, Ethan and I took a bus to Lauriston Castle. The day had started out promising good weather, but upon arrival, maybe because Lauriston Castle is in the north and close to the sea, it became cloudy and windy, and hence cold. It seemed to spell disappointment, as we walked into the seemingly boring territory that belonged to the castle. We trudged on nevertheless, since entry to the castle grounds is free. The castle itself is not open on Fridays, but I had not intended to pay the entry fee to go in anyway. It may, however, account for the dearth of visitors that day, making the great grounds rather lonely. There were the green patches of grounds they called the paddocks. I did not explore them, since they seemed to lead quite far in. There was a rose garden, but the flowers looked pathetic, devoid of colours, on a cold summer morning. There was a stretch of footpath with seats facing out to the sea. That was where we had our lunch, in the cold wind. We next found the Japanese Garden that a lady at Women's Club had mentioned. It was the only sculptured garden and looked pretty. Having satisfied myself with seeing the grounds of Lauriston Castle, we made our way out. Ethan did appear to have a good time - he had his favourite lunch of sandwiches out in the open, abundance of sticks to pick, and space to ramble.
I was not sure if we should continue to Cramond, where the same lady had told me about the beach near it, or go back home, since we already had a rather active morning. One could not ask for much with a toddler in the tow. However, having bought the day ticket, it was a shame not to make full use of it, wasn't it? And Cramond was just a short bus ride away, within walking distance (if I were on my own) in fact.
Reaching Cramond, I had no idea how to make my way to the sea. The main road where we stopped was flanked by houses. I took a small road that was sloping downwards and started walking along the road. There was another road that had the signpost 'Cramond Village and Kirk'. However, having been disappointed by Duddingston Village, I did not much care for villages. The road we took had no signpost. It had bends, and as it was sloping downwards, I worried about the way back. We would have to climb up then, and if Ethan was too tired, it might be tough to get him going. Still - another bend and we shall see - I kept on going down, till I could see a grass patch in front and hear the sounds of children. I could also catch a glimpse of a wide river, wider than the River Tweed we went yesterday. It turned out to be River Almond, as I found out later. Getting excited, we went on down.
Down at the end of the road, there were the brown signposts that in UK always signified something interesting - nature trails, heritage sites, historic buildings... In one direction it said 'Cramond' - that's about where we came from. In the opposite direction, 'Cammo Estate'. I had heard of this somewhere, but could not remember what it was like. Still, people seemed to walk towards there or emerge from there, so we went on, walking upstream along the river, me taking in the views and Ethan taking up the sticks. It was a nice walk, but again, I did not know how long we must walk. We climbed up some steps that took us to a hillside path. The view of the river was obstructed by foliage there, and on reaching another flight of steps going down, I decided we had walked quite enough and should turn back. It was about 2.30pm by then, and I thought we should make our way back home. Not having seen the sea was a disappointment, but it could not be helped.
Back to where we began our walk, Ethan again started to attach himself to other young kids. The first attempt with a girl was unsuccessful - the girl did not care a hoot. Later, he tried to make friends with a boy about his age, who was actively running about after his even more active elder brother. That was more successful as the boy did not mind his presence. I fell to talking to their mother, who, from what she said to the boys, should be a Japanese married to a Caucasian. I asked her about the way we came from, and she said it was not a long walk, and we could go really high up, which sounded contradictory. Her elder son happened to be nearby and he mentioned something about a play area. I was not inclined to go back the same way again, so just kept the information in mind for perhaps future use. She told me she lived near here, her younger son was 4 years old, the elder 7, and the girl tugging shyly behind her, 10. We walked a short distance to the carpark, where I would need to pass by to get back on the road. She was going to her car, but in following her active sons, went pass it. She pointed to her elder son, who had disappeared then behind some shrubs near the bank, and said that that was a dangerous age to be in. Really. And I thought I was experiencing the worst of it now with Ethan. Anyway, on an impulse, I mentioned the beach. She told me it was really near, just continue down the river, the river would suddenly open out in front, and there were some yachts, about 7 mins' walk. Having unexpectedly chanced upon this piece of information, I decided we would not end the day so soon yet. If it was this near, we could try, couldn't we? No uphill walk, just straight on. And what's more important, the sun had come out by then.
So, thanking her heartily, Ethan and I went on. I was again worried about the road being too long. We had been out for 4 or 5 hours already, hardly resting except for lunch and the short bus ride. Finally, our persistence was rewarded with the sight of docked boats along the embankment leading to some vast expanse of sand. The river flows into a delta, which at high tide, is likely be flooded. But it was low tide then, and we could see people playing in and running on the sand. There is a causeway which leads out to an island. People were walking to and fro on it. The causeway is also covered during high tide. But with the bright afternoon sun, it was already dry and high at the moment. I decided my adventures would end here however. Going to the island, though tempting, would seem too trying. So I let Ethan play with the sand around the area, and at about 4pm, got him to make our way back to the bus stop. The road we took was the one that had said 'Cramond Village and Kirk'. If we had taken that road earlier, we would never have gone up the river. So, in a way, despite the roundabout way we took to find the sea, it was a detour with a nice discovery and a finale that was the highlight of the day.
Ethan was reluctant to go home as usual, especially after he finished his ice cream cone. Using coax and threats, we finally ended up in the bus. He slept deeply on the bus. I could not get him to wake up when it was time to alight. So puffing and looking like a spectacle of what I did not care, I carried him till somewhere I could sit, and there wait, for the stoppage of motion to wake him up so we could walk the rest of our way back.
