Nice Ride...new car.

Today, Sunday, Nov 12, I took a drive to Brighton. I felt the need to see the sea. (No pun intended.) After a frustrating morning with my network connection, I decided a nice long drive in my pretty blue new car was just what I needed. By the time I left the house it was 2:00pm. I set the "Nav" system to the "Kings Road," Brighton.

In my reference book on England it is referred to as the place where Victorian men would take their mistresses for rendevous. When they wanted a divorce, they would also bring photographers to be able to verify infidelity. Seems a little odd..

It was a very easy ride... south M404, east on M25, southwest M23... about one hour and thirty minutes. After the freeway experience, like Hwy 17, it dumps you into the town of Brighton. Unlike Santa Cruz, this is not a sleepy little beach town. It is very much like San Francisco, the Marina district to be precise. Parks, shops and three to six story buildings, all facing the sea. The buildings all have bay windows, similar to those in the Marina, but I am sure much older. There was some sort of 10k race going on in one park and every field had a soccer (football) game being played.

You wind down through the city until you notice in front of you an open area that is blue... oh there it is, the sea!! There is a wide promenade overloaking the beach area that seems to stretch for miles. A pier supports several buildings, restaraunts, amusement rides, and game areas, similar to the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz but much older and smaller. Down the center of the pier is a covered area painted white, lined with black painted iron benches. Old style street lights line the pier as well. All of this lights up as the sun goes down. As you look back at the city you see rows of hotels, restaurants, stores and apartments all lined neatly across from the promenade.

You can just imagine the Victorian couples strolling along, enjoying the sea breeze, planning the evening, stopping for ice cream or a cold drink.

The wierdest thing of all was that the beach is not sand, it is rocks or I guess big pebbles, like Johnson's Beach at Russian River! That was a surprise.

The sun goes down about 4:30 and everyone was heading towards the beach or the pier to enjoy the sunset. I have to say, it was as beautiful as any I have seen in Hawaii, the Caribbean, Australia, Greece, Spain or yes, in the US... although I will say Kansas has some amazing sunsets!

A nice drive for a dull day... I hate Sundays... and Sundays alone are the worst!!