Monday August 4th: Today we're going to Southend to hang out at the beach! Charlie's Mom took the day off to drive us here. She's been coming here since she was a kid. It's somewhere in England about an hourish from Charlie's house. It's actually on the Thames estuary so it's nice and calm. The beach was rather pebbly and plenty of seaweed. When we arrived it was almost low tide (got there around 11, the lowest point of low tide was noon) so we walked down to the other end where there is an amusement park and the world's longest people pier where we rode a train on the pier to the very end and enjoyed the sea breeze and peace.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southend_Pier
After the pier we went and rode two little rides (one of which I videoed, will be on facebook eventually). Then we went to a traditional fish & chips place where Charlie and her mum had fish and I had chicken nuggets :] All was well! We then began the trek back to the other end where we parked and grabbed some icecream (they call the syrup "sauce" and they put it under the scoops not on top. weird) and headed to the beach! Pretty sure I took a nice nap, though I had a book to read. The water was pretty cold and I would only have considered swimming in it if there wasn't a breeze and if the sun was out and it was super warm. Alas, the sun was partially out and it was rather windy so no swimming today. I did get a bit sunburnt though, let's hope it turns into a tan. Rossi's is apparently a local icecream place that's gone national in England. The icecream was quite tasty. I'm bathing in aloe lotion. The ride back was nice, not too traffic-y. I'm amused at the street signs, the tiny size of the roads, the roads being like tunnels in the country (walls of green plants covering fences on each side), and all kinds of little things. Charlie thinks I'm odd for noticing the little random things. (: Her mum doesn't mind.
We got home and I washed all the sand off my feet. I then collapsed onto the bed with some snacks and my book and took another short nap. Then I started working on my postcards and finding addresses. I learned that I didn't buy nearly enough postcards yet and I'm going to spend an absolute fortune on stamps. Charlie's sister, Lizzie, and her boyfriend, James, came over for dinner. They're very nice. James had a budweiser and I can't imagine why because there are so many other (better) beers here to choose from, surely. Dinner was pork chops and jacket potatoes. Jacket potato is the best name for a baked potato. It just makes it so much more exciting to eat! Fancy little potatoes in their tuxedos (ok, not really, but it's nice to imagine). Charlie's mum went on holiday and brought Charlie and Lizzie gifts back, as well as "gifts" of a fanny pack each. I can't remember what exactly they called them because "fanny" is not a polite word over here. Lizzie made fun of it and said "fanny pack" in an "American" accent and I was like yeah...I wasn't gonna say it, I'm an informed tourist! There was a family dispute over the usage of fanny packs so Charlie's mum bought them as gag gifts. It was pretty funny. Charlie and I played pool and discovered we're about the same skill level. That skill level is "painfully slow and not too great" but it was fun! I won, sort of. We were just happy to finally finish the game! Then, back to the postcards and uploading photos. Tomorrow is King's Cross for Harry Potter things then the Museum of London (what an original name...).
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