We drove to the coast to get some sea air and cool off as it is Africa hot here. Nick used to go to Southend as a kid and wanted to see it and show the kids. When we arrived, Nick didn’t recognize hardly anything but he did get some cockles to eat on the beach and the kids went to the amusement park. The park is similar to the one in Santa Cruz, its free to wander through, its right on the water and you can buy a wristband to go on the rides for the day. It’s a huge place with an awesome rollercoaster and the kids stayed there for a few hours while Nick and I wandered around.

Now Southend draws a crowd from East London where Nick grew up. This area is mostly working class and it’s a tougher part of London. So the crowds in Southend reflected that. It was a great place to people watch to say the least, and I certainly wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of any of them.  Even the seniors. The drive out to the coast was pretty easy and Nick remembered to stay on the left most of the time. I haven’t attempted to drive yet, it’s not so much the left hand driving but the speed everyone goes and the multi lane roundabouts that freak me out.

So the boardwalk in Southend goes for a mile or so and it reminded me of Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco, lots of tourist shops, fish shops, amusement arcades, and pubs. Many, many pubs; we stopped for a beer in one and when the guy came outside to clear the tables he had a cigarette hanging out of mouth and a scowl on his face. He was moaning constantly about the hot weather and was just generally foul. I found this to be the theme of service in Southend. Overall, Southend was interesting to see but not my cup of tea. It had a lot of parallels to Mexico also;  garbage everywhere, young moms pushing strollers, people walking down the street drinking, and a ton of traffic.

Then Nick took us for fish and chips at the chip shop. Good lord,  the amount of fish you get in an order is unbelievable, they were about a foot long and you get 3 pieces. Nick was in his glory, he ate and ate and ate and finished off the fish at midnight. The girls and I had a bit, ate some chips and instantly felt greasy. That’s the thing with fish and chips, they seem like a great idea at the time and soon thereafter you want to die.

Next we are off to Cambridge to explore a few museums and churches.