Brighton Beach Memoirs, Day 1

I've been wanting to use this title since we decided to travel to Brighton Beach, UK. The Brighton Beach in the semi-autobiographical play Neil Simon play "Brighton Beach Memoirs" refers to a section of New York City between Coney Island and Manhattan Beach. I have not knowingly been there.

In my case, it is a beachside town in the United Kingdom. This post is a mostly-autobiographical story about our stay. I was too busy enjoying myself, and visiting with Cuz to take notes each day. Instead I wrote them out on the Gatwick Express train using the pictures I took as reminders.

On our first evening we walked down towards the water. A few days before we arrived, Brighton and Hove were struck by Storm Goretti blowing large pebbles up to the promenade, even pushing benches up to the wall, and depositing bags of onions and other materials from shipping containers that were lost at sea last year. Days later we saw onions as we walked towards The Reading Room.

Each day we noticed the promenade was returning to normalcy. I hope to return someday in warmer weather when it will be covered with people, including buskers. In January, especially on a rainy night, we had the path to ourselves, which was also nice.

Back to my notes: our flight to Heathrow on United was one-third full. As we boarded, our flight attendant encouraged everyone to take a row for themselves. United has about six flights a day from Newark to Heathrow. When I booked, each flight was the same price, no matter the day or the time time of day. Ours was the last flight of the day. I don't know if overseas travel is down, or if we just got lucky. Our plane was even switched to a smaller one and still we could each straighten out. I'm not going to lie, I felt spoiled not being crushed. Even our flight home was about two-thirds full, which gave Don and I three seats together. As it was a daytime flight, I didn't feel the need to lie down, but it was nice to stretch out a little.

On the flight I watched "Eleanor the Great" and "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey." I'm noting the titles because I enjoyed them both and would recommend them to anyone reading this post. The latter involves renting a 1994 Saturn and being able to go back in time to see the past with a difference lens. Maybe I'm not explaining it well, but as someone who owned a 1992 Saturn SC, I enjoyed the trip back in time even though the movie was set in the present. Don watched "Good Night and Good Luck," a play we saw on CNN a few months ago with Ron and Noemi.

We sailed through security, beating our driver to the waiting area. He took us to our waiting family. It was great catching up with them. They treated us like visiting royalty. Thank you.

Our hotel was steps away from the train station, which was welcome on our last
day when we headed to London. It overlooked the famous shopping area called North Laine, beyond that we could see the water. We even had seagulls greet us. The blue sky was welcome.

The hotel gave us the option of having our room serviced, or being eco-friendly and skipping this service. I've stayed in hotels that say "leave your towel on the rack and we won't change it," then they change it because they are there. In this case, they actually did what they said, or rather didn't do. Suited our needs to have privacy.

After sleeping in we wandered around Brighton looking for breakfast. I read a statistic that Brighton has more cafes per capita than any other place in the United Kingdom. I love being in a town that has many options for food within walking distance. Where we live there are a few expensive restaurants about a mile from our house, walking around Brighton showed me the type of life I want to have everyday and not just on vacation.

We chose The Black Fig. It was fairly quiet, with a few locals finishing up their breakfast. After watching the server photograph Don's stack of blueberry pancakes (which is on their Instagram page), she explained they just opened and are still creating content. I loved them a little bit more for having the courage to open a new business in a city flooded with similar businesses. I wish them much success.

My notebook is visible in this picture. I used their free Wifi to regroup and figure out a plan for the day. After the relaxing lunch I listed three things I wanted us to do that day, only two of which happened. 

1) See the Banksy in person

2) Take the Madeira Lift

3) Ride the i360

We also planned to meet up with Cuz.

The Banksy is really a replica. The original was sold. The first time I saw a Banksy in person was in Bethlehem in the West Bank. It is of a dove with an olive branch in its mouth wearing a military uniform. 

Very fitting for the location.

By contrast, the Banksy in Brighton is the Kissing Cops. Also very appropriate for the location.

Brighton is brightly covered in street art. As we continued our weaving towards the water, we noticed GlimmerTwin32 painting on the side of a building. We struck up a conversation with him. I'm guessing he is about our age. He said he loves Brighton, it has everything including the naturist beach. A naturist beach is what us Americans call a nude beach, not a beach that has been given back to nature and filled with wildlife, unless you consider people sunbathing au natural to be back to nature. I complimented him on wearing an air mask as he used spray paints. He said he didn't do that when he was younger and hopes he didn't cause too much damage to his lungs. We stopped by the next two days to see his progress. On our third and final day in Brighton he said the rain smeared the art more than he wanted. I said it looks like the person was crying. A fitting look for these days. He told us about Leake Street in London, a tunnel under Waterloo Station that is filled with graffiti. He planned to be there later in the week. We made it a point to look for him and his art.

Overall I found it easy to talk to strangers. The British were curious about what is happening in our country, and free to share their opinions about what is happening. To put this in historical context, this was the week #45/47 was threatening to forcibly take Greenland, and NATO was responding by saying they would cut off American access to European countries and essentially strand any US citizens wherever they were as air traffic between our countries would cease. This is the first time I have ever been afraid I might not be able to return home. My head was spinning with alternatives rather than relaxing into being overseas.

We finally made it to the coast. The beach is covered in pebbles, making walking on it very uncomfortable. We passed the Rock Grotto, something Atlas Obscura gave me the impression was much more impressive than it seemed to be in person, or else I was reading into the description what I wanted. It is a fenced in area of rock sculptures. The fence made it a challenge to photograph, and impossible to touch. It is a collection of quirky street art.

Walking on the rocky surface we saw a row of sheds, in it was a man sitting down, covered in blankets, sipping coffee, and reading a newspaper. In other words living his best life. We asked if we could take his picture. He said yes, we were not the first people to ask. I'm a bit jealous of his man cave, a restful get away from home.

We returned the the promenade, admiring the view, wistfully watching people run and cycle knowing the temperatures back home were sub-

freezing and we did not pack our sneakers. Finally we made it to our self-identified turn around point: the naturalist beach. It was a little chilly for sane people to walk around in their bathing suits. I did strip off my shoes and socks and dip my toes in the water. The English Channel is surprisingly warmer than I would have expected. Not warm enough for me to go for a dip, but warm enough I did not recoil. 

We paused for lunch at The Reading Room before making our return trip. On the wall of this famous respite is a sign telling readers behind the restaurant is a tunnel leading to a private park. Lewis Carroll was inspired to create Alice in Wonderland's White Rabbit after seeing this tunnel. We spent much time walking around the walled park trying to find Alice and her friends. In reality, it just looked like any other park in Brighton that is surrounded by Regency-style homes. The tunnel had a locked gate, though we saw someone leaving she did not invite us to enter this inner sanctum. I can't say that I blame her.

The walk back was quicker. We paused at the Madeiri Terrace and it's Victorian-era lift to see the website's "temporarily closed" notice was typical British understatement. It has been closed for several years and is part of a larger restoration of the beachfront arcades. I spoke with a local who said in the 1980s the area was falling apart, and not the gentrified scene of today. The arches near the lift are part of plans for its future. We saw what looks like a new lift being built only a few feet from the original one.

The arcade is visible behind the Rock Grotto

We walked out on the Brighton Palace Pier, at least as far as we could walk on that midweek January afternoon. We could walk up to the restaurant, but not through the rides. On the other hand, there was no charge to stroll there unlike during the summer when the kiosks are open and tickets are sold. The whole area reminded us of the Jersey Shore. When I visit places I have a tendency to compare it to something familiar. We are more alike than we are different.

The weather was starting to turn. We felt a few raindrops, nothing nearly as bad as we had expected. I saw shops starting to shut down for the day. We made the executive decision to have ice cream. Family later commented how British of us to eat ice cream at the beach in a cold rainstorm. The shop boasted they are the best on the Brighton Beach. I suspect that means more when other shops are open. Our scooper said he was planning to be closed the next day because of the anticipated rainstorm. I felt even luckier in that moment to have enjoyed a sunny day at the beach, even if it was a little chilly.

After ice cream we were dismayed to learn the i360 was closed for its annual cleaning. It is a good time of year to do that.

We met up with family for another evening of visiting and relaxing.

UK Bound

A few month ago I was messaging with my cousin (who is not on social media and will not be identified further either by photo or name). Cuz was extolling the benefits of Brighton and encouraging us to come visit. Cuz was the first person I knew who traveled the world, thus opening my eyes to places farther than suburban New Jersey. I also know Cuz is not likely to visit New Jersey any time soon and if I want to see her, I have to be the one to cross the pond.

We looked at our calendars and decided on a mid-January visit. Brighton is a lovely beachside community, no exactly the type of place one visits in January. I had more than one person question the timing of our trip. A week before our trip, while Don was busy doing the annual inventory at REI, temperatures were bitter -- the kind simply going outside is painful. Fortunately that weather abated and was replaced by typical United Kingdom, warmer and rainy. We were actually very lucky in that in that we only had one day of rain, the rest of rain happened while we were asleep. It was also about 50 degrees each day.

Brighton is a charming town. It was recently listed as the happiest place in the United Kingdom, and the 11th happiest in the world behind Abu Dhabi, Medellin, Cape Town, Mexico City and Mumbai. Yes, I'm listing the other places as ones I now want to look into as future vacation sites.

If all we did was sit and visit with Cuz over cups of tea, the trip would have been a rousing success. Instead we also toured Brighton's major tourist sites, walked the boardwalk, had ice cream outdoors on the beach on a winter day, meandered through The Lanes, met a street artist, and then went into London for a few more days filled with adventures. In the following posts I'll share our adventures.

As for Brighton, even on a rainy January day, I completely understand how it earned his reputation for being one of the happiest places on earth. If you are looking for a checklist of "been there done that" experiences, go to London. If you want to relax and be around cool people while breathing in the salt air, Brighton is the place for you.

Two Protest Day

Renee Nicole Good. 

If the name is meaningless to you, google her. Learn about her tragic murder by ICE agents. Learn about how the MAGA side is still trying to promote her death as hear fault. 

I believe what I saw in the news on January 6, 2021.

I believe the video of Renee's murder on January 7, 2026.

On January 8, I said to Don that it is a "good" thing she is a white woman who looks as innocent as they come. That night Heather Cox Richardson said this might be (could be? is? history will tell) the turning point, just like Harriett Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's  Cabin" made a generation of white women finally realize the horrors of slavery.

As a minister in Trenton said today, this should have ended with the murder of innocent Black and brown people. Now that a white woman has been murdered people are starting to see how this could have happened to their wife or daughter. Renee was dropping her six-year-old son at daycare when she ended up in the middle of an ICE raid. She tried to diffuse the situation. People, including her wife and the shooter, used their cell phones to recorder the situation. 

As a result, at least a thousand protests sprang up this weekend -- January 10 and 11. Hopewell's weekly protest drew about a dozen when I went on a bitterly cold day two weeks ago, but draws hundreds on warm days, drew 150 people on a cold, rainy January day.

Today I went to two protests. One in Princeton along Stockton Street near Trinity Episcopal Church from 1-2 pm.When I hear the numbers I will update this post. I recognized a few people, including Sue from the Hopewell protest, and a news photographer who often attends. People carried signs and waved to passing cars, which reciprocated by waving and honking their horns. It was very peaceful, though I felt some were itching for a fight. One woman with a bullhorn announced whenever a large pick up truck was about to pass them, anticipating the owner is a supporter of 47. I did not witness any negative reactions to our protest.

I met a couple of women of a certain age spotting green frog hats. Using the same square hat pattern used in 2017 to create pink pussy hats in response to 45's made in China red Make America Great Again (MAGA) mass produced hats, they are now made with green yarn and attaching big eyes to them. The women said they hand them out with two caveats: you must agree to wear it in public, and you must share the background (I thought of the lone protestor in Portland wearing a giant frog costume, they said that, plus the story that if you put a frog in boiling water he will jump out, but put him in cold water and slowly turn up the heat, he'll grow used to it until he becomes dinner). Unfortunately they were out of them, perhaps I'll finally learn how to knit or crochet and make my own hat. My pink pussy hat was handed to me on a bus ride to Washington, DC on January 21, 2017.

The next protest was in Trenton across from the State House from 3-4 pm. That gave me just enough time to swing by the house, go to the bathroom, and pick up my 2017 pink pussy hat. I fiddled with the radio dial on the drive landing on a station playing folk songs. The lyrics "hate can't be the face of American dream" by Raye Zaragoza resonated with me, along with "change can start with me." It is a personal story that feels particularly poignant.

In Trenton I parked in my usual protest parking spot in a state worker employee lot. There are a lot of emotions that run through me as I protest. Any hurdles I can eliminate gives me more bandwidth to handle new obstacles. I know where to park in Princeton and Trenton. I know where they will take place. I feel safe in those places. I would feel like I am with my people at most protests, but eliminating the issue of where to park helps a lot with my overall energy level.

I got to Trenton closer to the start time, which made it feel less crowded. Again, if I hear numbers, I will update my post. Trenton had speakers. We had a safety briefing. I did not see police here or in Princeton, but there were some volunteers wearing safety vests. They identified the two major exit points (State Street, and the street behind the peace memorial). Some clergy members were guest speakers. One of the first things they did was say the names of the 37 known victims of ICE. The 37 names officially identified as dying at the hands of ICE agents, leading those of us there to believe the number is higher. I recently read that there have been nine murders attributed to people here illegally. ICE agents are more dangerous than the murderers living here illegally. The poster has room for more names, and the count had already been changed at least once since the sign was made. 

I bumped into a friend who was at the protest with her friends. It was odd seeing her out of context. Normally we are both wearing Colonial attire when we speak.

I saw a young white mom with her son, both approximately the ages of Renee Good and the son she dropped off at school just before her murder. Likely the people in Trenton were a little younger, but it was still a stark parallel. I did not catch her name. She said this was their seventh protest together. They live about 45 minutes south of Trenton, closer to Camden, but the one protest they went to met with a bunch of people from the other side (I still refuse to type his name), it just didn't feel safe for her son, especially when people drove by throwing things at them. For anyone still supporting this regime, when they are out of power feel free to protest the next person in power, especially if it is someone I admire. I promise to not throw things at you as you exercise your first amendment right -- democracies don't feel threatened by protests, but dictators do.

Around the 45 minute mark the winds shifted and rain started to come down. As I walked to my car with a few others also hoping to beat the storm we walked into a snow squall. The sun came out almost immediately, but it was still windy and the temperature felt like it plummeted. 

Protest signs. I felt a stab of nostalgia reading signs that say "No Kings" and other earlier fights. It is said the Republicans are very good at turning their platforms into sound bites ("Lock her up") and that Democrats are better at coming up with polies too long and detailed for the average person to read and absorb, leaving some to feel the Democrats have nothing to offer. 

May that statement not age well.

We need concise message, such as No Kings, but today was in memory of a woman who likely never wanted to be a martyr, who would have been happy to live with her wife and raise their three children in anonymity. Instead, Renee Nicole Good is an international household name.

PRINCETON:

TRENTON:

Tribute to Gary Mount

Gary Mount, the patriarch of Terhune Orchards in Lawrenceville (even though they advertise Princeton, it is ours) passed away recently. The farm lined up his collection of tractors as a tribute to the man who was known for saying you could never have enough tractors.

Gary was a gentle man who advocated strongly for open space and local agriculture. He will be missed by the community.

Here are a few pictures of the 14 tractors lined up wishing him a safe journey into his next life.

Terhune recently celebrated their 50th year

2026 Resolutions

New Year. New Me! 

Or maybe just a tweaked me?

My vision board (created July 2025) has far more traveling on it than I feel will happen, but I do enjoy visiting new places. I really do like the sticker I found that says: Trust the Timing of Your Life. Times I am frustrated with myself for not doing "more." I need to stop doing that. 

I also like the picture of a wide variety of hands together forming a huddle. I picture the people cheering and supporting each other. I'd like to build a team like that in 2026. 

Renewing old goals:

1) Gaining comfort and style with roller skating.

2) More double dates. 

3) Take a trip by myself. I enjoyed Belgium last year, but want to explore someplace new.

4)  Start writing a book. I have an idea I am working on about a stay at home mom trying to write the next chapter in her life.

New for 2026:

5) Do something new with my hair. I can't decide if I want to color it again or continue to grow it out. Cut it to my shoulders or let it keep growing. I spoke with one hairdresser who said coloring it grey won't work, based on my hair it will just turn brassy within a week. I honestly hate spending money upkeeping it, yet don't know if I want to go full on grey. Ideas?

6) Work on building my arm muscles. I joined Planet Fitness. If I go 100 times in the year, I'll consider it a huge success. (As of 1/7/2026 I've been four times.)

7) Visit a different continent. (I've been to North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.) 

8) Take a cruise to see more countries.

9) Increase my freelance income (I earned very little in 2025).

10) Dig on a new archaeological site. In 2025 I became a regular at Newlin Grist Mill and Fort Mifflin.

11) Start the great purge. Aim for a drawer every week. May that small start grow.

12) Keep protesting until the need ends. I'd like to go on a Visibility Brigade on an overpass.

13) Find new doctors. This is of necessity since my eye doctor and wonderful endocrinologist both announced their retirements. Thirteen is an unlucky number and I feel a bit unlucky that my favorite two doctors retired. I wish them both the best.

I wonder where 2026 will take all of us.

2025 Resolutions Recap

I know the phrase New Year's Resolutions is often met with derision. When I ask people if they have any for the upcoming year, the most common response is "I don't believe in that," or "why bother," or simply, "I haven't thought of it." When nudged, I do hear of unofficial goals: making better use of my time, not yelling at my children, traveling more, etc. I see these as I see a vision board, a guidepost for the new year and beyond.

Before listing my 2026 Resolutions, I want to pause and recap how well I did, and did not, achieve last year's goals.

Some carryovers because I liked them, and they still need improving:

1) Gaining comfort and style with roller skating.

Update: I took a tumble later that month and paused this goal. 

2) Going out with couples more often. I like the once a month goal for this one.

Update: We did some, but I'd like to do more.

3) Visit at least one country new to me.

Update: I had an overnight layover in Norway!

4) Take a trip by myself.

Update: I spent two weeks in Belgium alone.

New goals:

5) Become an NJACT reviewer. I attended the training program, so this is within reach.

Update: accomplished!

6) Take a class on how to take better iPhone pictures. Your best camera is the one with you. I signed up for a class.

Update: accomplished!

7) Start writing a book. I have an idea I am working on about a stay at home mom trying to write the next chapter in her life.

Update: did not happen, but I did write more blog posts than any other year, so I am writing. May that inspire me to write a book.

8) I'm looking at three international races: 7 km in Liege, 5 miles in Perth, Ontario, Canada, and 10 miles in Paris. I'd like to train and run each of these with confidence.

Update: I ran in Liege and Perth, but not in Paris.

9) Redo some albums so they are digital and take less space.

Update: I did not even start this goal.

Anti goals: Do not visit and spend money in red states. Exceptions for Pennsylvania (because it is so close), and Ohio (family and friends).

Update: mostly successful. We did buy lunch in Texas during a layover on our flight to Vancouver.

Onto my 2026 Resolutions.