In my own backyard of Brighton beach (141Cong.Rec.S13995)

After getting him some beer in Bermondsey, I made sure to get TJ the beach in Brighton. But after the two-hour train ride from London, it was nigh time to find some suds again. Straight down the hill from the train station, we fortunately found the Fortune of War pub, tucked under the seaside promenade (left). It's not much to look at from the outside, especially after a rainy morning, but the interior, decorated like an upside-down boat, was a cozy place to dry off (right).

By the time we got to the bottom of our pints, the clouds were clearing, opening the skies on the boardwalk seafood stands (top left). At one shack, TJ got a snack of anchovy-wrapped olives, whiled I munched on some shrimp and crab mayonnaise (salad). We didn't really need any more at the moment, but we couldn't pass up the smoked mackerel pate advertised on a sign outside Jack and Linda Mills Traditional Fish Smokers (top right). Luckily, by lunchtime, our stomachs were ready to receive classic fish and chips from Fish + Liquor. The haddock, cod, and potatoes were more than enough, but we couldn't resist ordering a Brighton sausage on the side (bottom).

The food was obviously a big draw for us, but most people come to the Southern English shore for its centerpiece, Brighton Pier (left). The deck is basically a carnival above the sea, packed with lots of salty and sweet treats on offer between two entertainment halls full of games for kids and adults alike. I watched some grown-ups play multi-puck air hockey while TJ tried out the slots (right).

At the end of the pier is a small amusement park, the main feature of which is the Crazy Mouse, a small-car roller coaster (left). There is a traditional ferris wheel for kids on the pier, but it is puny compared to the Brighton Wheel back on the beach (right). TJ and I didn't go on any rides; instead, we got our thrills by people-watching from the beer-garden deck at Horatio's Bar.

I'll admit that the water was warmer than I thought it would be, but that couldn't make up for the chilly wind you faced upon exiting the waves (left). So I was quite content taking in the sun -- and some champagne-ginger gelato -- from the shore, but TJ braved the waters of Brighton beach just below the pier (right).

As the sun went down, and it started to be time to think about catching a return train, we wandered through The Lanes on the way back to the station (left). The narrow alleyways opened up to the vast grandeur of the Royal Pavilion, King George IV's seaside pleasure palace (right).

A banjo-playing busker in the park out front didn't seem to match the style of the palace spires (left). But even more out of place to me was the production currently showing at the city's Theatre Royal: a stage adaptation of the famous movie filmed in my hometown, The Shawshank Redemption (right).

We didn't have time to take in a show, but we did have time for one more pint before boarding the train. We headed first to the oldest pub in Brighton: The Cricketers, where Jack the Ripper allegedly once spent the night (left). It was quaint but a bit cramped, so we headed next door to the back-yard garden of the Black Lion (right), where TJ could take in some last breaths of salty air before heading back to his land-locked home.