Brighton and Sonny's Jamboree

On the morning of the 14th I caught a train to Brighton and was southbound to more rainy weather. At the station I was joyfully greeted by Dave (one of the cross-continental walkers I met last summer) and his friend, Jim. Marvelous! We took my bag to the car and began the mini tour of Brighton - starting with a full english breakfast, a most delectable breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, beans, tomatoes, and hash browns... FULL english breakfast. Once my belly was completely filled up we walked all around the city. We saw the hipster shopping area (not mainstream) and an area called The Lanes, where the streets are to narrow for cars and so it is for walking only. After wondering through the maze-like lanes, we arrived at the coast line. The pier had rides on it like a fair!!! It was great! It made me want to skip around and eat ice cream... but I remained composed, with a grin on my face. The coast was really neat - not as beautiful as the part of the coast I saw with Duffy, but really great for people watching. After wondering around for a bit more, we went back to the car and decided it was sunny enough to explore the Sussex countryside. We started our tour at a farm that is well known by the locals for its wonderful cider. I tried a tiny taste of Dave's favorite cider, but just didn't really like it. I also tried the apple juice they make, and it was the best ever! So I bought a pint and quickly drank it all. Then we went to a place called the Seven Sisters, where there were white cliffs (it was on the coast) - like the White Cliffs of Dover. It was wonderful. Once we finished with our beautiful walk, we headed back into town and got some fish and chips, which were good. The chips were just like a type of french fry, which I didn't expect, but it was all very good. Accomodations at Jim's house were running quite low as he was hosting a few other people as well. Because of this, Jim, Dave, and I decided to camp at the place where we would be camping for the weekend (because we were going to be camping for the weekend). So we did, and it was lovely. It felt so good to be warmed by a camp fire and sleep outside. Really great.
So, here is the deal (I say 'so' a whole lot...), over the weekend some of Dave's friends were having a party to celebrate their son and their love for each other - basically a non-wedding wedding. A name changing party, if you will. The party was held in a huge field just outside of Brighton and was a wonderful time. It was called Sonny's Jamboree because their 6 month old son's name is Sonny. There were 150 people that attended but at any given time probably just under 100 were there. On Friday I wandered around Brighton while Dave and Jim helped Calvin (the main man) load stuff and take it to the field. In the evening we headed to the festival for a fine evening of campfires and setting up tents and what nots for the next day. Saturday was the main day and I met so many wonderfully nice people. It was really great to hang out and enjoy the sunshine. Super duper!
Sunday we helped load up, said our goodbyes, and drove to Redditch - where I am now.
More to come soon...