Highlights-Lymington to Eastbourne
Breakfast at the Angel (and Blue Pig) was the “full English.” Of course, it was. I wasn’t going to order a croissant in an English pub. “How do you want your eggs?” Hmm, this is never as easy as my uncle’s “On my plate” answer (and not as fun!). The terms for cooked eggs are different everywhere so I asked. In England, the options are poached, fried, scrambled, boiled, and flipped (“over easy” in the US, but flipped sounds more energetic). Post massive breakfast, it was a two and a half hour drive east to, where else, Eastbourne on the English Channel. It probably isn’t the “French Channel” because the French lost so many wars to England (they call it “La Manche,” the sleeve, bypassing the ownership issue entirely). It was cold and windy when I arrived. For a seaside resort town, the city center area was a bit grim (many places under repair and many other places that should have been under repair). Perhaps it being off season explained it. Did I mention that it was cold and windy? Brr. I had my first raw oysters in a long time at Pebbles seafood restaurant.
See the word “Port” on the black building?
Neither did I, which is why I drove past it.
Notable Items
It took over two and a half hours to drive from Lymington to Eastbourne. This is more time in a rental car than I prefer because every developed country looks the same from the highway, er motorway. England’s motorways are an endless stream of trees, highway signs, exits, no shoulder warnings, and Motorway Service Areas (a typically British no nonsense term for gas stations and stores between the directions of traffic). Driving on the motorways in England is like driving on east coast interstates in the U.S. There’s probably scenery, but you can’t see it. To me, driving for hours in a car isn’t traveling, it’s just moving from place to place.
My strategy for car rentals when traveling is simple. I only put up with strange foot pedal arrangements and the risk of downshifting from 4th to 1st gear when I want to go someplace that can’t be reached easily with trains and buses. “Easily reached” casts a wide net of meaning, but for me, it means that I can’t get there in back in one day or there’s a risk of being trapped on a bus for five hours (or more!) without a bathroom opportunity. My days of dehydrating for long trips are so over. A rental car is also convenient if you want to spend a little time at several places in one day. I probably wouldn’t have been able to see both the Submarine Museum and the D-Day Experience Museum on the same day. I couldn’t have reached the Tank Museum by train or bus because it’s far from town. “Tiger Day” was too important to miss!
My accommodation for the night in Eastbourne was the Port Hotel. I had trouble finding it, of course. As I drove along the waterfront that was chockablock (now that’s a cool word) with similar buildings, the map app on my phone confidently informed me, “Arrived.” Where? I wasn’t nearly as confident.
With two “Where the heck is that place?” experiences under my (seat) belt, I was ready for action. Looping around for another pass would have been cumbersome, so I discarded that option. Parking and walking back was the next best alternative. It was a long walk back because I can describe what I did much faster than I could actually think of it and find a parking place. I studied the numbers I could see on the buildings (not all had them). One building, without numbers, had the single word “Port” using letters that were difficult (i.e., impossible) to see from the road. I could have seen them with the binoculars I didn’t have, but driving and looking through binoculars is insane. Even I know that. You can’t ask a person in the car with you to use binoculars to look for building numbers. They’d look at you like you were crazy. Unless they were under ten years old. Then they’d think it was cool.
I returned from the Pebbles seafood restaurant after a brisk walk in the cold air and wind. The wind was blowing hard (normal for a seaside town) and it was cold (normal for Apr in England). Wearing my rain shell over my blazer and the BUF (like a neck gaiter, but better) over my ears and face kept me warm enough. This is only notable because I always have pre-travel packing uncertainty (not anxiety) over how my layers will hold up in adverse weather.
Since I often go to Europe in April and return in June, I have to be ready for cold, hot, and rain whenever. I prefer multipurpose clothing. I do not prefer bringing things that I only wear when it’s cold and other things that are only suitable for warm weather. I usually pack three shirts and two pairs of pants. I like to have the option to wear all of them in every place I go.
Aside: why is it a pair of pants and not just “pants”? The only time it sounds normal to say just “pants” is “My pants are over there” or “My pants are in the wash.” That’s when you’re referring to just one pair. When referencing multiples, you have to use “pairs of pants” like “I packed two pairs of pants” as I did above. Sure, they have pairs of pant legs, but that’s obvious, isn’t it? Occasionally, I wonder about these things.
In the lobby of the hotel, I worked on the next day’s most important project. My mission was to drive the rental car near the airport, fill the tank with petrol, continue to the rental center, take the shuttle to the terminal, and catch a bus or buses to the AirBnB in Soho. This was more complicated than fly in, clear customs, and find transport to London. It was made more challenging by a Tube worker strike 21-24 Apr (very polite to schedule it). The plan for doing this had several opportunities to go badly so I wrote it down. The one thing that I had to save for a game time decision was precisely where to catch the bus to Earl’s Court. At Terminal 2 or the Central Bus Station?
I stayed in the lobby working on my plan until the person at the registration desk turned off the lights. She didn’t tell me she was doing this. I’m not complaining. The darkness made it obvious.