Thursday, September 02, 2010

A trip to the beach

The boy, all of sudden, has decided that he wants to go to the beach. And since this is an island, a beach isn't too far away. But it could take an hour and a half or even longer if the traffic is bad. And all the nearest beaches are pebble beaches. Which suck. It all seems like a lot of work for a bit of seaside frolics.

-0-

Yesterday, I had a meeting near London Bridge and then decided I wanted to head on over to the RSA to do some work (nearest tube Embankment). There's not really a super-duper easy way to get from one to the other. But there is a boat. And since I'd overshot the cut-through from the south bank to London Bridge station and the boat was pulling up and it was a beautiful day. So, even though it was the more expensive option and I'm not clear if it was the faster option, I took the boat.

And out on the back deck of the boat (is that the stern?), it was gorgeous. Beautiful views of London, Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast and the Houses of Parliament as I reached my stop (port? landing?). Oh, and I also saw a beach. On the Thames. I guess somebody from Southwark or maybe the mayor's office has dumped a bunch of sand on the muddy banks of the Thames and opened the hitherto shut gates down to the river.

Thames, beachside

So, looks like the trip to the beach might be a little more handy and convenient. I feel the slight guilt of the slacker parent, but being a slacker parent - it doesn't last long. Not sure how I'm gonna keep the boy out of that filthy ol' river, though.

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