new brighton
Yesterday, Lucas completed his first ever 10K run from Liverpool to New Brighton. While he went off to the start of his race, Raspberry and I took the train to New Brighton to meet him at the finish line, which had been very ambiguously stated on the information sheet about the race. As we stood outside the train station trying to figure out which way to go, we encountered a lady trying to map her location on her phone and seeing that we had the same race sheet, she followed us. A man and boy also followed. Unfortunately, while it might make sense to follow the person with the physical map, it doesn't really make sense to follow the person who probably has the poorest sense of direction. As it turned out, I had led everyone in the wrong direction. Oops. The man was able to pinpoint our location on his phone and led us the right way and once the lady figured out which way we were going, she started walking way faster than us. We started seeing runners with numbers pinned to their shirts and figured out we were going in the right direction. One runner helpfully pointed us the right way. As we neared the park where the finish line was, the man and I started chatting. His partner was running in the race and while he used to run, he developed issues with his knees and was living vicariously through his partner. The boy, Adam, whom I assumed was his son, was the same age as Raspberry (actually born exactly a week before her) and they started climbing the ledges at the park together. As we neared the finish line, the kids played on these exercise machines at the park and the man phoned his partner to meet them there. Unfortunately, we'd told Lucas we'd meet him at the finish line so we bid Adam and his dad adieu. I felt bad doing so, as Raspberry was just started to play with Adam and she's not usually very social.
Anyway, we wove through a massive crowd of spectators and runners in our attempt to get to the finish line, Raspberry's hand tightly in mine as I was certain she'd disappear among the sea of people if we weren't linked. I had no idea how I was going to see Lucas among all the people but somehow we stumbled upon him sitting by the railing overlooking the water. I'd hoped to actually see him run and finish the race but a combination of getting lost from the train station and the lengthier-than-expected walk to the finish line rendered that impossible. He was tired but happy that he'd run and made a better time than he'd expected. I'm so proud of him and glad he did this, as he's wanted to run in a race for a while. He said he might run again in another race, but will probably take a short break from running now that this is done. For his efforts, like all the other runners, he was bestowed a neon orange shirt and a medal ([*cough*]celebrating mediocrity[*cough*]).
We sat on the grass, near the exercise machines were, and Raspberry ran everywhere picking flowers and playing on the machines. On account of our early breakfast, an early lunch was in order. We sat, watching people slathering oil on themselves and sunbathing and barbecuing and kids playing. Lucas mentioned how the announcer at the race cautioned that it was to be a hot 20°C and to have lots of water. We laughed at how such a temperature is considered hot here and that people were sunbathing, while in Canada, 20°C at this time of year would hardly be considered that balmy. Raspberry mentioned wanting to be at a playground and we were able to locate one. She played for a little while but much of her time was spent in a baby swing that resembled a cage (I don't understand the use of metal seats for swings here, rather than the tires that were so common in playgrounds in Canada).
To make the best use of our time in New Brighton, we'd planned to go to the beach, although the beach we'd initially wanted to go to was rather far from the park we were at. We decided to take a walk along the water to see if we'd come upon a beach and lo and behold, of course there was one. I'd somewhat prepared for a beach trip by bringing along some old plastic containers and a spoon for Raspberry to dig in the sand with but that was about the extent of my preparation. I'd neglected to bring a bathing suit (although the thought did briefly cross my mind but I forgot) and sunscreen. Regardless, Raspberry had a grand time digging in the sand with a container and filling it with water to make mud, and dipping her toes (and then her ankles, and then her calves, and then her knees) in the medium tide. She was in a t-shirt and a skirt initially but the skirt came off as the tide started coming in. Tired from his run and the early morning, Lucas sat in the rocks watching her and I walked around the beach, taking pictures and getting copious amounts of sand in my shoes (I did say we weren't prepared). Every time I returned to where Lucas was, I'd sit on a rock and empty a massive pile of sand out of my shoes. It was rather comical.
As much fun as Raspberry was having, we had to pull her away at some point to catch the train home. If I had my way, we'd have spent all afternoon there but we weren't adequately prepared for it and being in the sun for such a long time was getting tiring. Lucas was getting a little sunburned too, although it was hard to tell what was the burn and what was the reflection off his neon orange shirt. Very reluctantly, Raspberry dragged herself away from the beach and we made our way to the train station, walking uphill through a residential area. We promised Raspberry that since New Brighton is only a twenty-three minute train ride away, that we'd return to the beach again soon enough, and certainly more prepared the next time around. I'm hoping that since we have a rail pass, we'll be able to get to the beach at least a couple of times this summer, given that the weather holds up of course. It'd definitely be a different kind of summer than what we've been used to.