Cornettos in Surrey and travelling topless to the sea...

At ze Beach!

Today, Iain and I drove to the sea topless.

Until you've driven around sans top, eating an ice cream and blasting Sugarland, I'm pretty sure you've never known happiness.

(Finally, our decision to buy a convertible in England makes perfect sense!)

I used to point and laugh at the good folks of the UK whenever the sun decided to come out. It could be barely 20 degrees Celsius, and they'll all be outside, drenched in SPF 50 and standing in line at an ice cream van discussing their evening plans for a BBQ.

Me, hailing from a town where it's likely to get up to 110 Fahrenheit in July, would roll my eyes and mock them endlessly.

Now, I am one of the assholes drenched in SPF 50 standing outside a que of 20 or more people, just to get a freakin' Cornetto so I can sit outside under the sun. The first summer I came to the UK I was shocked by how warm it was. Apparently it was the hottest July they've ever had, and I felt right at home.

Sadly, this past summer was the exact opposite. We saw the sun for about two weeks at best, and then all it did was piss down with rain. And be cloudy. And then hail. And then rain some more.

I no longer laugh at how giddy this country gets when the sun is out. I get it. I totally get it.

Therefore, instead of staying at home watching old episodes of Smallville and only leaving the house to walk down to Starbucks this Sunday, Iain and I left the house with one goal: TO GET AS MUCH SUN AS POSSIBLE.

We started the day off by driving to Box Hill, where we stood in a line of 20 or more people, just to buy two Cornettos and a bottle of water. The view at Box Hill is gorgeous, so if you have yet to go there, I suggest you do next time the sun is out.

We sat for a good hour, judging everyone near us and enjoying the view. The woman flying a kite in a really annoying fashion, the gay couple in front of us with the cute puppies who rudely didn't offer us any of their picnic, and all the pasty, sunken-chested men with their shirts off made for excellent conversation and people watching.

Then! Iain surprised me by driving us out to Worthing. The sea was gorgeous, the cocktail I had at a bar by the shore was amazing, but the people we saw...I won't even go into it. All I'm going to say is that they were unique, and we probably will never go back there. (But really it was lovely.)

On another note, things are doing very well over here in The Home Offices Of CupCate. We have some very exciting prospects, which, to say the least, is very comforting. Thank you all again for your encouragement and the birthday wishes.