Which beach town is Brighton most like?

Brighton Beach
Santa Cruz?...The Cape?...San Diego? That was the conundrum that Ben and I had to deal with last weekend when I visited him in Brighton. I think the consensus was that it was more like San Diego (too hippy for The Cape and too ritzy for Santa Cruz), but we realized that at some point in the future we'll wonder if the next beach town is more like Brighton or one of the others. And so the cycle will continue...
Brighton really does have a young, laid back, earth friendly vibe. Except for the multitude of upscale (and completely out of our price range regardless of exchange rates!) stores.
Saturday was started at around 2pm with a lazy walk down the small streets for "breakfast". A good majority of the market streets were closed to traffic, which was a good thing as most of the restaurants and cafes had tables and chairs in the middle of the street. Then it was off to a grassy area in front of the Royal Pavilion to catch up on sleep and people watch. Ben managed to nap and I enjoyed observing the locals. Lots of families with small children, groups of young people meeting and chatting, a few guitars, some grannies in lawn chairs and everyone just enjoying the good weather. Reminded me of outside the Thai temple but on a larger scale...

Royal Pavilion
We spent the rest of Saturday wandering through a section of Brighton known as The Lanes. The Lanes are about 2-3 people wide and meander around, seemingly aimlessly (or at least that's how one feels) mostly lines with jewelry shops as it turns out but there's a few pubs and restaurants hidden around and a few other cute shops and things. We managed to meet up with one of Ben's co-workers for a pint and dinner and then off to hear a DJ friend (of the co-workers) spin at a pub. The DJ was frankly brilliant! A dance-able mix of electronic and trance that he's named Wonk, for lack of a better word.
Sunday again started late and the day was spent looking for a recommended restaurant down by the Brighton pier. The restaurant was never found, but we did peruse the windy pier, which was really more like a carnival than anything else.

No Ben doesn't have bed head! It was that windy!!
Dinner was found at a great pub in The Lanes called the Bath Arms. The best lamb burger I've ever had with a homemade rosemary bun. Then it was back off to London to rejoin the real world!
Just finished dinner with the Grants and their daughter and son-in-law who are visiting from France. Wimbledon is currently ongoing and my hosts are quite addicted. Tonight's dinner was accompanied by cheering for a Brit (he's really Scottish) against a Frenchman, during a very exciting, almost 4 hour, match. Much to everyone's amazement the Brit came back to win after being down two sets in the beginning (or was it game's?). My tennis vocabulary is very poor, but needless to say it was quite exciting!
Clinic has been going well, though it seems to be slowing down a bit...or at least for this week! Counseled my fifth patient today!
No exciting plans so far for this week, but will be in southern Scotland for the weekend.
Love to all!