Minnis Mindfulness

It was my brother's last day off work so of course it was time for another seaside micro trip. We travelled in the direction of Margate but with the intention of trying somewhere new along the same coastline. On a whim we picked a side road in Birchington-On-Sea, heading vaguely in the direction we assumed the sea would be. 
The road appeared to be getting narrower and narrower, there was no sign of the sea and we were getting pretty sure that we had taken a wrong turn until it opened up again and the expanse of Minnis Bay suddenly appeared in front of us. Pure luck rather than any kind of logistical judgement on our part. Even the parking was free!
The sun came out and we headed to the nearest pub for a pint on a raised deck overlooking the North Sea. We instantly felt a sense of calm and were so grateful to be back by the sea again.
Minnis Bay is a very family friendly place and has not been overdeveloped - with just a couple of cafes, a bar, a pub, some picnic areas and a long promenade with a few lines of beach huts. 
We took a stroll almost to the end of the promenade and then returned in the other direction, where we began to feel the fairly strong onshore breeze (my first extra shows two women deep in conversation walking along the shoreline - with one of them clinging on to her wide brimmed hat) and it must be said a bit of a pong from some beached seaweed.  Our nostrils soon acclimatised and halfway back to the car we felt we were getting quite peckish so we stopped at the rather appropriately named Windshack Cafe (where my main image was taken) for a hot dog with lashings of onions, mustard and ketchup. It also sells all the beach paraphernalia you could possibly need - although I'm not quite sure what relationship a hippo has to the British seaside but each to their own!
The second extra shows my brother checking his photos on his camera display (otherwise known as "chimping") opposite a smiley faced beach hut.
We really enjoyed our first visit to Minnis Bay and we intend to return soon for another dose of Minnis mindfulness.