This morning’s routine breakfast performance was unexpectedly protracted by a modest genealogical investigation (which had been sparked yesterday when chatting by the pool but which didn’t assume complete persuasion until four o’clock this morning) and an alert from my web host that I was about to exceed my storage limit. The technical matter was resolved with complete success. The genealogical search was just a start. Tracing the lines of family descent is complicated especially when one is pursuing an off-shoot and not a direct line. I found myself wondering repeatedly whom I might hire to look into the matter. Agency is always an option!

I restored the security and manageability of life’s Middle-C by launching my routine bicycle ride as quickly as possible after having consumed my now cold steel cut oats. It was almost noon before I triggered the Apple watch Workout tracking settings and pushed off along Gulf of Mexico Drive into the magnificent balmy air and sunshine. The elevation was instant! Whether it were the weather, the serendipity of the morning efforts, the absence of caffeine (at least excess amounts of it) or the currency of affairs generally, I was enthused enough to cycle far beyond my normal limit at Bayfront Park. Instead I proceeded almost double the distance to the northern end of Longboat Key when the street names begin to assume a Spanish element (Laguna Drive, De Narvaez Drive, Juan Anasco Drive). My iPhone Activity App reports having cycled 31.92 kms today.

By the time I doubled back to Bayfront Park for another drink of water from the fountain I was relishing my approaching time lying on the beach. There were fewer people there today than yesterday but all the immediate spots nearby the sandy entrance pathway were taken. I positioned myself on the dunes.

Nearby there was a skinny red-headed young fellow with a red beard who at first I thought was another cyclist who had stopped along the way for refreshment. But the bicycle I at first saw in the area disappeared sometime during my sunbathing. The skinny fellow was however still lying on his shirt on the sand. He was terribly white. Not long afterwards a couple – a muscular young man and a pretty young woman – appeared on the beach carrying folding chairs, umbrellas and other goods. To my astonishment they proceeded to set up camp immediately adjoining the stuff of the skinny fellow (who at the time was snorkelling in the sea). I saw that the skinny fellow noticed the development. He withdrew from the water and approached his belongings. It instantly became apparent that he knew the couple (I am suspecting he was the brother of the woman). The three of them commenced throwing a ball to one another. They moved in and out of the shoreline of the sea, never going in deep enough for swimming.

After the wispy clouds began to overtake the horizon I decided to conclude my swim and depart. On the ride back home I again extended my tour to the southern end of the island before doubling back.