The season is upon us. Time and again today while reclining on the powdery white sand of the beach at Lido Key I heard interlopers comment upon the congested traffic (presumably to and from Longboat Key and the islands beyond such as Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria Island) and the necessity to get to the beach early enough to secure an umbrella for rental. The chap renting chaises longues and umbrellas ran out of umbrellas by early afternoon and could easily have amortized the cost of many new ones for rental. It made me reflect upon the unspoken elements of his standard rental agreement; namely, not containing an assignment entitlement nor the right to sublet. Seemingly these esoteric legal issues do not regularly arise. I further wondered how the rental chap might have handled the dilemma should it have arisen – especially considering that he displayed an exceedingly active business acumen. He did for example apologize more than once to the woman who hadn’t cash or PayPal by which to pay for a rental – though he did suggest a nearby ATM machine. To his credit the chap refused to do business on the strength of the woman’s proposal that she would be back tomorrow with the money. Even were he to have believed the woman, there were so many others like myself overhearing the conversation that his deviance from routine may have offended others.

Naturally my sortie to Lido Key today began by taking the draw bridge between it and Longboat Key – though first I toured under the bridge from the Sarasota Bay side to the Gulf of Mexico side. There were fishermen under the bridge as usual both while I left this morning and when I returned later this afternoon. The vista from the Bay to the Gulf never fails to command my attention as it did again this morning when I initiated my cycle at approximately 11:00 am after having completed my three-week sojourn with my hair architect Michael. My latest mane prepossession is a shameful preference for length on the top countermanded by short on the sides. The vanity is all too preposterous for words but as I told Michael my hair is the only part of my physical presence that still works.

The ride along John Ringling Parkway to N Washington Drive and Benjamin Franklin Drive along the beach of Lido Key to the park overlooking Siesta Key was delightful once again. I decided against stopping by the park as I had done yesterday and chose instead to enter the beach at the large public parking lot adjoining the most popular beach area. The location had the advantage of a bike racks, water fountain and after-swim showers to remove sand and salt.

Though I was pleased with the perfectly fine weather and the duration of my time in the direct sunshine, I wasn’t however enthusiastic about the character of the sea in this particular venue. The water was inordinately shallow for a considerable distance from shore – which was an ideal accommodation for the many small children playing in the sea but a bit of a disappointment for those of us wishing to swim and dive. Even the location yesterday not far away by the park at South Lido Key afforded a more desirable rendition of the sea in my opinion. On balance of both I have to say I prefer the beaches on Longboat Key – but I am pleased to have tried both locations on Lido Key.

I left Lido Key around 3:00 pm thus having constituted a full four hours in the blazing sunshine. It was still however all I could do to tear myself away. The ride home had the advantage of being into the direct sun once again as Sol moved westward. I resolved to turn into the condominium apartment immediately upon my return to Longboat Key. It proved to be a good decision as the sun was shining directly onto the side of the pool where the bulk of chaises longues are located. To my surprise there were only three people by the pool! I took up my perch and again relished the rays. Dr. George and I chatted at some length not long afterwards before we together swam in the pool briefly before retiring for the evening.