Baseball's over, the Marauders packed it in Sunday, and the Friday night lights are ours now.

So this weekend is built around a free national park with twelve parking spots, a Friday night at Fort Hamer Road, and a plate of fresh pasta on 301.

Friday morning is the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and there's a place to stand for it 25 minutes away.

Go early on everything; the afternoons are still August in disguise.

There is a national park 40 minutes from your driveway, it costs nothing, and most of Parrish has never been.

This is a Saturday morning plan, and the whole thing hinges on being in the car by 8.

Start: American Honey Creamery and Coffee Co., 5015 Moccasin Wallow Rd, about 5 minutes west of 301.

Saturday they open at 8, so it's coffee for you, something from the bakery case for the kids, and everybody back in the car with a cup holder full.

Do not order ice cream at 8 a.m., because you're coming back for that.

The activity: De Soto National Memorial, 8300 De Soto Memorial Hwy, at the far west end of Bradenton where 75th St W dead-ends into the river.

About 40 minutes: 301 south to Manatee Ave, west all the way to 75th, then north till the road stops.

Free.

No pass, no gate fee, nothing at the visitor center either.

Here's the catch, straight off the Park Service's own page: there is one parking lot, and it has twelve spots.

Twelve.

The lot opens at 8, which is why the coffee stop comes first and the lollygagging comes never.

Once you're in, the nature trail loops along the shoreline and through a mangrove tunnel, flat, with signs that tell the 1539 story as you go.

There are two little shell beaches, and the calm one is Cove Beach on the south side; the point beach takes the river current and the Tampa Bay chop, so keep the small kids at the cove.

Shade is real under the mangroves and gone on the beach, so hats.

Restrooms are at the visitor center, which is open 9 to 4:45, and there's nothing out on the trail, so go before you walk.

The picnic tables sit right by the parking lot, first come, and grills are not allowed, so it's a cooler-and-sandwiches kind of picnic if you pack one.

Dogs are welcome on a six-foot leash.

One honest note: the costumed living-history camp runs January through April, so don't promise anybody a conquistador in September.

And the parking gate locks at 5 with your car inside it, so this is not a sunset trip.

Lunch: Anna Maria Oyster Bar Ellenton, 1525 51st Ave E, right off I-75 at exit 224 on the way home, about 12 minutes from Parrish.

Open at 11 on Saturday, with indoor tables and a waterfront patio, and it's been in that spot since 2003.

Our order: something fried for the table, and whoever drove picks the fish.

Get there before noon or you're waiting with every other family that had the same idea.

Treat: back to American Honey on Moccasin Wallow, because Saturday they're open till 10 and you owe the kids the ice cream you skipped at 8.

Coffee at 8, mangroves by 9, fish by noon, ice cream by 2.

Twelve spots. Be one of them.

The Manatee County Fire Chiefs' Association holds its Tribute to Heroes at 9:30 Friday morning at Rossi Park by the First Responder Memorial in downtown Bradenton, about 25 minutes.

Honor guard, flag ceremony, 21-gun salute, dove release, free, and short enough for a kid to stand through.

If you can't make downtown, the Boys and Girls Clubs hold a remembrance from 8 to 8:45 at the Palmetto Marriott, 600 US 41, about 15 minutes.

Twenty-five years is the one where the kids ask, so bring them.

Keep Manatee Beautiful's International Coastal Cleanup runs Saturday from 9:30 to noon, and the close site meets in the Woody's River Roo lot, 5717 18th St E in Ellenton, about 12 minutes.

You clean the service road and the riverbank, they hand you the gloves, grabbers and buckets, and it's free with an RSVP on that page.

Closed-toe shoes, a hat, and a water bottle with your kid's name on it.

Afterward every volunteer is invited to the wrap-up party at Coquina Beach Cafe, 2650 Gulf Dr S on Bradenton Beach, which is a 45-minute drive from Ellenton, so decide in the car whether that's a yes.

If you'd rather start at the beach, Coquina and Manatee Public Beach are sites too, same 9:30 start.

Rocky Bluff, 6750 US 301 N in Ellenton, about 10 minutes, has a Bike and Pedestrian Safety hour Saturday from 11 to noon in the meeting room, all ages, free, and as of Thursday morning there were 39 seats left on the sign-up.

Helmets, e-bikes, scooters, crossing 301 on foot; if your kid rides a bike to school, this is the hour.

Braden River, 4915 53rd Ave E in Bradenton, about 25 minutes, runs the Mad Science Magic of Science Show Saturday from 10 to 11 in Room 205, ages 4 to 12, free, no sign-up listed.

A magician gets his tricks explained by science, which is exactly the show a 9-year-old wants and a 6-year-old will forgive.

The Farmers' Market at Lakewood Ranch runs every Sunday, 10 to 2, year-round, at Waterside Place, 1561 Lakefront Dr, about 30 minutes.

A hundred-plus vendors, live music, and a kids' zone at The Yard, so it's a walk-around morning, not a grocery run.

Free to get in; bring cash for the one thing your kid will not put down.

Get there at 10, because by 11:30 the parking is a hike and the bread is gone.

Parrish Community hosts Palm Harbor University Friday at 7 at the school, 7505 Ft Hamer Rd, and it's the first Friday home game since the opener.

Tickets are on GoFan like always, so buy them on the couch, not in the line at the gate.

It's also the night of 9/11, so get in your seat early.

The rest of September's schedule is on MaxPreps: at Sarasota on the 18th, then Palmetto at home on the 25th, which is the district game to circle.

Buffalo Creek Little League's fall ball sold out with a waiting list, and the only way to get on that list is the phone, (830) 556-1805, because the website hasn't been touched since 2021.

Parrish families are inside their boundary even though the address says Palmetto.

If you got waitlisted, i9 Sports starts its fall season Saturday, Sept 26, seven Saturdays through Nov 7, with flag football, soccer, baseball and volleyball from PreK3 up, and soccer plays at Tom Bennett Park in Palmetto.

No tryouts, no drafts, everybody plays every game.

Registration was still open last week; call 941-312-2400 today and ask for the current price for your kid's sport, because the August number is gone and we won't print one we can't confirm.

Two Saturdays is not a lot of runway, so this is the week to decide.

Ferraro's sits at 8348 US-301, right at the Erie Rd light, about 5 minutes for most of town.

Three generations of the LoGrande family: Sicily in the late 1950s, New Jersey since 1980, and now Parrish.

They make the pasta fresh every day, which is the reason to go, and their own website claims the best pizza south of New Jersey, which is the reason to argue.

Our order: the linguini pescatore if you're sitting down, the calzone if you're taking it to a ballgame, and garlic knots either way.

Hours are Monday through Saturday 11 to 9 and Sunday noon to 9, so Saturday dinner after the field trip works, and Sunday lunch doesn't start till noon.

Takeout and delivery run through Toast, or call (941) 723-1111.

Saturday dinner after the field trip is the move; you'll have earned the calzone.

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Twelve parking spots, one Friday night at Fort Hamer Road, and a plate of pasta somebody's grandmother would sign off on.

Until next week — stay gritty, stay healthy, and keep Parrish strong.

— Greg.