The first real front of the year gets here Friday: sunny, 86, and a north wind.

Not one drop of rain in the forecast, all three days.

So this weekend is the beach, the Bulls under the lights against Palmetto, and a diner on 301 that has been pouring coffee since 1983.

Load the truck tonight.

Saturday is 86 with a north wind, and a north wind lays the Gulf flat.

FWC's last red tide report (Sept 18) shows nothing in Manatee County and only background traces down in Sarasota.

This is the beach day the whole summer owed you.

Leave the driveway by 7:30.

Start (45 min): Anna Maria Island Beach Cafe, 4000 Gulf Dr, Holmes Beach.

Take 301 south to 64, or I-75 to exit 220, then 64 west until the road ends in a parking lot.

The cafe opens at 8 every day, takes no reservations, and seats you first come, first served.

The all-you-can-eat pancakes are the reason there is a line, and a kid who ate three stacks will not ask for a snack until noon.

Sit outside, on the Gulf side, and let the sand be the entertainment.

(941) 778-0784.

The Activity (walk out the back door): Manatee Public Beach, the county beach at the west end of Manatee Ave.

Free parking in the big county lot, and every Parrish family reading this forecast is heading the same way, so be parked by 9:30.

Lifeguards are on the stand 9 to 5, and there are restrooms, outdoor showers, a playground, volleyball nets, picnic tables and county grills.

Honesty box: there is no shade on the sand.

Bring the garage umbrella, or rent from the cafe from 9 to 4: a chair is $9.99, an umbrella is $24.99, an umbrella and two chairs is $39.99 plus tax.

No dogs, no glass, no alcohol, and it is still sea turtle season through Oct 31, so fill in the holes and get chairs off the sand at dusk.

The water in late September is still bathwater, which is the best-kept secret of living here.

Lunch (walk across Gulf Drive): Skinny's Place, 3901 Gulf Dr, right across from the beach lot.

Burgers and frosted mugs since 1952, open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 to 8.

Cash only, and they mean it, so hit the ATM before you cross the bridge.

Order the cheeseburger and the frosted mug and do not ask for anything fancy, because there is nothing fancy.

(941) 778-7769.

Treat (back on our side of the river): Foxtail Coffee, 11687 Moccasin Wallow Rd, Bldg 3, at Market Walk, about 5 minutes from 301.

There is a Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream counter inside, and Saturday they are open until 9.

The drive-thru is for coffee; the ice cream makes you walk in, and after a beach day that is fair.

Pancakes by 8:15, sand by 9, burger by 11:30, ice cream by 2.

Sand in the truck until Christmas.

Worth it.

Friday's quiet this week, unless you count the Bulls, and you should; that is down in The Sideline.

Manatee County EMS runs free car seat safety checks at the Public Safety Center, 2101 47th Terrace E, Bradenton, about 25 minutes.

Certified techs, walk-in, free.

If your kid moved up to a booster this summer and you are not sure the belt sits where it should, this is the hour.

Go at 9, before the line, and you are still at the beach by 10.

Rocky Bluff Branch Library, 6750 US 301 N, Ellenton, about 10 minutes, in the meeting room.

Emily from the county's Natural Resources Department brings animal skulls, tracks and a mystery-animal scavenger hunt, for ages 7 to 14.

Free, but registration is required, and 15 seats were left Thursday morning.

This is the one for the kid who would rather find a bobcat print than a seashell.

Bat City Comic Professionals, 915 Manatee Ave E, Bradenton, about 25 minutes, turns four with a Local Comic Shop Day party.

A community comic everybody draws a panel of, crafts, a kids' scavenger hunt, free food and an in-store sale.

Costs nothing to walk in; leaving without a comic is the hard part.

Last week we told you the market was back Sunday, Sept 27.

As of Thursday morning the county's own page still says only "returns September 2026" and nobody official has posted a day.

Call 941-742-5923 ext. 5819 before you drive to 2525 27th St E, and we will print the real date the minute the county does.

i9 Sports at Tom Bennett Park, 280 Kay Rd, Bradenton, about 15 minutes, starts its fall season this Saturday, Sept 26, and runs seven Saturdays through Nov 7.

Fall soccer has come off the venue page, which means it is closed to new sign-ups, and Buffalo Creek fall ball has been full with a waitlist since August.

The one door still open Thursday morning is the girls volleyball instructional program, grades 3 to 9, $248 with the jersey included.

Grades 3 to 5 start between 8:45 and 10:15, grades 6 to 9 between 10:30 and noon.

If you are already registered, the weather hotline is 941-260-4444, ext. 4, and with this forecast it is a formality.

Bring water and a folding chair; the sideline does not come with either.

Winter co-ed soccer, PreK3 through grade 5, and winter girls volleyball, grades 3 to 12, both run Jan 9 to Feb 20 at the same park.

Each is $198 if you pay by Nov 1.

Fall went from $188 to $248 once its cutoff passed, so treat Nov 1 as a real date, not a suggestion.

Office is 941-312-2400.

Parrish Community hosts Palmetto Friday at 7 at the school, 7505 Ft. Hamer Rd, in town.

It is the district opener, and Palmetto is the closest thing to a rivalry on the schedule.

General admission is $8 on GoFan as of Thursday, taxes may be added, and your phone is your ticket.

Buy it at the kitchen table, not in the line at the gate.

Popi's Place IV, 3911 US-301 N, Ellenton, about 10 minutes south on 301, before you get to the outlets.

Chef-family owned since 1983, five locations from Palmetto to Sarasota, and this is the one on our road.

Open Monday through Saturday 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Breakfast is served all day, which is the whole personality of the place.

Our take: order breakfast no matter what the clock says, because a 6 a.m. open is the kitchen telling you what it is good at.

Sunday, go at 7:30, before church lets out, because at 2:30 they lock the door.

It is the opposite direction from the beach, so it is your Sunday, not your Saturday.

(941) 722-1205.

Reply and tell us your Popi's order; first names only if we print it.

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Sand in the truck, an $8 ticket, and pancakes you did not have to cook.

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