Snow Birds in Full Flight

They're back! And with a vengeance. Locals already know where we're going with this. Sarasota's Snow Bird season is in full flight and growing exponentially by the day. By the time it peaks around Easter, a typical 10-minute Saturday morning trip to the City Market downtown can take 45-minutes. We're preaching to the choir here, but sometimes misery just loves company.

St. Armand's Circle. There, we said it. Venting is cathartic. And blood pressure lowering. Just yesterday, while circumnavigating said Circle, we watched as an extended family of perhaps three-generations or more leisurely strolled through the crosswalk in front of the Columbia Restaurant. Some members of this robust throng were munching toothpicks, others craning necks, likely looking for one of the myriad Gelato shops that dot the perimeter. Next to them an FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) sign declared it would be a $116 fine to strike a pedestrian while in the crosswalk, or something to that effect. A relatively small price to pay for sanity, and therefore duly noted for future reference.

Parallel parking is a definite misnomer on the Circle. It has been seasonally replaced by nose diving Escalades and paralytic Prius drivers in full panic, blocking traffic and  effectively bottling both lanes for blocks. And just the mere thought of turning left from Westway Drive between roughly 1-5 pm, (the bumper to bumper zone), boggles the senses.

Come to think of it, this is Sarasota's version of March Madness, with frustrated drivers competing for scarce parking spaces, complete with with elusive maneuvers and buzzer beating moves. Kind of makes us long for those dog days of summer.  —BT