Published: Friday, May. 22, 2009

Updated: Friday, May. 22, 2009

Some do’s and don’ts that make us Bradentonians

A cheeseburger at Council’s.

Putting down a row of chairs on Manatee Avenue West.

Knowing where to park when going to the beach.

Those are just a few of the things you become quite familiar with if you consider yourself a Bradentonian.

Even a Johnny-Come-Lately like yours truly who washed up on these beautiful sandy shores in 1998.

Outlanders may not get it when it comes to doing certain things that are unique to living in Bradenton.

Unless, of course, they decide to settle here and the idiosyncrasies that define our town grow on them like Spanish moss.

Which is what happened to me.

To wit:

n Knowing not to turn right on Sixth Avenue West when you’re driving south through downtown on U.S. 41.

Or not turning right on Manatee Avenue West when you’re headed north on First Street toward the DeSoto Bridge to Palmetto.

I figured it out fast when I mistakenly turned right by the old county jail one night and wondered, “Why are all those drivers flashing their high beams at me?”

n Having a cheeseburger at Council’s.

It was probably the first place I was taken when I arrived in town and given the grand tour.

Its clientele was an impressive cross section of judges, janitors and jocks, as well as the genteel and geriatric.

The joint is a funky throwback to the ‘50s, which is what they love about the place, along with its righteous cheeseburgers.

All served up with the sweet demeanor of proprietor Lawton Smith, who does not suffer fools gladly.

Think it was my next visit to Council’s when he said, “They ain’t run you out of town, yet?”

Eleven years later, so far so good.

n Lining up chairs along Manatee Avenue West.

Imagine a couple, new tourists, on their way to the beach in late April.

They notice block after block of folding chairs.

They make the same drive the next day — and see the chairs are still there!

“Hon, they’d be stolen by now back home,” the husband jokes.

Yeah well, welcome to Bradenton, a town that cherishes its traditions.

Putting down chairs along Manatee Avenue West, staking out viewing places before the annual DeSoto Heritage Festival Parade, is one of them.

Chairs usually start showing up Wednesday.

This year it was Monday.

Nobody else touched them, either, until the parade was over.

Bradentonians can count on it.

n Parking at the beach.

When the Manatee Beach lot is full, you don’t want to chance parking on the street, and you don’t want to hassle with parking in the city of Anna Maria, there’s a couple of options.

You’ve got Coquina Beach down the road in Bradenton Beach.

Or you’ve got Holmes Beach.

I prefer the latter.

A friend once suggested parking along 44th Street, but invariably by the time I got there was no room along the street or on the accompanying lot.

So I looked elsewhere in the neighborhood and, respecting the few No Parking signs, have managed to locate some dependable spots.

Where?

Let’s just say close enough to Duffy’s for a post-beach burger.

Vin’s People, by local columnist Vin Mannix, runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Have a column item? A photo you want to share? Please call Vin Mannix at 745-7055, write him at Bradenton Herald, P.O. Box 921, Bradenton, Fla. 34206 or email him at vmannix@bradenton.com.