boating & toting
It's officially after Labor Day.
No more whites. (I can hear you disagreeing.)
No more SPF50. (I can hear you shouting.)
No more tennis outdoors. (Don't argue; they've taken the nets down.)
And no more carrying the boat & tote as a bag.
Traditionally, I've carried a small b&t in the summer. Almost exclusively. The b&t's withstand much and last forever. I carry the open-top - because I'm a risk-taker. And because I think zips are for wimps and non-risk-takers. It's true that things fall out (and get lost). That they offer little to no privacy for the contents. But when I need to find something, I just peer in and spot it. And when your 'TARDIS' thermal cup is neither thermal nor properly closed and results in your tea spilling everywhere on everything, when the contents are fished out, the clever and sturdy canvas open-top b&t lets the errant tea pour right out. Convenient.
And when it's finally time, at the end of each summer, to switch to a p/leather bag:
... the b&t open top offers up a glimpse of the summer just past - where sand and makeup pencil shavings and bits of sticker from bottles gaze up wistfully. But it's back to the closet shelf for another 9 months. After a scrub at the tea stains with the oxy-clean.
Onward.
NB: The bags shown above were purchased by me; this review/recommendation/endorsement is strictly my own. Bean b&t's have been in my family for years, going back as far as I can remember. I still have my first one. Though the green is washed out and I cannot get rid of the 'suntan lotion' smell. But I don't really want to.
