Turns out I just got out of the pool, sat dripping on the deck for a few minutes, squeezed as much water as possible out of my hair, then walked (or sloshed) out the side gate and straight to my car. I used my t-shirt as a "towel" to sit on on the way home. It didn't help much - oh well. I wondered if anyone else had noticed my newbie mistake. Probably not.
As I parked the car in the garage I rolled the window down to encourage the seat to dry. So even though I made a newbie mistake - I laugh and share it all with you now - and suffer no lasting difficulties.