Birthday and the Beach

Hi All -

Sorry for the delay in this week's blog post, but hopefully you'll find it worth the wait.

To begin, we have to go the whole way back to last Wednesday, which just happened to be my birthday (the 20th birthday of my 24th birthday). I woke up to find flowers in the kitchen from Glenn, and got a Happy Birthday text from Lisha saying we'd have to get together soon to celebrate.

I also got a lot of well-wishers on Facebook, a call and gift card from my boss, a card and gift from my parents, and a care package from my friend Julie. Feeling the love!

That night, Glenn told me he was taking me out to dinner, and surprised me by taking me to the Birch & Vine in St. Petersburg. I was further surprised to find Chad and Lisha there, waiting for us. So exciting! We had an amazing dinner - perhaps the best meal we've had in Tampa - and then the four of us went for a sunset cruise on a sailboat. Glenn packed wine and cheese and snacks and was just the best husband ever!

I don't know if you can tell, but we had a lot of fun. Amazing birthday!

So then, this past Sunday, we left for a 3-day, 2-night stay at the Harborside Holiday Inn in nearby Indian Rocks Beach. Glenn won the trip in an ACS silent auction.

The water was so clear and warm and turquoise, it reminded me of the Caribbean.

After strolling some on the beach, we went to a nearby shore bird sanctuary. It was a little place, and would have been sad if it had just been cages of injured birds, but there were a lot of birds that were just on the loose there. You would look up in a tree and see tons of birds staring back. It was slightly unnerving.

Sandhill Crane (about 4 feet tall)

The hotel we stayed at was not all that luxurious, but it was fine and it was right on a little intercoastal marina, which was pretty, and we regularly saw dolphins swimming by. Glenn got a lot of nice shots around the marina - some at sunrise, some at sunset, and some in between.

This might be my favorite pic

Day two, I got some magazines, Glenn got a shovel and we headed to the beach. Glenn spent most of the day making a sandcastle, which many people stopped to admire.

We also saw some unusual sea creatures this trip. First, this poor fellow - which, thanks to some help from some friends on Facebook, we identified as a Polka dotted Bat Fish. Weird looking dude.

Secondly, on our last day, literally minutes after we'd been swimming in this very spot, THIS washed up on shore...

About 3 1/2 foot Hammerhead Shark. This is why you shouldn't swim in the ocean!

Alright, time for some obligatory sunset photos. Have a margarita. Here we go.

Oh, by the way - Glenn was finally able to get a shot of an Oystercatcher. They are really fast!

So anyway, on our last day, we went across the bridge from our hotel to a cute little nature park, where we had a nice little hike.

So anyway, that's our adventurous week. Next week, I'm accompanying Glenn on a work trip to West Palm Beach and Miami, but we'll try not to get too carried away taking photos.

Love you all!