I’m so very grateful for the friends who made my birthday week such a blast! Lisa, my friend since college (not going to talk about how long ago that was), flew over from Portland for the week.

We squeezed in as much exploring as possible: sunsets, dolphins, manatees, kayaking to Shell Key (thank you for the loaner, Katie), Herrmann’s Royal Lipizzans, belly dancing, live music, lots (and lots) of sunscreen, raccoons, the obligatory alligator, and, of course, a fun birthday celebration with Alyssa.

Sadly, Lisa had to leave before the Gasparilla concert yesterday but my friend Loretta came over and played pirate with me. It was an epic birthday week and now I need a little recovery time (after all, I’m not as young as I used to be).