tampa/st petersburg, florida

it was my birthday....

i met up with mike and his girlfriend, kelli.  mike is a friend i got to know over a decade ago in new jersey and he was even my best man at my wedding.  he's always been a friend who makes me smile because of his fun goofy humor.   it was so cool to meet kelli too!   we all hung out at his apartment for a little while and had good conversation to catch up on life.

mike and kelli took me out to outback for dinner.

in the evening, the clouds finally started to break.   here's me enjoying the sun on my face!  now that's much better birthday weather.

we went over to kelli's condo and mike and i relaxed in the jacuzzi and pool for a while.

then all three of us went out to the old northeast tavern where they knew the band playing the music and knew half of the people in the room.  i briefly talked to their friends mike, shannon, paul, kate, and others.  i forgot to get some pictures off of mike's camera - i had a dead camera battery that evening.  but i did get some iphone shots...

mike and kelli are each very talented musicians, so they know a lot of musicians in the tampa area.  i had a great evening hanging out with them and their friends.  the place had a nice feel to it.

interestingly, there was another guy in the room who was celebrating his 40th birthday.  ha! cool.

mike had to work a graveyard shift as a guard, so i just slept at the condo while he worked.

finally a sunny morning!

mike and kelli were scheduled to play music at an outdoor "european style" market that had a block of produce vendors and arts and crafts vendors.

i went with them, helped them set up their equipment and then took some photos while i enjoyed listening.  they were pretty awesome!!  : )

they invited me to take a turn on the percussion for a few songs.  super!  that was a lot of fun! : )   no pics of me though - the photographer was busy at the time.

alas, i had to say goodbye and get back on the road while they continued with their gig.   but i hope to swing through to see them again before i leave florida.  we shall see...

thanks for making my birthday special mike and kelli!  i love you two!!