Diez y Seis at Loews Don CeSar Hotel

This Hotel is known at St. Pete's Pink Castle

We got a text from our daughter to return to our room for some bubbles and chocolate covered strawberries. We put it all in a bag and returned to the beach to enjoy.



It's just as good standing in the Gulf of Mexico

Sea Oats

Very Smooth Seas



This is my favorite way to beach

This is the Admiral's favorite way to Beach...the Hot tub.



She made me play cause she knew she would win!



Pre dinner pics



Another favorite of the Admirals Beach time.

This Moray Eel was our dinner guest, or I guess we were his?

Forgot to get a pic of the Red Snapper, we ate all of this also.

Yoga on the Beach



Lunch at the Brass Monkey down the street in Pass-a-Grille



Checking out the Pass-a-Grille quaint beach...very nice.



Finished with a sunset walk at our marina seawall.

Well since the Admirals birthday is 9/16 and the daughters is 9/26 I of course had to use all my brain to remember which came first. Yes I know 16 is before 26, but is it the wife's or daughters? Then Lynn commented that she loved having her birthday on diez y seis since (In Texas) there are always celebrations going on and she just pretended it was all for her birthday. From that moment on I never forgot whose birthday came first...Lynn loved Diez y seis! About a week before our daughter called and inquired where we would be during the week of the 16th, and then later she texted me that she had a surprise for her mom's 60th birthday. She and our son reserved two nights at Lowes Don Cesar Hotel in St. Pete Beach. I was going to love this birthday gift and I knew the Admiral would make the most of every minute of it. We already had a date to go birding with some new friends at Fort DeSoto the morning of the 15th so the timing
worked out perfect. The Admiral would get to go birding with two of the best birders in the Tampa Bay area and then just a few miles away go check into this Old School Five Star Florida Hotel. The birding wore me out, I could not wait to get to the hotel and just rest in the AC a bit. The problem is that when the Admiral has an opportunity to go 5 star her energy level peaks and she makes sure she takes advantage of every amenity available. We checked in and the bed looked like a the perfect place for me for a little 30 minute rest time before we took another step. But, she was ready to go explore the hotel and make sure she knew where all the fun spots were so she could make a plan. I had to be a good party host for our kids gift so I ignored my body and mind and escorted her all through the Luxuries. Once on the beach though I perked up as anytime near the water is good time. Then I got a text from my daughter that we had to return to our room for a surprise. A big bottle of Bubbly and huge chocolate covered strawberries. I could rest now and drink and eat....The Admiral had a better Idea, put it all in a bag and take it to the pool, or where ever she wanted to go. So we  had a glass on the beach, then we went to a table by the pool for round two. Then it was time for a late lunch, so Round three with lunch by the pool and Thankfully this was a big bottle so we got to finish it off in the room. The Pool deck and the cafe there is so nice we decided to just do dinner there that night and enjoy the view of the Gulf of Mexico and sunset. The Admiral was up early the next morning to enjoy the beach yoga, she called me to get down and get a couple of chairs and umbrella as others were already down there taking some of the best spots. They had a Ice cream shop where you could pick up some Starbucks and breakfast snacks so I got mine and this Jamaican dude hooked me up with the last best place. I got in the recliner and enjoyed all of that coffee. Every hour they bring around little samples of their special drinks, that was great cause I was not getting up. The Admiral around noon wanted to play ping pong......again I ignored my body and soul and enjoyed getting beat two games of ping pong, thankfully I got to return to the recliner under the umbrella after that. Another late lunch pool side and afternoon walk, dip on the beach. The water was cool, not warm, just right. Not a wave in sight......This would be very rare at Mustang Island. The water was glass like a lake, if fact I saw at least two small pontoon boats out there, they would be swamped for sure off the Texas Coast.
Our daughter made reservations for us at the Maritana Grill, the Hotels fine dining. We had a wonderful dinner with a table next to a huge aquarium. I was really groovin on Diez y seis now and the Admiral was glowing in the dark. Check out time was 11am but the Admiral still had time the next morning for Yoga on the beach and then yoga in the pool. I got down to take a couple of pics and then she introduced me to the Yoga instructor who had volunteered to take the two of us on a walking tour of some trails adjacent to the hotel. It was worth it cause she told us about the Brass Monkey in Pass-a-Grille where we could get some really fine crab for lunch before we headed back to the boat. We quickly checked out and drove the short distance to Pass-a-Grille. A funky off the tourist map community on a peninsula. The Brass Monkey had Great Monkey balls and the view of the Pass-a-Grille beach across the street made the continuing birthday awesome. Loews Don CeSar Hotel