Last month was my 30th birthday. And the celebrations have been ongoing all month long. This past weekend I had some of my closest friends come stay with me for a long weekend to celebrate this milestone birthday. Friday to Sunday were jam packed with activities all showcasing some of the best the Tampa Bay Area has to offer. If you are looking to show guests around or simply looking at some of my favorite places in the bay areas keep on reading.
Friday was a travel day for most and I made a trip to the airport to pick up my friend Alexis who was flying in from snowy Nashville. We immediately went to get some food and a quick drink right along the water at the Getaway. The getaway is a perfect spot to stop if you are making your way from Tampa to St. Pete and want to enjoy a casual outdoor waterfront restaurant bar.
Once everyone arrived we headed out to downtown St. Pete. As a Pinellas County girl I am biased and have to say St. Pete is the best place for a night out. One of my friends suggested we go to “Welcome to the Farm” which is a bar owned by Country music star Chase Rice. I have to say I LOVED this bar. They had live music all night from very talented artists and bands. The vibes were spot on, everyone was having the best time singing and dancing along. We had planned to bar hop to a few spots but were enjoying our time so much we decided to stay all night.
After a quick night sleep, we woke up and headed to Downtown Dunedin. I was really looking forward to taking my out of town guests to this fun downtown for some brewery hopping. We started at Dunedin Brewery where we grabbed some delicious wings and other bar snacks while enjoying some local beers. We headed to my favorite brewery next Woodwright Brewery which is known for their German Beer. My friends all enjoyed getting a flight to try a lot of different varieties. Unfortunately, it was a cold day in Florida and since Dunedin is located right on the water it was incredibly windy and not great for walking around and exploring more. We opted to hop in the car and driving around for me to show them the water front, beach and so much more the area has to offer. We rounded out our time with some orange ice cream at Lane’s lemonade. Another local favorite.
After our day trip to Dunedin we had to quickly get ready for dinner and another night out. My friend Lindsay put on a lovely birthday dinner at On Swann in the very popular area of Hyde Park. I highly recommend Hype Park to visitors both for lunch or dinner as well as for shopping. We all enjoyed appetizers and delicious entrees before diving into a custom Taylor Swift themed cake. Very on brand.
After much discussion on where to spend our evening because Tampa doesn’t have a great area with multiple bars for a non college scene, we ended up at Armature works. First at the downstairs bar and then up to their rooftop bar MBird. While the drinks are a bit pricier, MBird always has great vibes and great views. It was a fun night of enjoying some of my favorite people!
The weekend came and went so quickly so I was incredibly sad to wake up Sunday morning to all of my friends getting ready to get back home. We rounded out the weekend with a breakfast at First Watch which never disappoints.
After this weekend and the whole month, I feel incredibly grateful for the people I have in my life and those who are with me heading into this new decade!
