We celebrated Mom’s 90th Birthday this month with a weekend at the Hardrock in Tampa. We are still working so you can tell we had no big wins, but we had lots of fun and made some nice memories together. We were pleasantly surprised at how lovely the Hardrock is. It had been quite a few years since we were there, it surely has come a long way. Our rooms were beautiful, large, modern and had nice amenities. One of our rooms was our party room with lots of space for hosting in-room cocktails and parties for groups of 8 or so. We joked, enjoyed some good wine, and ate well. We had reservations in Council Oak Steak and Seafood our first night and on our second night we enjoyed dinner at Cipresso, the Hardrock’s Italian Restaurant. Both had great service, delicious food, good vibes, and nice offerings from the bar. Although both restaurants were delightful, our favorite was the steak house. The steaks were Prime wet-aged, tender, and flavorful, plus served at the perfect temperature. Two of our group had seafood and enjoyed every savory bite. We skipped dessert, but shared cappuccino and a port to end our evening. Our only negative, the lack of entertainment in the lounges. We had expected to hear live music nightly in the cocktail lounges, but if bands were playing, we did not hear them. What we did enjoy was the artifacts the hotel assembled from rock musicians. Elvis Presley’s 24K Gold Leaf Kimball Grand Piano from Graceland is showcased, as well as one of his guitars, a Scarf Jimi Hendrix wore in concert in the late 60’s, Keith Richard’s Rhinestone Yellow Jacket, Cher’s Knit Poncho, and Stevie Nicks White Corset Dress were among our favorites. Amazing how such giant stars with amazing talent wear such small sizes. It is an easy drive over, about 80 minutes and worth the trip for a day off the ranch. A sweet ending to Mom’s Birthday was a dinner and a surprise visit from our Aunt Laurie. Thank you Everyone for your cards, wishes, calls, flowers, gifts, visits, and the love you share with us every day. Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!!!
