Photo Friday: They Say It's Your Birthday

 I recently celebrated my birthday 'week' and here are the pictures to prove it:

My actual birthday was a rainy day, which spoiled any ideas for outdoor activities. As we are on a mission to visit all of the presidential sites in Ohio, we headed to Canton to the William McKinley Monument and Museum. Canton is the final resting place of the 25th president of the U.S. It is the city where his career began, where he met his wife, and where he ran for office.

Nothing says birthday like visiting a marble sarcophagi! Here is where President McKinley and his wife Ida are laid to rest. It's a beautiful rotunda with a red, white, and blue skylight.

While we'd been to the monument numerous times as children and adults, none of us (Middle Child came with us that day) had been to the museum next door which features history and science.

There is a McKinley Gallery which displays items from their homes . . .

and memorabilia from his presidency. He served from 1897 until he was assassinated in 1901.

Part of the museum is dedicated to a Street of Shops, which was a really fun experience. You could walk in and out of various life-size replicas, like this general store. There was a toy store, barbershop, drugstore, physician's office, attorney's office, dentist, post office, and more.

For lunch, we headed to a restaurant I've been wanting to try for years in that area. The Twisted Olive has a cabin/ski lodge feel and I loved the lime green accents inside and out. We started with their popular crispy brussel sprouts that are made with bacon, truffle honey, and parmesan. They definitely lived up to the hype. For my entree, I had the lump crab sliders, which were also very good.

On Saturday, it was time to dress up and head downtown, a place I rarely get to see. My husband works in the heart of the city and has no desire to go back on the weekends, but it was birthday girl's choice and he made up for all those times he vetoed me! He said he was going to take me to the Trifecta of Cleveland:

We started out the evening at the famous Marble Room, located in what was the National City Bank, back in the day. The architecture is Revival and Gothic. When you enter the door from the street, there are velvet ropes that you cannot pass until you state your business! (It is difficult to get a reservation and proper attire is required, thank you very much!) Our business was the bar, which we were led to the last two remaining seats. (Note, the above is not my picture)

My dream was to have a glass of champagne at the Marble Room and my wish was fulfilled. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Spouse had their chocolate orange cocktail.  

Dinner was at Blue Point Grille, Cleveland's premiere seafood restaurant. Here is my husband's Nags Head grouper over lobster mashed potatoes and my Chilean sea bass with broccoli and corn puree. Amazing food!

For dessert, we headed to Chef Rocco Whalen's Fahrenheit which features contemporary cuisine. We ordered the strawberry shortcake baked Alaska, which is flambeed tableside. 

Here is what it looked like after the flame stopped, alongside our chocolate martinis.

One sticking point with my husband is that he won't park downtown unless it's in his company's secure parking garage. He also won't go downtown at night unless there is a large event going on (baseball/basketball games or concert) because there will be more of a police presence. He also forbids me to carry a purse. Yeah, there's a lot of rules! The evening was a LOT of walking (note my flat sandals) from the parking garage to the different restaurants and back, all before it got dark. But, it was four hours of great fun and I made him take this photo of me at the end of the night at Tower City.

A few days later, my friends took me to another new-to-me spot for lunch. Merwin's Wharf on the East Bank of the Flats. We lucked out with a beautiful day! All in all, it was a fantabulous birthday!

What do you like to do for your birthday?