Photo Friday: My Birthday Weekend In the Middle Of Nowhere

I had the most wonderful birthday weekend, despite saying, “We’re in the middle of nowhere!” the entire time. This post is photo heavy. Please share in my celebration:

First stop was the Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio. It opened on July 20, 1972, exactly three years after Apollo 11 landed on the moon. The design was to resemble a futuristic moon base. I remember visiting with my parents not long after it opened, so it was fun to go back. If you've never heard of Wapakoneta, it's because it's in the middle of nowhere.

Neil Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta in 1930. He fell in love with planes as a young boy and received his pilot license even before his driver's license at age 16. After graduating from Purdue and serving in the military, he joined NASA in 1962. Armstrong was the first man to step foot on the moon, announcing "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

One of his missions was on the failed Gemini VIII. This is the actual module. A docent spent a LOT of time giving us the details of the docking with the Agena, the damaged thrusters, the undocking, the rotation (once per second), and the landing in the Pacific Ocean. You're welcome for me not going into more details than this! I was horrified just thinking about it, while having everything pointed out with a flashlight into the module.
 

One of the most interesting things in a space museum is seeing the dehydrated food. If you look on the left side, that stick in the middle is a Pillsbury Space Stick. Who else ate those as a kid in the '70's??

A re-creation of Armstrong's space suit (the real one is at the Smithsonian). 

This was fascinating to me: a cheat sheet on his arm so he wouldn't forget what to do on the moon!

The Apollo 11 Moon Rock

Hallway to the Astro Theatre to watch the 30-minute film, featuring footage of the moon landing, etc. In total, we spent two hours at the museum.

Then we drove through the center of town to see an Armstrong statue and the Helmet sculpture.

Next on the agenda was lunch at Austeria in Sidney, Ohio. I found this hidden gem online and the excellent reviews were spot on. It's a wine boutique with plenty of food options.

There's nothing I enjoy more than a wine flight and charcuterie board. I highly recommend the Domaine Rolet Cremant Du Jura, if anyone cares!

Afterwards, we walked around the town square. We always appreciate the architecture of an old courthouse in a small town.

Then we were on to our final destination of the day, Hotel Versailles in Versailles, Ohio. Also known as the middle of nowhere! For those familiar with the state, it is about one hour north of Dayton. My husband had read an article about the boutique hotel on cleveland.com and thought it would be a unique place to stay if we were ever in the area. We were! The landmark has a 150-year history and was recently renovated into its current transformation of 30 rooms.

After checking in, we strolled around town.

All of the statues were charming!

Statue of Monet across the street from the hotel.

Afterwards, we showered, got dressed up, and headed down to their chef-driven, sustainably sourced restaurant, which comprises the ground floor of the hotel. This was the view from our booth at Silas Creative Kitchen.

As the name suggests, the dishes are artistically created. To start, we shared the Thai Crab Salad: heron point crab, avocado, green apple, cucumber, pickled carrot, mint, basil, cilantro, crispy shallot, toasted coconut, Thai vinaigrette, with chili oil on the side. AMAZING!

For my entree, I had the Snake River Farm Wagyu Short Ribs: Israeli hummus, local arugula, Bulgarian feta, house pickles, grilled focaccia. The beef was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the accoutrements were just as good.
 

For dessert, we split the Coffee Creme Brule, topped with homemade chocolate ice cream and orange meringue. It was the perfect ending to a fabulous birthday dinner! The next morning, we headed back down for the breakfast buffet. Then it was time to check out and hit the road.

We took the long way home, passing through bucolic towns where the only sights to see were farms and churches. It was the perfect backdrop for listening to Sirius XM's Yacht Rock Channel.

What we did not expect to see was a massive lake in the middle of nowhere! This is Grand Lake Saint Mary's in Celina, Ohio. A great spot to stretch our legs.

Our trip wasn't over yet. When planning, I noticed that on the way home, we'd be near the grave sites of some of my ancestors. Thanks to findagrave.com, I was able to see photos of my maternal great grandparents' grave. Finding the actual cemetery was challenging, as there wasn't an exact address. I only knew it was on Twp. Rd. 115.  We found it! And it was so small, there was no trouble finding the actual grave. That particular great grandfather's ancestors came over from England in the 1650's.

Our last stop was easier to find, as I'd been there twice before; my maternal grandparents' grave. They died in 1977 and 1987, so those were the only times I'd been there. Through my genealogy research, I discovered that my grandmother's grandparents were also buried in the same cemetery, so they would be my great great grandparents. No one ever bothered to mention that to me, so I don't know if my mother never knew or what? Thankfully, at the entrance there was a huge notebook listing last names and section numbers of the graves, so we found all the gravestones quite easily. My husband kindly took lots of photos of me with my ancestors' stones for me to add to my genealogy books.

Five Star Birthday Weekend!

What part would have been your favorite? What do you like to do for your birthday?