the best birthday EVER (long post!)

My goodness!! I am married to a good man! I live for surprises and thankfully Kent is both aware and consenting to my never ending insistence for them. I love not knowing what he's getting me for Christmas and birthdays. I love when he plans things unbeknownst to me! I love waiting for something great, but not knowing quite what I am waiting for! It really isn't fair since it means I oftentimes have some preconcieved notion or expectation, but with Kent, the best husband ever, I am rarely left despondent :) This birthday was no exception in his fabulous track record!

Last night we went and picked up dinner and then kept driving! I had NO idea what he had in store. I had searched online for any and all events occuring in Toledo March 21st and couldn't find anything that started after seven thirty where we could eat our dinner! The mini blizzard started up at about 7:30 so I knew we wouldn't be outside either. After about fifteen minutes of driving we ended up in Toledo's "Old West End". It's this neighborhood brimming with amazing old houses and buildings. I was simply enjoying the drive when we approached a ginormous mansion. I commented to Kent about how stunning it was and, voila, we pulled into it's drive. It was the "Mansion View" bed and breakfast! When we left Zeb with the neighbors, Kent had told them we'd be back in two hours-obviously a pre-planned deception.This place is astounding. And don't you love that it snowed that much just for me? We were the ONLY guests for the evening! We had the entire place to ourselves. The caretakers are the nicest people EVER and let us roam all over and look at everything. We got to watch movies and eat snacks in "sitting room". The bedrooms were really intense! Thank heavens Kent got to choose the least flowery and least pink (also the least expensive) room for me :) We slept quite well besides the fact that I woke up a few times in the night thinking that I heard Zeb crying!!
The woodwork was so intricate. The house was built in the late 1800s and was known as the finest house in Toledo. Many famous Toledoans lived in it and it's always been taken care of very well. Most of the exterior and interior work is original. We would highly recomend this Toledo jewel to EVERYBODY! It's definitely on the list of places to go while you live/visit here.













The best parts of the adventure were definitely the hosts and the breakfast. The hosts, Don and Brenda, live there as volunteers--the building is a non-profit historical site (perhaps why the pricing was so decent). They were such pleasant people. They sat and chatted with us after our breakfast. Brenda is an astounding cook. The breakfast was delectable. Since we don't do coffee or tea they made us the most delicous hot chocolate from melted Ghiradelli squares. It was so rich and good. We had parfait with fresh raspberries and bluberries and then omelets with asparagus, accompanied by more fresh fruit and hashbrowns and bacon.









Definitely a fabulous and unforgettable birthday surprise! Thanks Ralph. And apparently Zeb was wonderful last night! The Dockters may have exagerrated a bit about his behavior, but it was relieving to know he didn't drive them bonkers! --thanks so much guys!