ROB'S 50TH BIRTHDAY WEEK

Rob had his big 50 and we took a week off to celebrate!

Rob and I had the week of September 15th off work. We usually try to take this week off for vacation, but this year it was a little more special. Rob had a milestone birthday, and I wanted to make it memorable.

On the morning of Saturday, September 14th he was presented with a letter. This letter let him know that we weren't only celebrating his birth "day", but his birth "week", and everyday we were on vacation, during his morning coffee, he would be given a gift.
First gift of his birthday week, a raptor encounter at Mountsberg Conservation Area.

Rob enjoying some one on one time with Octavius at Mountsberg. 

Sunday Sept. 15th, his actually birthday was a pretty busy one. We met our friends at Black Angus Steak House for a delicious brunch. His parents and niece came over in the afternoon for birthday cake. And that evening I had set up a bit of a surprise. There was a WWE pay-per view on that evening, and our plan was to watch it. What he didn't know is that I had invited some friends over during the wrestling event. He was quite surprised when friends started showing up on a Sunday evening!

Black Forest, his favorite. 

Monday and Tuesday were mainly spent at home. We did run a few errands, and had a lovely dinner at a new favorite restaurant, Toast On Bloor, Tuesday evening. 

We enjoy our quiet days at home and the wildlife that visit our backyard.

Wednesday we finally used one of Rob's Xmas gifts. I had bought him a gift certificate for a VIP tour of Soper Creek Wildlife Rescue.  This visit deserves a blog of its own, so not going into details about our visit here.

Rob with one of the educational animals, an opossum.

We decided to make an overnight of this outing, and stayed in the beautiful little town of Coburg which was only another 40 minutes away. We stayed at Woodlawn Inn and I know this won't be our last visit there. Lovely, large room, big comfortable bed, and a delicious 5 star quality food in the dining room.

Woodlawn Inn

After breakfast and a morning walk we headed back to Toronto.

I lost count of how many Monarch Butterflies we saw, they were everywhere!

We had a beautiful morning walk before heading home.

We did have one stop in mind on our way home, Deadly Grounds Coffee cafe in Oshawa. We had tried their coffee at Fan Expo this year and loved it. When I found out they had a horror themed cafe, I knew we'd be checking it out eventually. It will be a regular stop when out that way.

Product available inside the cafe. We both enjoyed a coffee while there.

Purchases from our visit to Coburg and Deadly Grounds. 

Friday we joined friends for breakfast at Toast on Bloor and ran some errands.

Skunks are regular visitors the entire month of September, but Rob enjoyed having the extra time to take pics.

Saturday we met friends for an early dinner at Cactus Club at Sherway, and celebrate 3 September birthdays!

We had a new yard bird on Saturday, Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Sunday was mainly spent at home as Merry had her annual check-up, and because we have to medicate them for appointments we like to be home to keep an eye on them.

Rob with Merry on his birthday.

It was a fantastic week for us both!

I had friends ask what the daily gifts were, so here is the list:

Saturday- Raptor Encounter at Mountsberg.
Sunday- Bottle of JD and a comedic book about being 50.
Monday- Bulk Barn gift card and a bag of his favorite chocolate from there.
Tuesday- Body wash and new body sponge.
Wednesday- Raccoon T-shirt.
Thursday- Tim Horton's gift card.
Friday- Breakfast at Toast on Bloor.
Saturday- Bottle of  Salted Caramel liquor from Coldstream Clear in Nova Scotia.
Sunday- OLG scratch tickets- Pack of Classic Xtra.

Next to the JD, I think this Tee was his favorite gift.