Franklin Adventures: Day 19 July 01 2010

Well this was our last full day in the Portland, Oregon area. We have certainly not been disappointed, everything has been wonderful to see. We had a full day and the weather almost co-operated we finally had some drizzle on the way to the mansion and it did feel cold. The Japanese Gardens had such wonderful plants and trees and so very peaceful. The rose gradens took your breath away and we did not cover all of it just so many different types to see. The War Memorial was quite moving and made you stop and be thankful for what we do have in this great country. The mansion was really beautiful and to think they wanted to condemn it and tear it down. Had it not been for the people of Portland coming together and raising the money
$225,000 to purchase it, it would not be standing today. The city did pay for all the restoration of it.
Quite impressive. Well we will head out tomorrow for Washington State.

An old building in downtown Portland, I just thought it was a cool building. Nothing special.

The Japanese Garden we visited.

The street entrance.

Once we entered, this is what we saw.

Pretty tree in bloom.

The sand is manicured.

A bamboo fountain flowing into a bowl.

See the next picture for an explanation. #9 info.

Sand and Stone Garden info.

Hello, it's me.

Nice creek flowing thru the garden.

So nice here. Very peaceful.

Another water fall here.

A close up of one of many Irises. This one is about 4 inches across.

A little water fall in the garden.

It is us again. And we did not have to travel to Japan.

Cute bridge over some flowing water.

A great picture of some of the garden.

Although there is some repairs made to these doors and frame, they are from a garden in Japan and are at least 100 years old.

Information. The nest place we visited today.

The entrance to the Rose Garden.

WOW. It wowed me.

Nice plaque in the Rose Garden.

The "Funkuhr Hybrid Tea Rose".

Very beautiful rose.

The "Voodoo" Rose.

Almost looks like the petals are glowing on the ends with gold.

A friend is watching us. Must be in security.

"Strike It Rich" I wished.

As close as I can, I guess.

The Easy Does It Rose.

What a bundle of roses in a bunch.

Another overall view of part of the roses.

Here we are again. I never promissed her a rose garden, but here it is. Just a day late.

Octoberfest Roses next three pics.

Look how tall they are.

Simply great roses.

The Reba McEntire Rose. The next two pics.

Thanks Reba.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Portland OR.

God Bless all of them.

Our tour of the Pittock Mansion today.

The Mansion.

On a clear day you can see Mt. Hood from here.

The main front door they hardly ever used.

Check out all the plaster work that was done by hand carving for the molds. real craftsmen back then.

This is a three story staircase and the hand rails are made of Cherry Wood.

The music room. The tour guide asked if anyone knew how to play the piano they could play, however noone in our group knew how.

The inside dome of the entryway.

The floor in this roon was made from 1" X 4" lumber stacked on edge and no nails were used to fasten them together.

Some of the stoneware dishes used to serve their meals on.

Where the meals were prepared. Notice the flooring.

This stove was donated by a family and restored by a man that did not do restoration for a living.

Some of the original flooring that was found covered by added flooring over the years. It was taken to a flooring company and they were able to reproduce this to make new flooring as part of the restoration of the mansion. It is made into puzzle pieces.

This house had all the bells and whistles when it was built. A intercom system, servants delivery service alarm and a security system. Cry your heart out Bill Gates.