Brad & Emily's Adventures on the Oregon Trail

I had a busy week at work, so this weekend was a welcome relief. Friday night was chill. We went to OM's seafood (again) and had our usual of crab (softshell this time) and other fish dishes. We took Kristina with us (Matt was in Chicago for the weekend tending on their rental property); I owed her a dinner for taking care of Em on Wednesday night when I had to work late (Matt & Kristina were gracious enough to pick up Em and cook her dinner at their apt). It is nice to have such dependable friends! Afterwards, we hung out with our neighbors in the newly opened community room in our apt building (it has a shuffle board table, TV, couches, etc).

Saturday, Em and Kristina did girly stuff (nails, errands, etc) while I hit the slopes with a buddy from work. Afterwards we watched WallE.

Sunday, Em and I had a few hours to kill before going to the theatre to see "How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found", so we visited the Pittock mansion. It sits atop Forest Park at about 1000 ft above the city. Henry Pittock was a pioneer and newspaper publisher in the early 1900's. The mansion was completed in 1914 and boasts 30 rooms totalling 16,000 sq ft. Here are some pics from our tour of the mansion:

This is the view as you drive up to the main entrance.

front view

the main stairway is gorgeous

rosewood grand piano

intricate wood floors

This is the original floor tile in the kitchen. It is made up of puzzle piece-shaped tiles.

This is the restored version of the kitchen floor. The tiles match the original style very well.

range and oven

The refrigerator was very large for the time. In the floor below this room stood a compression pump to run the refrigerator cooling system. It compressed ammonia gas to provide cooling for the food storage. I hope they had good seals on the ammonia tank!

One of the telephone systems used. At that time, there was not a unified telephone system. Since the Pittocks were very wealthy and needed to be in touch with everyone, they had both phone systems in place. With this system, you called an operator who then connected you to your desired party on the other end.

The other phone system consisted of an 11-hole dialer to call your friends directly. Sure makes me appreciate my iPhone!

The mansion had an innovative innercom system. The residents could push a button in the room and this would activate a bell in the servants quarters with the room needing service indicated by the appropriate arrow turning to the up position. Pictured is the bell and arrow system.

The dumbwaiter was used for meals and tea (reminded me of Mom and Dad's dumbwaiter that is used to take the laundry upstairs).

This shower is better than most of us have nowadays. In addition to the normal overhead shower, it included several side nozzles (called "liver washers") and a badet washer that comes up from the floor. It has a small valve that allows the user to test the temperature of the water on the toes before turning it on to the rest of the shower heads. It even has a spout that dispenses shampoo. Eat your heart out Skymall!! If only it had monogrammed towels. ;)

footbath

As we were leaving, we saw a sweet classic Porsche parked in the lot. I'm guessing it is circa 1950's based on the bodystyle. Even though it is probably a few decades newer than what the Pittocks would have driven, it looked very much at home next to such a majestic mansion. They both exude a strong sense of timeless class and opulence that is lacking in modern designs.