Vista House & Pittock Mansion

Once upon a time I dreaded going to Portland because the roads are secretly a vortex in which getting lost is but a fact of life. Thankfully, between using Yahoo maps for directions and having a map of Portland, we no longer get caught up in the mighty grip of the vortex. (I could wax poetic how many times we've circled around the town trying to get back onto the freeway.)

Now that navigating through Portland has been conquered, or at least tamed, all fear and anxiety that I once had has been quelled and I can enjoy the attractions the area has to offer.

We visited two such sites yesterday. First was Vista House. It is located about 25 miles east of town in the scenic Columbia River Gorge. Second was Pittock Mansion located about two miles south out of the downtown.

Vista House

Offering a stunning view of the Columbia River Gorge, the Vista House is a unique scenic outlook worth stopping at. The building itself doesn't offer much more than some local history and a chance to buy souvenirs and a photo op.

I think it would be cool to visit the outlook at twilight and see the sun set in the west making everything have a reddish hue to it.

Not far from the Vista House, about 10 miles east, are the famous Multnomah Falls. One of these days I want to go to the falls and eat at the lodge. The menu looks good for lunch.

Pittock Mansion

The mansion was built by a former publisher of the Oregonian newspaper. Construction began around 1909 and completed in about 1914. Local sandstone was quarried in Tenino. However, the main floor was made of beautiful marble and had a marble staircase. Such use of marble and stone would cost a great deal for any modern-day mansion.

The house had many modern conveniences for the time, such as an intercom system, temperature controlled bathtubs and shower. It had a walk-in refrigerator and walk-in pantry. There were three different rooms to dine in: a breakfast dining room, formal dining room, and everyday dining room.

Adding to the beauty of the interior is that many of the rooms had panoramic views of downtown Portland, plus stunning views of Mt. St. Helens (the side that didn't blow away), Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood. The photo on this page shows the view of Mt. Hood from the grounds of the mansion.

Mr. and Mrs. Pittock had their own separate bedrooms, walk-in closets and bathrooms. Mr. Pittock's personal bathroom had a wrap-around shower that sprayed water virtually from head-to-toe. He also had a sitz bath that looked like an over-grown bidet. His bathroom was almost as large as his bedroom.

Interesting features to the house were sleeping porches. On both sides of the house there were enclosed areas in which to sleep with plenty of open windows. An oval music room featured a huge picture window with a stunning view of the mountains.

The house was so large that it had two of its own houses! One served as the gate house and was residence of the mansion caretaker and his family. The second "house" was actually the garage which served as the butler's quarters above the garage.

The mansion was almost demolished in the 1960s by developers interested in acquiring the property to turn the land into housing developments. The mansion was rescued by interested citizens of Portland and it was purchased for $225,000 in 1962. It was restored and opened to the public in 1965.

Semi-Annual Visit to Powells Books

It always takes a chunk out of our budget when we make a visit to Powells Books. The building is 4 floors and consumes an entire city block.

I was able to procure some titles from my reading wishlist so that I can keep up with my 50 book challenge for the year. One book that I was surprised to find was a new one by Kevin Todeschi called Family Karma: The Real Ties That Bind. I have a couple of his other books and have immensely enjoyed them and found them to be extremely helpful to me. It would seem that the laws of attraction were at play regarding me finding this book, because I recently have become aware of how some issues and patterns are a source of "issue for me to work on" in regard to my relationship with my mother.

I only wish that Cayce were still alive today as I would no doubt request readings from him. I can sense the past incarnations I've had with members of my family, only I have this vague sense and nothing detailed enough that would help. I suppose that having details isn't extremely important, but that just sensing and knowing that there are karmic relationships and issues to work on is good enough.

One thing that I find interesting are the Biblical interpretations that Cayce provided during his readings. The passge from Galatians 6:7, "a man reaps what he sows" can be construed to relate to one's karma. Karma is a pattern, an impulse in how we choose to act. Cayce reminds us that free will overrides karmic influences. Through grace we can transcend our karma—which was demonstrated most notable through the life of Jesus.

We didn't spend that much time just browsing in Powells because it was crammed with a lot of shoppers. It is a store that I love to explore and find a good bargain waiting for me to find it.

Pear Vinegar Found

My original source for pear vinegar recently went out of business, but since Whole Foods is a block away from Powells I thought I'd stop in and see if they carry a decent replacement. It was meant for me to find: the lone bottle of pear vinegar was on the shelf. This variety looks better than the one I used to use. It contains some pear puree.

The vinegar is used in a chicken marinade that I've adapted from a recipe. I make a glaze for pear halves and grill them along with the chicken. I then top the grilled chicken and pears with gorgonzola cheese crumbles. However, since my stepmom can no longer enjoy the gorgonzola, I will try using feta cheese. The chicken goes nicely will grilled corn smoothered in snail butter.

Now I've made myself hungry. Hmmm. Grilled food!