Portland OR, 2013: Portland, OR visit

We visited Paul, Luke and Jack in Portland, OR. These are some of the pictures we took during the trip. They are displayed here in no particular order.

Sue in the Tea House in the Chinese Garden. Sue had Ginger Lemon Tea. She thought it was delicious. I had Golden Monkey tea, and it was very good. You can also order Dim-Sum and noodles.

Luke in front of the ball field, before the game. They won the game.

We visited OMSI (Oregan Museum of Science and Industry), very much like the Boston Museum of Science. Outside on the boardwalk, I took this picture with Portland city for a background. In the river, there is a submarine, the USS 581. This was the last non-nuclear submarine built in the U.S. Commissioned in 1959, it was in service until 1990.

On our last day in Portland, we visited the Pittock Mansion. Henry Pittock, publisher and owner of the Oregonian, the Portland newspaper, built this house, a 22-room mansion on 46 acres of land, on top of a hill overlooking Portland city, and Mount Hood in the background. This is a 'period' house, as our guide explained, one with rooms furnished with different period styles. The library was Elizabethan, the dinning room is French Revolution, the smoking room Turkish, etc.The city took over the building after it was deserted, rain damaged, and dilapidated, The city did a very good job of reviving the building and the surrounding grounds, although most of the original furniture were gone. The current furniture were donated pieces.

On the way to the Pittock Mansion, we stopped at the Old Church, also known as The Calvary PresbyterianpThe Calvary Presbyterian Church Church. This is the oldest church in Portland, build in 1883, at a cost of $36,000. Inside the church there is a pipe organ behind the altar. It was transported from San Francisco in ox-carts and restored in the church. The church can seat 400 people, and some of the seats are curved around the altar.

Jack was hit on the left knee while playing baseball. He is resting with an ice pack on his knee. He has done very well in the team.

On our first morning in Portland, Paul recommended we go to this restaurant called Besaw. It was the best breakfast we had on the trip. I had a Farmer's Hash that was made from pulled briskets fried with potatoes and baked garlic. Paula had bacon and eggs. Sue praised her selection, something called Croque Madam - a thick ham sandwich with some kind of sauce. The coffee was strong and good, and the waiter constantly filled our cups. It was a very memorable breakfast.

On the second morning, we went to Biscuits, also very nice for breakfast. Paula selected items on a list - eggs, bacon, etc. Sue had a Honey Walnut french toast. I had the eggs and sausage. Good food.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the Long Bottom, which refers to a kind of sail boat with long bottoms, used to transport coffee beans to the States. The Long Bottom is a coffee bean factory, which roast their own beans. It smelled so heavenly when we drove up to the restaurant.

In the China Garden. The two-storied house in the background is the Tea House. We had Dim Sum on the second floor. Downstairs, there is an old Chinese man playing flute. We could not hear it, but as we leave the restaurant, we stepped downstairs, and the flute started playing "Edelweiss". An old Chinese man playing a German folk song with a Chinese flute. How unusual! And, more remarkable, this is the song I sang to Paula on our wedding reception. We were just talking about how many years we have been married, and on the way out, we hear this song. Very nice coincidence.

Visiting Paul. In the kitchen that Paul has remodeled. He put in the island, with marble top. The stove has a griddle. I love the griddle. I used to make pancakes for the children using my griddle. Paul also put in all the recessed lights and drop lights. The picture window over the kitchen sink overlooks the tee-off spot of the golf club. You can walk out the gate in the yard and start playing golf. The ninth hold also ends right here, so you can come home, or continue on for 18 holes.

The boat house (not in the Western sense, a house for launching boats) is a house built to give you a feeling on being on the water. Writers and poets like to feel they are sailing over calm waters while writing poems and essays. Paula is sitting on the side of the pond that has some very large coys. The guide said they lose coys to the eagles which swoops down and catches the fish. In the garden, Paula was attacked by a bird, and had some scratches on her head.

Sue and Paula enjoy the flowers in the China Garden. Portland, OR is a sister city of Soo Chow of the Szechuan province. As a token of their relationship, the Garden was built by Chinese craftsmen in Soo Chow and transported to Portland and put together in 2000. The design was done by architects in China, and all the calligraphy and silk pictures were done in China. The name of the garden is Soo Lan Yuan, or Soo Lan Garden. Soo is taken from Soo Chow, and Lan is the ending sound for Portland, in Chinese.

The Boat House. Inside the house is a tranquil room with writing papers and ink. A video plays continually showing the scenes of the garden.

Paula and Sue with the Boat House in the background. Both Paula and Sue were wearing purple sweat jackets, obviously they read a memo.

Paula and Sue in a deep philosophical discussion. The garden has more than 400 different species of flowers and trees. There are some Bonzai plants as well, but since this is Chinese, it is called "Peng Chong", or Pot grown. The miniature landscape really gives a feeling you are in forest, if you stare at it for a while. The roof tiles are interesting as well/ They end up in inverted triangle tiles, which channel the rain in parallel streams onto the ground, hitting the ground tiles or plants, giving musical notes during a downpour.

The ground tiles are designed with various Ying Yang designs, alternating in shapes and colors, to present a harmony in color and shapes.

Another view of the Tea House. They serve tea downstairs as well.

Sue in a pensive mood.

Paula framed in the moon gate to the Garden of Studies.The Garden of Studies is deep inside the Garden, obstructing sounds from the outside, and thus a good place to read and reflect.The garden also has a few plum trees, which blossoms in the Winter and gives out a nice fragrance.

This is the front gate of the Chinese Garden. The three characters on the top says Soo Lan Yuan, or Soo Lan Garden. A tourist saw me with my camera, and was kind enough to suggest he take a picture for me and Paula.

We went to see Luke playing ball. Sitting behind the fence, I can only take pictures through the fence. Here he is waiting for his turn to bat. He is a very good player.

It rained during the game, and we were protected with rain gears, and a huge umbrella. The locals are so used to the rain, they just sat there without any rain gears.

Paula thought this chair in the hotel room was the most comfortable chair ever.She actually fell asleep on it. We stayed at the Extended Stay hotel in Beaverton, on Eider Court (road). There is another one nearby, on Cornell Road. We get a small kitchen with utensils and a refrigerator.We bought milk, cereals, coffee, noodles, and made good use of the kitchen facility.

Luke, relaxing on the couch and watching TV, while playing a video game on his iPhone.

We had a cake for Paul's birthday, and we sang Happy Birthday to Paul. Paul wants to know if it is an ice-cream cake, but no, it was a chocolate cake with white cream and frosting.