Overnight at the Oregon Garden

 March 25, 2013 

Josh and I took advantage of Spring Break by going off on an overnight date to the Oregon Garden Resort.

Mom graciously offered to watch the boys for us.  

Interesting views and beautiful views along the way.
(Yes, that is a van decorated with Barbies.) 

Arriving at the Oregon Garden Resort.

While strolling through the gardens, we witnessed a snake eating a frog.  Slowly eating...

 We toured the Gordon House, which resides on the property at the Oregon Gardens.  

It is the only home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Oregon.  We love his clean designs and use of space.

Interesting tour.

 Josh and I love the detailing and designs within the home.

 Especially these gorgeous sets of full length glass doors along both sides of the living room, allowing for the room to be opened up to the outdoors in the summer.

 He was very clever in his use of space. 

I love the built-in shelves throughout the home and storage behind the built-in couch.

 Frank believed utility areas should be small.

This kitchen is definitely small, but bright and functional.

 You can see this 15 degree angle design throughout.

 Mrs. Gordon liked to weave, so this spot was designed at the top of the stairs specially for her loom.

The upstairs bathroom and hallway.

Love the built-in cupboards along the hall.

If we build or remodel another home, I would love to do this.

 The porch off one of the upstairs rooms.

Love how the doors open up at the corner.

One of the upstairs room, designed for the children.  

Both of the upstairs rooms have built-in desks and shelves. 

 L: The stairway and R: the window in the master bath.

The living room and the view of the master bedroom.

For the purpose of the tour, the chairs are set up in the master for a video presentation.  But I love the built-in dressers on either side of where the bed would go.

The interesting and amazing thing is that this house was dismantled and moved from it's original location and rebuilt at the Oregon Garden Resort.  They moved the entire upstairs in one piece on a huge flat bed truck at 4 miles per hour.  Hard to imagine, as this was not a mobile home.

 The following day, at the suggestion of our tour guide at the Gordon House, we stopped by Mt. Angel Abbey to check out the architecture and see the library.

 Their library is beautiful and reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time together, just the two of us.  And if you ever come across the Oregon Garden resort's advertised $99 special (Which occurs periodically) it's definitely worth it!  I don't usually talk about money spent on our blog, but the $99 includes your room for the night, admission to the Oregon Gardens, dinner for 2 at the Garden View Restaurant and breakfast for 2 the next morning. Plus you get a discount at the Gordon House.  

Considering the costs...

Admission to Gardens is regularly $11/per adult

You get $2 off/per person on the admission to Gordon House

At dinner, Josh and I had steak dinners = Cost $25 each

Plus Josh had a cup of soup for $3 and I had a salad for $6

The food was really good too!

And breakfast the next morning is normally $8 each

...Add that all up and it basically totals the cost of our room.  Great deal!  Fun date! 

Thanks Mom for watching the boys!