Byron and Karen and kids were in San Francisco for a week. We met up and went to San Jose to go to the Winchester Mystery House. I was super excited.
We had a little bit of time to kill before our tour, so we wandered the grounds.
To the left is the Fruit Drying shed and to the right is the Foreman's house.
The Central Gardens. Did I mention it was really hot? Like...in the 90's hot.
We got someone to take our photo. Aren't we cute?
More of the Central Gardens.
The grand property is totally surrounded by city.
There's a huge shopping center across from the front door.
A second floor door that goes nowhere.
A guide to Victorian Architecture.
These front doors cost $3,000.
The front of the Mystery House. I enjoy Dan's and the kids' poses.
I was trying to see if anything was in the bowl. There wasn't.
It was about time for our tour, so we headed back to the entrance. No photos were allowed inside. The house was interesting, but it was hot and stuffy. Also, many of the things that the staff tell you about the house aren't exactly true. Surprise, surprise. One of the biggest is that Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, built the house to have stairways and doorways that lead to nowhere to keep the ghosts of those killed by the Winchester rifle from getting to her. What's more likely, is that the house used to be seven stories tall, but when the earthquake hit in 1906, much of the massive house toppled and was never rebuilt. Hence stairs and doors going nowhere. They used to go somewhere, but now they don't. Anyway, I have now been to the Winchester Mystery House.
This concludes our adventures for today.
