PDX Christmas - Viewing obstacles

My knowing about Maddax Woods, and wanting to go to Peacock Lane because of a photo of a peacock, and wanting to go to the Grotto because of the trees -- all of that came from one Oregonian feature:

http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/11/the_10_best_holiday_light_disp.html

(The pictures online do not match the pictures that were in print, which I was searching online for peacock pictures and found yet another illuminated peacock.)

 The feature nonetheless raised other ambitions, and in some ways led me astray.

That is not only the paper's fault. Something else came from a sense of urgency expressed by my sisters for seeing some things, as life seems so much less stable now. I found I wanted to see them all, and some were certainly not possible (I was sure I was not going to make it to Silverton or Colton), but at least wanted to see what I could do. Then there were issues with inclement weather, human frailty, and also wrong information in the paper.

The first snag was in a plan to go see the Miracle of the Million Lights at the Victorian Belle. My error was in planning to go with other people.

The mansion is easily accessible on the Yellow Line MAX. There is not much room for parking. (We had noticed this last year, stopping on the way home from Portland International Raceway.)

There was some effort to find a ride, which indicated a reluctance to ride the train. (Not everyone is as content with public transportation as I.) Knowing that they had made many visits to Oregon City, I suggested that we go to the Christmas Fantasy Trail at Wenzel Farm instead. The only problem is that we did this on a Sunday night, and they are closed Sundays.

http://www.fantasytrail.com/

Well, I say the "only problem", but it had at least a co-problem in that the Oregonian feature said they were open nightly. That was a long way to drive for nothing, and a waste of valuable time.

I saw neither the trail nor the mansion this year.

I knew I could make it to the Grotto and the Lane on my own, but the first night I had free was one with a refreeze that made the sidewalks very dangerous. It was good that I turned around after getting off the final bus, because the Grotto had closed due to the weather anyway, but that was four hours on public transportation for nothing again.

There is no doubt a valuable lesson here about verifying information and considering weather conditions before you go, though in some ways my lesson felt like it should be more trust no one and get a car, but I did still see some things. We did make it to Maddax Woods, and that would not have been possible practical on the bus. Some plans work out, but there are no guarantees.

Perhaps the greatest failure was not making it to Storybook Lane in Forest Grove, which is only open every other year. Things like that should be considered when priorities are set.

On the plus side, I seem to have found the story behind this display:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/12/300_santa_clones_take_over_a_p.html

And I did see some things I wanted. It could have been much worse.

Next year I'm going to start earlier and be much more aggressive.