Have a little patience... Liz.

Needed some quiet time so after stocking up, it was off to Pittock Mansion & Washington Park - both offered potentially quiet hiking and nice views of the city. Definitely what was needed after yesterday's noisiness. Getting there, however was likely to be something of a challenge. First the metro to town, short walk to the No 20 bus stop. Then make sure we got off at the bottom of the road up the hill to the mansion. There then should be a shuttle bus waiting to take us up. Simples. Except the first 20 bus didn't go the route we wanted. Had to wait. Eventually the requisite bus arrived but the driver wasn't having us get on till some old codger moved his zimmer frame. The driver gave up. Google maps got us to the correct stop & the driver confirmed the existance of a shuttle - it just wasn't there. The simple fact was that the mansion was just half a mile up hill. Couldn't take too long by foot. Gave it 5 mins & on the 5th up it rolled. The driver gave us all the speil about the house - ultra modern for it's day - central heating and vacuum. At the end she offered the opportunity for questions - what is central vacuum - errr. Never mind - off to enjoy the view. Thankfully the skies had cleared somewhat. Mr Pittock had chosen a good spec. Weren't too interested in the building itself. Decided to walk down rather than get the shuttle - very nice & at the bottom rather than relying on the bus into town we decided to hike the wild wood trail to our first stop the Japanese Garden. Didn't look too far. In the end it was because there was something of a detour to the arboretum visitor centre. Some very big trees and peaceful surroundings. Had a little walk up to a viewing point and then continued our way to the Japanese Garden.Read more