April 6, 2002
That stretch of gorgeous weather we had really woke things up around here. All the trees are flowering and getting green, and the tulips in the yard are just about to make a run for it.
We took advantage of the sunshine and did some exploring. Last weekend we finally hopped on the Max and went downtown to Pioneer Courthouse Square, commonly referred to as Portland's living room. After a brief stroll, we wound up in the Discovery store in Pioneer Place, looking for Steve Irwin dolls, to no avail.
Riding the Max was a truly pleasant experience. We parked our car at the transit center on 185th in Beaverton, a clean, spacious location with dozens and dozens of beautiful flowering trees. We purchased our tickets from a digital vending machine, and waited beside the tracks, commenting to each other about the complete lack of graffiti and litter. When the Max pulled up, we boarded and claimed seats in the back. The interior was a spotless as the exterior; the seats had cloth on them, and a digital display announced the stops as we went along. In addition to the display, a clear, pleasant, easily-understood recording alerted riders to upcoming stops, and indicated which doors would be opening. The messages were then repeated a second time in Spanish. The passengers sat quiety, reading, listening to headphones, watching the greenery roll by outside the windows. In other words, all this means is it's NOTHING like riding the L in Chicago! Charming and pleasant, it still seemed to be lacking in the L's character and substance. Of course, the L has about 80 years on the Max, so perhaps I'm being unfair! |
