Light Rail!

the light rail has finally come to seattle! yesterday was opening day, and we were among 45,000 people that came out to take the first trip. it was comfortable, air conditioned, smooth, and far faster than my regular bus route. i am very excited to start riding it home from work everyday. the first leg of the Link starts at westlake center and goes to university street, pioneer square, the stadiums, the international district, beacon hill, columbia city, and on to tukwila, along with a few other stops in between. at the end of the year it will connect to the airport, which will be very convenient indeed. here is a photo of the local beacon hill station:

This is the entrance, though the beacon hill station itself is actually underground, in what is now the deepest excavated tunnel in the US. i think it's 16 stories down or some such thing. Here are some photos of the area underground, and the spacey art everywhere:

here is a picture of elvis on a unicycle entertaining the crowds of people waiting to board the train at the westlake center station:

the trains run every 7 minutes during peak hours, and every 10-15 minutes during non-peak hours, 20 hours per day, everyday.

it's hard to believe that seattle is finally becoming a city with some real mass transit. i am looking forward to the day the capitol hill and u district stations open, among others. the construction has already begun!

also, there is a rooster living in our alley. usually he struts his stuff and cockadoodle doos in plain site, but he ran in the bushes when i tried to take his photo: