Oregon Trip Trifecta

I was so impressed by the public transportation options in Portland! I was dropped off at the Oregon Zoo in Washington Park and after spending a few hours with the animals (here's a baby elephant), I decided to hop on the Trimet (train) to downtown. There's an option from Washington Park to hike a couple of miles and than hop on an Aerial Tram down to a Trolley and than into downtown.

http://library.oregonmetro.gov/files/trailtramtrolleytrain.pdf

Now, I was thinking of taking on this adventure but the clouds were looking a little dark and after spending several days in the rain decided I would rather be in the midst of downtown if it rained than in the middle of another hike. So I got on the Trimet and after a ten minute ride I was downtown. Since I wasn't exactly sure where I would get off, I decided to eye-ball the stops until they looked promising. When I saw a Nordstrom store, I decided it was probably safe to get off the train! To my surprise...even more exciting than Nordstrom..I found the Monday Farmers Market! And I was just in time..with only 45 minutes until it closed, I ordered some quinua from a local stand and an oatmeal cookie. I sat and enjoyed the sight of people purchasing locally farmed goods in the midst of the booming city.

I walked through the city and noticed that some of the bus-stops had plasma flat-screen televisions telling me when the next bus would arrive. The trains had the same deal!
The buses had bike racks on them and the Trains had special bike designated areas to hang your bike! How cool!

After meandering around the city for several hours, I got back on the train for the airport. I noticed a gentleman seated in front of me working on his computer...minutes later he put his bike helmet on, grabbed his bike that was hanging up behind me and off he went into the universe. By Bike, Trolley, Train, Tram or Bus...Portland is doing it!

Now, Madison has a great bus system..though a little difficult to figure out but I'm excited to see if Madison will ever incorporate some more options for public transportation. It seems that in our society of instant gratification, unless it's fast and easy, nobody want's anything to do with it. I've heard many people say "if I have to get on a bus that will take me further away from my destination, just to get on another bus to get to where I need to be.. it's just not happening". As much as I want to say that I would raise my voice and say "I would", I know that I wouldn't either...well maybe if we had the time..right!?

More public transportation options in Madison could make things faster and easier for us! However, I won't hold my breath..just yet.