Last night we had sushi at Wabi-Sabi and peeked in the window at the new Thai place next door - Spice Room 4909 Rainier Ave. S. Noticing us outside, the owner invited us in after hours. While I haven't yet had the food, the decor is well designed and comfortable feeling. On one side are tables that can groups up to six or so. On the other are normal restaurant tables with authentic thai back rests. Care was even taken to have the floor designed to match
the room - notice it.
If nothing else, Spice Room is a sign that our little Columbia City is getting all growns up.

Emerald City Improv is organizing a "No Pants Day" on the Seattle Link Light Rail. It happens this Sunday, January 10th between 12-3.  You can RSVP and learn more on their Facebook page .  The "No Pants" concept started with Improv Everywhere , an organization with the goal of creating scenes of chaos and joy. 

Here's a video from the New York No Pants Day of last year...

Yesterday was a big day for Link Light Rail, as the train finally reaches all the way to airport.  Previously, the rail ended at Tukwila, where travelers had to board a shuttle bus to get to the terminal. This last leg brings travelers next to the airport, where they will take a walkway to the terminal. The walkway is covered, but not insulated from the elements.

Seattle Transit Blog was on the scene for the opening day:

By all accounts, the opening of Airport Link was a success.  Dignitaries, politicians, members of the press, laborers, and those involved with the project were all on hand to christen the new station this morning.  Attendees were treated to refreshments and live music from the Highline High School jazz band.  After cutting the ribbon from the East entrance at the International Blvd skybridge, a speaking ceremony was held where all the important project people had words to say about the milestone, with Mayor Nickels emceeing.

Walkway to the Airport

Photo:

After breakfast at Geraldine's Counter we checked in on the renovation process at 4909 Rainer, which will be home to live/work lofts and two new restaurants. Wabi-Sabi, a sushi bar, and Spice Room, which will be a Thai place. These are two things I love to see coming.

Seafair, Seattle's annual summer celebration is underway and with it, parking headaches in neighborhoods along the lake, especially ones like our neighborhood of Mount Baker.  Each year, Mount Baker gets flooded with Seafair families all looking for a place to park for the day. 

While familes come from all around, I imagine at least some of the traffic could be handled by light rail.  It's actually a short walk from the Mount Baker Station to the north entrance of Seafair.  I created a walking map that shows the route:

Walk to Seafair

Beacon Hill blog has some other options for getting there from Othello and Columbia City.

King 5 News did a recent story on Columbia City's efforts to cater to light rail riders with the "Light Rail Sale." It's great to see the Columbia City community make efforts to turn the light rail stop into a valuable asset.  Columbia City has a lot going for it these days: a historic downtown community feel, a diverse and eclectic population and a growing number of businesses offering food, entertainment and services.  A couple of my favorites for food are Columbia City Ale House, now offering "Light Rail Golden Ale" and Geraldine's Counter for breakfast.  

I think Columbia City could become a model for what prosperity may come to communities the light rail touches.  I'm always reminded of the feeling of being in a new city feeling the need to get off the beaten track - to discover a neighborhood that is more local than tourist, to feel that you've explored a little.  This feeling isn't just tourists - I feel that way about my own city.  With the light rail in place, Columbia... (more)

I'm excited to learn about station-adjacent restaurants for all of the other stations, but King St. station has been well covered.  This is of course the International District, and a group of dedicated lunchers have been working on reviewing every restaurant near this station.  They've reviewed 85 restaurants so far, and each review is filled with pictures and example dishes. It's called the MSG150, and is well worth checking out.

David Brewster at Crosscut.com has written a list of 13 reasons why the light rail decision took forever.

The first efforts to build modern rail transit in the Seattle area began about 50 years ago. A comprehensive plan was defeated by voters three times (1968, 70, 95), and then a shortened, "starter" system was passed in 1996. That's the one, shortened even further to just 14 miles, that opened this past weekend to general civic jubilation and maybe just in time to elect Mayor Greg Nickels to a third term.

The perennial Seattle questions arise: What takes so long? Why should Seattle be the biggest laggard for rail transit of all large American cities? Is it just transit — long a bedeviled question in these parts — or is there a broader Seattle malaise? Here's a baker's dozen of answers, only some pertaining to the endless transit debate.

I was talking to a former city planner about this issue a while back and he said that in urban planning circles, there is something called the "Seattle Method,... (more)

By nearly all accounts, the opening weekend was a success.  Every train I saw was full, people were excited and the system worked well, for the most part.

However, yesterday couldn't help but wonder about this weekend being a missed opportunity for businesses that stand to benefit from the light rail.  At nearly every stop, there was space made near the station that usually involved a volunteer tent and a large parking lot of some sort.  These could be overflow areas for crowds, but I don't think so.

It looked to me like space was made for local businesses to partake in the festivities. Consider Tukwila's parking lot that had all of four lonely tents in the parking lot.

This weekend appeared to be an amazing opportunity for local businesses to be a part of the festivities.  I would expect them to be out in full force, offering food or at least samples, menus, etc. What better way to invite people to come back than to build awareness on a free ride day?

My questions:

• Did Sound Transit...

I just couldn't get enough of the light rail this weekend and it appears I wasn't alone. 92,000 people rode the rail on opening weekend according to Sound Transit. For now, here are a few more photos:

TRAIN SHOWING A LONG WEEKEND

MY VOTE FOR THE PERSON WITH THE MOST RAIL SPIRIT - HIGH FIVES ALL WEEKEND

DESCENDING TUKWILA

CLIMBING MOUNT BAKER

I REMEMBER TOO

WHISKEY SWILLERS OR FLEET FOXES?

The process was pretty user friendly, but I didn't really know what an
"e-purse" is. I put $10 on it with a credit card, so I'm hoping that
I'll essentially have a $10 credit for busses, trains and ferries.

Overall, we were really impressed. We boarded at the Mount Baker stop and rode south to Tukwila and then north to Westlake over a few hours. 

MOUNT BAKER STOP

We never waited more than 20 minutes and the trains seemed to operate smoothly the whole time.  Every stop had multiple volunteers and Sound Transit reps, handing out stickers and pamphlets. We saw multiple musicians playing, with 3-4 at Tukwila alone.

Speaking of Tukwila.  The building is pretty incredible. It seems almost other worldly, which I think is a good thing.  Remember that first impressions of Seattle will be made in Tukwila as visitors take the rail from the airport to downtown.

The station will surely make an impression. I really liked this sculpture:

On the way to and from Tukwila, Mt. Rainier is visible on a couple of occasions.  That servers as a nice site for visitors as well, at least 25 days a year anyway.

We arrived in Tukwila at about 2pm and walked down onto the mostly empty parking lot beside the station. ... (more)

Not the Light Rail... Monorail

I'm sure a lot of nerds will be checking out the light rail on this opening weekend.  Let's get together, ride the rail and geek out a little.

Here's the plan: Meet at the Mount Baker Stop at 1pm on Sunday July 19th, in the tunnel by the escalators (see photo below). From there, we'll get on board and maybe ride down to Tukwila and back. I'm hoping Sunday will be less crowded. Bring a camera, etc.  

UPDATED:  Here's a simple plan, in case you come late and still want to catch up.  We'll meet at Mt. Baker and take the train down to Tukwila. One the way back north, we'll get off at Columbia City  and have a "Light Rail Ale" at the Columbia City Ale House to finish up. 

Let's use the hashtag " #SEArail " on our tweets.

Follow @SeattlebyRail on Twitter for updates

It's really happening.  The Link Light Rail opens tomorrow with a free ride weekend.  What a big day for Seattle.  I plan to be riding the rail and taking photos like so many others. 

A northbound train pulling in to the Columbia City light rail station, by Litlnemo

The Seattle Transit Blog team will be covering the opening. Check out their Twitter and Flickr photo pool.

I'm sure my neighbors encounter the same thing, but sometimes I tell Seattle locals I live in the Mount Baker neighborhood and they think I live near the actual mountain in Whatcom County. Here's a quick guide:

Mount Baker Mountain

Mount Baker Neighborhood

To help without visuals, I often explain that they've likely driven (literally) through the middle of the neighborhood.  It goes like this:

"You know how I-90 comes from the eastside (Bellevue), across Mercer Island and into Seattle?  The last tunnel by the lakeshore is the Mount Baker tunnel. Those houses you see by the lake are a part of the Mount Baker neighborhood."  That usually does the trick.

Of course, as neighborhoods in Seattle go, Mount Baker is more residential and quiet, meaning people aren't as likely to make it a destination. There are not a bevy of bars, restaurants and attractions like other neighborhoods. There are plenty of places to eat and drink, but Mount Baker is no Capitol Hill.

A big question is how the Mount Baker light rail... (more)