The Tram

I promise not to get into the habit of posting a lot of random stuff unrelated to beer, but over the weekend, I took a trip on the new tram, so it can loosely be said to be a "Beervana-related" post. It is going to become a tourist attraction as much as a mode of transportation, and since it costs about the same price as a draft beer, I'll go ahead and recommend it as a tourist site.

To be clear, I really opposed this beast at the start. It connects a vastly wealthy community--the denizens of the future Waterfront district--to what I presume will be the workplace of many of them, the Oregon Health Sciences University. Four four bucks, they are saved the humiliation of riding with the rabble on my old bus, the 8. That's what we really needed, right? A $75 million dollar public transportation system to connect the rich to work and home.

Despite my unequivocal feelings on the matter in terms of public policy, I have to say that as a tourist attraction and theme park ride--well, it's actually pretty cool. You get an amazing view of the city--and probably Mount Hood on clear days. It is sleek and modern and industrial, and it has a little bit of the "Monorail!" quality from the Simpsons. Oooooh, futuristic.... (Groening would be proud.)

So anyway, here are a few crude phone cam pics. Enjoy!

The lower stanchion.

The Waterfront district, wherein the elite will reside.

Inside the silvery pod.

The silvery pod takes flight.

Flying over Beervana.