Cover Story by Leeann Bay The MAX is a light rail train that is your key to freedom and adventure in Portland.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Cover Stories | Send mail to The Voice Choose your own adventure on the MAX A merchant teaches a man to play the flute at the Saturday Market, located under the Burnside Bridge. -Tess Chierici, photo People keep talking about this thing called the MAX, but what is it? The MAX is a light rail train that is your key to freedom and adventure in Portland. Each stop between Multnomah and the West Hills offers colorful neighborhoods, shops and restaurants to explore. As you start your adventure, leave campus and walk north on 82nd Avenue toward the bridge over Interstate 84. When you arrive at the MAX station, follow the instructions on the big metal box to buy a MAX ticket. For a downtown adventure, you want a two-zone ticket for $1.25. This ticket is good for an hour and 45 minutes. You don't need exact change. After buying your ticket, head down the stairs to the station. You want to travel toward the city center. No one will check your ticket, so just get on when the doors open. Be ready for a few jerks along the way, especially as the train begins moving. Now you're on board, ready to choose your own adventure at the various stops. Hollywood/ 42nd Avenue This Hollywood has no movie stars, but it does have some inexpensive lunch options. At the top of the stairs, go left. Keep walking and you'll see Urling's Sandwich Shop, which provides basic home cooking. The owner opens the store around 6:30 a.m., depending on traffic. Next door you'll see an equally scruffy restaurant called Chin's Kitchen. Here, on Fridays and Saturdays, you can eat an egg roll, fried rice, a wonton and a main dish for only $4.75. A new age shop, a small local art shop and a hypnosis center sit across the way. Keep walking straight ahead and you'll run into Broadway Street and then Sandy Boulevard. Now the possibilities become endless. Trader Joe's, a natural food store with a large variety of unique food items, is next to the Savory Tart cafe. The Savory Tart sells what you would guess--savory tarts of all kinds. Across the street is a small restaurant called the Hollywood Burger Bar. The waitress serves customers from behind a curved bar encircling the kitchen area. Pianists will want to stop by Cascade Piano, which carries sheet music and supplies in a room above the showroom. Lloyd Center This is the closest mall via the MAX. It includes an ice skating rink and a movie theater. Even if walking the mall and window shopping are not your idea of an adventure, you may enjoy sitting, talking and watching ice skaters showing off. The next few stops are boring unless you are attending an event at the Convention Center, the Rose Garden or the Memorial Coliseum. On a hot day, you can cool off at the fountain in front of the Coliseum. Old Town/ Chinatown Step off the MAX and walk around the right side of a large brick building. Around the corner on 312 N.W. 2 nd St. are the Classical Chinese Gardens and several Asian shops. With a Multnomah ID card, admission to the gardens is only $5. If you still want to explore, just walk beside the MAX tracks. Before the Burnside Bridge on your left is the Oregon Mountain Community store, which resembles a mini-REI. Burnside Bridge On Saturdays and Sundays the noise and color of the Saturday Market invade this dead space under the bridge. Artisans set up booths and sell pottery, jewelry, clothing and food. If you're going downtown on a weekday, visit the brick buildings on your right and left, which house permanent shops. The Portland Rescue Mission is adjacent to the bridge. If your feet don't hurt yet, keep following the MAX line. Skidmore Fountain This stop is just past the Burnside Bridge. Sit next to the fountain or stroll to the waterfront where a walking path and stretches of grass follow the Willamette River. Oak Street/ Southwest First Avenue Art gallery after art gallery lines this little block. Guitars hang in the windows of Apple Music Row, a large music store. When you are ready to move on, step onto the MAX again. Morrison/ Southwest Third Avenue As you get off at this stop you look right into the windows of Borders bookstore. This is a great place to relax with a coffee or soda from the cafe and watch people as they pass. Mall/ Southwest Fifth Avenue Fifth and Sixth Avenues are packed with buses. This is the place to catch a bus for an extended adventure. Or you may want to shop at Pioneer Place mall. Pioneer Courthouse Square This large brick area is a popular gathering place. Here you will find a Starbucks on the corner, street musicians, chess games, a flower stall, fun sculptures, seasonal displays and activities and plenty of places to sit and relax. You'll get off the train on the right side of the square and you can catch a MAX train going home on the opposite side. But if you want to spend a whole day exploring, hop back on the MAX and ride all the way to Washington Park. PGE Park Unless you are going to a game, the only highlight of this stop is a bench shaped like a question mark. Many of the MAX stations have pieces of artwork like this one. Washington Park Washington Park is home to the Oregon Zoo, the Japanese Gardens, International Rose Test Gardens and many hiking trails. If you have an afternoon off the zoo is free the second Tuesday of the month. Otherwise, the zoo is $7.50 and the Japanese Gardens are $4 for children and $6 for adults. The best deal is a walk in the rose gardens, which are beautiful and free no matter the season. Remember you can order a sack lunch from the cafeteria to take with you for a picnic. 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