This past Sunday, my wife and I decided to take a local adventure within Phoenix. We knew that Valley Metro had recently opened the second light rail line, and we were curious to see the new downtown hub.

Despite the 115-degree high temperature, we decided that this would be a fun way to get out of the house. While she has a Valley Metro pass, I installed the Valley Metro app on my phone. To my surprise, I still had $5 sitting on my Valley Metro account from months ago. It was a strong start to the trip.

The local bus service near our home does not run on Sundays, so we got into the Jetta and drove eight miles to our favorite park-and-ride. We would’ve liked to have taken public transportation for the entire trek, but that wasn’t possible on this day.

My favorite park-and-ride at McClintock Drive and Apache Boulevard provides covered parking, security cameras, and a convenient light rail stop on the north side of the building. It also has easy access to Loop 101 (one mile to the east) and Arizona State University (one mile to the west).

In another sign of our good fortune, the train arrived just as we stepped onto the platform and scanned our passes. We found two vacant seats and began our journey into downtown Phoenix. The air temperature inside the train was refreshingly cold despite the brutal heat outside.  

A woman was sitting in front of us with her teenage son. Along the way, we overheard her pointing out all the changes that she had seen over the past thirty years. She also started chatting with another woman. They discussed that, like us, they had driven to a park-and-ride to avoid parking downtown. Security was visible along the way and our tickets were checked by fare inspectors.

Our journey to the downtown Phoenix hub took about 40 minutes. We passed major landmarks along the way, like Tempe Town Lake, Tovrea Castle (Wikipedia: Tovrea Castle), Sky Harbor International Airport, S’edav Va’aki Museum (Visit Phoenix Website: S’edav Vaaki Museum) and Chase Field.

As we neared the new Downtown Phoenix Hub, the train’s conductor began to speak over the intercom. He gave concise information about connecting to the newly completed B Line and explained that this would be the end of the line for that train.

Multiple events were taking place downtown. There was some type of volleyball tournament at the Phoenix Convention Center. Also, a baseball game was about to start at Chase Field. Signs along the road advertised parking for anywhere from $20-$50!

The city continued to provide great instruction as we exited the train. There were more representatives available to give directions, answer questions, and make sure that everyone got off the train.

Our next train arrived a few minutes later about 350 feet away. We took the train for just two stops before disembarking and walking to Songbird Coffee & Tea House (one of our favorites; Tripadvisor: Songbird Coffee and Tea House).

After we enjoyed our coffee, we filled our water bottles and headed back to Tempe. Our only trip adjustment was that we got onto light rail at 3^rd Street and Jefferson. This allowed us to only take one train home. The return trip was just as pleasant and uneventful as the way there.

As we got into the Jetta to drive home, we agreed that we’ll need to do this more often.