26 Apr 2016
Phoenix to Sylmar

Phoenix has come to the world of rapid transit quite lately -- less The sleek silver train, consisting of two double-length articulated cars, with huge view windows is parked in a modern station. Phoenix Light Rail than ten years, to be specific. But today they have an excellent light rail line running South from the northern parts of Phoenix to downtown and then due West, past the airport, downtown Tempe, and stopping in downtown Mesa.

Amazingly, there was free parking at the Park And Ride, and a $2.00 all day reduced fare ticket for seniors. And we got our money's worth, from one end of the line to the other and back, with another stop at the library. We were much impressed, by the amount and Between two wide grey side walls, the library front shows an attractive diamond pattern of glass and steel framework. A parking lot with lovely green desert trees is in front. Burton Barr Library quality of usage. It's clear that this light rail is meeting a need and getting a lot of use. We sure hope they build several crossing lines so that eventually the entire metropolitan area is criss-crossed by trains.

The trains were clean and quiet, and the security staff boarded at intervals and scanned everyone's pass to keep the system honest. The other passengers were friendly and helpful, and, on occasion, colorful! Brightly colored stacks of childrens books, display cases, neon ceiling signs, and a spacious floor area make the interior of the library functional and appealing. Library Main Floor

The downtown Phoenix library, the Burton Barr Central Library, was quite spectacular and very functional. We walked around and took pictures and talked library shop, and were surprised to learn that such a modern building was, in fact, 20 years old. It is aging well. It's a city library, but provides borrowing privileges to all residents of the county.

Then we moved on to California.

After a set of family visits, we stopped in Sylmar, California, Against a background of similarly colored saloon cars of the same vintage, the Daimler is two-tone black and tope, with gleaming chrome and glass headlamps and hood ornament, and a white-walled spare tire mounted behind the fender. 1931 Daimler and visited a terrific automobile museum.

We went to the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar. He was an heir to the Merle Norman cosmetic company (still in business) and a fan of Concours d'Elegance automobiles. There were about 50 on display in this free museum in Sylmar.

We wandered up one aisle and down another, admiring the details of these beautiful autos. Sometimes a piece of trim would please us, or the shape of headlights (or even the very presence of headlights in The classic red two-seater roadster has plenty of shiny chrome and glass in front, and gleaming wire wheels. The rear view mirrors are mounted on the fenders. 1948 MG TC the earliest cars). There were only a few other people in the museum, but they all clearly enjoyed their experience.

We continue to be charmed by the individual collections people make available in local museums. It seems that there are several phases to a hobby--the collecting of objects, the repairing, restoring, identification, description of objects in the collection, and then, finally, the owner seems to decide that it is now time to share the products of his labor. We are now definitely fans of small, local museums.