Success is Both Journey and a Destination (or Two, or Three…)

I want to tell you a story of a transportation journey. Not just a story about travel itself, but also one that recounts my own personal progress in how I view transportation options. As many of you know, I’m a city dweller. But I am also a great fan of many of the charming communities that dot the Seattle metro region, especially Bothell, where I have a strong history and connection with Chateau Bothell Landing. I’m going to start with the punch line to this story: whether you want to journey to the city center or outside of it, travel in either direction has never been easier.

I very recently made a new “best friend,” and it gives me enormous pleasure to introduce you. Northwest Prime Time readers, meet my ORCA card! Okay, I hear a few groans and chuckles out there, but the ORCA card is no laughing matter. The ORCA card can be a phenomenal friend to you regardless of your age. I take pride in being a walking advertisement (and I’m receiving no kick-backs, I assure you) for the card as it has provided me with a freedom and convenience for moving around the region I never realized was possible.

My introduction to transportation began with the same rite of passage familiar to most Americans. When I turned fifteen-and-a-half, I went with my father to a very deserted country road to begin the ritual of learning to drive. I learned to drive a stick shift of course (this was 1959 after all) and my father was a very patient man. We were captives within a Detroit metal machine, focused on one end goal: to move the vehicle down the road without sputtering, jerking, or stalling to an abrupt stop. Noble as the goal was, I wasn't convinced the repetition of these automotive spasms would ever end. The spasms were always followed by a few seconds of rest, and then a determined return to the lesson at hand. Eventually, one of us cried “enough,” we swapped places and dad drove the car for the miraculous and smooth ride home. Eventually the clutch and I became better acquainted, and since my sixteenth birthday, my preferred mode of transportation has been my car, complete with the years of expensive car payments, insurance, gas, and maintenance.

Well, today that has all changed. When I retired, one of my goals was to start using public transportation. Surely I could navigate the Seattle Metropolitan Area cheaper than driving my car and I would be helping the environment as well. Plus, there are people getting on and off public transportation all the time and if they can do it, I can do it. It was in my research that I got the really good news. Customers 65 and older can ride public transit for 75 cents per journey. That’s right, let me type that again: 75 cents. Should it surprise anyone that the cost of ridership (75 cents) and the convenience of the ORCA card have changed my mode of transportation preference to the bus and all the public transit options available to me?

Now for a short tutorial for those of you unfamiliar with the ORCA card. It is a plastic card, the same size as a credit card. I have the basic card and the cost of the card is $5. At the time of purchase the user decides how much money to put on the card for use on the bus, the ferry, rail, and the train. Once you have the card and it has a pre-paid amount on it, you are ready for public transit. No need to dig around trying to find the correct change, just tap your ORCA at the card reader and your fare is paid. The card reader then flashes the amount due for your ride plus your remaining card balance on the screen and you are off to find your seat.

I use public transit regularly to go downtown, to the University District, to Bainbridge Island where one of my children lives, and to the airport. Then one day I felt quite adventurous and decided to test the bus ride to Bothell. The weather was nice and it made sense to check out the trip so I will know what to expect and exactly where to go when the weather is not so nice. I always enjoy returning to charming, historic downtown Bothell with its myriad wine and art walks, and an increasing number of interesting talks at the Chateau Bothell Landing Bistro.

So I planned my trip with the Metro Online Trip Planner, got my back pack, walked to the bus stop one block from my house and sat on the bench in the bus shelter to wait. Once seated, I glanced at the filling station across the street and was fascinated by the ant-like activity; cars lined up, moving in and out, people jumping out of their cars, inserting their cards, pumping their gas, capping the gas tank, driving off and the next car moved forward for a repeat performance. And the cost for that activity was $4.30 a gallon. I reached into my pocket and gave ORCA a big squeeze, “thanks ORCA for being my buddy.”

The distance from Bothell to downtown Seattle is almost 17 miles. It is a 50 minute ride on express bus #522 for a cost of 75 cents each way. People living in Bothell appreciate the lovely pastoral feel to their area and the small intimacy of their community and also enjoy easy access to the urban life of the city and all that Seattle has to offer. The ORCA card and public transit make it easy to marry these two worlds.

For those adventurous souls out in Bothell, willing to sprout your wings on a bus ride, I have a suggestion for you. Les Miserables will be coming to the 5th Avenue Theatre in downtown Seattle between June 27th – July 8th. How about booking your tickets for the Sunday July 8th Matinee that starts at 1:30pm? Start your trip by getting your ORCA card, catch the #522 bus that leaves Woodinville Dr. and Kayser Way at 12:14pm; arrive at Union and 6th Avenue at 12:58pm. Walk one-tenth of a mile to the 5th Avenue Theatre and enjoy the show. Of course if lunch downtown suits your fancy, your trip will start a bit earlier. What an enjoyable thought...a scenic ride to downtown Seattle, lunch with your favorite spouse or your best friend and a favorite stage musical based on Victor Hugo's book, widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century. Sign me up!!!! The transportation cost? Of course, 75 cents each way.

TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT!!!!!

If you would like information about Chateau Bothell Landing or to schedule a tour and free lunch, please call Community Relations Director Mary Benz at 425.485.1155 or email Mary.Benz@chateaullc.com. Visit our website at www.chateau-bothell-landing.com

This article appeared in the July/August 2012 issue of Northwest Prime Time, the Puget Sound region’s monthly publication celebrating life after 50.