We decided to walk back to the subway station using Broadway through Historical Los Angeles. A complete contrast to Hill Street, Broadway was extremely active with street vendors, music, food stands, shops and people.

We walked right by the old United Artists, Orpheum, and Los Angeles theaters, which have seen better days. And overall, it was a bit too intensive for me, so we didn't really stop until we got to the station. [below]

Back underground; we accidentally boarded a train that took us back to Union Station, the other end of the line. We asked an MTA employee, who quickly set up back on course to the North Hollywood station. The ride between Hollywood/Highland and Universal cuts right under the Hollywood Hills. As for earthquakes, the claim is that the 1994 Northridge quake did nothing to the subway's structural integrity.

We had planned on stopping at another station, just to compare some of the designs and architecture, but we decided to head back home to one of our favorite restaurants, Pepper's, for a Mother's Day dinner.

It was a fun afternoon.

We're looking forward to the opening of the Gold Line, which has been test running for its Pasadena to Union Station route this summer. [below] Even if you don't have a reason, it might be fun to plan a trip just to see what a clean, efficient transportation system it is.

All aboard! Take the Metro to Mona!

I thought the museum was cute, even though it was pretty small. I loved the trip on the subway, it was extraordinary, fun and cool. My favorite piece of neon art was the hammer on a shoe and I also liked the RCA dog.

MONA is a fun, little museum. Check it out if you're in the neighborhood. At the risk of coming across like a hayseed who's visiting the big, vast city for the first time, this new subway system was wonderful. It exceeded my expecations in so many ways. Those who have used it or other public transportation are probably reading this and saying 'wull, duh!'