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One of the perks of this trip is the fact that I’ll get to visit places of the country I’ve never been. Such as Albany NY. At almost midnight on a Friday night. Lucky me. Stop 3 is my longest of the trip, scheduled for 40 minutes, but since we arrived ahead of schedule, it’ll end up being a little closer to an hour.

This was my first time off the bus, and now that I had secured such a prime seat, I was hesitant to give it up. Of course that was outweighed by my hesitancy to leave anything on the bus and I was ready to see what my first dinner options would be, so off the bus I went.

Albany bus station is a dismal place. I feel like I have a fairly negative connotation of bus stations from movies and tv shows and it’s very possible that this place provided the inspiration for all of them. I walked in expecting an interstate rest stop but found a set for the Walking Dead. No golden arches or five dollar footlongs here, the only sustenance I spotted initially was a cluster of vending machines with some questionable characters slowly drifting around the building. As I came to terms with my imminent dinner from a machine, I took one more look around the shabby building and realized that a sectioned off room which I had initially perceived to be an arcade was in fact a restaurant / arcade / giftshop abomination.

They had a small selection of prepackaged sandwiches and again I figured this was the best I’d find until I realized there was a faded menu on the back wall with a small listing of fresh food. I ended up choosing the BLT and grabbing a juice, with a total cost of just over $7. This brings up my “generous” food stipend. Throughout the year, we have a number of finable offenses and this year the total fines collected equaled $55. The league decided that of that pool, I should be given $22 as a stipend for the trip. I expect that’ll be gone sometime tomorrow, but we’ll see.

Life is all about perspective. For example, a few hours ago, I was complaining about the bus seat and anxious to get up. As I hurriedly ate my dinner while attempting to both keep an eye on my surroundings while not making direct eye contact with any of the tweakers wandering aimlessly, I realized that I wanted to get back on the bus.

Pulled into Syracuse around 3:15am, later than scheduled because of the bus change. Not much to say, only here for a few minutes, I didn’t make it off the bus. 

We got a new driver and were about to leave, driver had to check everyone’s tickets. Some guy was passed out in the back of the bus, had a half empty liter of whiskey next to him. Driver leaves with the bottle, returns with 3 security guards who are now yelling “wake up”, “get up”, and “let’s go”. This went on for a solid 5 or 6 minutes. 

They’ve now woken him and the security people are asking what the driver wants. Driver says he has to get off. Security guy says he’s awake now, why don’t you just take his ticket. Driver says he’s not leaving until the guy is off his bus. As he’s being escorted off the bus, he’s asking the security people if they have a smoke. 

So much for a quick stop and going back to sleep. 

Stop 5, I’ve made it 1/6 of the way through my journey and all things considered, I’m feeling pretty good. I wouldn’t call my last two hours restful per se, but I managed to toss and turn enough to catch a bit of sleep. Even though I’ll be remaining on the same bus as I make my way to Cleveland, we were all forced out for a 20 minute break. Even though Buffalo’s station isn’t expansive, everything was relatively modern and my 20 minutes were happily spent enjoying breakfast a la Tim Hortons.

As boarding time arrived, I saw that Cleveland must be a popular destination and the bus would probably be the most crowded it’s been. I had a few options with how I wanted to proceed but I decided to go high risk / high reward. Prior to departing the bus, I had left my pillow on the two seats I had been occupying. I figured people would shy away from moving someone’s stuff, so I subtly moved to the end of the boarding line. Upon entering the bus, I could see that it was fairly crowded but an island of two empty seats remained near the middle of the bus. Sure enough, my lonesome pillow had served it’s purpose well and for the time being, I’m enjoying my double seat berth.

So much for avoiding any snowy weather. Conditions have been white ever since the sun rose this morning. Any energy I was feeling in Buffalo was as short lived as my sleep – I’m dragging. 

Inspiration is also failing me. I’m still on a bus, continuing to make progress west. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Ohio before, so that’ll be… Exciting? 

Does a scheduled stop actually count as a stop when you’re not allowed off the bus? Is an empty lot between a Hampton Inn, a burger king, and a waffle house actually a bus stop? These are some of the existential questions I’m left to answer during my first experience in Ohio. 

Snow has been falling on and off, and the bus driver just announced we’re running about 45 minutes behind. Which is unfortunate because I have 30 minutes scheduled for my transfer in Cleveland. Here’s to hoping that Baron’s Bus line isn’t operating on time today. 

Luckily, the weather and roads cleared as we drove west and we arrived in Cleveland just in time for me to board my coach for the day, compliments of Baron’s. I’m scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 9:20 and i have 16 stops between here and there – it’s going to be a slow afternoon. 

Due to significant pressure from the league, it’s been determined that I’ve avoided my fellow passengers for too long, so I’ve given up my antics for keeping the double seat to myself. I’ve been instructed to learn all I can about my current seatmate, we’ll see how it goes. 

Well I’ve attempted to strike up conversation twice and it’s been an uphill battle. 

Attempt 1:

Me: so where are you headed? 

Him: Columbus, how about yourself? 

Chicago. 

And you have to go through Columbus? What kind of route is that?

Yeah I don’t know, not very efficient. 

I’d think you’d go straight there. 

I didn’t have much of a choice. So what takes you to Columbus? 

At this point he just sorta smiles, turns away, and starts typing on his phone.

Attempt 2:

Me: so do you make this trip often? 

Him: well sort of. This month I’ll be going more often. 

Oh? Why’s that? Where are you headed in Columbus? 

 I’m heading to the casino. 

Oh. (a potential connection, this should make conversation really start to flow) what do you play? 

Mostly slots. They’ve got some good ones down there, better than the ones in Cleveland. 

Oh (maybe not). Good enough to make this trip I guess? 

Yeah, plus they’re running a promotion this month on Saturdays and Wednesdays, so I get free play money on those days. 

Are there any table games? 

Yeah but I like to stick with slots. 

Cool. I enjoy playing poker when I’ve got the chance. 

Oh there’s a poker room in Columbus too. But I like the slots. 

Up until this point, this trip has pretty much followed my expectations: sketchy people, run down stops, weak food options. But West Salem gave me my first taste of authentic rural America for the trip. 

This is the bus station. On the right side of the bus is a probably 8ft by 4ft shack with a portopotty next to it. But look closely at the field serving as the West Salem bus stop. That horse and buggy isn’t decorative. That was our newest passenger’s ride to the bus station. 

After he boarded and found a seat, what I assume to be his father and little brother (in identical outfits, no less) ran back to the buggy and took off. I’m obviously an outsider as very few other people on the bus paid any attention to the newest arrival. 

In succumbing to pressure from fellow league members, I provided a more accurate picture of my itinerary to my seatmate:

Him: so have you been to the casino in Chicago? 

Me: no, I didn’t know there was one there. 

Oh are you not from there? 

No, I’m just connecting to another bus there. My final destination is Boston, but I get off the bus in Minneapolis. 

Oh, did you start in Cleveland? 

No I actually started in Boston yesterday. 

At this point I figured he’d give me a strange look or ask why or do something. But he just said that the longest bus trip he’s ever taken was 10 hours or so and that was enough for him. 

He then promptly changes the subject and asked me if I know where to find the best chine food in the area. I gave him a bit of a strange look and guessed the Columbus bus station. He told me that it’s found at the casino (I should have known) 

He did tell me that while they aren’t quite as good as the Chinese food, the Columbus bus station restaurant makes excellent burgers, “second only to ones you make yourself at home, and these are basically as good”. He said he would be getting a few himself if he wasn’t planning on getting Chinese as soon as he makes it to the casino. But he continued to talk about the burgers and at some point told me he now thinks he needs to go get one as an appetizer to hold him over. 

Being that I hadn’t really eaten anything in almost 8 hours, I figured I’d have to take him up on his recommendation. But when I entered the bus station and found the restaurant, to my dismay it was closed with a sign saying out to lunch / shift change. 

We just made it to Van Wert, OH, stop #17 and the first time I’ve gotten up since Columbus. We stopped at a gas station that served hot food, but the pickings were fairly slim. I ended up going with their chicken tenders meal (2 tenders, potato wedges, and cole slaw) for 4.39. It was decent, but being that my last hot meal was 11 hours back, I was thrilled with it. 

The only event of interest in the prior stops was another horse and buggy at one of the stops. Otherwise it’s just been lots of empty fields and sunny skies.