Category Archives

So as you can see, when I arrived at South Station, I learned that what I thought was a 3 leg trip actually requires 10 tickets. As they were printing (and my send off party began laughing at me) one of the employees asked me how many people were traveling together? When I told her it was just me, she immediately wondered where I could possibly be going that would require so many tickets. 

I was one of the last to board, which meant I had my pick of aisle seats given that every window was already taken. 

The first leg was smooth but the seat is already beginning to feel uncomfortable so I’m doing my best to keep my mind off it. The couple directly ahead of me is arguing in a roller coaster of volume about his womanizing and she can’t seem to decide if he should sit alone or continue to be berated. 

I plan on reading a lot over the next few days so I’ve loaded my kindle with a couple of books. Right now I’m midway into Ken Follett’s Edge of Eternity, the third book in his massive Century Trilogy. They span the majority of the 20th century and follow a plethora of characters as their stories mingle and various major world history events unfold around them. Think Forrest Gump but with 30 main characters. 

So we just made stop number 2 and this one was definitely the best stop of the trip so far. About 80% of the passengers disembarked, but I astutely noticed a sizeable queue of fellow bus-riders waiting to board, so I took the natural course of action and immediately grabbed a window seat. I followed the lead of other riders by placing my bag on the adjacent seat and giving a slight glare to any of the newly boarded passengers.

Not only do I now have a window and the armrests to myself, but I also now have access to two outlets and two cupholders! My new seat even seems nicer, but I may just be caught up in the excess of luxury I’m now surrounded by. While I have available outlets, I’ve decided I should charge up my various devices. For those of you reading who aren’t in the League, you’re missing out on live GPS tracking that is currently ongoing from my phone. They get their kicks being able to watch my every move like an overbearing parent and I’m left in a perpetual search for power to keep the operation running.

The bus driver is either a naturally friendly guy or is brand new at this and will likely end up driving us off the road at some point. He has multiple times used the intercom to tell all of us that we’re free to make our way up to the front of the bus if we have any questions. Our next stop is Albany and I’ll make my way into my second state of the trip. We’ve got two hours of drive time and then a 40 minute meal break when we arrive at 11:30pm.

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.