Greyhound Survival Guide

My experience traveling via the bus line.

 

About three times a year I travel home by way of the bus.  It is an eight hour trip with several stops along the way.  Whenever I plan these trips I always plan for a day of travel because if it takes eight hours it is safe to say it will end up being more. 

 

I start my day early because I want to catch the 7:50 bus which will put me in Philadelphia hopefully by 3pm.  As I pull up in the cab I am scanning the area to see how many people are there which is a good judgment of what is awaiting inside.  I usually only carry one roller bag which has an additional bag in it for the return trip.  I carry light on the bus.  Only my essentials, food, radio, my books and my travel pillow.  Through trial and error I have learned what to take on these trips.  I use to pack like I was going cross country and ended up weight down because those seats aren’t big enough for just me by my self.

 

After standing in the line to get my ticket, I stand in another line to board the bus.  The line is long, the various people standing around because there are several lines arrow each other times this with the amount of people coming off the bus, bringing people to the bus, waiting for someone to get off the bus, well, you get the picture…I try to get my music together and plot of my mission of getting to the back of the bus.  I use to sit in the front and even in the middle but I find that sitting in the back bars a lot of the conversations that are being had through out the trip.  Not to mention the snoring and other noises that you hear at that time of the morning!

 

As I finally get on the bus I am fortunate to learn that there is a seat in the back and that I will be sharing it with no one!  How do I know this?  I am almost the last person to get on the bus this time around so I see that everybody before me is cramming themselves as close to the front as possible as if there is something sinister about sitting in the back….So I make my way and am now happy seated and waiting for the announcement.

 

Time to make the calls.  This is a ritual for me to let everybody know that I am safely tucked away on the bus making my way up the road.  I call them because once my phone goes on roaming, I don’t answer so I make the calls and then turn my phone off or switch over to text messaging. 

 

Our very first stop is a lay over.  The only one we’ll have during this trip so I better make the best of it.  There is a mall up the street from the station.  It is an uphill battle to get there and if I don’t carry light the trip is more like climbing a stair master!  I did however get to go to get batteries because I befriended a rider who sat by me.  He was nice and had plenty of conversation.  I mall is very nice and it even had a record store there which makes it even all the more enticing to make it up there when these lay overs are a must.

 

My connecting bus is here and it’s time to line up and hope it’s a continued peaceful ride home.  I have rarely had the same people straight through on these trips unless I catch the express and my luck has not forth coming in that department.  I have to re scan the bus more so as I get to the back to see who now will be sharing my space once more.  Damn, I will have the sit on the aisle this time around!  I hate the aisle and for those of you who ride the bus you know why.  I can’t get comfortable and I feel like I am inspecting every torso that passes by! Twice! Going in and out of the bathroom!  I’d close my eyes but I must see the person coming with the big hips or hug pocket book or better  yet the child in tow….Oh well, I have to make the best of it so into my rigid pose I sit and try to let the music that streams through my earphones take me to some place other than this seat. 

 

I have finally arrived!  Stiff as a board and with a sour shoulder to boot, I wait to be the last person to get off the bus by ducking in the bathroom to get a stretch since my legs are rubber and a tingling in my toes let me know that they aren’t ready to move around yet.  I emerge almost the last to get off so I gather all my stuff and step off to see that my bags are being pushed around by the rushing riders trying to gather their things and get to their next destination.  Me to as I gather my stuff and flag a cab.  I need a bath.  Riding the bus is a journey taken by many, talked about by few.  Maybe it’s because the trip is longer than it would be to just drive and then again, the journey you take from one point in the coast to your destination home is like crossing the great plains with people from all walks of life each one holding a piece of heritage taking it back to their native home, spreading the news of various opportunities that lye outside of the village.