I am sitting in a bus that boards at 5:30 in the morning in C-vill and gets to NYC at noon. I don't know if we are actually going to make it by noon, but we'll see what happens. I guess that doesn't really tell you Why I am on this bus at this time. Well, yesterday was my dad's birthday and I wasn't able to getup to Jersey yesterday because of work and stuff, so insidering the price of gas, the cost of short-notice air-travel and the time it would take to drive, this was my only reasonable option. It's the Starlight express. For $149 round trip this bus leave C-ville at 6 AM on Saturday, gets into NYC at noon and leaves NYC on Sunday at 5:30 for a return time of Midnight in C-ville. Come Monday morning, you haven't dont much more than sit around for several hours and you have been transplanted to another world for just a little while.
In a week or so, you will probably get a recap on a 24 hour race that I am doing with the Bathtub Burrito (don't ask) and as I was getting ready this morning, I realized that this was pretty good training. With 6 hours of sleep (it wil be less next week) I am forced awake by a buzzing alarm. It's completely dark, a little cold I am a little dioriented, I have to get up and ride a bike, and...it's raining. Actually, I didn't have to ride the bike this morning. My plan was to get out of the house around 5:00 and get on my single speed MTB to ride across town and get on the bus. When I saw the rain I heard a voice in my head "Expet the Worst" and I had to adapt. First, I han't planned for rain or cold at all. With 95+ degree weather over the last four weks, why should I? I was going to leave the house in shorts and a T-shirt. SoI had to figure out how I was going to get to the bus without getting too wet. I thouht one option was to park near the bus stop and ride to the bus if I had to.
I put my bike on the car and grabbed my rain jacket, (which is really nice to have right now because the bus is freezing) and I hopped in the car. As luck would have it, there was a space right at the bus stop. So now my car is parked (with bike) waiting for me when I get back.
oh, wait, quick interruption. The first of my fellow passengers have arrived. I was curious who else would be taking a36 hour trip to Manhatten. It's two middle aged ladies who seem to know each other but chose to sit in different seats. They seem friendly.
So back to the bus. If it gets any colder in here I am going to have to put on the one pair of pants that i almost didn't pack.
So it seems the bus driver has a son...and maybe a wife? I guess this is a family affair. I noticed the kids seat when I came in but I didn'treally think much of it. This is really a nice setup. He started with a 44 passenger bus, took out all of the seats, and replaced them with 22 BMW SUV chairs. Now that I think about it, the happy female customer getting out of the bus in NYC with her toddler on the Startlight Shuttle advert is probably this guys wife. It maybe just shy of 6 AM but I can still put 2 and 2 together. Anyway, the seats are actually kind of nice. I was just poking around and the seats actaully move. There little controls that you would have in your X5 actually work, well mostly. I can get the seat to move up, down, left and right but I don't think mine leans back. That's a bit of a bummer. I may have to switch seats at some point.
OK, I am glad I am not allergic. Someone just came onboard with an animal in a small cage.I am assuming a cat.
So, now we have two middle-aged women, the bus driver, his wife and child, a younger lady with an animal another gray-haired lay that snuck on at some point. And the kid is making a littlebit of noise. This should be fun.
Three more passengers have just gotten on the bus. They all look post-college age. Two females that appear to be travelling together and a tall skinny dude that I would simply describe as "mild-goth" Maybe by the PM he will be able to go full goth..it's still early.
More info, the two middle-aged ladys are sisters. I am tired, I am going to close the computer and try to get a nap before I watch Sin City.
Ok, it's four hours later. We seem to be making pretty good time. The bus doesn't have to wait at any of the tolls. Either he's got a really good eye for the fast lane or he is setup with EZ pass or something to get throught some special booths. I just finished watching Be Cool, the first of the three movies that I rented frm Blockbuster for this trip. It's pretty good! I kind of remember when I saw the previews and thought I would enjoy it. I won't give a review now but it's worth seeing. Vince Vaugn is priceless.
I did manage to get some sleep but the (bus driver's) wife woke me up because they were picking two people up on the way and I was in the only availale two-person seat. I don't know how long I was asleep, but it was pretty nice to get a little nap. The weather is moderately crappy. Steady light rain for as long as I have been awake and watching movies. Considering the rain and the current state of my wipers, I am pretty glad that I am not driving.
OK, this is uncalled for! Someone on the bus stinks! I have pets so I can understand bringing the cats, and I know it's a little early to be getting on a bus, but somebody should have showered last night and maybe threw on some deoderant this morning. I am not the only one who has noticed. We just got a bad backdraft and I sawthe girl across the walkway discretely trying to cover her mouth and nose with her jacket. That's just bad form.
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