Let me first start by saying the past two days have been a ___________ experience. The blank can be filled with many words so take your pick from "memorable", "outrageous", "ridiculous", "slightly stressful", "educational", or feel free to choose your own word.
Let me explain how we got into our situation in which we spent two days in a bus station. We arrived at the greyhound station at 3pm on Tuesday planning to buy tickets for the 6:15 bus to Denver, CO. It was sold out... that sucks. It was sold out until Thursday... that sucks more. We pondered our dilemma and realized we're two smart college graduates! We can figure this out! We walked to an Amtrack station to figure out how to get to CO on a train! That was booked until next Wednesday... that sucks. No big deal, we'll just change our destination! We decided to head to Portland, OR instead, that way we have plenty of time to go down the west coast, after all our trip is about a month shorter now that I got a "big girl" job. Great idea! Train tickets to OR were $500 each not counting shipping our bikes... that sucks even more! Alright, train is out of the question, lets fly! We checked plane tickets to Portland, OR and they honestly weren't that expensive... Lets go to the airport! We take the MetroLink to the airport only to find out that they don't sell bike boxes there, you have to come to the airport with your bike already boxed. After calling multiple local FedEx locations we finally came to terms with the fact that we would not get our bikes packaged and to the airport in time for the flight we were eyeing. Alright, flying is out of the question... what now!?
By this time it's 10pm and we have to start thinking about where we're going to spend the night! We headed back to the bus station because we knew they sold bike boxes and we could package our bikes there. After a hectic night, around 1:30am we finally decided to buy two train tickets to Portland, OR for Thursday morning, 7:30am. No big deal, only 2 days in the bus station! Luckily we came with snacks and we always have a sleeping bag!
We spent the next two days eating snacks, taking turns napping, and figuring out how to box our bikes! We were able to get boxes and tools and we started dissembling. It wasn't overly hard but it was a little traumatic taking apart our only mode of transportation. We tried to lighten the mood by making Monty Python references and adding a cycling twist. "I'm not dead yet!" "but your handlebars are off"! We also suffered from severe separation anxiety once they were boxed and stored in the back room for shipping.
After spending two days at the station I have learned a lot about buses and bus stations, for example:
1) Greyhound overbooks their buses by 5 tickets. I can guarantee that there will be 5 unhappy people holding tickets that they paid for (not refundable) as they watch their bus pull away. All because they had the misfortune of being the last 5 people to check in for the bus. The reactions are unpredictable. Some people cry, some scream angrily and call customer service, and some just buy a new ticket and fall asleep in some corner of the station.
2) Don't waste you money on show tickets or spend hours watching reality TV. Just head down to your local bus station. I can guarantee that you will get a better show! When my mom called and asked me what I was doing while at the bus station for two days I realized, I wasn't really doing anything but watching people. It seems that bus stations at all hours of the night attract the craziest (yet entertaining) people!
3) People who have waited hours for their bus are compelled to ask weird questions. For example, an old man asked me if he could test my blood sugar as he pricked his own finger... to which I responded in a rude way (that only a true New Yorker could pull off) "No, I don't think that's a good idea". Someone else nearby who overheard this man's question then proceeded to try and peer pressure me into it. Later on, as Joe was walking to the bathroom, someone offered to buy his hoodie for 3x the price he paid. Joe said "no, I'm really attached to this hoodie"... to which the man responded, "yeah, so am I". One more example included someone asking us if we wanted to buy some "really good weed"... uh no thanks.
For the most part we were productive because we were able to buy plane tickets for our return flight and managed to find me a room to rent in VA for the time being while Joe looks for a job and we can apartment shop together.
Mary and Joe
PS Mom, I'm still alive... and never plan to take a bus again.