On the road again...

Most people would see a 15 hour Greyhound ride through the US as unbearable. But after traveling from the top to the bottom of South America, I don't see bus travel that way anymore. Granted, bus travel in SA is usually far more comfortable than it is in the US. There's more leg room and the chairs recline at a nice angle, there's on board entertainment - at least one movie and maybe even BINGO, there's food and beverage service, blankets and/or pillows, not to mention some of the most stunning scenery anywhere. Traveling by Greyhound is certainly not like traveling by bus in South America where eventually I stopped dreading a 22 hour bus ride and started to view it as a nice chance to rest and relax. Greyhound is almost always less comfortable, surprisingly dingier, certainly without the on board amenities, and without much more than a monotonous view of the interstate usually turns out to be a pretty boring and uneventful ride.

As I boarded the first leg of my trip from Syracuse to Cleveland, OH I was really surprised to see that almost every seat on the bus was full. I managed to find one empty seat and settled in next to the window. The problem with choosing an empty seat is that anyone who comes on the bus after you can sit next to you. That's how I ended up sitting next to Lt. Dan. He might have had both his legs but he was still just as mad. Even before his frail body sat next to me his agitated nature caught my eye. Hurling sarcastic comments to who knows who he fidgeted to who knows who. When the young woman across the aisle and one row in front of us kicked him by mistake while trying to adjust herself he grew even angrier yelling at the girl, "I wish they'd send me back to Iraq mama." This may not be South America, but it was sure to be interesting.

Eventually the bus left the station about 30 minutes behind schedule with Lt. Dan twitching at my side muttering periodically while I tried to relax by watching the sunset. It was one of those really beautiful sun sets that looks like embers cashing out in the sky. My calm didn't last for long. Hip hop started to encroach upon my thoughts. It was pumping so loudly from someones headphones that I could hear it clearly from 4 or so rows back. It's a wonder they're not half deaf... or maybe they are, as that would surely explain it. Lt. Dan eventually fell asleep though his head kept flopping into me until I made a barricade with my messenger bag and squished myself into the window. I was too afraid to wake him up to ask him to flop in the other direction.

Then the crying baby chimed in. Then the girl who had kicked Lt. Dan earlier began to have a nervous breakdown. From what I could tell she had gotten her period and was unprepared so she shoved a handful of napkins down her pants and changed into a pair of her boyfriends shorts which were 3 times too big for her and had to be wrapped around her and held up. In Rochester the bus stopped briefly just to pick up and let of passengers. The girl tried to get off the bus, presumably to use the bathroom, but was denied and when she returned the madness ensued. She returned to her seat upset and whining about how she didn't understand why everyone kept yelling at her and why couldn't people just be nice every once in a while. She got in a quick fight with her boyfriend who said she was embarrassing him and then proceeded to uncontrollably cry and bawl and sob and howl like a siren while talking to her dad on the phone and shouting something about lost luggage. We hadn't even made it to Buffalo yet and had 12 more hours to go. I was just thankful that Lt. Dan had remained asleep until we finally arrived in Buffalo.

Some people got off the bus so I took the opportunity to move up to an empty seat where a nice sane non-twitchy non-aggressive girl sat next to me and I was able to get a little bit of rest before changing buses in Cleveland around 3:30am. That's where I saw a black albino. He held my interest while we waiting to board the bus that would take us from Cleveland to Detroit. Arriving in Detroit at about 7am I lined up at our departing gate and stood next to Mr. Chatty Cathy. It was early and I was tired and my blatant disinterest in the conversation did not disengage him. He was perfectly nice, but I just wasn't in the mood. He told me all about how he was traveling in Lansing, MI from Harrisburg, PA and that he didn't take a plane because he needed to bring his weed with him. I ate some cherries as he talked while I fixated my gaze on a large man who had comically given up wearing a belt for the use of suspenders. He looked like a circus clown.

The last leg of the trip wasn't as full as the others and I was able to lay down in the seat and get some sleep. At around 11:30am the next day we finally rolled into Grand Rapids. Mike met me at the bus station, which was conveniently located across from Founders Brewing Company. We saved our visit to Founders for later and headed back to our fancy hotel instead.