I was just over in MPSIMS and read a thread about Simon and Garfunkel and their song “American Tune”. One of the Dopers made the comment that listening to that song always made them want to hop a bus and travel the “contiguous 48”.
Well, I gave that some thought,and maybe this belongs in MPSIMS but maybe not. I too, would like to hop a bus and take a couple of weeks to see America, but I can’t see being cooped up in it overnight, and I don’t really wanna be a part of a tour (lone wolf that I am), so I was wondering if any of y’all had done this of late and what recommendations you might have and what I could expect.
Weeping children, sure; winos; young girls headed to California. How about others like me who are not running away or moving?
(Mods, if you don’t see a GQ in here, feel free to move it)
It’s more expensive, but in my experience it’s much better to have the freedom to stop when and where you want to, spend as much time in any particular location as you want, or skip out on “must see” stuff that turns out to be lame.
I have crossed the US from coast to coast several times, and the best stuff to experience is almost always NOT in the tour guide books… ( I recommend Meteor Crater… as a veteran of several cross-country trips (as I said) this blew me away! Dunno why… must be my imaginings of the impact and the forces involved…)
I took a looong bus ride last year. It took 42 hours.
We had some hippies, some families with noisy kids, some punks with a knife, the usual!
It wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t fun either.
yeah I would second what Astroboy14 wrote. Car is definately a lot better than a bus. It is more expensive but a lot more comfortable. It is nice to be able to stop when ever you want.
However, I would recommend taking a bus trip once. It has a certain ambience that I kind of enjoyed, but I think it would wear off quickly on a long trip.
I’m a bit old-fashioned, but I believe a train is still the best way to “See America”
Amtrak offers several reasonably priced packages for trips across the country. IMHO this is a much better option than sitting on a smelly bus driving on highways through cities. One package I looked at last year traveled from Boston to Chicago to Seattle via Montana. (I was looking for a nice way to see the country en route to a climbing trip in Glacier NP). There are several corridors. The route I looked at took a northern route, but there are mid-west and southern routes, as well as north/south. take alook at the Amtrak site: http://www.amtrak.com/index2.html and look at their route map: http://www.amtrak.com/trip/index.html A cross-country trip will take about a week at minimum.
Whatever you do, make sure you get a berth! You’ll need it.
A buddy of mine bought one of the big old cruising motorcycles (used), drove around the US for a couple weeks, and then sold it when he got back. I can’t remember the difference between the price he bought it at and what he sold it for, but I don’t think he did too bad.
Yeah, I think that this really is more of an IMHO.
Meanwhile, my personal experience? Busses very quickly become uncomfortable. When I came out here to Montana, a 36-hour bus ride was pretty much my only option, and I hardly got any sleep. I’d say that trains are far superior, if they’re going where you want to go, but the nearest Amtrak station to me is about 300 miles away.
I moved from New York to San Francisco by bus (this was five years ago). The trip took three days, and I loved it. I still think it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever done and if I have the opportunity to do it again, some day I will.
Just make sure to bring bottled water and Handi-Wipes.
Quasi, found this site last night and it may be just what you are looking for. It’s called Green Tortoise. I wish I had the time to do it.
Basically, they take a bus, take out the seats, and cover the inside with a foam rubber mat. You travel (and sleep) at night, during the day, you stop at various sites, cook out, etc. You contribute money to a fund each day and they buy food with it for that night. They have a NY to LA trip that takes two weeks and only costs about $450. They also do trips to Mardi Gras, the National Parks, Alaska (although that’s 30 days), etc. Like I said, I wish I had the time to do it. It sounds like a blast.
If you’re a lone wolf, drive yourself. I was on a bus to Iowa City to see my sister a year ago, last spring break. The part I liked was the not actually driving part and where I could just stare out the window, but the bus was smelly, and the people were annoying. In the back were a group of boys who’s conversation consisted of the “f-word” ever other word. That gets old, believe me. At one point I had to sit next to this old woman who kept coughing the whole time (and not just little coughs, big whooping phlem coughs), and that got annoying. I’m a solitary person and I know I would much prefer a car. But then, I’ve always wanted to ride a train, and never have (yet).
I’ve done Green Tortoise trips in California and Mexico. It is an awesome experience with awesome people.
And awesome food…did I mention awesome food?
The Tortoise is great for people that want to be with others as they travel but don’t want a structured sight-seeing type tour. They go to out-of-the-way places and do awesome things that you would never know to do yourself. In Mexico we actually spent the night on top of a Mayan pyramid. The trips I’ve been on are mostly nature oriented, and during the days they usually set you off on your own to hike, swim, hang up a hammock and read a book or go into town and party. At night there are cookouts, bonfires, hot springs to skinny dip in and general merry making.
I think their cross-country tours are a little more brusque and there is a lot more sleeping in the bus than camping. Still, I can’t recommend the Tortoise enough to the adventurous traveler (and the traveler thats willing to get a bit dirty).
Beyond that, I love busses and I am glad to see that I am not the only freak who doesn’t think that cars are the only way to do anything.
I always thought the old bi-level Greyhound Scenicruisers from the late 50’s and 60’s looked like they would have been cool to travel a few hundred miles in. Are there any oldtimers out there who’ve done that? What was that like?
With regard to bus travel vs. driving, one aspect I didn’t see mentioned is that not driving gives you leisure to read or watch the scenery. Some of the bus travellers’ tales above make me think that travelling by bus these days is about like it was in the school bus in junior high–just lots of noisy rowdy people.
