Lake Shore Driving
My memories of the bus are not very happy. In fact, if I were to be blunt, I’d say they suck.
So really, it’s only fitting that I spent my 21st birthday weekend trekking to and from Chicago, and tallying up a total of 24+ hours on the bus. When factoring in who-knows-how-many hours on the El during daily trips from Evanston to downtown, and a handful of cab rides, there’s really only one cheer to make: Whoo public transit! (That’s Kali, the HP spoiler, Maya, the hippie, Allie, the former roommate and me on the El)
I started my trek taking my first Greyhound trip to Minneapolis (Alone! Like a real big kid!) where most of my fellow bus passengers exchanged stories about other trips they’ve taken. One gentleman recalled the time they were pulled over by the sheriff because a prankster called and claimed that they were being held hostage, and just about everyone had a story about the passenger who fell asleep and had X amount of money stolen. I finished Harry Potter. Now they all have a story about the girl who was quiet until she started sobbing for the last hour of the trip. (Oh bother Harry, it DOES hurt!)
When I got to Minneapolis, I tried taking the light rail (Alone! Like a big kid!) but as it turns out, an “explosion of some kind” delayed service. Cue the animatronics: it’s a small world, after all.
Allie and I hopped on the Megabus from Minneapolis to Chicago bright and early Thursday morning, after she woke me up with my gift of personalized temporary tattoos. We both slept for a large portion of the trip, and our driver, “Right On Time Roger,” neglected to live up to his name. After lugging our stuff across the city on one of the best public transit systems in the US, we finally made it to Maya’s apartment where she and Kali were waiting. We spent that night at the Second City, which was a dream come true. I bought myself a T-shirt that I’m expecting will be well overused in the upcoming year. We spent the next day out in the sun at Millennium Park, taking a lap through the Crown Fountain, around the “Bean” and across the pedestrian bridge to Lake Michigan. We spent Saturday making our way through the crowds in Wrigleyville, where the Cubs had just won another home game.
We boarded our bus back to Minneapolis bright and early at 9:30 am, arrived in Minneapolis at around 4:30, and then I boarded my bus back to Fargo at 6:00, and finally made it home at 10:30 pm.
Now that I’ve made it back in one piece, without any problems or horror stories, and paired with today’s glowing review of the Greenway by the Star Tribune, I’ve still only got one cheer left:
Whoo Public Transit!