To Treat Myself or Not

I’m planning a spontaneous trip down to Connecticut this weekend to see my best friend from college. Spontaneous for me means deciding a few days in advance and still trying to get the best deals and availability b/c let’s be honest, spontaneity in general doesn’t really appeal to me. 

So here I am, having a raging internal debate about taking the Amtrak or the bus. To say I’m familiar w/ travel by bus would be an understatement. It’s relatively cheap and easy and therein lies the problem; its’ relative affordability and accessibility makes it the travel of choice for all the people in the world I would never want to spend 5+ hours w/ in close quarters. 

I’m currently toggling between two tabs, Amtrak and Greyhound, and while the difference in the bill is a good $100, I’m still antsy to splurge for the train. It cuts out at least 4 hours of travel, and that’s a gross underestimation. The travel schedule Greyhound has laid out is tentative at best and there’s no way the bus will stick to those arrival times and layovers. And why the hell is it stopping at like every casino in the northeast? 

The absolute worst thing about travel by bus is the other ticketholders. I always try to look like a sleazeball myself when I ride the bus to limit the chances that someone will take the seat next to me, but inevitably someone always does. At the last moment too, when my hopes soaring that I might actually get a seat to myself, some fatass lumbers down the aisle and plants himself right next to me, ensuring I’m wedged in some unnaturally uncomfortable position for the next 5+ hours.

I texted Brent and persuaded myself that I’m really doing this for him, so he doesn’t have to get angry texts every five minutes about how smelly/noisy/rude/hellish the trip is going. I mean, if I can’t do this for him, what does that really say about me?

Planes, Trains and Automobiles just about nails it.

Del: You're in a pretty lousy mood, huh?

Neal: To say the least.

Del: You ever travel by bus before?

[Neal shakes his head]

Del: Hmm. Your mood's probably not going to improve much.