The Longest Rest Stop Ever

This Friday, I went to New York, New Jersey for Noah's bachelor party celebration - which consisted of a baseball game and dinner at a snazzy steakhouse. Due to financial concerns, I was unable to attend the dinner and would have skipped the weekend entirely were it not for the generosity of some friends. This time around, I decided to take the Chinatown bus lines to get the schedules I wanted. Given that I was only going to be up there for 24 hours, I wanted more choices for departing and arriving at each destination.

My intention was to come back Saturday night in time for Christine's going-away party. Having gone away for so many weekends since I've been home, and having missed out on at least 3 events I was invited to back home due to weddings etc., I wasn't planning on missing this also. In fact, if things worked out I would go straight from the D.C. bus drop-off point to the party, which would make for an interesting entrance.

Unfortunately, things didnt work out.

On the way up, the bus was late to arrive to get us and even later to drop us off. I was suppsed to arrive at 6:45 p.m., which surprised me. Even with a 2:45 departure time, Friday traffic from D.C. to New York is the worst. So of course, I didn't arrive until about 8:30. After chatting in person wiht Dave, Paolo and Virve, I took the train to Daina and Andrew's place in Jersey.

The next day, we watched the Yankees come from behind to beat the Angles in the bottom of the ninth. The outcome sucked, but we had fun at the game. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to catch a 6:30 bus back to D.C. Thankfully, Noah's fiance Maya was around long enough to let me into their apartment to get my bag, which I'd left there because you can't bring backpacks to Yankee Stadium anymore. Oh, FYI: they confiscated my miniature Swiss Army knife/tool -- the one Doug And Eva gave me for being in their wedding party -- at the door; I had to hunt down the same security guard later to find it. Security is paramount at Yankee Stadium, I suppose. After all, a person with a knife the size of a nail file might be able to hijack the whole stadium!

The bus didn't arrive until about 6:50. An hour after we left, the driver pulled us into a rest stop. he said there was a problem with the wheel, and that we would have to wait for another bus. This would take at least one hour. Great. If it only took an hour, there was a slim chance I still might be able to make the party.

Two hours ticked by, and I gave up that notion. A fellow passenger told me that his bus on the way here had the same problem with the wheel bearing, and that they were delayed an hour. Finally, at 11:00 p.m (which is about the time we should have arrived in D.C.), the new bus came. We had been at a rest stop an hour from New York for three hours. We were not amused. I started to worry that I wouldn't make it back in time to take the metrorail home, in spite of the fact that it ran until 3 a.m. on Saturday nights.

We made it back at around 2:30 a.m. A trip that was supposed to be 4 hours, 30 minutes had become about 8 hours. Though I didn't make the party, I did catch the last red line train to the burb where I presently reside. Since the trip lasted longer than it shold have, my cellphone was dead -- but I had accumulated change at the rest stop to call a cab from the metro station. I got home at about 4 in the morning.

I did have a good time while I was up there, but it could have been better. There shall be no more trips for me until Noah's wedding unless the trip is for a potential job. There will also be no more chinatown buses in my future. Greyhound is the same price and far more consistent and reliable.

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