Tag: workabout
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Bus Giving
Lol, my cross-country bus trip keeps on giving:
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#workabout Favorites
Reflecting back on my trip, I think a lot about what my favorites were. Lotta ways to apply that “favorite” label, but the way I’ve been thinking it the most is as it relates to my daily schedule out there. I moved fast (too fast!) on this journey, so every day/every other day essentially became…
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One Bag Gear Awards
One of my favorite things about journeys like this is the minimalism it forces. Or, if I’m being honest, that it enables — I’m pretty obsessed about traveling with a One Bag, and this was my first real chance to try out my new backpack for an extended period. It’s really not about the bag,…
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Bus Riding Review
I think I’ve been pretty honest with my assessment of busses in my posts about this journey, but perhaps I’ve come across too negative. So, let me be clear: Riding the busses was actually one of the best parts of this trip, and I’ll definitely add bussing into the mix when deciding how to get…
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Final Stats
Pittsburgh to DC was my final bus leg, which means I’m now back home! The DC Greyhound station doesn’t present well upon initial arrival — you’re in the parking garage: But you then emerge into Union Station, which makes it rank as the nicest bus station of my journey. (DC locals who dare challenge me…
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
With Pittsburgh, I’d mostly just be repeating myself with all the praise I heaped on Cleveland — It’s great! So, instead, I’m just going to do a photo dump from the two Pirates games I went to, as its also a great showcase for the city itself. I’d never been there before, but PNC Park…
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Cleveland, Ohio
I feel like I’m starting to repeat myself with my assessments of these midwest/rustbelt/whatever cities: Used to be great; then wasn’t; started to recover; became mostly great, but smaller, again; COVID; still mostly great, but needs more people downtown. Cleveland fits right into this, but I thought it was especially great! Good start with a…
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Princely Art
I’ve seen a ton of my street murals on this journey. With this one in Cleveland, Prince is now leading for the person I’ve seen the most in them: While I’m on the topic, here are some other faves. I like this one because it’s sweet & I find the response to be just a…
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Detroit, Michigan
Based upon all the coverage its downfall has gotten, I didn’t expect much from Detroit. However, based upon all the coverage its slow recovery has also gotten, I expected to be pleasantly surprised. In both cases, my expectations were met! Good start with the nice-enough bus station: Though the neighborhood it was in wasn’t the…
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South to Canada
A Trivial Pursuit question, from the original, Genus edition, that I very specifically remember getting/hearing, back in the day: What country is directly south of Detroit, Michigan? The answer is Canada, which blew my mind at the time. Decades later, I’ve now now officially confirmed ✅ it 🇨🇦 with my own eyes 👀
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Stopping Mall
On my two-day, 19-bus-hours journey from Minneapolis to Detroit (via Chicago), I had to transfer to a different bus in Lansing, Michigan. As I’ve been detailing, there are either bus stations or bus stops, and the stops have pretty much always been gas stations or McDonald’s parking lots. The bus stop in Lansing was neither:…
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City of Brotherly Love
I never liked the Pistons. I never liked Bill Laimbeer. But fellas born on the same day of the year are 1/365.24th brothers, so I had to take a pic when I stumbled upon this on the street in Detroit.
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Minneapolis, Minnesota
Whenever people ask about the highlight of my 1.5 year-long #workabout back in 20COVID, my answer is usually Milwaukee — it’s like mini-Chicago and an amazing place to visit & hang out. However, after spending a few days there, Minneapolis might now get my vote for “Most Underrated US City” Arriving by bus doesn’t give…
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Princely Metal
Minneapolis sure does love their Prince But it was Metallica, and their insanely devoted fans, that was ruling the city during my visit:
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Puzzles
The best libraries have a community puzzle table
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Duluth, Minnesota
After North Dakota, I knew I was headed Minneapolis, but first needed to kill a few days somewhere else in Minnesota. So, I pulled up Google Maps, looked to find city name I recognized & that was east of Fargo. Hello Duluth! Needless to say, I knew nothing about it prior to my arrival. Getting…
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My Favorite Driver (so far)
I though the most…eccentric…folks I’d experience on this #workabout would be my fellow bus passengers. They are indeed special folks at times, but it’s the bus drivers that have proven to be the most entertaining to me. Maybe it’s because they’re the ones in charge, and have all the power? I don’t know, I just…
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Random (Very) Fargo Photo Dump
Like I said, lotta bison statues in Fargo (errr, Moorhead 👯): Why did I take this picture: I noticed these sidewalk stamps everywhere in Fargo (and, Bismarck), and the companies changed from section to section. Is this something that’s in all sidewalks and I never noticed before? “High Caffeine” coffee, another thing I noticed in…
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Fargo, North Dakota
Like Coeur d’Alene, Fargo is one of those uniquely-named places that’s always stuck in my head, and that I was looking forward to visiting on this #workabout. After my dud of a time in Bismarck, however, my expectations were very, very low. But Fargo turned out to actually be kinda nice! Not the bus station…
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Bismarck, North Dakota
I knew ignorantly traveling like I am on this #workabout that I’d eventually run into a dud. Bismarck is a dud: not pretty; not much to do; uninteresting people. Nothing bad happened to me, it’s just that…nothing…really happened. Still took some pics, though, so let’s get into them. The first thing I noticed upon getting…
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Night Bus Math
I, seemingly, took the worst* bus trip of my life, a 9.5 night bus from Bozeman to Bismarck. But I emerged & arrived feeling positive & happy. Why? Let’s do the math → -1 → The bus was $191 and the pickup was @ 2 am in the Walmart parking lot (this really should be…
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ABC
Basic, core, fundamental, no excuses, travel rule in our awesomely modern world → ABC = Always Be Charging
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Random Bismarck
“Pop” instead of “Soda” (and clearly* found my burger place) → No area code → Manual skating rink in park → Roundup in their State museum → *I lied
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Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman had a similar “this is so nice” vibe to Missoula, but is pleasantly bigger. It didn’t start off so great, though, as it has a bus stop, not station, and it’s in a Wal-Mart parking lot: It was right across from my motel, though, where I first sighted the mountains & view that everywhere…
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Trip Advisor
Hahaha, the third ranked Trip Advisor “Top Attraction” in Bismarck, North Dakota, where I arrived today, is Laughing Sun Brewing. I’ve never seen a brewery or bar or restaurant ever even be in the Top Ten of any other place I’ve looked up. So, duh, that’s where I’m posting this from (and I walked by…
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Missoula, Montana
Sure, Missoula is beautiful, set on a river in the mountains. But the phrase I kept saying in my head was “Missoula is community”. No matter where I went in town, it just felt like a cohesive community. On the streets: On the University of Montana campus: On the great hike to the big M…
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Monoply Bus (con’t)
LOL, it doesn’t get much worse than the schedule & price for my next leg of this #workabout: And this is the Bozeman bus stop where I’ll be catching it: So I’ll be hanging out in the Wal-Mart parking lot at 1am Wednesday. On the positive side, I save $ by not having to book…
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Bus Tour
Here’s a pic of the type of bus I’ve been riding since Spokane — they’ve all looked like this: They’re actually clean, with comfortable seats & charging inside, though the WiFi they advertise is BS — it never works for long. The bathroom does, though 🙌. There is no real Greyhound in this region; all…
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Coeur d’Alene Library
Yep, I’m posting about a library again. But I’m not sorry, I just love ‘em, and these Inland Pacific Northwest (a term I learned on this trip) towns all seem to have a great one. Nobody would judge me if I was posting about cute & cozy little coffee shops, and that’s how I treat…
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Coeur d’Alene
The next stop on this eastward bus #workabout was Coeur d’Alene, an exotic-sounding place, and one that I’m still incapable of spelling correctly when typing it. It’s an easy 45 minute bus ride from Spokane, but a totally different world. Welcome to resort town! Well, not my motel — the atmosphere & guests were reminders…
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Bus Station vs. Stop
I threw shade at the Seattle bus station, but I take it back, as I now realize that just having an actual station might be a big deal. Ex: That’s the Coeur d’Alene bus “station” above, aka, a gas station. Adding insult to it, the stop is about three miles from downtown, and I refuse…
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Spokane, Washington
I walked from the cruise ship dock to the Seattle bus station, and quickly realized this next journey was going to be very, very different from the cruise. From a floating resort to… My first stop was Spokane, WA, a five hour bus ride. I’ll do a post later about bus-riding, but this one was…
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Unplanned #workabout
When I booked my flight home from Seattle for after my cruise, I idiotically selected my return date to DC for when the cruise was departing to Alaska instead of when it was returning. I only realized it a few days before my trip started, and I had purchased the cheap “you can’t ever change…
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