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Blogging on a Bus

I've always been fascinated with pubic transportation. As a young child, I traveled across the United States several times on a Greyhound bus. There were also random bus trips to visit cousins, and other assorted family and friends.

In my twenties, I fell in love with the rail system in Europe. There is a certain freedom that comes from jumping on a train and passing the time watching the world go by at 180 miles per hour (Brussels to Paris; high speed rail).

I consider myself fortunate, I don't have to rely on public transportation. Even though I am on the road quite a bit, I have a reliable vehicle, and rarely think twice before jumping in and hitting the road.

Since the Jefferson Lines added Central Wisconsin to their service map, I've been itching to hop aboard and see for myself what it would be like crossing the state on a regularly scheduled ride.

Last weekend, I decided to leave my car in Wausau, car pool with two different parties to save over 400 miles of driving which landed me in Eau Claire. I pre booked a ticket from Eau Claire to Wausau for $36. (All told, this scheme saved me over three tanks of gas, 9 hours driving, and let me hang out with some awesome people.)

I had to change busses in Eau Claire. The first bus was ultra modern, even having electrical service at each seat. The second bus was a bit more dated (no electrical service), but was WI-FI equipped. Yes, you can surf the net across the state....

The busses were clean, and on this rainy day, there was plenty of room (I was one of 6 from Eau Claire to Abbotsford).

The passengers were what you'd expect. College students, migrant workers, and some interesting looking characters. In Abbotsford, a group of Amish looking people boarded (and spoke their own language, similar to the one on TV's Amish Mafia). At no time did I feel unsafe or worry that there would be trouble.

The ride was somewhat bumpy. I wanted to read, but thought better of that. I wondered if I could use this time to work, but dismissed that, too. That said, I certainly could have worked instead of writing this post.

Would I ride again? Absolutely. It was a nice change of pace to sit back, tap out a post on my iPad and leave the driving to someone else.  In this particular situation, taking the bus was part of an adventure which saved a lot of driving time, money and gas. Time well spent, resources well saved.

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