Bussing It Part 2: Back to Nash - Well, Not Quite Yet.

The trip back to Nashville was far more "entertaining" than the trip to Austin. I decided to take the 7:00PM bus instead of the 7:00AM departure; so I checked out of my hotel room late, and hung around the lobby for a few hours, sipping on Bloody Marys and trying to get pictures uploaded.

Of course, it slipped my mind that Greyhounds also have to deal with traffic. It didn't take long to realize I was going to miss my bus from Dallas to Nashville.
I'll give the driver credit though. He tried to get us there as fast as possible. Getting off at exits, taking the side streets and merging back onto the highway - then doing it all again.

It gave me the worst headache though, like being in an earthquake for 5 five hours; plus, the DVD menu screen for "The Patriot" pumping through the sound system on repeat for the first hour didn't help any.

Eventually, we were treated to a screening of "Fantastic Four." I'm glad I wasn't paying attention because that shit stopped playing halfway through. S.W.A.T was next on the movie schedule, I straight up cackled on some of the one-liners deliverd by Samuel L. Jackson and LL Cool J. Crazychickonthebus.co.uk!

Every couple of hours you get a stretch break on the old Greyhound, but as I learned from my past experiences - stay close to that damn bus or your ass is staying there. At one stop, this driver honestly almost left 5 passengers behind.

As we pulled out of the gas station, people were yelling to the front. "Wait!! Not everyone is on!" Two people would rush on, and then a few other people would scream for the driver to wait as he tried to pull out again.

"I'm not your babysitter! You need to be responsible for yourself!," the driver said.

Yeah, no shit, but I think a little announcement in the store before you ruin somebody's trip is in order. For the love! I can't tell if he was joking or not, but even so, should I have to question his sincerity? I'm a customer, damn it.

At times, going Greyhound is like being on an elementary school field trip during your first week at a new school, except on this one, the driver can kick you off the bus and not suffer any repercussions.

My favorite part of this specific ride, was when the lights and radio turned on around 11:30 PM and the bus started blaring George Clinton's "Atomic Dog." Guess it was time for us to wake up! At least it's a cool jam. I looked around at my fellow passengers, smiling ear-to-ear; I guess nobody else saw the humor. Just a bunch of sourpusses.

Mind you, as all this random stuff is happening, you're trying to conserve the power on your electronic devices (unless you get one of the new buses.) I used one of my much needed battery bars on calling my husband for this funky Greyhound moment (actually it was an "Americanos" bus.) He needed to hear for himself the alternate universe I was living in.

The driver closed the night by apologizing for the bumpy ride out of Austin, and mentioned that although ONE of the customers thought he was tired and driving recklessly, he wasn't. He just wanted to get us there, and the majority of the bus seemed appreciative. He wished us all a blessed life, which made my heart tingle. I did everything I could to resist hugging him as we parted ways in Dallas. I should've hugged him.

Now, I had to wait until 3AM for the next bus that would take me to Nashville. I got to say "Hi" to my favorite employee...the cook in the "café" area, and met some new friends at the Dallas station.

More to come! Stay tuned...