I am on a mini-adventure. It's actually a fairly large adventure, but small in comparison to most of the journeys I have taken myself on. As stated before, I jettisoned the Jeep back in Massachusetts, and have been car-less in Virginia for the past 3 weeks. I decided it was time to reclaim my vehicle, so I posted an ad on Craigslist in Washington DC looking for a ride back to Boston. I guess I chose the wrong week to hitch a ride from CL, as there was NO-ONE going my way. This is when the plan sprouted from inside my head. Why not make it into an adventure to get your jeep. HAAA!! If you know me, you know that plans go from zero to circles in a matter of moments. Like the rest, this one did not fall short. I am currently making posts to the Tales of a Vagabond blog from the confines of a Bolt Bus headed to New York City, with my final destination being Boston, Massachusetts.


Errr... How did I get here?

Simple really...
I was awoken with a "Hey...I'm leaving in 30 mins". Misha was reluctant to get up @ 5:30; although if SHE wants to be awake then, it is MY problem. Damned female dog with a Man's name. (Misha is Michael in Russian). A short drive into Old Town Manassas, and I was dumped at the Amtrak/VRE station platform. The Vagabond now has no phone, no GPS, no on-demand internet, and NO clue what the hell I'm doing. There is always someone watching over the traveler, and truthfully, I think Vagabonds, Hoboes, Tramps, and the like take up most of the time. Meet the Management Customer Appreciation Day happened to be today, so I was treated to water, and snacks at no charge. This got turned around when I was told to get to DC you need to buy a train ticket at the platform, and ONLY by credit card. NO CASH TRAIN TICKET TO DC!! Hmmm....It's an $8 ticket, and I have $1.25 and $4 between my 2 credit cards. As the coffee guy attempts to use his card to buy me a ticket, the station attendant comes over, hands me a fresh, new, FREE, complimentary ticket to Washington DC; she had a stack of them, and figured I was prime candidate. All Aboard the train to DC it is then. Me in my dirty pants, just woken up face, 1/4 way through a cup of train station coffee; I sit down with 3-piece business suits enroute to the Capitol. Arriving at Union Station in Washington DC at 8am, I wandered down the National Mall, past as many National Landmarks in our Nations' Capitol as I could. Google said it would take 2 hrs to make my tour before going to the bus terminal. Since I walk faster than google thinks, I gave myself 90 mins. I made it to the bus station with an hour to spare, so I took off the shoes, placed my sweat-soaked socks in the sun, and took a nap. Look for the pictures of my big morning in Washington DC to come soon. I really love observing a city wake up in the morning.

ALL ABOARD the Bolt Bus to New York City.
Bolt Busses go from DC -> NYC and are incredibly cheap/easy/fun. For $20 ($16 if I purchased yesterday morning and not 1am the night before getting on the bus.) Your "E-Ticket" can either be printed, or saved on your phone/PDA. A screen-shot picture of the confirmation saved to my HandHeld PC worked fine. I have room to stretch, a 110 plug for my laptop, and FREE WI-FI the whole 4hour trip to NYC. Plus the driver is nice and friendly. Can you really beat that.