Do Frugal Men Ride The Greyhound?

February 29, 2008 · Filed Under · 5 Comments 

The man in question is my Dad. As I have documented on my blog before, my Dad is one of the more frugal people I know. He was up last week visiting us here in Redding, CA. He lives about a 5 hour car ride to the south of us in Watsonville, California. With the high price of gas, he opted for the more frugal Greyhound bus service. Was it extreme frugality? I will let you be the judge. On Monday morning I dropped him off at the Greyhound bus station in Redding at 7am. Holy smokes, what a long day he ended up having trying to get home. So now in my Dad’s own words, here is how his day went:

bus.jpg

7:30 am: Bus left Redding, CA.
9:55 am: Bus arrives in Sacramento. Scheduled to leave at 10:45am to catch a 1:00pm bus from Oakland.
12:15 pm: Bus finally leaves Sacramento. I was then told that since I would miss the 1pm bus in Oakland to go on to San Francisco and catch a 5:15pm bus to San Jose. Other option was to go on to Oakland and catch the 11:30 pm bus from Oakland directly to Santa Cruz arriving God knows when. Yikes, this is getting ugly.
2:30 pm: Bus arrives in San Francisco.
5:15 pm: Bus leaves San Francisco and heads towards San Jose.
7:05 pm: Bus arrives in San Jose. Walked 5 blocks to the Am-Track station where the Highway 17 Express Bus station is located.
8:05 pm: Left San Jose on Highway 17 Express Bus towards Santa Cruz.
9:00 pm: Bus arrives in Santa Cruz. I then caught a local bus for Watsonville immediately. I had decided to call my wife from Santa Cruz if a Watsonville bus was not readily available.

The Rest Of The Story: So I got off the bus at a rural corner where only one business exists thinking it would still be open at 9:30 pm. SORRY NO DICE. DOUBLE SORRY, NO PAY PHONE! I do not want a cell phone because they go off when I am doing something equally important. So I started to walk home in the dark carrying my suitcase (2 mile walk) when a car pulled into the tiny parking lot. It seems two ladies had carpooled to some place (doubtful it was Redding) and one was letting the other out at her car. I seized the moment and inquired if they knew if there was a pay phone in this parking lot. The one lady gave me a look as if I had inquired to Einstien’s theory of relativity. Then she graciously asked if I wanted to use her cell phone. I called my wife and arrived home at 9:40pm about 14 hours after leaving Redding.

Would I Do It Again: Many would say my trip was an absurd waste of time. I rather think of it as an adventure. Being retired, I do not have to account for every minute or day for that matter. In addition, not taking this awesome bus trip would have left me the options of:

1) Missing my 6 year old grandson’s last basketball game of the year, the only one I got to witness.

OR

2) Driving a second car on a 750 mile round-trip at at a cost of about $125.

My route cost me the following:

  • Greyhound Bus Ticket-$39
  • HWY 17 Express $2
  • Santa Cruz metro $1, for a total savings of $83. 

I would definitely do it again given those options. THINKING MORE ABOUT A CELL PHONE THOUGH!

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Comments

5 Responses to “Do Frugal Men Ride The Greyhound?”

  1. Mrs. Micah on February 29th, 2008 4:34 pm

    That sounds good. I’ve considered Greyhound at times, though it was never for long enough that car wouldn’t be cheaper (2 hours and it took a longer, different route which was why it was more expensive).

    Glad you have fun, Kyle’s dad. :)

  2. Julie on March 1st, 2008 9:33 am

    I’d say your dad did indeed have an adventure…and saved $$ to boot :) While some people might have pulled their hair out, he put a nice re-frame on disaster and called it an “adventure”. I remember years ago when my grandmother used to hop on the good ol’ Greyhound from Sioux City to Omaha…she loved those rides, but then again it was only 90 miles one-way and took only 2 hours.

  3. plonkee on March 3rd, 2008 2:15 pm

    I have spent many, many hours on Greyhound buses, and they’re certainly recommended for seeing a different slice of American life. Am now thinking that I’ve done my long distance time on them. Overnight on an over air-conditioned bus is not a complete barrel of laughs.

  4. The Happy Housewife on March 3rd, 2008 6:11 pm

    My dad has taken the bus to save money as well. I am not sure if I would, as taking 6 kids on a bus might save me a small amount of money, but I would spend it on therapy after it was over!

  5. Kyle on March 4th, 2008 7:46 am

    @ MM, yeah it seems for time vs. cost the greyhound needs to be for longer trips, 5+hrs.

    @ Julie, sounds like your grandmother was similar to my dad. Not only becase they were both from the midwest, but they both enjoy the rides, talking to new people, seeing the countryside, etc. I could do a 2 hour jaunt on the bus, but that would be my max.

    @ plonkee, yeah my dad alwaya has some stories to tell about his rides, but I am with you, not a barrel of laughs cramped up in a cattle car.

    @ THH, I am with ya’, 6 kids, or in my case 3 kids, on a crowded bus, trying to change diapers and keep them in there seats sound like a lot of work!

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