Am I open for an adventure? As I contemplate how to get from Minneapolis to Duluth on my upcoming trip, my fears are starting to take over. Should I take the expensive, but comfy and convenient plane, or the cheap, but possibly challenging bus. In my younger days, I took many bus trips. Several times I went from Duluth to Detroit by Greyhound. It was a twelve-hour long haul with many stops. I remember leaving at night and riding through the U.P. in the dark (for those unfamiliar with the Northland, the U.P. is the upper peninsula of Michigan). I spent several hours of that trip trying to keep some strange guy from falling asleep on my shoulder. I also remember another bus trip that was wonderful. There were only a handful of people on board and we bonded when we stopped for dinner at a small restaurant. One of the passengers was a middle-aged Indian who was traveling from reservation to reservation to take part in a series of potlatch celebrations. It was fascinating listening to his stories. He was a living history lesson. I need to remember that this trip isn’t a twelve-hour trek at night through the U.P., it’s a three-hour drive on Highway 35 in broad daylight. I traveled this same route in a rental car with my sister, Linda, several years ago. It’s beautiful and woodsy with very few other vehicles on the road. So what are my fears? Covid is a big one. Buses are not equipped with the kind of ventilation systems as airplanes, even though Greyhound swears that “cabin air is replaced every five minutes with fresh air, maximizing the circulation of fresh air around the cabin.” I hope Jefferson Lines has the same ventilation system as Greyhound. I do have an N95 mask that I will be wearing on the flight to Minneapolis, and I can wear one on the bus too, but I am a bit leery about being with a group of potential virus carriers in an enclosed bus. This is crazy. I know I am trying to anticipate all of the things that could go wrong and wrest control from the fickle finger of fate. It’s not realistic. When I was young, overly naive, and clueless, I drove my Volkswagen square-back from California to Minnesota, by myself, with a sleeping bag in the back. I camped out at KOA Campgrounds and slept in the back of my car. I wouldn’t even think of doing something like that now, but I don’t want to shy away from the possibility of an adventure, however small. That’s what made me finally settle on taking the bus, the possibility of an adventure. I have no idea what kind of exciting things could happen on a three-hour bus ride, but I am going to find out. Even if all I do is admire the scenery and imagine riding this same road with Lin, it will be a different experience than gazing down at a miniature Minnesota scene from a plane. Minnesota here I come!
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Leslie Masona woman in search of her post-retirement future Guess what! By subscribing, you get notices about the latest Little Old Lady with Cats posts sent to your mailbox!
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