BusMan in the Midwest

Last week was a great BusMan week, and a disappointing BusMan week. On Monday I was in Ann Arbor visiting my daughter (no, I did not take the bus from California to Ann Arbor; then again, planes are kind of like buses, aren't they?). I had a Tuesday meeting in Chicago. So I took the Amtrak train from Ann Arbor to Chicago Union Station. Such a lovely ride. A little less than 5 hours. Quiet, pretty southern Michigan countryside. Great trip. My Tuesday meeting was in a hotel near O'Hare airport. So from Union Station I took the Blue Line el to O'Hare, where I caught the hotel shuttle to my hotel. I could have taken a cab from downtown Union Station to my hotel, but I think it would have been slower because of rush hour traffic. The el goes on a dedicated line right down the middle of the freeway. Ha ha, people in cars! And, of course, the el cost $1.25 compared to $60 for a cab.

The disappointing part of the week is that on Thursday I had a 4:00 p.m. appointment in Santa Monica. I thought it would be perfect to take the bus down Wilshire from my office. But the bus ran too infrequently. At that time of day it was every 20-30 minutes. I would have had to leave my office 45 minutes earlier than if I drove. So I drove. Boo! Bad BusMan.