Do you tip the driver? Will there be a service tray? Will they have drinks? These are some of the questions that Klc asked me while we were on our way to the Downtown St. Petersburg Greyhound bus station. I knew better. I knew that taking the bus as a way of travel was the best way to piss a person off. I mean, if you really want it to take 10 hours to get from Jacksonville to Tampa, then a bus is the way to go. But hey, this is a somewhat true adventure, so why not? It would be fun to let Klc have her bus ride. The following is our story of taking a Greyhound bus from Downtown St. Pete to Sarasota and then back the next day.
Friday 6:21 pm
This is Mike, the friendly Greyhound employee that got us on our way. He was very confused by us.
Hey, at the airport a cart will cost ya at least a buck!
After deciding to go South, we learn from Mike that our next bus leaves at 9:35 pm. We decide to take a sabatical at Molly's bar down the road.
Finally our chariott arrives!
10:05 pm
11:08 pm After arriving in Bradenton (Klc decided that we had been on the bus long enough), we called Bruce's Taxi to take us to a crappy bar next to a crappy hotel. Our driver D.T. knew just the place.
We checked into the Royal Motel. Termites were all over the place. Our check in guy said it was the season.
11:45 pm We made our way to the Gator Lounge. Kareoke was going fun swing. Christopher AKA Superman (pictured above) loves to sing, fav color is blue, and has to be on the water.
I bought Klc a rose from Karen.
The writing on the bathroom wall was just icing on the cake.
After leaving a mexican bar, this boss / worker duo decided it was time to enjoy a Red Neck bar.
This is Sue. She said the the Mexican thinks she's 65.
I liked this guy. He was taking the time to get to know his employee. Not everyone was as receptive though. One girl jumped back and yelled "Don't you touch me" after the Mexican tried to say something to her. But then again, 40 minutes later they were on the dance floor together.
2:30 am Klc enjoys the company of a 6 pack of Mic Light in our lovely hotel parking lot. The room next door to us had traffic coming and going all night, with each car staying about 10 minutes. Hum. Maybe we should have drank our beers inside.
Klc enjoys a talk with Jose.
11:04 am We are awaken by a harsh pounding on the door! "Get the hell out of here, It's time to go. Grab your stuff before I call the Law." As the hotel manager yells at us (with a bud in hand) we are reminded that customer service isn't on the top of this places list. We leave. Check out was 10:00 am.
Upon leaving hotel hell, we walk with luggage in hand to the kwik stop and get Klc a diet coke. We are told that Poppi's is the place to get a good breakfast. We get directions and head out.
11:30 am On our way to Poppi's, we are stoped by Hans, a fellow traveler (also with luggage in tow) asking us how to get to Jupiter, Florida. He's thrilled that we know he's talking about Jupiter Florida and not the planet. Finding out that Jupiter is too far away, he askes about Pennisicola (he kept saying Pepsi cola, but we knew what we meant). Still too far. We all settled on Port Charlotte. He started to cry, after his brief German accent went away. He said he was so happy to have a plan and away he went. He turned around to ask where he was going again. We said Port Charlotte.
12:15 pm We walked to Poppi's and realized that they only talk cash (this was a constant problem in whole town) We had 8 bucks. The waitress thought we were homeless and gave us a discount. The pic above shows it all.
1:15 pm We called Bruce's Taxi again and they took us to the bus stop. Klc had a hard time getting into the cab because of the door (see pic left)
1:28 pm We arrive at our bus station. The next bus leaves at 3:30 pm. So we wait, read the rules, play cards, and talk with fellow travelers.
3:48 pm The bus arrives. On our way home, we meet John who had complete converstions with himself (pictured right) He also was on the bus trip up with us. Interesting. The guy sitting across from him, who had bright red lipstick and eye shadow on, said that John was wierd. Not everyone was a bit looney, we did have a great conversation with Sarah, the traveling Australian. She was on her way to the Tampa airport to head home after seeing the World for 8 months.  
4:45 pm We arrive back to the St. Pete bus stop. We have made it home alive! We were glad to see our Jeep waiting to take us off our feet. 
Looking back, our bus trip was a great learning experience. Klc now knows that taking the bus isn't that much fun. We both were amazed in how much differently we were treated. Just carry some luggage around and people think your homeless, regardless of how your dressed. We also stayed in the worst part of town and no one messed with us. In fact they welcomed us. It's funny how easy it is to become blinded by what you think is better than everything else. It's all the same, just different ways to get there.