Greyhounding It To Chicago

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     On Wednesday, May 2, Tom and I traveled to Chicago for the American Red Cross 2018 Heroes Breakfast,

...our daughter Claire being one of the honorees.

     Now, up until last year our standard means of transportation from Columbus, Ohio, to Chicago was the wonderful Megabus, with its clean, comfortable accommodations and friendly, helpful drivers who'd make the trip in 7 hours flat. 

    However last year Megabus left Columbus, leaving Tom and I to seek out a new mode of transport to  Chicago for visits with our daughter and son-in-law.
    Last summer we drove the trip, during which our car was totaled by a disembodied rogue tire randomly bouncing down the highway right into our car (see post from 6/18/2018).
    And then there was the issue of trying to find parking on the Chicago streets once we arrived in our rented car.
     We decided that in the future we'd prefer not to drive the trip.
     Thus we decided to try the Greyhound Bus.
    The cost of the tickets was less than what we'd typically pay for the Megabus: we'd typically pay around $75 - $80 each for a Chicago round-trip Megabus ticket; the Greyhound round-trip tickets were $63 each.

     It was nice having a terminal in which to wait for the bus -  the Megabus arrived at a street corner - though the terminal was a bit run-down and the bathrooms rather behind the maintenance curve.

     We learned that Greyhound no longer necessarily runs their own buses, but contracts out to other bus companies to provide their transport.

     For example, to Chicago we rode a Barons Bus,

...which, while not as nice as a Megabus, wasn't bad, thought the promise of WIFI was an elusive one. But then the WIFI promised on  the Megabus seldom worked for me, either.

     Our return trip from Chicago to Columbus, however, was on a bus from the Miller Transportation Line, and had to be one of the vilest vehicles on the road. The interior of the bus smelled like a latrine the moment one stepped on board, and the sorry - make that disgusting - state of the bus restroom - stench, sticky floor, empty hand sanitizer container, jammed toilet paper role that refused to dispense and an indescribable toilet seat - suggested that this facility had not been cleaned or maintained any time in the recent past.    
     The seats on the window side of the bus were not comfortable because the seat leg was so located that it left insufficient room on either side to place one's feet.
    There was a passenger a few seats behind us who smoked during the trip and who appeared to be suffering some mental distress, which may be why the driver ignored the smoking.
    It was a 9-hour ride.
    But that unsavory trip home on Saturday on the Miller Transportation Line bus was in the future and thankfully unbeknownst to us on Wednesday as we set out for Chicago.
     Our Greyhound - Barons - bus left Columbus at 7:30 am. I had assumed there would be a lunch/rest stop along the way where we could get something to eat, but our one "rest stop" was a 15-minute lay-over at 9:00 am in the Trotwood, Ohio Greyhound station where the only food and drink was to be found in vending machines. So I purchased our lunch provisions - bags of pretzels and cheese crackers and bottles of water - from the vending machines.
    Most likely because our bus to Chicago stopped at 12 cities and towns along the way to drop off and pick up passengers, we traveled not along the highway but through the streets of small towns in Ohio and Indiana.

   At the end of the eight-and-a-half hour trip we arrived at the busy downtown Chicago Greyhound station,

...from whence we walked to the Clinton Metro station,

...and took the subway to the Division Street stop in Wicker Park.

     We then walked from the subway to the hostel where we were staying,

...the Holiday Jones.

    The Holiday Jones is a cute, friendly  place with a funky decor,

...an empanada restaurant on the first floor called 5411 Empanadas, a popular Wicker Park spot,

...and a nice common area in the basement with a well-stocked kitchen area where the guests may cook  and eat and where a complimentary   breakfast is served,

    Our room was on the second floor,

...with bunk beds,

...and a bay window with a great city view.

     The bathroom, which we shared with our fellow hostelers, was out in the hall.

     The place was spotlessly clean and the staff as helpful and accommodating as last time we'd stayed there last summer (see posts from 6/20/2017).   

     After we'd settled into our room  we headed back out and walked along Division Street in search of some food,

....which we eventually found at a little Division Street pub we happened up called Mac's Wood Grilled,

     Burgers being the house specialty, we ordered burgers.
     Now, mayhaps it was from hunger, or from my last meal having been a lunch of pretzels and cheese crackers,

...but I swore that the burger I ordered, the 'Shroomin, a rare, juicy, tasty patty topped with creamy Gorgonzola and a pile of mushrooms, was the best burger I'd ever had.
    And the hot, crispy skinny fires were likewise awesome.

    Tom also sung the praises of his burger, which he ordered straight-up with an equally praise-worthy salad on the side.

    After our oh-so-satisfying dinner we strolled around Wicker Park,

...until we happened upon a Dunkin' Donuts, where we decided to stop, sample the wares, and watch the world go by for a while.

     We then rejoined the evening strollers,

...until we felt like returning to the Holiday Jones,

...and our nice room with a view.