Date: 2008-08-12
From: Lickdale, PA

To: Knoxville, TN
Miles today: 0.0

Oh, the joys of going Greyhound. The bus left late which is not uncommon, but we had a good, fast driver who tried to make up as much time as possible, and the fact that it was raining didn't matter. I was sitting near the front as I like to look out of the windshield so I can see what is going on. Sleep? On a bus? That is out of the question and I liken it to trying to sleep in a trail shelter, except for different reasons. Try to sleep in a postion to promote perfect posture. Remember when you were little, teachers, and mom used to say "sit up straight, shoulders back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor otherwise you'll grow crooked". That is what riding a Greyhound is like and I cannot sleep in that position. I saw others do it, but not me. So I drink lots of coffee so I can be wide awake and not in that drugged, drowsey half asleep state which I cannot stand.Anyway, the ride went as well as you could hope for. We stopped several times including Portsmith, NH, Boston, New York and Philadelphia. In New York the bus station is huge with several levels. As soon as I exited the bus I went up several levels looking for a restroom which was open. The ones I tried on the street level were blocked off being cleaned. I made it up about 3 levels before I found one that I could get into. I noticed the entire floor was quite with all shops closed, and except for myself and a couple of cleaning guys the place was deserted. Well I did my job anyway and came out of the restroom to discover that I was alone. The elevator wouldn't work, and the escalators which had stopped, had been roped off and marked closed. Finally after walking around for awhile, I took the emergency stairs down. Upon descending about 2 levels I came to an accident or crime scene. Blood on the stairs and floor, cops, medics and a guy with his head all bandaged up. I didn't know what to do so I just stopped and they all just looked at me with my large backpack, hiking staff, beard, long hair and ball cap. I was about half way down the stairs. One of the cops asked what I was doing and if I was with this person, motioning to the injured guy. I informed him that I was alone and that I had got off the bus and had gone to find an open restroom, and while I was there, they closed the building and I could only get down via the emergency stairs. I could tell by his expression that that didn't exactly satisfy him but before he could pursue it any farther, I asked where the buses were, and he directed me. In less time than it takes to write it, I thanked him and was several steps in that direction.Arrived in Lebanon, PA at 10:30 A.M. and called Sonny, the cousin of the people who had my truck. Sonny had told me back in June to call him when I arrived and he would fetch me to my truck. He arrive in 20 minutes and by noon, I was on my way to TN. Dick and Mary Marks who stored my truck, and Sonny were some of the nices people I met on the trail. If I am ever in their neighborhood again I will stop and visit. We made our picture together.It felt odd to drive again but I got the hang of it and set the cruise control to as fast as I could get away with and headed south. I had lost two nights sleep out of the last four and knew it would soon catch up with me so I stopped at Micky D's for a large Java to keep my head clear. I called Janice and she cautioned me about driving while groggy, but I had set course and stopped only for gas and food until I reached a Motel 6 outside of Knoxville. Checked in about 9:30 P.M. and crashed into the bed with instructions for a wakeup call at 6:00 A.M. as I had a hike to do the next day.