On the east coast, it seems that half of the passengers are college students or recent grads, either traveling between school and home, or visiting friends.

Dear <b>dfnh</b> - sorry that I failed to read the intended humor - one of the problems with written word.

Yes, the military takes most effective means for travel. If more people served in military - with the &quot;deluxe accomodations&quot;, &quot;roommates&quot;, bathrooms, etc. then there's be a lot less belly-aching on sites like this when a hotel only had &quot;off-brand&quot; shampoo!! The worse hotels don't seem so bad when I recall sharing a room with 26 others in triple-decked &quot;racks&quot; (beds).

Prayers for your son's continued safe travels and good health.

My daughter takes the greyhound from Boston to NYC and Philadelphia quite often. Says it is boring, but she gets homework done on the long trips. I know that a few times it has been delayed by a bit., but nothing major.

My Mom in law took GH from Portland OR to San Diego last year. Arrived about 5 hours late. The dispatcher told us that her bus had arrived in SD on time (Obviously it hadn't!) so we were scared something had happened to her, and couldn't get through on her phone.

Turned out the surly driver told the passengers to turn off their phones and she took it literally, instead of turning off the ringer.

As we had a wedding rehearsal to attend, it was a nightmare that afternoon!

Last year I took Greyhound across MO on I44. When I called to inquire, their agent said I could wait at the St.Louis airport and buy a ticket from the driver. Two soldiers Fort Leonard Wood and I got the last three seats on the bus, luckily.

Mine was next to a very sweet, soft, warm ~375 pounder. He gave me the window seat and tried to hold himself in as much as he could. Avoiding body contact was not a possibility, but so what. I napped as if under a heavy comforter.

When we got to Rolla, the bus pulled into a McDonald's parking lot, and as if by a secret signal half the passengers sprang into the aisles holding their cigarettes and lighters expecting a smoke break. At Fort Leonard Wood a lot of soldiers got off, so I found a less crowded seat.

Coming home, there were a decent number of free seats. Truckers going to Tulsa apparently take that bus a lot, and I found my fellow passengers pleasant if not genteel.

My only reservation with taking the bus is not being able to count on getting a seat, even if I had a ticket.

thanks rbtraveler. DS is out of the military now. Thank you for the chuckle about off-brand shampoo. And thank you for your service. Best wishes.

On many of the Greyhound routes you may now purchase a &quot;board first&quot; pass for $5. I've not used it and I don't know how they cut it off, but I do think that the extra $5 when it is offered would be a good choice if you are traveling on a tight schedule.

The Dog is little more &quot;boring&quot; than a rail trip ... except that there's no lounge/snack car. But the time can be used for reading, cards, sleeping, or even watching videos (bring the extra batteries!) My viewpoint is that kids are time-rich and money-poor so let them get some experience meeting people outside their usual comfort zone.

Vivi,

In response to your new information and route disclosure, don't hesitate to send your college age son on Greyhound on that trip.

The people reporting the worst of the Greyhound stories live in the more densely populated areas of the country, and those are where the Greyhound populace is worst.

The path from Sacramento to Eugene is filled with nothingness. (does anybody ever talk of a &quot;homeless&quot; population in Grants Pass?? - no, of course not!)

Furthermore, even the people going from one spot to another as cheaply as possible (read: Greyhound) don't tend to live on one end of that path AND have faily at the other end.

In addition, with it being Thanksgiving weekend, there will be a fair number of &quot;regular&quot; people infiltrating the steerage section of Greyhound so as to give your son the impression that the clientele is of a higher class, on average, than you have been led to believe.

As they say:

&quot;Go Greyhound...&quot;

Google Greyhound and watch as murder/decapitations/assault etc come up.

When I was in college I worked for the SC Department of Corrections (internship) and was in charge of inmate furloughs.

I put all my inmates on greyhound which is what all prisons do.

Would I ride greyhound? Never in a million years.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...n4313498.shtml

See GoTravel that is what our local PD told me. We have two prisons here in my city. And yes, they leave via Greyhound.

Greyhound Update!

With some trepidation I dropped son at the Sacramento Greyhound station last night. The bus left precisely on the dot and arrived in Eugene early. He said he had a whole row to himself and slept the whole way. All for $58. So he is rested and ready for todays OSU-Oregon showdown after Fridays family Thanksgiving dinner.
It was a successful first run for him on The Dog! Thanks for all your stories!

PS. He is flying home!

Thanks for the update; we love happy endings.

thanks, vivi.

I rode many an old dog in my day, and lived to tell the tale.

Good update!

One of my college kids boards the dog tomorrow for his 9 hour ride. It'll will be crowded, but oh well, he's a kid - he'll live.

(And yes, our dogs not only transport parolees but also drug addicts coming from downstate to the upstate rehab places. Just what we need here. More drug addicts.)

1. Those who don't make it alive don't post.

2. A business cannot kill off <b>all</b> its customers. It needs at least <b>a few</b> return customers.

:p

One more part to the Happy Ending: Oregon upset Oregon State tonight making the 9 hour ride for game day exceptionally worthwhile! (I am sure the Beavers are stunned, this loss robbed them of a Rose Bowl berth.)

Here is a little tune by Roy Clark for all those that ride The Dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=848C6...eature=related