To New York on the Chicken Bus

My neighbors, Sal and Ramon (Perdon, no accent), were recently regaling us with their exploits in Guatamala, Belize and Mexico. When they had to get themselves from St. Paul back home they were wishing for a chicken bus.

How I understood it, the chicken bus was just the local bus that would roll be eventually and frequently enough to make it a farely reliable method of transportation. People were PACKED in, it was cheap, there was poultry on the top and it was incredibly speedy and effecient. The driver, drove. The other guy found out where you were going, took your money, threw your bags on the top of the bus. When you got there, he'd already crawled up on top of the bus and was throwing your bags down to you as the bus pulled away! That guy kept a lot of info in his head.

Here I am, on my way to New York, sans car. And since you know I live for the complicated transportation options, here's the itinerary:

1. Mr. Lisapedia drops me off at the Greyhound station, after a tender good-bye, I wait for the bus to leave, approximately 1.25 hours.
2. Take 3 hour and 45 minute bus ride to downtown Minneapolis. $28
3. Walk 3-6 blocks to Minneapolis light rail station. $0
4. Take light rail to JJake's and walk the 3-4 blocks to her house. It's now 8:30pm (I hope). I left home at 2:10. $2
5. Catch 5:15ish light rail to airport for 6:30am flight. $113
6. Arrive at JFK ~ 10:00am. Take AirTrain and subway to hotel. $7
7. Arrive at hotel and drop by bags early. $priceless

Would I take the chicken bus if it picked me up on my road and dropped me off in NYC? I don't know. I'm big on personal space, especially with people I don't know. Sal did have a guy vomit at her feet, but that could happen on the greyhound and has happened to me on a 747 from Australia. My chicken bus is costing me ~ $150. And think of the lessons I'm learning.

I'll check in later and let you know how it went.