The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round...

But they don't go very fast!

We had our first road trip for softball this past weekend. Right after school Friday I jumped in the truck and headed from the middle school to the college campus. There were two accidents so traffic was horrid, and I was the last one there. As soon as I climbed on the bus we were off and away - 4 pm.

There were many, many problems with this bus. I can only come up with 3 nice things to say:

1. The driver was really nice
2. There was a bathroom
3. It got us there and back again

And I guess those are the 3 most important things when it comes to a bus ride, but consider that Caldwell should be a 6-7 hour drive from Portland and then add to it the following facts:

1. There were tv screens, but no way of playing any kind of shows
2. There was no radio
3. There was no navigational system
4. The arms of the seats didn't go down, making sleeping very difficult
5. Some of the reading lights wouldn't turn off, making it difficult to sleep
6. Some of the reading lights wouldn't turn on, making it difficult to read
7. The bus doesn't do more than 60 mph, less on uphills
8. You have to go through mountains to get from Portland to Caldwell - i.e., lots of uphills

We arrived in Caldwell at 2 am local time, 1 am Portland time. 8.5 hours it took us, not including stops (we stopped for 20 minutes to eat and then another 5 minute potty stop). And no, there was no traffic and the weather was fine. After arriving at 2 am, we had to leave the hotel again at 7:30 for a 9 am game.

Softball wise, though, the trip went well. We won 3/4 games and came to some conclusions about lineups, players, and our team. It was a long weekend, but worthwhile.

I am happy to report that the trip home was much shorter. We made it in 7 hours, including a couple of potty stops, and I was walking in my front door at 8:30 Sunday evening.

Up next, a van trip to Canada.