Megabus - a Mega Bus.

I took a bus from NYC to DC for eight dollars. I can't even get a taxi to town back in Wellington for eight dollars.

I booked my trip online using the Megabus website, all very easy. It's amazing how far they will take you for so little; you could get a ticket to Boston for as little as $1 if you booked early enough. The Megabus is a big double decker, with free wifi and a power outlet for those of us who can't stand travelling on the bus. I watched Juno.

I arrived in DC early Wednesday evening after a four hour bus ride which took me through New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware (I've now been to one tenth of the US on this trip...!) before getting off the bus and walking towards the capitol buildings and my hotel. Well, I got all the way to The Mall (the long stretch of grass and parkland that lies between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument) before realising I had left behind the air mattress I was supposed to bring to sleep on.

So I walked back to where the bus had dropped my off, stressed out and swearing at my own stupidity only to find the bus loading up and about to leave. I ran up to the bus flailing my arms up and down with my backpack bouncing all over the place as I tried to flag the driver to pull over. He stopped, opened the door, and looked at me.

"You're either late or you forgot an air bed"

"Air bed"

"hunh"

At which point he stood up, reached above his head, and tossed my air bed at me. I swear I heard a chorus of angels as he sat back down and drove away.

Thank you, Megabus.