Marching Away

So in my semidaily trips up and down the glorious El Camino Real, I have frequently passed large charter buses labeled only with "VISTA" and goventura.org. They go up and down the street in front of school and I've seen them all the way up in Thousand Oaks too. And every time I see them (while driving) I make a mental note to look up where they go and all that. However, because I am driving and listening to NPR, I had not yet remembered to do any further investigation.

Finally last week something triggered my memory and I did my research. Vista buses run long distances across Ventura county, and the one that I was interested in goes from the park and ride by the freeway off Rancho in TO, to the transit center at the mall in Ventura. There are a handful of small stops in Camarillo and Oxnard, but the overall trip only takes 50 minutes. As it usually takes me 35-50 minutes door to door one way, this is a bit longer of a way to go but there are some amazing benefits. Rather than spending over an hour of my day driving, I now have roughly two hours to get busy-work done. I think it's a worthwhile trade-off.

So this Monday I went on an adventure and it was quite a wonderful trip. The bus leaves TO at either 6:35 or 7:05 so I do have to leave the house earlier, but it means I get to watch the sunrise while waiting for the bus. The bus is one of the huge charter buses with the restroom in the back, comfortable seats (for a bus), collapsible foot rests, and the little hang-down TVs (with nothing playing). The bus did not get anywhere near full on the way over. In Camarillo we picked up a lot of high school students going to St. Bonnaventure High School, but they pretty much just had their ipods in and curled up and slept on the way there.

On the way home we picked up a lot of handicapped people from Ventura College which made for a slightly interesting ride, but nothing outrageous. They had to load everyone in wheelchairs into the back of the bus, and then one man with terribly crooked legs walked his way up to the front of the bus. We also had a woman with a guide dog get on which took a little while but once in motion there were no troubles at all.

So yes, I got all my grades recorded, ready to enter into the computer, and was able to grade all the 1A tests on the way there. I definitely will be riding the bus more frequently in the future. Unfortunately this week I have to go to the DO twice after school, which means I have to drive, but it did make me greatly appreciate the freedom the bus gives me. I just hope I don't ever get stranded on one end or another. Alrighty, time to attack my progress reports (things that alas cannot be completed on the bus.)