GreyhoundI needed to pickup a camper van I bought in Springfield, MO, and so found myself on a Greyhound bus, heading southwest along I-44 from St. Louis, an interstate highway built on top of what used to be Route 66, for much of the way. I’m not that familiar with riding “motor coaches” on highways, but found myself charmed by the experience, at least on that 4 hour trip.
I love driving along US biways, and not actually having to do the driving was really nice for a photographer, allowing me to rubberneck all I wanted without swerving, as was usual. In a bus you’re riding about 7 feet off the ground, so you can really see out into the landscape you’re passing through, too.
That said, the windows were slightly tinted, and appropriate to the conveyance, pretty grubby. There were reflections from the windows along the other side of the bus, plus smudges on the glass, probably from someone on previous trips trying to sleep. The effect was similar to the old photographer’s trick of taking a bit of vaseline and rubbing it on a filter placed over the lens of the camera - gives a nice gauzy effect. The added pathos of seeing the reminders of Route 66 days - or their contemporary ancestors - completed the effect.