Riding The Bus, Part Two

Earlier I wrote about some of the people who we see or have met when riding the bus. Our family has used the buses in San Diego for decades. My children grew up knowing how to use the transit system. When they were little we did not always have a car, and I do not drive. We used to go to downtown San Diego by way of the ferry and bus. We didn't have to take the bus as we could get on the ferry going from Coronado to San Diego for small change. Then we could walk the rest of the way to our destination, even the San Diego Zoo. That was for the adventurous soul, but we sometimes liked to be challenged.

More often we would take the bus to our destination. If we still had energy, or were short of funds, we could walk back home. It was downhill that direction from the zoo. Of course we still had to take the ferry. By ferry I mean the car ferries that had a place for passengers to embark. We had to change our way of doing things after the bridge opened and the ferries were stopped. It was a sad day when we had our last ferry rides. It was several years before we got the current pedestrian ferries. They are fun to ride but cost more than we were used to paying.

Our children learned how to go by themselves to the zoo while they were still in grade school. Some people may have thought I was crazy to let them do this but I knew that the children knew what they were doing. I would probably not let them do this if I were raising them today. Maybe if I had been an older mother I would have given it a more critical look. In other words I may have worried more. One time Kathy and our friend Wendy, who was a little bit older than Kathy, got on the wrong bus and had an unplanned adventure. It was ok as they just stayed on to the end of the route where the bus turned around, headed back to where they were in familiar territory. Wendy lived in San Diego near Adams Avenue and they were probably headed back to Coronado.

One time when the children were quite young and we were coming home from downtown San Diego I left a small package on the bus in Coronado. Now this is another one of my small world stories. The bus made a trip back to San Diego and had made the rounds in San Diego. It was back in Coronado after trips both ways on the ferry. I was walking down Orange Avenue in Coronado with the children when the bus driver spotted us and stopped. He said he had something that belonged to us. It was the small package that I had left on the bus. I think it was color books and crayons or some similar purchase. This was a treasure to the children and to me. Can you believe that the bus driver was so aware of our little family?

I have enjoyed Greyhound bus trips in the past too. I traveled more than once by bus to Washington state when Kathy's family lived there. I have traveled home from Billings, Montana by bus too, after going there by car. I did the same thing one time when I went to Washington with a friend and came home by bus. I have also traveled both directions by bus to Denver, Colorado several times. Last time I did this with Laura and we decided that it was the last time going that far by bus.

When my mother went to her fiftieth high school reunion, near Bellingham, Washington, Laura went with her by bus. Laura got to go to some of the events of the reunion with her grandmother. She also went to some of the events of her dad's and my fiftieth reunions in Coronado in 2003 and 2005.

Electric Streetcar to Coronado Ferry

We have been using public transportation for decades and appreciate having it be available for us. It was a real treat when the trolleys began service in the early eighties. We have enjoyed using them for three decades now. Paul and I remember that when we were quite young there were street cars. Too bad they were discontinued. I especially remember the street car that went down the middle of Orange Avenue in Coronado when I was little. My dad had stories to tell my sisters and me about his adventures with the street cars when he was young. He was a great story teller and I would love to follow in his footsteps.

Our family will continue to take advantage of the buses and trolleys as we do not have a car now. They are a necessary source of transportation for us.

Image credits: prayitno; aldenjewell; San Diego History Center