One of my best friends, the best man at my wedding in fact, is himself getting married! As such, the same friend who organized my bachelor party (see exhibits A, B, C, D, and E) is about to have his own — in Vegas (insert .gif from The Hangover).
The only setback, it starts on a Friday morning. After making some calls and pulling some strings, I struck a deal to have Friday off and make up the time next week. One of the perks of working at a start up, flexibility.
While I could drive to Las Vegas, I am not sure I want to drive 4 hours at the crack of dawn, by myself, to catch up with the guys. That’s when it occured to me, I don’t necessarily have to drive. I looked at last minute flights, too expensive. I looked at trains, too long of a journey (twice as long actually). Finally, I looked at buses, bingo!
The coach bus would leave at 7:00 AM from Union Station, which means that I would still have to make my way to Downtown LA before sunrise. Sure, I could take an Uber or Lyft, but today is about public transportation, namely, the LA Metro.
Friday: Day 1 of the Bachelor Party
My alarm goes off at 4:30 AM for me to get ready and make my way to the underground train station I used to take every day to go to work, and make my way to Union Station — Universal City station.
Entering the station felt like muscle memory, I remember those public transportation days vividly. I still even had my old “tap card” to enter the station. Unfortunately, it had insufficient funds on it, which forced me to take a minute to reload my card, which in turn made me miss my train.
The next train would not arrive for another 15 minutes. I would be cutting it really close — down to the last minute, if I made my bus at all. Still, I waited patiently for the next train knowing that there was nothing I could do to make the next train arrive faster. Before I knew it, a train full of half-asleep passenger was opening its doors before me.
Every stop along the way felt like a roll of the dice, like a game of craps, where at any given point we could roll a 7, say encounter a train delay, and lose it all — perhaps this could be foreshadowing for what is to come. Fortunately, the train arrived at Union Station with 5 minutes to spare, I hopped onto the bus, and was on my way to Vegas through the road less traveled.
It is always interesting taking the Metro in Los Angeles, mainly because very few people utilize it as their preferred method of transportation, but also because a number of people do not even know it exists. I certainly did not know we had a subway system until I returned from New York — where I would take the subway almost exclusively to go just about anywhere. On a related note, how weird is it to navigate cities several feet below the surface?
Tell me, have you ever taken the subway? If so, what was your experience like? Do you prefer to drive your own vehicle or take public transportation?
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(Featured Image by: Mr. Ramdolfi)
Caffeinated In Los Angeles 
Great photographs 😊
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Thanks so much! 😄
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Okay so sounds like you made it off the train to the bus but we’ll have to find out if you made it from there and yes I’m taking the subway quite a bit when in Japan and all of Europe and of course in Chicago but I believe they call that the L not the subway. In Japan they are never ever late. Ever
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Thank you for your comment! Wow! It is difficult for me to fathom a subway that is never late! In New York I got used to experiencing delays at least twice a day!
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NEVER EVER late, to the minute on time, for an entire 8 days we took it every day about 8 times/day and never was late.
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That is beyond impressive!
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we fell in love with the tube in London last year and took it everywhere. If I lived in a big city, I would gladly take public transit. Will there be stories from Vegas?
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Hi Jim, I’m sorry I missed your comment. I love the tube! It was definitely my preferred method of transportation in London as well. Indeed, there are more stories up ahead. Thank you for following my journey!
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looking forward to the stories!
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On their way! Thanks so much for your comment!
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I’ve never been on a subway, nor been in a city big enough to have one. I would love to someday, though. 🙂
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I am sure someday you will! Thank you for your comment! 😄
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In big cities i hate driving, so the subway is usually my first option. Some people avoid using the subways for fear of the criminals among us…but I’ve never had a problem.
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I feel the same way. I prefer to take the subway in large cities, except for LA. It is not developed enough to allow for people to get anywhere without needing to transfer to a bus or train. By contrast, I love the NYC subway. It is so convenient! Thank you for your comment!
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On a journey like you are taking, I would prefer to drive, not take a bus. In the city a subway might be handy, I have never been on one however. Our little town doesn’t need such a thing!😂
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Haha I know what you mean! Prior to LA, I lived in the middle of the desert where there is no need for a subway. 😂
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Awesome photos!
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Thanks so much, Chocoviv!
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You’re welcome
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Great post, it was nice to travel on LA underground with you hahaha ! 😁 I personally like the subway if it’s decently cleaned, otherwise my favourite mode of transportation is the train ! 😊
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Haha thank you for tagging along! 😄 How fun! That’s right, I forgot that Europe has trains! Thank you for your comment! 😊
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