North America by Greyhound Bus ’93 – Part 3

Shortly after breaking off my physics study I went on a journey through North America in August and September 1993, during which I kept a diary. After a visit in Baltimore I travelled across the US with bits of Canada and Mexico by Greyhound bus. It was a life-changing experience. Names and details have been changed to fit the medium.

---

Baltimore – DC – New Orleans – San Antonio – Juárez – San Francisco – Detroit – Toronto – NY

---

 

 

*Warning: Naïve young man’s voice and bad fashion

 

Part 3: Southbound

San Antonio, Texas, Friday, 27 August 1993, 11:30 local time (when writing this)

 

The first leg of my journey:
D.C. > Atlanta > New Orleans

On my way to Atlanta I talked to a guy who was from there. Atlanta just a transfer. Not a place to stay. From there to New Orleans I met a guy, Jason, who was from New Hampshire who now lives and studies in “N’Awliens”. I figured I could trust him when he invited me over to his house.
Arrived late at his place in what appears to be a suburb of the city, with cosy looking wooden houses. It was extremely hot, still at night, and a bit of relief came from a beautiful huge old wooden fan in the middle of the living room. There were lots of people there that I figured were all students. Except for that one girl perhaps who said she was smoking heroin in her cigarette. She asked where I was going and if I didn’t want to travel with her instead. I politely declined.

The next morning a car dropped me off at the French Quarter in the centre of town and getting out of the car felt like stepping into an oven filled with steam. I met a couple, like 30 years old or some-thing, kind of straight looking, a man and a woman who say they are from Seattle. They seemed to experience New Orleans almost the same way I did, as the place seemed so different to them, the climate, the smell, the food, the language (even though it’s just another accent indistinguishable to me). We hang out a bit, including having Cajun burgers in some sort of Jazz bar with those typical French balconies.

 

Second leg:
New Orleans > Houston > San Antonio.

In the bus from Houston (yet another typical American skyline, not a walking around kind of place) to San Antonio I met a girl called Nikole who said she lived in San Francisco but now lives in San Antonio. She gave me her phone number.

In San Antonio I stayed in a youth hostel where I met two Turkish-Viennese (guy & girl) people, an Eastern German girl and a Swiss girl, with whom I went into town last evening. In the centre, there was a canal with touristy venues along the water, which reminded me a bit of Utrecht. Think I’ll stay another night in this place. At the moment, I’m with that Swiss girl (to whom I just told the time: 12:15) and the East-German.

And now I’m going for a swim. Texas is hot.

To be continued…

---

Part 1: Arrival in Pikesville
Part 2: Trouble in Baltimore

Part 3: New Orleans and on to Texas

Part 4: Mexico and San Francisco
Part 5: Detroit
Part 6: Toronto and New York
Part 7: epilogue