Riding the Greyhound bus is quite an experience. I recently took a ride from Washington D.C. to New Braunfels, TX on the bus. It took 39 hours and 25 stops to make it. My wife, myself and my 4 year old son made the trip together (yes, I took a 4 year old on a 39 hour bus ride). We left at 5pm from D.C. on a Sunday. We arrived in New Braunfels on Tuesday around 8am.

If anyone is qualified to give a few tips or warnings about riding the Greyhound it is me. I have filled this article with little things you should know before you go Greyhound. Included is the video diary I made during our trip. The quality may not be great because I filmed it all myself, but you should get the idea of what a 39 hour bus ride is like.

Tip number one, sit towards the middle of the bus. This clip was filmed from the back of the bus, and you can see how bumpy it is. Also note that even my son looks discouraged at the start of this trip. He had no idea what was ahead. The sunset over the Potomac was nice, but you won't have many scenic views like that on Greyhound.

 When you are on a Greyhound bus, times slows to an unbearable crawl! Note that I said it seems like it has been 29 hours, but it was really only 3. Bring something to do. Books, games, puzzles. A laptop that plays movies along with a headset would have been a great idea. By the way, I had none of those things. I did have one book, but I had already read it and I gave it away to a vagabond who was going even farther than I was.

 Lines are unbelievably long at a bus stop. This is just something you should be ready for. Every time you have to change a bus, you will wait in some line that will never end. Be prepared or at least ready for it.

Note how the kids don't mind. Oh to be young again.

Also notice how you can hear football games in the background. When you go on a 39 hour bus ride, your connection to the outside world is only the time you spend in the bus station changing buses. Outside of that, you will have no clue as to what is going on in the real world. Your life becomes the bus ride.

 Here's my number one tip. Sleep before you leave on a bus trip. I made the mistake of getting almost no sleep the night before we left. If at all possible sleep about 24 hours before you board the Greyhound.

Also note, as we came through Roanoke I noticed it was a nice looking town. It had an art museum, a concert arena, and downtown was alive with restaurants, shops, etc. I was surprised.

Another thing you should know before you get on a bus is how the bus will go far out of the way along it's journey to hit several different towns. Greyhounds do not travel as the crow flies. I was in Richmond, VA at 8pm Sunday and Roanoke, VA at 1am Monday. It's not that far between those two cities!

Yes, at all hours of the night you will be awakened by announcements. I realize the video is dark, but the point is in the audio. In the background you hear the bus driver making announcements at 3am. Even my son was awakened.

Also, I had been on the bus 10 hours, still in Virginia!

If you notice in the video diary background you will see the chairs are see through. This is because they are a metal grid. So you have been on the bus for 13 hours, and now they provide you with chairs that will imprint your butt to look like a waffle. It seems bus stations go out of their way to make it uncomfortable.

Look at the video. I had it on super close up. Obviously at this point I don't know where I am, who I am, or how to operate the video.

Children may get motion sick on a bus. Bring plenty of motion sickness medicine. Vomit on the bus is very unpleasant. Learn from my mistakes.

 Buses are crowded. Make sure you bring pillows. We brought two, you can see them in the video. There were three of us. You do the math. Again, learn from my mistakes.

I am 6 foot tall. You can see that I had no room. My advice is, try and sit next to someone small and behind someone small. The guy in front of me was asleep with his chair leaned all the way back and his hand flopped over in front of my face.

 We were in Nashville for 1 and a half hours. Or should I say we were in the Nashville bus station for 1 and a half hours. Get ready for long stops between long bus rides if you are going Greyhound.

Look at the confusion on my face. I am obviously becoming delusional and not even half way to my destination. It looks like even my hair is tired. I wasn't even sure if it had been 10 hours or 18 hours.

 You will go to places you never needed to go. I never even heard of Jackson, TN. If you go Greyhound be prepared to stop almost everywhere.

I was on the bus now for about 20 hours and only half way to my final destination.

What you see in the video of Memphis is about what I saw of Memphis. When you ride Greyhound, it's not a tour bus. Expect to be in and out of a city before you know it. Take pictures through the window if you want, but they won't be very picturesque.

In the background was the Memphis minor league baseball park, which was across the street from the bus stop. Also in the video is the Peabody Hotel, semi-famous for it's ducks that live in the hotel lobby fountain.

Another tip: bring lots of cash. Bus station prices are outrageous, and you will be unable to go anywhere else. We were a little over halfway to the end, but totally out of cash. The sodas were $2.50. I bought one from some street dude outside for $1 just to save money. If you smoke bring plenty of cig's because you won't be able to buy them once you get going.

Just make sure you are stocked on cash and supplies before you board. You will be hard pressed to re-supply yourself as you go.

Also note, I am still delusional. I can't hardly remember where I am.

There was a child on the bus that was driving everyone crazy. This is something you can't avoid. Just be ready for it.

In the video is my son who was no trouble at all. If you have children read my article "Two ways to make parenting easier" before you go.

Here is as grumpy as my son got. At 2am on Tuesday. He is even getting delusional. He can't decide if he is tired or not.

Another thing to be ready for, the bus will stop at all hours. You may think you can hop on the bus and sleep all night, but no. We had a 45 minute layover in Dallas at 2am.

This was our 21st stop out of 25. On a 39 hour bus ride that is stopping more than every two hours.

 Regardless of the time when the bus makes a stop, all the interior lights will come on. When you make stops about every two hours, this makes it difficult to sleep. My family seems to have stayed asleep, but they had been on the bus 37 hours already.

Also, look at the bags under my eyes. This is what you will encounter if you ride the Greyhound halfway across the nation. Extreme sleep deprivation.

 Even though in this clip we are almost there, I have no joy in my face or expression. The end is in sight, but 37 hours on a bus will beat you down.

If you are going to ride Greyhound expect to be a different person at the end.

 This is a photo I took of the vagabond I mentioned earlier in the article. He stowed away his dog (Chico) all the way from Richmond, VA. He was going to New Mexico. When I got off in TX, he still hadn't been caught.

By the way, my last tip is bring lots of hand sanitizer and possibly air sanitizer. This guy was very nice but had bad body odor. A common problem with Greyhound bus riders. Be afraid!