Well, I am not going to slander the whole Bolt bus line, but if you are 30 weeks pregnant, taking a bus 5 hours is not a good option.  Do you have a Bolt Bus line in your neck of the woods? It’s a great idea. A super cheap bus line that goes from DC to NYC (and a few other stops, like Boston and the Pacific Northwest) for super cheap. Remember how cool it was to be on a coach bus watching movies on your way to the museum on a field trip? Yeah, same idea, but no movie and less cool.

I had to make a last minute trip to NYC for my part time job and you couldn’t beat the $50 round trip ticket. And it’s a bus. How bad can it be?  If I was a college student looking to soak up the NYC night life, the answer is not so bad. If I was 7 months pregnant, the answer is terrible.  First of all, it’s a 5 hour trip sitting. Here’s the run down:

Bus: Meh. It’s a coach bus. They had TVs, but no movies, which I found sad. Really? If you have them, you should use them. Would it kill you to put on Finding Nemo or Seinfield season 1?

Bathroom: Very, VERY important if you are pregnant. I sat near the back to make sure I could get there quickly. But with the way it was situated, the door opened BARELY for me to squeeze in. I’m not a huge pregnant woman either! Plus, with the rocking of the bus, I had to lean against the back wall to hike up my pants. It was a glorified porta-potty, but smelled less … porta potty. Even the toilet paper was thread bare and hanging by a string. Literally. A string.

People: It takes all kinds right? There were all kinds on the Bolt bus. I sat next to a woman from Alaska who was riding standby with her husband for a last minute trip to see some shows for her 60th birthday. She was so kind, and made sure I was comfortable (more on that later).  The couple behind me … well. They were DC hipsters going to some swanky spa in NYC and he is a photographer who photographed Joan Rivers house. Which begs the question … why were they on the Bolt bus? People seemed very pre-occupied with their laptops and ipads, so it was a quiet ride.

Wi-fi: Bolt bus loves to brag on it’s free wi-fi, which was nice. Slow, but nice. The challenge was, the seats didn’t have tray tables, so you had to hold you device in your lap. Again, great – unless you lap is taken over by a pregnant belly.

I would say by hour 4, I was getting restless. Our 10 minute break at the Delaware House wasn’t nearly enough to take care of my restless legs and swollen ankles. I will, of course, use the Bolt bus again when I am sans a pregnant belly.

On an unrelated note, I realized last minute I booked my departure ticket the same day as my return and after 48+ hours in NYC living with my boss, I was close to an epic meltdown. No reason to try to book another ticket – they were sold out for a couple hours, and my ankles didn’t allow any sort of standby.  I sucked it up and Amtraked it home. Tray tables, leg room, huge bathrooms … a pregnant woman’s dream.