The scene: I'm standing at a bus stop on El Camino Real with a bag of groceries in one hand, a bag of plant seedlings and two 8 foot bamboo poles in the other hand, and my bus pass in my mouth pleading with the bus driver to let me on the bus promising him that I won't impale anybody on the bus. Luckily for me, the bus driver let me in and I made it home. =)
The whole story: It's Saturday morning and I wanted to head up to Common Ground (a non-profit organic garden supply and education center) in Palo Alto to pick up some plant seedlings and seeds for my community garden plot. I have a couple non-driving options to make the 10 mile round trip from my house in downtown Mountain View: 1. I can take the Caltrain to California Ave (8 min train ride + 5-10 min walk on both ends), 2. I can take the 522 "Rapid" bus (15 min bus ride + 5-10 walk on both ends). I opt for the bus because it runs every 15 minutes whereas the train only runs every hour.
On my way there, I get lucky and the bus comes 1 min after I get there and I get to Palo Alto really fast. In fact I get there 20 min before Common Ground opens in the morning, so I stroll up California Ave to Palo Alto Baking Company. I wanted to pick up a baguette later in the day anyway (so I save a potential car trip!) and I also get a chance to pick up a chocolate mousse cake as a nice surprise for my wife. And then as I'm walking back down California Ave, I remember that I need to pick up chips for a Father's Day potluck at my daughter's daycare the following week so I stop in to Country Sun Natural Foods. I pick up some Kettle chips (they happen to be on sale!) plus some other groceries (including some Marin Sun Farms sustainably raised beef since it's the only outlet on the Peninsula for this). Another car trip later averted!
When I walk a couple blocks over to Common Ground, I pick up a few seed packets and some corn, watermelon and strawberry seedlings. And then I ask if they have a trellis for my sugar snap peas - I didn't see anything on their website so I wasn't expecting anything and was planning a trip to OSH later, but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask. They don't have wood or metal trellises, but they do have nylon trellis netting and 8 foot bamboo poles to stake the netting. Great! 3 potential car trips averted and a great, productive morning full of buying sustainable, eco-friendly goods from locally owned businesses without driving a single mile. The only thing I need to do is figure out how to get my bag of groceries, my bag of seedlings, and two 8 foot bamboo poles back on the bus. Will they let me on the bus? The bus driver wouldn't really say no, would he/she?
I walk the 2 blocks over to the bus stop and check the schedule for the bus. Another bus is coming in 5 minutes - nice! I get ready for the bus with my grocery bag in one hand, my other bag and bamboo poles in the other, and my bus pass in my mouth so I can get on the bus quickly. When the bus pulls up, the bus door opens and the bus driver yells at me, "You can't come on the bus with those!", pointing at my bamboo poles. "I don't want you to hurt someone." So, I'm on the sidewalk with my hands full with my wonderful, productive morning possibly going down the train (or at least taking a long detour). But I plead my case promising not to hurt anyone on the bus, that I'm not a crazy guy (despite my strange belongings) and that I need to catch the bus to make it home. Thank you, VTA bus driver! I didn't catch your name, but I made a positive comment on the VTA website on your bus # and route! Total trip time: 1 hr 45 min. 4 errands completed, all without getting in a car, and home by 11am.
June driving/non-driving totals thru 6/13:
- Driving solo: 8 miles
- Driving w/ carpool: 108 miles (96 on 1 trip to SF)
- Days of no driving: 6 out of 12 days with 0 miles driving
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