I was born in 1934 and had my first travel experience in 1940 on a Greyhound Bus with my parents traveling from Paterson, New Jersey to Littleton, Colorado to attend grand parents 50th wedding anniversary. I returned to New Jersey with my parents by Greyhound Bus. During the years of WW 2 trips were made with parents to Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire with many visits and trips to New York, including NYC and Niagra Falls. Steamboat trips were taken from NYC up the Hudson River to visit West Point, Bear Mountain & Poughkeepsie. During the war years I visited, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building and had my picture taken at each place. I traveled by bus with my mother in 1946 from New Jersey to Colorado where I attended the 6th & 7th grades and then once again by bus from Colorado to San Francisco where I attended schools in Oakland from grades 8 through 12 and graduating High School in 1952. My first trip out of the U.S. was on the Edwin D. Patrick. a troop ship out of San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan by way of Hawaii. I arrived at Kimpo Air Force Base outside of Seoul, Korea after flying from Yokohama.
I have posted my experience in another thread but just for fun have googled Greyhound to see their rates and routes are these days. The busses are all new and modern, with wi fi and pretty good rates. Greyhound appears to be working in conjunction with Amtrack.
As for me, did it once, on Greyhound, from So California to Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Unless absolutely necessary, never/ever again. Either train, drive or don't go. Like the old saying goes, "cheaper doesn't always mean better". There are bus stations that people want to forget they were ever at.
Only one long trip, Christmas, 1971. Fourteen hours overnight, from Raleigh, NC, to NE Ohio, before I-77 was completed through the mountains, so we had to take the long route, through Washington, DC. You couldn't see a thing outside. Several short daytime trips between Raleigh and Clemson (250 miles) to visit friends, about the same time period. Those were rather pleasant trips. Bus stations were interesting places back in those days.
I see those tour buses all the time, but have never tried one. In the year or two that I spent hitchhiking around the country after high school, I would sometimes catch a Greyhound when rides were really slow in coming, but I'd only take the bus to the next town or wherever, usually. My longest bus trip was probably from Chicago to Menominee, Michigan because the commuter flight from Chicago to Menominee usually cost more than it cost to fly from Los Angeles to Chicago.
I rode Greyhound from Memphis to Nashville. My boss was tight with money. After one, long, boring ride, with too many stops to keep track of, I told him he was paying for my rental car, next time. No problem.......
You could hitchhike back then fairly safely for the most part unlike today, where it's 50 / 50 that you could be robbed or killed. While in the service, a buddy and myself hitched rides from Flint Michigan to Rantoul Illinois while in uniform and never stood for more 10 minutes on the side if the road. The uniform got us the rides.
Only two Greyhound trips. The longest one for me was from Ohio to Washington, D.C. and back. There was not many passengers so I had a seat by myself on the way there. It was okay until I looked down and when the bus was going around curves that had guard rails so it wouldn't go over the edge. I moved away from the window at point. The other trip was to see a friend in Cincinnati, Ohio. That one was a full house both ways.
My hubby and I often took bus tours. The routes were planned and very relaxing. We chose bus tours because neither of us can stand the other's driving. You could go on tours from 3-15 or more days.
Texas to Missouri with my brother. We were kids on the way to see grandma. Not sure why folks used bus because normally we all took the train. Remember was a long time to get there- plus they lost our luggage with our brand new pjs in them.