It was important to me because I needed my fix of travel, my escape from the fast-paced world of the everyday. 

It’s not Tahiti, or Thailand, or even Hawaii; it’s Interstate 5. 

It’s not far away, unique, or in the slightest bit exotic. 

That’s just it, the secret is that it doesn’t need to be. 

I wear an uncontrollable dopey smile for my small victories over the ordinary. 

I didn’t tell my friends that I took the bus from San Francisco to L.A., they wouldn’t understand. They’re in it for the destination and not the voyage. 

I can’t tell them that there were flights, that I actually chose to take the bus, that this is the way I am.

"Secret Bus to Paradise"

by Bradley Charbonneau