Does anyone know what happened to the number 11 bus today? Was the route cancelled or detoured?

Going to Japan with my sister (24F) and parents (early 60s) early October. They're adventurous decently active but I want to make sure I'm not overdoing and rushing the trip too much. Most of my goals have been to integrate all their favorite things (small, scenic towns; cool architecture, adventures; food and drinking) since this will their first time in Japan (and my second time).
DAY 0
Commute to Kadoya (50 mins)
Gyoen Garden
Golden Gai
Kabukicho - Godzilla statue
Hanazono Shrine
DAY 1
Jimbocho
Imperial Gardens
Ootoya
Ueno: Tokyo National Museum
Dinner, then Shibuya Crossing Taishushusen Terumae - nomihoudai $4 1hr
Karaoke?
Day 2-4
SHIBUYA/Harajuku + Meiji Shrine
GINZA
Café de l'Ambre - kissaten
Kabuki-za
Tsukiji Outer market
Monja Street
Team labs
High end shopping district
ASAKUSA
Tokyo National Museum
senso ji
kappabashi st nearby (knives)
imo pippi - sweet potato angel hair
Hoppy Dori street
Hakone - 1 (arrive morning) (5-6th)
Be at inn by 5pm, ready to chillax, onsen, etc
Hakone Circuit (6-8 hours)
Open air museum
Tori
Cable car and ship
Kyoto - 3 (6-9th)
Kaiseki
nishiki market
Fushimi Inari shrine
Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum
Kinkajou temple
Arashiyama bamboo
Cruise hozugawa river?
yebisu bar - matcha beer
Hiroshima - 2 (9-11)
Arrive: Okonomiyaki at station, then go to hotel SUNDAY peace room
Peace museum
Hiroshima castle
Dad’s bday! Miyajima island (45 minute ferry)
ROUTE FROM HIROSHIMA TO OSAKA early on 11th if we wanna go on side trips
Hejimi 30 min walk either way off route
Kobe (beef, carpentry museum - Takenaka)
Osaka - 2 (11-13)
Osaka cocktail library akashic records
Osaka castle
Shinsekai
dotonbori
kuromon
round1
Nara (30 min by bus) - Buddha and deer park, Horyuji temple -wood
COMMUTE: 3 hours by JR to Kanazawa, get there afternoon/evening
Kanazawa - 2 (13-15)
Kanazawa night tour + dinner $100pp
Kanazawa castle - wood
Kenrokuen garden
DAY TRIP
SHIRAKAWA town (1 hr 45 mins each way)
COMMUTE: 3hr mins back to Tokyo by bus and JR, arrive late evening
Tokyo 1 (15-16th)
Any leftover activities – flight at 5pm
​
I worry Kanazawa is one place too many, but my sister wants to see a small town and Shirakawa seemed like a great choice. Is this pace too much? We'll be taking the JR

Greetings. The Rome2Rio website seems to display conflicting information with the actual bus or train websites (some are not functional). Hoping to understand what options there are to travel from Porto to Isla de La Toja, Pontevedra, Spain. Departure is on a Thursday and returning on Saturday (this would be middle of July).
It seems like there are a few options such as FlixBus, MonBus, and Blablabus and generally they all show Porto to Vigo as the "trip" and then a taxi (or possibly the Monbus?) to Isla de La Toja. Is the appropriate method to use these respective websites or a service like Rome2Rio or OMIO to access the most accurate schedules? Google Maps just gives up on providing any bus/train information for this particular route unfortunately.
Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
And apologies if this is not the right place to post this.

Is anyone going to the King Gizzard concert on the 7th interested in carpooling to Red Rocks? I don't have a car, and the last time I took the shuttle most of the good seats at Red Rocks were taken. I'd of course split the gas price with you! I'm staying near Union Station, but I can get to where you are as long as it's somewhat close to a bus route.

It is a well known fact within this galaxy that humans place an extraordinary amount of respect on their fallen service members. I was gifted recently to be able to visit a human world on a holiday called “memorial day”. On memorial day the remember and pay their respects to their service members who fell in the line of duty.
As I got off the transport vehicle, they called it a bus, I immediately took in the sight. Rows of banners with blue stars on them, with intermittent gold stars. I would later come to learn what this meant. I followed the crowd, while mainly human there were the intermittent Rakhari, Telechian, Avian, and a few from many of the other species that make up the Galactic Commonwealth. While there I bumped into an old Human friend of mine from the academy days. After catching up, he told me “Hey, follow me. Theres going to be a speech and I want you to hear it.”
Because I wasnt on the guest list I didnt get a seat, but I was able to stand just off to the side of the seats. Behind the seating area there was a group of maybe a hundred army cadets standing at parade rest in their dress uniforms. A dozen individuals gave their own speeches before a General made his way to the stand. He talked about those he had served with, and lost, during his time in service. How fifteen years ago, as a young captain, his company was at a firebase when they were attacked by pirates. How he buried three of his brothers the next day. And how he has witnessed more memorial services than that. How final roll calls can be heart tearing- hearing a name called off that you may never hear again. The loss of a brother or sister, how it hurts more than he can emphasis. He then went on too explain the gold and blue stars.
The blue stars are put out by family members who have immediate family currently in the military. A gold star represents a family member who has fallen in recent memory. I looked at the group of cadets and noticed the looks on some of their faces. I quickly realized that some of the cadets may not be the first of their family to join the military. As the cermonies concluded my friend showed me to the parade route. I saw as.. Thousands of service members and civilians marched down main street, from the city hall to a cemetery within the city. We moved with the procession and arrived at a memorial within the cemetery. There, the general from earlier gave another speech. This speech was about the effects losing a soldier has on a family, and about how this memorial was funded by a mother who lost two sons and a daughter in service of Humanity’s forces assigned to the Galactic Council.
Shortly thereafter a 21-gun salute was rendered, and the crowd dismissed. I later found out that the memorial was called the Centris Three Memorial- in memory of those who fell in defense of this planet. Centris Three, the place where humanity’s first true war on the galactic stage happened.
Humanity remembers their fallen, and they also remember their past. It is with this I leave you. Humanity has yet to lose a war on the galactic stage despite the fact that they have almost lost their home. Which is why I am requesting that we hire human instructors at our own military training facilities, so we can learn from their history of war. Additionally, I believe we should have a similar holiday, as it is ultimately our history and culture that defines us as a species.

Hey all, Realmfire here. So this one was kind of hard for me to write. While it's not my best work it is… kind of personal to me. In fact, a few of the parts of this story are either directly inspired by my experiences or the experiences of those around me. Lest we forget those have gone before. Have a good one all.

I'm flying in next week to pick up my car which is having work done on it. This situation has already cost me an arm and a leg some I'm really trying to penny pinch and get to my location as cheaply as possible. I will be getting into town before the mechanic opens so I have some time to kill, I'd probably prefer to take public transportation.
​
It looks like there isn't a light rail train system in Tampa or a bus that goes directly from the airport to my destination? I think the bus I want to end up on is the 44 but I'm not sure how to access this bus route from the airport. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi All! I hope you’re all well. First off, I want to start off by saying. I came to the U.K as an international student and have absolutely fallen in love with the natural beauty of the U.K. I have no words to describe how amazing this country is. I feel so proud to get the chance of living and working here. The Food, Sky, Landscape, Spring season. It’s parks, the greenery. All of it is just beyond mesmerising. It’s a wonder of the Mother Nature and I’m so proud of this Country.
So onto my problem. I live in West Midlands (WM) Birmingham, in WM we have National Express as a bus service. Which offers unlimited travel on 55£ monthly bus pass. So on weekends what I do is get on any random new bus and go to the end of the route and explore the areas. By doing so I have pretty much visited most of the WM. Because it’s unlimited travel and the pass is somewhat fine in terms of price. I got the most out of it.
Because I have explored most of the WM there are not a lot of places I have left to explore. So my target over the next year is to expand my territory to the whole U.K lol
Now I want to do the same with the whole U.K. I want to travel around the whole U.K. on weekends. I have looked into the options but trains are so expensive only one way tickets cost around 40-50£. I found a tourist train pass that lets you travel the whole U.K. on train for 300-500£ for 8 days. But unfortunately that is only for the people who have not lived in the U.K. for longer than 6 months. I have been here for 1.5 year now.
So my question is, is there any cheaper way I can explore the whole U.K. or is there any kind of train/bus/any transport pass I can use to travel around without worrying about getting ticket for every single city? Something maybe region only train pass or something similar?
I would be immensely grateful for any insights.

Ive been working as a school bus driver for 2-3 years now and I've been recently fired. The company had a dispatcher who was fired, rehired then fired again right after I was fired for doing exactly what she was doing before. The dispatcher was initially fired for multiple reasons including refusing to print out write up papers so the bus drivers are able to record student misconduct. The reason she refused to do her job are unclear to me and my Girlfriend but she was responsible for calling the schools and notifying them about the students misconducts. At some point her own children were being written up and wouldn't call the school. After I was let go my girlfriend who heard a rumor that the person who replaced me was promised my position by the dispatcher long before I was fired. I had a particularly worse bus route than other drivers a certain school made it a living hell to drive that bus. I got it because they refused to put me and my girlfriend on the same bus (school district politics about refusing to pay monitors because they already have cameras) but this bus was bad enough to need one. We would write up a lot of students everyday not to be vindictive but because bus drivers were doing 4 routes vs the usual 1 or 2 because of the current worker shortage. My particular route was 5 schools the worst school being the last run. During my employment we wrote up students and requested our videos (security cameras) be viewed at certain times so the unsafe behavior( fighting, cursing, hanging torso completely out the window, etc) can be viewed. My issues started with management after a few write ups they insisted that they would only pull for fights, which didn't reduce the number of write ups because there were so many other misconducts the students should've reprimanded on. We would struggle getting write up papers because they weren't being printed by the dispatcher who when asked would give excuses for weeks. We started keeping extras at home just in case she refused. By the time we got them and wrote up the students the school wouldn't accept them because its hard to punish a student for something that happened days ago. The school staff eventually started to request the videos but it would take two to three days for them to get it and eventually none at all. The schools would say they can't punish students for something they did two or three days ago or videos need to pulled the same or next day with a few exceptions in order for them to handle it properly. Over time our students got worse because no actions were being taken at all. We felt we weren't receiving enough support from management even though we followed all of the rules. I eventually arrived at a breaking point where I yelled close to a students face which resulted in my firing. My current replacement had my girlfriend for a day and refused to work with her, the new employee does not write up her students. My girlfriend is on a different route but when she passed that bus a few days after my firing she saw student passed the white safety line separating seats from staircase. My replacement for time refused to park with other buses, she steals time by seating on the bus doing nothing, ive witness these things along with other employees she currently has over 40 complaints from other employees. When my replacement became aware that my girlfriend's child was on the route we drove she started attempting to pass the child claiming she couldn't see her. Could I win a wrongful termination suit with my situation?

Hello everyone. My wife, 18-month-old son, our 12lb dog, and I are planning a nine-day road trip in a 24-foot Class C RV we are renting. I would like the highlight of the trip to be Acadia National Forest and whale watching, but it is a considerable distance away from our starting point of central NC. With the current route, we would only be staying in each campground for one night before travelling to the next (with the exception of Acadia National Park being two nights). While I was initially against the idea of driving more than four hours each day, that seems largely unavoidable and now I am wondering if it is not better to have a day here and there throughout that is spent primarily driving to a destination, thus reducing the number of stops and to give us a longer time at some of them. Ideally, the stops would have electrical hookups (I know my current route contains a couple that do not), but the RV does have a generator, so it is not a deal breaker if they do not. Any suggestions and recommendations would be greatly appreciated as I am not familiar with the NE. This will also be my first time driving a RV if that helps in determining best stops.
Currently Planned Route
https://preview.redd.it/rwqq9ee6gt2b1.jpg?width=1799&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=717bbe8810c37bb0dd59085b7b8d8bd614fd626f

Let me start off by saying I know I'm a horrible POS human being and I'm going to hell for what I did, so feel free to tell me that but it's not necessary. Also, I will break up with him either way because despite treating me rather poorly, obviously he deserves much better than a cheater.
I know the cheating itself is wrong no matter what the situation, but please consider the context before just saying I should tell him the truth.
I met my BF the summer before our freshman year of college. We were from different states but attended a retreat together on campus a month before school and became acquaintances. The first night of school we met up and spent every weekend together after that, just hooking up (technically not in a relationship, but exclusive) for the next five months. Both of us were virgins who had never been in relationships before because we wanted to wait for someone special. Because of this, our bond was extremely strong and I fell deeply in love with him. He asked me to be his girlfriend in January of 2022.
I have realized over the last few months that I likely have undiagnosed BPD. There are many reasons for that, but in the context of our relationship it mainly made me constantly overthink and all of my emotions relied on how he was treating me, how long it took him to text me back, etc. Because he was the only guy I had ever been with, I was uncontrollably obsessed with him and constantly stressed/ jealous of any time he had fun without me. The fact that it took him five months to make it official with me also made me very insecure. Looking back, he was perfect for someone like me because he took no interest in being friendly with other girls, voluntarily unfollowed every other girl but me on Instagram, and did lots of other things to express his loyalty. I never asked him to do any of these things because I was self-aware enough to not be controlling and take my craziness out on him, but he was always trying to make me feel more comfortable regardless. I have severe anxiety (and probably BPD) so no matter what he did, I always felt emotionally exhausted, worried he would find someone he liked more and cheat on me. I know, ironic.
Despite his expressed loyalty, there have been a lot of bad things about our relationship. He has pretty bad anger issues, and I've seen him get scarily violent when he's upset. He has never actually struck me intentionally, but when he is drunk he has a tendency to manhandle me a bit and will push me around when I try to take care of him. He also borderline sexually assaulted me one night back when we were still just hooking up. He was blacked out and forced himself on me when he was drunk despite me complaining that I was in pain. I also have reason to believe he may have cheated on me one night, as he never went home and lied about where he was. All of that is not super relevant to the story, but I'm trying to help convey that he had some somewhat abusive/toxic characteristics.
Aside from those more dramatic things, my BF is simply not very good at being a BF. He has probably taken me on maybe two or three dates our entire relationship, and any other time we go out it's because I planned it. He is horrible at communicating and despite the number of times I ask him to be more attentive, he refuses to do simple things like shooting me a goodnight text. He rarely calls me now that we're long distance and most of the time he makes me feel like an option, very low on his list of priorities. He can be very cruel when we fight and is just overall lazy when it comes to being a boyfriend. Despite this, he can be very sweet and thoughtful the rest of the time, and I think he just has a lot of growing and learning to do about being in relationships. I have always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and I love him more than anything in the entire world. He is all I think about throughout the day, and honestly if he had proposed to me a week after we met I would've said yes. I did everything for him. I cooked him meals, wrote him love letters, called him to make sure he woke up in time for his classes, and just generally revolved my life around him. I took care of his every need and did everything I could to make him happy. Everyone who knew us thought we were soulmates, and his friends were all jealous of what he had with me. I was sure I would spend the rest of my life with him. I've ruined that now.
What's unique about my situation is that cheating on him was not ENTIRELY a drunk mistake. I've thought about doing it for a very long time. Here's why:
This past December, my BF and I were going through a rough patch. I had already tried breaking up with him once before but he cried and begged me to stay and I felt guilty. (I know I talked about him being the love of my life but because of my mental health issues I make very impulsive decisions when I feel hurt and vulnerable.) This one night, I was ready to do it. As much as I loved him, I knew there was better out there for me and I needed more love and attention than he was willing to give me. I invited him over to my apartment, and he showed up black-out drunk and knew why I had asked him to come over. He broke down in tears and confessed that he had "messed up." He said he had never seen a future with me and didn't mean anything he said when he talked about getting married and having kids someday, because he thought it was what I wanted to hear. He has told me since that he doesn't know why he said that and that he was probably just drunk rambling, but at the time I didn't believe him because it was the kind of thing that you couldn't make up when you're drunk. I felt for the first time that night what it was like to have my heart broken. But because I'm crazy, I couldn't let the relationship end that way. I had to get revenge on him for breaking my heart, so I didn't leave him so I could have time to plan out what I was going to do. I spent the next week mourning the relationship in my head, not eating and barely sleeping. I lost 8 pounds in 6 days and almost ended up in the hospital. I truly think I changed into a different person that week, because I had never considered cheating before, but for the next month or so all I could think about was how to hurt him as badly as he hurt me.
As time went by, my need for revenge faded as we grew close again. However, I knew that the relationship had an expiration date and that I would never be able to get over how much pain he had caused me. But because of how much I loved him, I couldn't find the courage to leave. I knew I needed to break my attachment before I left him, because otherwise I truly didn't know if I could survive the breakup. I've struggled with depression and even attempted to end my life years ago, and this was part of the reason I felt the need to lose my feelings for him before cutting him off. This all wasn't necessarily rational, but again, I have fairly severe mental health issues. I know that's my own responsibility, but my parents don't believe in therapy or medicating mental illnesses, and I can't afford either of those on my own without their insurance.
Anyway, I came to realize that the reason I couldn't let go of him was because of the sexual bond we had created, being that we were each other's firsts. It occurred to me that if I slept with someone else, it would break that bond and make him less important to me so I could finally get away from the relationship and focus on treating my issues before entering into another relationship. I know this makes me a complete coward, but it's hard to explain how shackled I felt by my emotions and how desperate I was to end my mental pain. Being with him was torture because I knew he would never love me as much as I loved him and that eventually my craziness would come out and I would scare him away.
For a while, the cheating plan was just something I thought about and would never put into action. I was aware that while I may be free of my attachment to my boyfriend, I would probably be caught and end up hurting him, which was no longer something I wanted to do. The cheating was completely due to my own cowardice and I didn't want it to affect him in any way because he did not deserve that. He would never understand that it was not because he wasn't enough for me, but rather that I could not deal with the hold he had on me. Since the day I met my BF I had never looked longingly in another direction. I only wanted him and never even felt attraction to any other person. I did not cheat because of lust. Honestly, I didn't enjoy it for a second and I didn't find the guy attractive whatsoever.
It happened four nights ago. I'm currently studying abroad in another country, and this evil little part of my brain knew ahead of time that if I was going to execute my plan, this trip would be the perfect opportunity. It would be nearly impossible for my BF to find out what I did.
I picked out a guy at a club. I was very drunk and we danced together, and he asked to come home with me. I said yes, brought him to my apartment, and we hooked up. It felt so wrong. My body only knows my boyfriend and I felt disgusting the whole time. In my drunkenness, I kept seeing my boyfriend's face in this random man's. I didn't enjoy it for one second, but I was resolved to do what I needed to do to let go of my attachment.
I was too drunk to really think about what I had done at the time, but the next morning, I immediately was overwhelmed with horror at what I had done. The guilt was truly indescribable and I've never experienced anything like it. I made the stranger leave my room and I spent the rest of the day unable to stop vomiting and crying. I was a delusional fool to think that f*cking a random dude was going to make me stop caring about my boyfriend. Yes, it broke the physical bond, but once that was gone I was only left with the immense emotional love I had for him. I was hit with the realization that none of the pain my boyfriend had caused me could hold a candle to what I felt now. I feel even more guilty because the sex was objectively better, but it wasn't with HIM. I now know for certain that I never want another man to touch me but I'll never get to even HOLD that sweet boy again. We'll never get to finish our favorite TV show, and we'll never get to travel to the places we'd planned. I'll never get to use the petals I carefully preserved from the flowers that he got me, which I had saved for our flower girl to toss at our wedding. I would truly give anything to go back in time and I will regret what I've done every day for the rest of my life.
You can tell me all you want that I'm trash and that I need to stop dating and work on fixing my own problems, but it won't be anything I haven't told myself already. I've accepted that what I did makes me a bad person. What I need is advice on the best way to minimize the damage this will have on him.
I know the general rule of thumb is to always tell the truth. But please consider the fact that he truly will never find out if I don't say anything. The stranger I hooked up with is from a completely different country and would have no way of finding out about or contacting my boyfriend. I feel that if I told him, it would only be to assuage my own guilt, and I know I deserve to feel the full force of every horrible emotion I'm experiencing right now. I need to break up with him anyway, so why hurt him more than necessary in the process? He has a lot of issues as well and I don't know if I trust him to not do something stupid out of grief. I myself have had to fight the urge to jump in front of a bus or drink myself to death, and I'm not even the one who got cheated on. There is quite literally no good that can come from him knowing that the only girl he has ever loved got f*cked by another dude. I don't want to give him trust issues or trauma that he will carry into future healthy relationships. You may not believe that I love him because I cheated on him, but I do.
I know Reddit hates cheaters (rightfully so) and I would really appreciate brutally honest feedback. Whatever ends up happening now is what I deserve, but I would like to take the route that has the least emotional impact on my boyfriend.
​
Side note: We've been super distant the past couple of days, not texting or calling despite being long-distance and in different countries, so it wouldn't be out of the blue for me to break up with him. No matter what reason I give, I would put it on myself and not make him feel like he did anything wrong.

So this is probably one of the weirder things that has happened to me in my lifetime, back in 2016.
I was in my last year with my ballet company before I retired after breaking my foot a third time. To save money and get some extra exercise I would usually walk to the bus stop after my ballet rehearsals and just take the bus back to the house instead of using Uber.
Our bus system sucks. One bus per hour on every route, no matter how busy the route is (even if the bus is totally full, tough shit they're not sending another.) So if I didn't leave by a certain time, I would miss the bus and have to wait another hour for the next.
So one day after rehearsal runs late, this happens, I miss the bus. Rather than wait the hour I decide to walk the road that crosses between the two routes, kind of like a capital H, because that bus shows up about half an hour after the one I missed. About a mile apart, not too difficult at all, should have plenty of time. On the way I get harassed by some dude in a jalopy try to offer me a ride and 'some money to hold'. I know what that means, I tell him I'm not interested, he speeds off. So I make my way to the other street so I can catch the number 2 bus instead of the number 1. I sit down for awhile, waiting for the 20 minutes to pass and the number 2 bus to arrive. That's when I notice the guy who offered me the ride is sitting in his car at the burger joint across the street, and he's just staring at me.
Fantastic. Just what I need to deal with after getting my ass kicked pretending to be a chicken for four hours. (Freaking La Fille mal gardée...)
I try to focus on anything other than this guy staring at me, and that's when this elderly woman came toddling up. She sits down next to me with a little smile and a nod, and opens her book and begins to read.
As she's reading, I'm struck by how similar her appearance is to mine. I have natural red hair (the color of Nicole Kidman's hair in Moulin Rouge), very pale skin, and I have the stereotypical petite ballet dancer body, short and skinny with long gangly arms. And I'm telling you, anyone passing by would have thought we were related. She appeared to be in her late 70s, early 80s, and definitely could have passed for my grandmother.
The street we were sitting at was just a long straight shot, so you could see the bus coming from pretty far off. She looks up and notices the bus coming, and she says to me, 'You need a dollar.'
It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
I start to wave her off, I'm good, I have my bus fare, but then I start looking through my bag for it, and it's not there.
Huh, I guess I do need a dollar. Especially with that creepy dude still sitting across the way.
So I accept the dollar, the bus comes, we both get on. The woman sits down in a seat one row in front, and across. She gets herself comfortable, pulls her book back out, and opens it back up. Where I'm sitting now, I can see her book, and it's this dog-eared paperback copy of Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. And it looks like a much older, more worn, more frequently read copy of my own paperback edition of Tess of the d'Urbervilles. She's a character that I have always felt very connected to and identified heavily with because of how downright unfortunate her entire situation is.
So yeah, I get home, and I start thinking about the fact that I got followed by a creep and this little old lady that could pass for my grandma comes out of NOWHERE, correctly deduces that I need bus fare before I was even aware that I had lost my bus fare, AND she's reading one of my favorite books of all time, a book that has undergone multiple printings but somehow has the same cover design as my copy.
Did my future self travel to the past and prevent something awful happening to me? Or maybe my youngest daughter's future self? (She has my same build and haiskin color) The whole thing was just super bizarre. It was probably all just a very explainable, mundane combination of events, but I still think about it every couple of weeks.

Update 4.2.5 is now live on Steam, Paradoxplaza and ModDB.

Major Features

- Restored Lone Star’s Hand Warband path’s previously incomplete Legion events and decisions. The additions from this include access to a small number of wargoals, a modest branching chain of new events and decisions for marching to Castra Sol Rubrum, the alternate ability to join Lanius’s Horde should Lanius form the Eastern Legion and the choice to serve as a subject rather than being annexed into Lanius or the Legion proper should Lanius be alive and loyal to Caesar.
- Made a round of touch ups to tech balance. More significant changes include melee equipment buffs, Knight and Scribe changes, small adjustments to many industry techs. The full details can be found here: https://pastebin.com/aUdD7DPU
​

Added

- Added several new character bios to Baudelio Ranchers, Guardians, Iron Alliance and Slags
- Added unique pictures to some downfall events
- Added 2 achievements “Judgement Day” and “Through the Fire and Flames”
- Added Mojave Territories back to the West Coast bookmark
- Added a leader description to Jack Vickers in Baudelio Ranchers
- Added 2 additional crossings between Rapids and Tohono Nation
- Added starting coastal forts, outposts and bunkers to parts of southern NCR and western Legion states
- Added a line of forts to NCR’s focus “The Crimson Caravan Routes” and two different lines to “Protecting the Boneyard”
- Added a line of forts to the Legion’s focus “Uniting the Wastes”
- Added a starting debuff to Washington BoS and The Cause lost when one annexes the other
- Added an army buff spirit to Hand Warband’s “The Masters of Texas” focus
- Added a spirit to the Legion’s “Legionary Training”
- Added a tech reducing Infantry Combat Width to the Legion’s “The Tip of the Spear”
- Added a starting timed debuff for Vault City tied to the 2275 Selection
- Added 10% starting stability to Vault City to partially offset the above
- Added a starting idea debuff for Shi which is gradually lessened by and related to the debates
- Added a temporary idea given to Shi by their early Navarro news event
- Added war support to the options for Shi’s Navarro Intervention event
- Added starting -10% Construction Speed to the NCR Economy modifier in exchange for -1% Consumer Goods
- Added 5% starting war support to TV Town
- Added 5% starting stability to Nuevo Aztlán
- Added 5% starting stability and war support to Tlaloc
- Added 5% starting stability in exchange for 10% war support to Shi
- Added 15% starting war support in exchange for 5% stability to Petro Chico
- Added starting Tool Procurement, Resource Production and 5% war support to Stormmongers
- Added more building slots and resources to a handful of Legion states
- Added a starting radar station to Weather Monitoring Station
- Added starting ports to: Ocotillo in Rapids; Needles in Mojave Territories; Dry Wells, Kingsman and Poston in the Legion; Tacna in Tohono Nation; and Santa Rosa plus both islands in Valle Bandits
- Added Reservation to the Legion research group at gamestart
- Added 1 military and civilian factory; 5% war support; and slightly more resources, infrastructure and building slots to Baudelio Ranchers at gamestart
- Added 1 starting civilian factory and slightly more resources, infrastructure and building slots to Cowboy Country and Tohono Nation
- Added 1 starting dockyard to Cowboy Country
- Added 1 starting anti-air and radar station to Rusty Hooks
- Added 1 more level of Air Base to Flagstaff, North/South Phoenix and San Antonio
- Added 1 starting outpost to New Canaan and New Jerusalem
- Added 1 starting outpost to Arroyo’s victory points
- Added more starting forts to Monterrey
- Added starting Scout Kit and Anti-Tank Rifle tech, 5% war support, +10% trade opinion,
Wasteland Militias law and 250 manpower to Arroyo
- Added additional influence and coercion for Arroyo as AI
- Added starting Anti-Tank Rifle tech and 3 more Naval Module techs to Gente Del Sol
- Added Asymmetric Warfare tech, Assault Canoes and a Spec Ops template to Navajo at gamestart
- Added Industry Planning, Construction Basics, Crowd Gear, the Wasteland Survival Training law, slightly more building slots and 10% stability to Iron Alliance at gamestart
- Added Mobile Maintenance Crews and more fuel to Two Sun at gamestart
- Added starting Power Armour Frame Hardening tech to Heaven’s Gate
- Added starting Lightweight Metals tech and more energy to Eagle Rock
- Added starting Caravan tech to Standing Rock
- Added 1 military factory, 10% war support and 450 manpower in exchange for 8% stability to Mad Trains at gamestart
- Added 1 starting military factory to Two Sun and Withered Dogs
- Added 1 division, full division equipment and the Funding the Army law to Scorpion’s Bite at gamestart
- Added starting Slashing Melee to Cypher’s Warband
- Added a scientific tech research bonus to NCR Hayes’s first expansion focus
- Added starting production to Californian Way and Baudelio Ranchers
- Added descriptions to Ejército Mexicano’s Cartel and Militia Blues spirits
- Added positive AI strategies for Arroyo and the choice in their 3rd event
- Added AI scripting for Mojave Territories to prepare for the First Dam Battle better
- Added localization for “Anti Air Weaponry Research Speed”
​

Changed

- Changed the icons for vehicle techs Mobile Assault Weaponry and Improved Turrets
- Changed the localisation and icon for Wasteland APC’s to Great War APC’s
- Changed the localisation and icon for Wasteland Bus to Wasteland APC’s
- Changed maximum and minimum opinion from +/-100 to +/-200
- Changed high stability factory and dockyard output from up to +12% to up to +15% and mobilization speed from up to -20% to up to -15%
- Changed high war support mobilization speed from up to +100% to up to +50% and Core Attack and Defense from up to +8% to up to +10%
- Changed base monthly population gain from 0.016 to 0.015
- Changed base suppression needed per 1% resistance from 0.38 to 0.35
- Changed the wartime building destruction cooldown from 25 to 20 days
- Changed the scale of land unit experience gain from 0.07 to 0.06
- Changed the maximum shore bombardment bonus from 0.25 to 0.3
- Changed base damage output in Air Combat to be 25% higher
- Changed maximum planes in air combat simulation from 500 to 750, making the peak lethality of air combat higher
- Changed enemy bombing war support penalties to have a lower cap (60% to 50%), but scale 33% faster
- Changed the base enemy air superiority penalty from -18% to -20%
- Changed outpost and coastal fort construction cost from 700 to 800
- Changed Naval Base construction cost from 3000 to 2500 and added a per-level cost of 500
- Changed the modifiers on some industry techs slightly
- Changed the base coring cost from 25 to 30
- Changed “Large Territorial Administration” factory output from +10% to +5%
- Changed Trade Law levels to give +5% less Trade Tariffs
- Changed decision State Funded Radio Programming’s effect slightly
- Changed the start caps for established organizations from 50k to 25k
- Changed the AI to produce more aircraft under some conditions
- Changed the Scorched Earth operation to be cheaper
- Changed Reno and Vegas tourists to add 1k more caps and 2k more bonus
- Changed traits Fortification Expert and Fortification Engineer to be weaker
- Changed trait Armaments Organizer to be stronger
- Changed effects of some Settler and Raider start events to be weaker
- Changed NCR, Shi, Valle Bandits, Three Rivers, Vault City and Washington BoS starting resources to be slightly lower
- Changed some Arroyo crisis events to occur slightly sooner
- Changed Tlaloc and Diana’s “God from the Machine” to be slightly weaker
- Changed Lost Hills’s Knight and Scribe intros to grant a stronger final modifier and be auto completed soon after “The Paladins” rather than requiring manual completion
- Changed Lost Hills Training Facilities to now affect all units
- Changed some Lost Hills decisions to last longer
- Changed Lost Hills’s “Council Reforms” and “Preparing for the Ceasefires End” to add 1 more Administration Center capacity
- Changed Lost Hills’s “Our Right” branch to have more flexible prereqs
- Changed Lost Hills’s NCR cooperation decision to cost 100 less
- Changed Lost Hills’s Paladin Sway idea to add +5% more political power
- Changed some Lost Hills foci in the NCR War, WMD and Scavenging branches to be stronger
- Changed Lost Hills’s starting resources to be higher
- Changed two Lone Star advisors and some Hand Warband foci to be slightly stronger
- Changed the shared Attis Army capstones to be slightly stronger
- Changed Cerberus’s resistance and compliance bonuses to be in their modifier--rather than traits--alongside added -50% trade opinion
- Changed Cerberus’s Attis and Shale Traits to grant supply consumption -15% and production efficiency base +15%
- Changed Ironmongers’s Mastersmiths law to grant 1% less conscription and its starting debuffs to be slightly higher
- Changed The Cause’s ATA focus to also upgrade Glorious Purpose and changed other foci very slightly for balance
- Changed Washington BoS starting -20% compliance and +10% war support modifiers to -5% political power and +10% war stability
- Changed some Washington BoS foci to be weaker
- Changed a Washington BoS unit to start on Capitol Hill
- Changed Ejército Mexicano’s Cartel and Militia Blues ideas to be added at gamestart and changed the events that start their branches to add 5% stability or war support
- Changed Ejército Mexicano’s Zapata Alamo Chapter event to be 40 days later
- Changed Ejército Mexicano’s “Superior Mechanization” and “The Liberation of Texas” foci to be weaker
- Changed Ejército Mexicano’s Ironmongers wargoal to be locked till Tlaloc’s death
- Changed some Standing Rock foci to be stronger and added intermediate electronics and construction tech to the tree
- Changed Shi’s starting production and templates to be slightly better
- Changed some Shi foci slightly for balance - Changed Shi’s “Big Trouble in Little California” to need 2 prereqs instead of 1
- Changed Two Sun’s vehicle bonuses to be stronger
- Changed Legion AI to be far more likely to avoid the civil war for a leader with max glory rather than choosing randomly
- Changed the Legion’s “Raider Rumble” to only raise resistance temporarily
- Changed the Legion’s Dam Loss branch to be much stronger and have some added effects
- Changed the Legion’s Legion Training spirit to no longer buff speed in exchange for buffing all special forces rather than only spec ops
- Changed the Legion’s autonomy laws to reduce license cost more
- Changed the Legion’s “Commercial Dock Development” to reduce invasion penalty more
- Changed the March West event to make any subject of Lanius’s be Caesar’s rather than being freed and removed from the faction
- Changed the Lanius Caesar’s Warden trait to be weaker
- Changed Lanius and Vault City to get the “Prioritize Consumer Technology” decision instead of “Basic Hygiene Education”
- Changed some Vault City pre-election and Lynette foci to be slightly weaker
- Changed some New Mexico states to have slightly less water
- Changed Lynette’s “The Patrolmen” recovery rate buff to infantry defense
- Changed TV Town’s starting infantry and militia templates to have 2 more battalions
- Changed TV Town’s “Stopping the Sandman” to take 15 less days
- Changed TV Town’s starting spirit to add -15% lack of resources penalty and no longer add -15% division experience
- Changed New Vegas’s Jewel of the Mojave spirit modifiers slightly and changed its percentual conscription malus to be flat
- Changed New Vegas’s Robotics Genius to grant 10% less fuel capacity in exchange for -2.5% securitron cost
- Changed New Vegas’s starting securitron template to be better
- Changed New Vegas’s starting event factories to be slightly less
- Changed NCR AI to pick Kimball 5% more (now 40%) and Hayes 5% less (now 20%)
- Changed NCR Dollars to give +5% less Trade Tariffs
- Changed NCR’s Self-Sacrifice Myth to be weaker
- Changed NCR’s Military Complex debuff event option somewhat
- Changed the NCR’s Hub crisis debuff to be slightly higher
- Changed NCR’s “The Sentries of Shady Sands” to grant a stronger, more specific fort line
- Changed some NCR government laws; some Moore spirits, traits and expansion branch foci; and some Hayes expansion branch foci to be slightly weaker
- Changed NCR’s Dornan general and advisor, Oscar Stone advisor and Admiral Doherty advisor to be slightly weaker
- Changed some NCR Hayes main branch foci to be stronger or shorter
- Changed NCR’s “Roaring Economy” to take 60 days and add 5% less war support
- Changed NCR’s “Retool the Ranger Corps”, “Denounce Kimball’s Rhetoric” and some post-election Kimball and Allgood foci to be slightly weaker
- Changed NCR Moore’s BoS decisions to cost more
- Changed the NCR Civil War “Ranger Divide” idea to grant more debuffs and be removed in Calhoun’s main tree instead of the expansion tree
- Changed Californian State and Californian Way to get -10% stability at the Civil War’s start
- Changed Californian Way to get slightly more of the NCR’s units and stockpile in the civil war
- Changed Mojave Territories’s starting spirit to add 5% less war support
- Changed some Mojave Territories’s civil war branches to be slightly weaker
- Changed some NCR puppet tree shared and country unique foci to be weaker
- Changed MacArthur’s upgraded Salvatore advisor to be slightly stronger
- Changed MacArthur’s Chicago foci to bypass if a people nation
- Changed some MacArthur advisors and lower foci to be weaker
- Changed MacArthur’s APA/Vertibird stockpile from 50 and 20 to 30 and 15 respectively
- Changed some MacArthur focus prereqs slightly
- Changed MacArthur’s APA purchases to cost 2 more energy
- Changed MacArthur’s starting Outsider Law to add +1% more resistance target
- Changed some The Last Patrol foci to be slightly stronger
- Changed the TAA’s Rio rebellion branch to add 5% less net war support
- Changed some early Texan BoS ideas slightly for balance
- Changed Alamo Chapter’s Emergency Production spirit to be slightly stronger
- Changed Alamo Chapter’s Alamo Defenders to have less battalions but more support companies
- Changed Alamo Chapter to have 300 less extra guns
- Changed Alamo’s “United Texan Front” focus to require all 4 of its prereqs rather than only 1
- Changed some Reservation Willem main path foci to be slightly stronger
- Changed New Canaan’s Defender Priest advisor to be stronger
- Changed some later White Legs foci to be slightly weaker
- Changed Mojave Chapter’s starting research speed bonus from 5% to 2.5%
- Changed Mojave Chapter’s “Raw Poseidon Energy” and “Walking Artillery” to give 1 less factory
- Changed Mojave Chapter’s Aggressive Policy buff to be for Hardin rather than Veronica
- Changed Mojave Chapter’s manpower from Veronica’s path to be lower
- Changed Mojave Chapter’s “Victory at Sunburst” focus to add 5% less stability and war support
- Changed some of Mojave Chapter’s weaker post-sunburst foci to be shorter or stronger
- Changed Mojave Chapter’s “Enlist the Families” to add 3 less civilian factories
- Changed Mojave Chapter’s Securitron Vault decision to have higher cost and duration
- Changed a small number of Mojave Chapter’s strongest Big MT and Sierra Madre foci to be slightly weaker
- Changed Montana Chapter’s post Fort Verity foci to take 5 more days
- Changed Montana Chapter’s “No Problem is Too Great” to add less infrastructure
- Changed some Montana Chapter foci to have slightly more prereqs
- Changed a few Eagle Rock industry and blimp bonuses to be slightly weaker
- Changed Eagle Rock’s starting blimp stockpile from 24 to 15
- Changed a few Shale’s Army foci to be slightly stronger
- Changed Three Rivers’s “Buy The Latest Model” to add sophisticated power armor tech and APA schematics rather than free APA
- Changed two Three Rivers doctrine buffs to be smaller
- Changed Hangdogs’s “Open The Box” to take 40 less days
- Changed Hangdogs’s “Big Wrenches” and “The Army of Denver” to be slightly weaker
- Changed many Desert Rangers NCR foci and Snake Vargas’s leader trait to be weaker
- Changed Desert Rangers’s capstone to take 30 more days
- Changed some Maxson Chapter advisors and foci to be weaker
- Changed Maxson Chapter’s Vault 0 capstone effect to be smaller
- Changed some Gente Del Sol advisors and early ideas slightly for balance
- Changed Gente’s 3rd event to add 1 less arms factory in one option
- Changed two Gente research bonus foci to be weaker and two weapons foci to be stronger
- Changed the strength and order of Eighties’s “Life is a Highway” branch foci slightly
- Changed “The Devils of Utah” for Eighties and “The Eternal Quest of the Pure” for Rotpurgers to grant -5% more Trade Opinion
- Changed start spirits for Baron’s Eyrie, Bismarck, Coal Consortium, Metal Mouths, Niitsitapi and The Pursuant to be weaker
- Changed Max Sec’s tiered NCR spirit to be weaker
- Changed Overwatch Tock’s description to be shorter
- Changed the NCR Baggers unique puppet branch to be disabled
- Changed the Snowmads and Mad Trains formables to have slightly weaker effects
- Changed the New Mariposa formable to add compliance and reduced resistance rather than coring every respective state
- Changed the Legion’s Phoenix branch tithe foci to add more caps - Changed some top-half Navajo foci to be slightly stronger
- Changed Snowmads’s leader trait to be weaker
- Changed Iron Alliance’s formables to grant stronger, slightly altered effects
- Changed Lanius’s focus “A False Goddess” giving wargoals on Twin Mothers even after they’ve fled to Paradise
​

Fixed

- Fixed the assign medal unitview GUI quick button not being visible
- Fixed the retain cores popupwindow GUI checkbox for releasing countries not being visible
- Fixed sphere state ownership checks for subject countries not accounting for the state being owned by another subject with their same overlord
- Fixed an error leading certain coring related modifiers to have been dramatically increase
- Fixed the Steal Army Supplies operation not rewarding equipment properly
- Fixed the NCR getting locked into the Bull’s Demesne if the Legion Civil War occurs and they are unable to capture all of Caesar’s core territory
- Fixed Culto Al Sol having no advisors and no caps income
- Fixed some Reno/Vegas tourism localisation
- Fixed Mojave Chapter’s Legion targeted defense modifier not applying due to a coding error
- Fixed some Mojave Chapter foci having lower durations than intended
- Fixed Gente Del Sol’s 3rd event having an option with no effect
- Fixed an exploit where Troll Warren could take its Bone Dancers and Chemult Station wargoals despite taking the non-aggression pact
- Fixed the Lone Star and Hand Warband theorists having swapped bonuses
- Fixed various NCR, Caesar’s Legion, Standing Rock, Stormmongers and Montana Chapter foci and decisions which lacked wargoal alerts/triggers or proper state control triggers
- Fixed some compliance or resistance effects which mistakenly used decimal values
- Fixed Honduras’s AI Defense Focus being erroneously high
- Fixed an oversight which made AI weights for certain sets of manpower laws too high or low
- Fixed a bug that led certain nation AI scripts for diplomacy or armies to malfunction
- Fixed the Hand Warband focus “A Slave To Be Admired” not giving a commander
- Fixed the NCR being able to try and push investments on the Mojave Territories
- Fixed Troll Warren being unable to progress in their tree if the Marrow Drinkers annex the Carcass Walkers before they do
- Fixed Eclipse Uprising receiving generic advisors
​

Removed

- Removed 5% starting stability, 2 military factories and 1 civilian factory from MacArthur
- Removed starting Automation tech and 1 infrastructure from Vault City
- Removed starting Ohm’s Law from Ejército Mexicano
- Removed 1 starting infrastructure in 10-Signs for the Legion and Fort Lyon for Maxson Chapter
- Removed 1 starting infrastructure and 1 of each factory from a Manitoba state
- Removed 2 starting infrastructure from Los
- Removed 1 starting infrastructure and military factory from Bitter Springs in Mojave Territories
- Removed 1 starting infrastructure from: Eden, Ashton, Hopeville, Arroyo and some states for Shi and Sky Reavers
- Removed 1 of each starting factory from Timberline
- Removed 1 starting civilian factory from Navarro Territories, Sky Reavers, TAA, Stormmongers, Rupertsland Trading Co. and Old Believers
- Removed 2 starting civilian factories from Batford Brigade
- Removed 1 starting military factory from Hangdogs, The Pursuant, Baron’s Eyrie, Three Rivers and Whitecourt
- Removed 5% starting stability from Vault City and Whitecourt
- Removed 5% starting war support from Mojave Chapter and New Vegas
- Removed 3% starting war support from Lanius
​

Technical Changes

- Added more AI event choice scripting for NCR, MacArthur and Texan BoS
- Added a debug decision to spawn Alamo Chapter for Texan BoS
- Changed Alamo’s AI focus plan to be more optimal
- Changed minor parts of some nation starting production for quality of life
- Changed minor parts of AI army composition and research behaviors to be more optimal
- Fixed misc. localisation errors for many nations
- Fixed missing bypasses for select wargoal foci
- Fixed some unused and inaccessible NCR focuses still being enabled in the code
- Fixed missing localisation for certain modifiers

I have been in Munich for almost a year but never had a chance to explore the city. Now that I am relatively relaxed with some free time and a Deutschland ticket :) I wish to explore the city using bus and tram rides. Residents of Munich could you please suggest what are some tram and bus routes to experience the beauty of the city of Munich?

A woman is walking through the park when she sees a very attractive man sitting on a park bench. He's reading a book and eating some fruit out of a Tupperware container. Slowly the woman gathers the courage to talk to him, with the aim of asking him out.
So she walks over and takes a seat next to him on the bench, turns to him and says, "Sorry to bother you. I know this may be a little forward but I would love to grab a coffee with you some time."
Flattered, the man responds, "Sure, but what makes you so certain you and I would get along so well?"
"Well," says the woman. "A couple of things, actually. I noticed you were wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt. Iron Maiden is my favorite band of all time. When they went on their reunion tour in 1999, my parents took me to see them in Cleveland. I was 12 years old and it was the first concert I ever went to. I absolutely love Iron Maiden."
The man can hardly believe it, and says "I saw them play Cleveland in 1999! It was the first concert I ever went to on my own. My best friend Jimmy Spitz and I told our parents we were sleeping at each other's houses, but we snuck out, took a bus into the city, and saw them play at the Plain Dealer Pavilion!"
Naturally, the man and woman are both shocked.
"If that isn't weird enough," says the woman. "I noticed you're reading Mark Twain. I was a communications major in college and I actually wrote my thesis on Mark Twain and how he used satire as a lens to comment on current events of the time, comparing him to satirical news sources of today. He's my favorite author."
Now the man is really taken aback. "Get out of here! I was an English major in college! I specialized in 19th century American literature and this is like my fourth or fifth time reading Tom Sawyer, I absolutely love Mark Twain!"
They both can't believe it. This has to be a match made in heaven.
"Well buckle up," the woman says, "because here's the icing on the cake. I noticed you're eating a prune. Prunes are my absolute favorite. When I was a kid, my grandfather lived on a farm that had some plum trees. Every year he'd dry some plums for our annual family Thanksgiving, because he knew how much my sister and I loved prunes. I love prunes, you're eating a prune, so this has got to be fate. What do you say?"
The man puts down his fruit and responds, "It's a date."

This spring I decided to cycle more. I'm a long time cyclist but on and off for the last decade or so. I haven't cycled much in Calgary for a long time.
I'm amazed and how nice it is cycling in Calgary these days.
First off, the bike lanes. Cycling in traffic used to be fearsome as cars would zip by really close. Now with the bike lanes, even the painted ones, motorists are much more respectful and give space. What a novel concept.
The City has widened and improved many paths. Not just for cyclists but also for pedestrians. And in many instances the city has separate paths for each. This is a dramatic improvement over the way it used to be.
Cyclists can now take their bike on the C Train any time. I live close to a C train station so this means the whole city is now within my cycling range. Why drive anywhere ? I went downtown twice on the weekend with my bike. Didn't have to worry about parking. Didn't have to load my bike into my car. Once you are to the area you want to explore, getting somewhere is way quicker than walking.
There are actually neat places to visit along bike paths. Calgary is starting to feel a bit like a European city that is designed around pedestrians and cyclists rather than cars. I'm seeing other cyclists at these places. The south side of the riverbank is so nice now. The East Village area needs more trees, but its nice. Fish Creek is great. Glenmore Reservoir is fun, but there is a lot of foot traffic on it. Bowness Park. Bowness itself is nice. The bike lanes are a huge improvement.
Everywhere I went this weekend there were a ton of cyclists. And downtown there are a lot of people on scooters too. Great to see. eBikes are getting popular. I see people on eBikes that I suspect wouldn't be on a non pedal bike.
17th Ave is a nightmare pedestrian and bike wise. Which is a shame because there are some good places along it. Traffic noise is terrible along that street if you sit on a patio. I'd love to see the City remove the parking lanes on 17th and use that space for bikes and walking but parking is already non existent if you drive down there.
Google Maps is a great way to figure out how to get somewhere on a bike. But it would be nicer if it had the option to select Ctrain and bike as the transportation method.
I wish there was a good bike route from SW Calgary to Bragg Creek. I've cycled there several times. I always meet other cyclists going there. It's a good destination but there is a lot of traffic and the shoulder on 22 isn't the smoothest.
Happy cycling.
Edit
Is there a way to get to me and my bike to Canmore or Banff or highway 40 or Lake Louise without driving ? Like public transit or a bus ? I'd love to do cycling daytrips and not have to use a car.
It would be so cool if there was a train from Calgary to say Revelstoke that one could do day/weekend trips on, like in Europe. Sit on the train for a couple hours, ride, have drinks/dinner in a mountain town then take the train home again. I'd love to do that with skiing too.
​
​
​

Here's a file (12.8mb, 248 pgs) of discontinued Bus route schedules. Mostly from the 1970s through the early 2000s.
Discontinued bus routes (pdf) - https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZkdREVZA8v1zKa1p9H5mCxRz127o0OrkrDy

Hi. I just came back from a two week trip. I lived in Osaka and Tokyo some years ago so this trip was really meeting up with old friends again and also going for some new adventures.
It's so affordable now (if you have USD, which is strong against the yen). I ate and drank so well! I went to a lot of izakaya, tried various local and regional specialties (unagi around Hamamatsu, akafuku in Ise, for example). All for waaaayyyyy cheaper than what I spend at home in Philly or NYC.
I also did a bit of biking. In Japan you often get a mamachari, which is like "your momma's chariot", or a bike your Mom would ride. With a basket. But hey they're fun for just cruising around! I've decided biking around the countryside is one of my favorite travel activities.
The main idea of this trip was:

• Tokyo - catch up with friends and visit my favorite hang out places and restaurants.
• Hamamatsu - I went to a beach at 7am, rented a bike, and biked around the Lake Hamana area. I took three trains, two buses, and a ferry to Ise. Yes obviously it takes longer than shinkansen to Nagoya, but this is the scenic route lol.
• Going to Ise was about Ise-jingu, of course.
• One night in Nabari. I wanted to see Akame 48, where there are a bunch of waterfalls.
• Nara - last time I was there was 19 years ago. I spent just one day doing the usual stuff in Nara-koen and two days doing a bunch of other things on the outskirts.
• Osaka - it was great to be back, but mainly I was there to get shinkansen back to Tokyo.

Some more details:
Tokyo

• I splurged and stayed at the Shiba Park Hotel. Shiba Park is near Hamamatsu-cho, which is easily accessible from Haneda via the monorail.
• I went to a Kanda matsuri (festival) that involved people parading around omikoshi (portable shrine). They're really fun if you haven't seen. While there, by chance I came upon a kabuki theater and an usher convinced me to buy a ticket. Really colorful and dramatic.
• I hit up some museum favorites such as the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum in Ebisu (I used to live across the street) and Ōta Memorial Museum of Art in Harajuku (all ukiyo-e, which I love).
• Tip: if you are in Tokyo Station, have time to kill, and like art, there's a gallery near the north gate. Currently it's Japanese Paintings of Modern Osaka.

Hamamatsu

• Probably not on most people's radar, it's not a must-see city. I took a local train to Maisaka, walked to the ocean, walked around more, and found a bike rental place in Bentenjima.
• Biked up to Hamanako Garden Park. It's all about flowers. Then biked farther up to Kanzanji-cho and ate some delicious unagi (eel).
• The city is not super exciting but the Museum of Musical Instruments is really cool. They have a room with instruments you can rock out on. I banged on a djembe and plucked a koto.
• As part of the scenic route to Ise, I took trains and buses out to Irago, then ferry across to Toba, and local Kintetsu train up to Ise.

Ise

• Stayed in a ryokan near the train station. The main thing here is Ise-jingu, the most sacred shrine in Japan, the holiest of holies. Took advantage of lingering jet lag to wake up early and get in at 6am. It opens at 5!
• The early morning hours are great. The main strip leading up to Geku wasn't that crowded even in the afternoon, although the main strip outside Naiku - okage yokocho - started to get busy after 9am.

Nabari

• A small town in Mie-ken. I had always heard about Akame 48, where there are supposedly 48 waterfalls. The day was totally rained out. I took a local train and then bus to the visitors center but the rain wasn't letting up. I had a long chat with a friendly young Japanese guy who worked there. He doesn't see many visitors lately so I think he was glad for the opportunity to chat.

Nara

• Stayed at a guest house near Nara-machi. This area is so cool - some tourists visit but still very local. Great for strolling around and checking out the shops. I did the usual Nara Park stuff for one day - Daibutsu, Nara National Museum, etc.
• I rented a bike and headed out to Toshodai-ji and Yakushi-ji. It's a slight trek but there's a small river you can bike along which was cool.
• I tried and failed to finish the yama-no-be-no-michi ("mountain area path"), as detailed in the LP book. I started too late and it was too hot. There are sign posts here and there but notably lacking where there are some forks in the road. You start from Tenri station and takes at least 30 minutes walking just to get to the start of the trail. Better planning next time.

Osaka

• Stayed at APA Hotel in Umeda, rented a bike and went out to the aquarium. That's a bit of a slog but still worth it. At night walked around the usual places like Shinsaibashi, Ame-mura, etc.
• I had time to kill before catching the shinkansen back to Tokyo so I rented a bike from the Shin-Osaka station and biked along the Yodo River. It's so nice - wide paths and great scenery.
• Tip: I was reminded of how confusing it is to navigate Umeda on the street. Don't bother. If you have to find a station or something, go underground and follow the signs!

Some expenses (USD):

• Airfare: $1500
• Hotel: $1200
• Food and drink: $700, which is simply amazing. And I ate so well!
• Transportation: $325
• Various activities: $300

My takeaway: after traveling in many places, I continue to find that some of the best experiences are those unplanned. Any trip requires plans obviously, but with a little luck and a traveler's intuition, I'm getting better at arriving at those fun spontaneous moments.
Ask me any questions. Thanks for reading.

Hi guys! Cob student here. Im enrolling next term as a returnee from LOA. Possible ba na I take my f2f classes sa laguna campus? Tried commuting today from laguna to taft and wala na ung diretso na bus :( Hassle kasi naikot pa sya ng ayala kaya parang 2 hours ata ung byahe. Just wanna know if thats possible basta meron ung class na yon sa laguna campus. Also if you’re from san pedro laguna and u commute maybe u can share your commute route. thanks

I've been meaning to do this for awhile as I've found the info regarding backpacking without a car in the NYC area lacking, half-baked, or in practice, untrue. The thread in the sidebar is excellent, but AT focused. I'll see a post that say take this bus service to a certain town and taxi to the trailhead, but what it may not say is that there is no service to call a taxi on arrival or that line only runs on weekdays that direction. Not to say I won't be repeating common knowledge as I definitely will, but hopefully you'll find something in my logistics useful for planning your own ventures sans car.
A little bit about me: I am a lightweight backpacker (slowly working on dropping my last few ounces) living in Queens, NY. I generally love the public (and private) transit in NYC metro area, although it always could be improved and there are aspects that are deeply frustrating, large and small. In addition to not having a car, I also work a 9-5 job; this and future trail reports will reflect that I often only have a weekend to enact my plans.
The Escarpment Trail

• AllTrails
• Direction: SoBo
• Miles in total: ~26
• Nights: 1

Buy a ticket on the Trailways bus line from Port Authority to Windham, NY. On Saturdays, there is a bus that departs at 8am. That is the one you want. The Trailways' stations are in the bottom of Port Authority, terminals 28-34. Double check your bus is correct with the attendant as the what is on the directory and what terminal they're actually leaving from may be at odds. When boarding, tell the driver that you want the Escarpment Trailhead Parking lot, which is slightly before Windham; in between Windham, East Windham, and Hensonville; after Cairo; on route 23. If you pass Smitty's Nursery & Landscape on the left you've gone too far. I didn't know you could ask the driver to drop you off at a non-designated stop, but he said it was okay as long as its on route. I'm assuming this is a driver by driver thing, but as long as you're not an ass about it, I bet they'll say yes. However, I did not know this perk until a woman request to be let off before Windham, and I got off with her and proceeded to backtrack to the trailhead on route 23. If you have to walk the shoulder, maybe you can hitch a ride, but you'd be luckier than me.
Make sure you have water. At the trailhead there is a stream. There is no water after that until 0.4 miles past Dutcher Notch, which is ~12 miles away.
Starting from the first sign off 23, the trail is very well marked (until North South Campground), simply follow the blue markers. A commenter on Alltrails writes:

If you can get Wyndham and BlackHead out of the way on the first day the second day is pretty smooth after the initial climb out of the notch. Amazing view after amazing view.

Views translate to ascents. Climbing Blackhead was confirmed steep and arduous after already hiking 9 miles. But this is the hardest climb during the trip, so once summited, it's all smooth sailing. Day 1 clocked about 11 miles (excluding walk to the trailhead).
I camped somewhere on the backside of Arizona Mountain overlooking the valley. It was gorgeous, but unexpectedly buggy for no water nearby and a slight breeze. If you're hiking this in two days one night as I was, you need to get to around the Notch. In the notch, there is an intersection between the Escarpment trail (straight), the Colgate Lake Trail (right), and the Dutcher Notch Trail (left). A short ways down the Dutcher Notch Trail there is a spring (a pipe in the rock) where you can filter water. This is the last place to filter water before North Lake.
Not much to report for the first half of the day; the Catskills are beautiful. There is a very cool plane wreckage. The Escarpment trail gives views to the NorthEast, and often times you can see the Green Mountains, the Whites, and the Berkshires, depending on the clarity. Eventually you'll reach North Point on North Mountain. Here, you'll start to encounter day hikers staying at NorthSouth Campground. I was fairly alone for most of the path; some families at the start, a few day hikers going to Windham High Peak, but very few backpackers. Which imo is preferable; I like the solitude. The frequency of day hikers increased the closer you get to the campground, but most of them were heading out as I was heading in, and only one had a bluetooth speaker.
Reaching North Lake, you are a jungle person breaching civilization. People are grilling and getting stuff out of their SUVs, while you smell and swim in your skivvies. Or at least, that's what I did. After a nice dip, find the blue markers at the back of the campground. There is no more markings for the Escarpment Trail although you're still on it. The signs will say to Catskill Mountain House Site and to Boulder Rock. Stay on the blue markers.
Eventually you'll come to Kaaterskill Falls. I only went to the lookout not the base, as I was unsure how much more walking I'd have to do and I was anxious about the time (around 2pm, the bus back was 5:55pm.) Also Kaaterskill Falls was overrun by tourists, which are different than day hikers. I can't complain as Kaaterskill Falls has been a tourist attraction since the mid 1800s, but after two days in the peaceful woods, I wasn't keen about been around all the activity.
Instead of finishing the Escarpment Trail at Schutt Rd. Parking Lot, take the Kaaterskill Rail Trail to the Haines Falls Train Station. Its about a 1.5 miles of pathway that brings you back to route 23A. At 23A, take a right and walk along the shoulder for about 2 miles into the town of Tannersville, NY. On 23A, stop at the Twilight General Store for an optional ice cream, however the key stop is Bear & Fox Provisions in Tannersville. Great selection of beer and cider, one of which the proprietor brews from apple trees from the side of the road.
Catch the 5:55pm Trailways bus from outside the pharmacy (5980 Main St.), which after a brief stop in Kingston, returns to Port Authority. I would recommend buying both ticket ahead of time as I had varying degrees of mediocre service the whole trip. Day 2 clocked about ~14 miles (including walking to Tannersville)
The Escarpment is great trail for an experienced hiker. Like other Catskill hikes, it's as beautiful as it is difficult. It's very possible to do it in a weekend, but a slower paced individual or group may want to do it in three days, two nights which may affect bus times and accessibility. Enjoy a carless excursion and remember to bring an eye mask and ear plugs for the bus ride.
imgs