Thank you 511.org!

I'm so confused in terms of taking bus transit in Palo Alto and Menlo Park. The bus schedules that I got only show the intermediate points so it's difficult for me to figure out when the bus is actually going to come to a particular bus stop. Also, the buses don't seem to run that frequently on weekends. I was in Menlo Park today at the Menlo Park Caltrain station where I had lunch at Cafe Borrone's. Man, it took so long before the lunch came, I was getting impatient and hungry! Anyways, I decided to walk along El Camino Real after going into Kepler's bookstore (which was huge, considering it's not like a Borders or other big name bookstores). When I decided to walk back, I saw a bus stop and I waited for a bus. Two buses came, but they didn't stop (I guess that wasn't the stop that the buses were supposed to stop). But I didn't know that, I find the bus transit confusing and frustrating. I sometimes have to think to myself, should I wait for the bus, or just walk. Sometimes, it's even faster to walk than to take the bus. Now, I know why my friends told me that having a car in Silicon Valley is convenient!

Now, someone told me that there is a web site called 511.org which can help you plan your trip. Certainly, this is what I've been looking for! Before, I had to find out my source and destination using Google or Yahoo maps, and then try to map that to the nearest bus stop on the bus schedule. No more! 511.org will tell you which bus line to take and which station (for both source and destination). It will also tell you the bus schedules for the route. This is a life saver, thank you 511.org! They have a version for the PDA, but it's under construction. I would certainly love that feature! I suppose I could create an AvantGo channel and then sync the web page with AvantGo and sync it with my Palm.

But still, I find the transit perplexing, and difficult to understand. Maybe someone can explain to me how to make my life easier in using transit. I have been considering maybe getting a bike and giving myself exercise, you can also put your bike on the front of the bus (they have special bike racks to accommodate up to 2 bikes).