I'm A Hero

I told you not long ago about how Irish Fest director Mary Alice Beebe had this idea that you should look into taking the train to Irish Fest this year to save on the gas money. Remember that? Some good deals, right?

Well, Mary Alice has been out-cheaped.

From our friend Pete Maher at the Midwest Irish Focus comes this good news for the frugal:

"I recall you had something on the blog about folks using the train to get to KCIF from St. Louis and how cost-effective it would be in these times of $4 gas.

Well, I've got something that's going to blow you away and make you look like a hero when you alert festgoers to it on the blog. It's the Megabus. (www.megabus.com) or call 877-GO-2-MEGA.

It runs daily between St. Louis, Columbia and Kansas City, kind of like a non-stop Greyhound. But WAAAAY cheaper. For example, I just went on their website and discovered that someone traveling from St. Louis to Kansas City on Aug. 28 and returning to St. Louis on Sept. 1st could make the round trip, depending on the time of day they travel, for between $8 and $18. I learned about this because Brian Hart, of Gan Bua fame, uses the bus to teach Gaelic classes in Columbia while he lives in St. Louis. It apparently costs him about $5 for the round-trip each week.

So go ahead and check out the site. There doesn't seem to be any strings attached. It is just a really, really cheap way to get around and could be an excellent tool for motivating festgoers on the right-hand side of the state. Trust me, when word of this kind of bargain gets out, you'll look like a hero for mentioning it."

You're the hero, Pete. I, merely the messenger. I checked this out this morning and it's true. A similar trip from Chicago would run a mere $28. Now to use the Megabus from other, more far-flung cities, you'll need to route yourself through Chicago, St. Louis or Columbia and things get a little more complicated. But as Pete said, if you live on Missouri's East coast, this is a crazy good deal. Check it, and let us know if any of St. Louisians will be bussing it over. If you do, buy Pete a beer for the tip. Incidentally, the Megabus will drop you off in K.C. at 3rd Street and Grand, where you can hop on the local Max bus which will take you right to Irish Fest, for a buck and a quarter.