china buses don't really run many places these days unless it's from MAJOR city to MAJOR city. Can't even get from DC to Rva anymore

that pissed me off so hard.
shouldn't be too terribly hard to hitch. have you looked into VA Regional Rail? I dunno if those cities connect but they might. Public transit is always a fun thing to pimp for all it's worth. I used to take the bus to Aberdeen, md. hop on the train to CD, and then take VARR to as far as it would go then hitch the rest of the way. but that's going south. dunno about going north.