Happy New Year

DATELINE: MENOMINEE, WI.

Happy New Year one and all! I've had an easy day, as I only had to drive 100 miles west along I-94 here in western Wisconsin to be right by my pickup appointment for tomorrow morning. I'm camped out at a truck stop literally right across the highway from that appointment, so I won't have to burn any driving time from my daily allotment to get there. That'll leave plenty of driving time, which I'll need for the next three days since I'll have lots of miles to cover.

The load I pick up tomorrow is destined for three deliveries on Thursday, from western PA to southern MD. And, of course, I can't take the most direct route across northern IN and OH because my company doesn't want us to use those states' turnpikes (something about double billing on tolls and taxes). So I'll have to dip southward to cross them via I-74, I-70, and I-71. If my trip planning calculations are close to accurate, I have about 950 miles from here to the first stop a bit north of Pittsburgh. If the roads and weather stay clear, that shouldn't be a problem. And, of course, dispatch tells me that these are time-critical appointments; I can't be early or late. No stress there, eh? Anyway, send whatever good thoughts you may have my way that I can complete this mission to everyone's satisfaction. Thanks much.

By the way, in case you were wondering following yesterday's post, I did get a good night's sleep in the truck. Perhaps my documented previous sleeplessness problems are related to the day/night cycle thing. We'll see how it goes tonight, too.

That's enough for today; not much happening, so not much to write about. I hope you have a great year, and please keep those cards and letters--er, comments--coming. It is lonely out here. Thanks again for reading, and keep on truckin'.