It Won't Last

DATELINE: SOMEWHERE ALONG I-20 IN EASTERN GEORGIA, 5:30 p.m.

Miles Today: 287

Today included a delivery and a pickup, which is routine. I hit the road at about 4:15 this morning, headed to the delivery point. That was just a bit early in case I hit any bad traffic on the I-285 loop around Atlanta (I was coming in fromthe north, the customer was just south of town). Since traffic was good, I stopped at a truck stop alongside the loop for some breakfast (which turned out to be a microwaved breakfast burrito) and a quick 20-minute nap in my truck. Both really hit the spot.

I arrived at the customer 1/2 hour early--along with 500 other truckers all walking up to the receiving office at the same time. (OK, so maybe I exaggerated a little there.) Since so many were there, all of the dock doors were taken, so I had to park and wait for an opening. That only took about 1-1/2 hours. After backing into the dock, the unloading took about another 45 minutes or so. Once that was done, I headed over to a small truck stop that was only about 1 mile from that customer to await my next assignment (and get some lunch, even though it was still only 10:30). There is a McDonald's across the street from that truck stop, so I had a 2nd breakfast today. (LotR fans may enjoy that reference.)

Finally, my next load assignment came: pickup a load in Augusta, GA (130-ish miles east of Atlanta) and take it to Sturgis, MI. So I'm headed back to the frozen north. (Did I mention it was warm and sunny down here today--I was running the AC in my truck.) I hear there's a winter storm headed between here and there, so I may not get very far tomorrow. Fortunately, this load isn't due for delivery until Thursday afternoon, so I have plenty of time to wait out a weather delay. But I do plan to head at least back to northern GA (such as Resaca, where I spent last night) tomorrow, perhaps a bit north into TN if the weather's cooperative enough. We'll see. Check back for tomorrow's update on this same station.

Anyway, back to my current load. The pickup was a mostly simple drop-and-hook (swap my empty trailer for a pre-loaded one), so that process didn't take very long--once I had swept out the empty trailer and passed the customer's inspection. No problems there, by the way. But after the 3-hour drive from Atlanta (plus a side trip to check something for my dispatcher), my day's hours allotment was getting low, and I was getting tired, so I just drove the few miles west from Augusta along I-20 to my current perch at a rest area.

Some of you may remember an earlier posting in which I bemoaned having to eat vending machine food for dinner while stopped for the night at a rest area. I have remedied that problem. A while back I bought a small "oven"--it looks like a workingman's lunch box--that plugs into a 12-volt outlet (or cigarette lighter, if you want to harken back to the old days) and heats up whatever food you put in it. I also stocked up on ready-to-heat-and-eat meals just for such occasions, so I don't have to resort to chips, candy, and Hostess as dinner. Tonight's feature was Chef Boy-ar-dee Ravioli. Yum!

So now you're caught up with my current state of affairs. Well, except for the part where I twisted my ankle a bit. But my ankle-high work boots seem to have saved it from any severe injury. It just hurts a tad, but not too much to make me unable to push the clutch with it. Thanks once again for being a member of my tiny audience. Please be a member of my corresponding audience by submitting your comment(s) to my post(s). And, as always, keep on truckin'.