There and Back Again

DATELINE: I-95, EAST OF BALTIMORE, MD, 5:42 p.m. EST

Miles Today: 289

Today turned into a "short" workday--only 7-1/2 hours on duty. I started by hitting the road at 5:15 this morning, headed north from Baltimore to Bethel, PA. Somehow that trip took about 3 hours, probably because of a couple traffic jams in Harrisburg, PA, and a stop for some truck stop grub shortly after that. This was my first stop at the Bethel terminal, and I gotta say I'm not impressed. Though many USA drivers have rated it as the company's best garage for truck service, the amenities for the drivers are very scant. I saw just a small, grubby "lounge" which had only a small table and chairs, and some vending machines. The lot being snow-covered didn't help its image any, either. But I don't plan to spend much time there (if I can help it).

At Bethel I just dropped my trailer and headed back to MD to pick up another empty from a company in Aberdeen. On the way I stopped back at the truck stop in Baltimore from which I started the day to fuel up my truck. It's a very busy truck stop, and on USA's network list, so I figured it'd be easiest to negotiate the place with just my cab. I also took time there to visit the food court in the travel center across the street for some lunch (Sbarro Philly Cheesesteak stuffed pizza, yum!). Then on east to Aberdeen to pick up that trailer. I had been in this area once before to pick up a load. I passed that company on the way to today's destination. But I digress.

Once I completed that mission, I came over to this rest area/traveler's information center (and food court!) on I-95, near the exit I took to get to Aberdeen, to await my next assignment. And wait. And wait. I waited for over 3 hours and still hadn't received any word. (Actually, I did call in to my dispatcher to inquire, just in case my message system wasn't working. He said it'd just be a little longer.) While I was waiting, I began to feel severe fatigue, and didn't think I'd be safe driving any more today, 'til I got a good night's sleep. So I messaged in that info and asked to get a pickup assignment in the morning. Besides, I had waited so long that if they did give me a pickup this afternoon, it'd probably leave me scrambling to find a place to park & sleep once I had made it, since my alotted 14-hour work window was dwindling.

I then went inside to get some dinner. (Perhaps the fatigue was from lack of food--I doubt it; it was just 3-1/2 very busy days catching up with me.) The food court here includes a "Phillips Seafood Express", from which I got their seafood sampler, consisting of: crab and shrimp spring rolls; breaded/fried butterflied shrimp, and some fried crab-and-cheese things (I forget what they call them). Plus I got a side of shrimp and crab salad. I haven't had much (if any) seafood for a while, so this was a treat, albeit a bit more than I should have paid. But I'm content for a while.

Naturally, after I returned to the truck and got settled in (jeans off, sweat pants on, laptop computer opened up and turned on), a load assignment came in. Pick up a loaded trailer 150+ miles away in New Jersey at 6:30 p.m., then take it to Bethel. I had to reply that I couldn't get there within my 14 hous for today, and could I pick it up in the morning. Shortly thereafter I got a new assignment: Pick up a load at 8:00 a.m. in Delaware City, DE (a new state for me!), only 36 miles from where I now sit, then take it to Ferndale, MI to deliver it at midnight on Monday morning. Woo Hoo! Now we're talkin'! A load to take to near my old hometown (Royal Oak, Ferndale's neighbor to the north along Woodward Ave.), lots f time to get there, and be home plenty early on the day I asked to be home. Can't get much better than that! Now I just gotta figure out how early on Monday the yard at which I park my truck during my home time opens up. (Hey homies, anybody willing and available to pick me up from Romulus and shuttle me home early Monday morning? Comment here or e-mail me at jfrgoblue@yahoo.com.)

So that's the news from Lake...wait, that's someone else's line. I'll stick with, "That's all the news that fits, so I'll print it." Thanks once more for sticking with this drivel. I look forward to all your scathing commentary. ;-) And, as always, keep on truckin'.