Very Interesting, But...

DATELINE: DENTON, TX, 3:28 p.m. CDT

Miles Today: 535

Today was an intersting day, that's for sure. It started out innocently, though early, enough when I hit the road at midnight from West Memphis. My destination: the Dallas area, 450-ish miles away.

I was treated to a light show in the western sky for the first 1/2 hour of the trip before it started to rain a bit. I drove through a few fairly heavy patches of rain, but it wasn't too bad and not for very long. The interesting bit of "weather" was a little ways after I passed into Texas. All of a sudden my windshield was getting bombarded by big, messy insects, the resulting splatters looking like what you'd expect by driving beneath a large flock of birds with stomach flu. EWWW! Of course, my windshield washer picked that time NOT to spray any fluid, so I couldn't keep the thing clean. That pelting only lasted a few miles, and I came across a truck stop and stopped in to clean the windshield off. (On a related note, another USA driver was also at the truck stop cleaning off his windshield, too. We hit the road again almost at the same time and stayed in lock step most of the way into Dallas. Due to road construction, he went off in another direction while I followed my prescribed route to my delivery. Lo and behold, once there, who should pull up behind me but the same driver? Go figure.) My delivery appointment was at 11:00 a.m. (at least that's what USA told me), and I arrived at 9:40. The clerk in the receiving office, however, was under the impression that I was 1:40 late--the paperwork said the delivery was due at 8:00. Oh well, no big deal. USA can deal with that.

The delivery went fine, no problems there (except for the aforementioned appointment time misunderstanding). Once done, I headed up the highway just a few miles to another truck stop--a TA with a Taco Bell--to grab a bite to eat. Upon returning to my truck I had my next assignment: Pick up a load from a recycling yard at noon. It was just about 11:15, and the pickup site was just a few miles away. Awwwwright! I can be early and get back on the road and get a few miles in before my day's allotted hours expire. Right!

Long story short, I arrived at 11:45-ish, and didn't leave 'til 1:45. I had to drop my empty trailer in the customer's trailer yard, then wait for them to produce a full trailer for me to take away. They said that'd take 10-15 minutes. Right! 'Twas more like 100 minutes. Since I had started the day at midnight, my 14-hour driving window would expire at 2:00 p.m. Oh well, I'm a fugitive from the law. I drove beyond 2:00 p.m. so I could reach a place to spend the night. That turned out to be another TA with a Taco Bell, this one just a ways north of Dallas in Denton. Since this place is also on USA's network fuel list, I took the opportunity to fill up my tanks, too, so I'll be all set for a nice long drive tomorrow.

Oh, and where am I headed now? Glad you asked. I'm headed for a Friday evening delivery in beautiful Davenport, Iowa. (Who works on Friday evenings, anyway, and would want to unload trucks then?) There was another USA driver picking up a load at the same place who is also going to the same delivery site, but his delivery is set for 10 minutes before mine. Naturally, his trailer was ready for him on time.

Anyway, enough itching and moaning. With 2 days to go 800-ish miles, I don't have to drive like a hat out of bell. And with the evening delivery Friday, I can sleep in that day, though I'll likely head out early tomorrow, as I like to do. Thanks again for reading, and do step up with the comments. I haven't seen any from anyone but reader nancyr for a few days now. But keep on truckin'.