Headin' South

DATELINE: PIONEER, TN, 8:20 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 478

I'm going to keep this short today 'cuz I had a late night last night, an early morning today, and a long work day. So I'm good 'n tired. But here's how my day went.

I woke up (at home) at 4:30 for the trip back to my truck. Many thanks to Mrs. Reluctant Trucker (better than "Reluctant Mrs. Trucker", eh?) for the ride, 1/2 hour each way out of her way. I got back in the truck at just about 6:00 a.m., sent in my "back to work" message, then began the wait for today's assignment. It finally came in at around 7:45: Pick up a load at a company just 2 miles away, then take it to Jacksonville, FL for a Wednesday morning delivery.

Since I'm too tired to lushly describe all of the details of the pickup, I'll just say it went fine, fairly quick, and I was soon on my way south. I stopped at the Vandalia terminal for a quick repair of a broken headlight (the light worked, but the lens/cover had a hole in it, presumably from a rock) and to fuel up. The shop there also checked into why the truck's Warn Engine light is staying on, and from the error codes diagnosed some clogged hoses. They're not a major problem, and since I have little wiggle room in the time to get to the delivery, I decided to wait on getting that fixed. Fortunately, one of the arms on my steering wheel blocks that light most of the time, so I don't see it blaring at me constantly.

I was in and out of Vandalia within an hour, then spent the rest of my work day on the road south (well, except for a couple of rest stops and a short dinner break in Georgetown, KY). I decided to stop here (at a Pilot truck stop) as I was approaching it 'cuz I was starting to feel the fatigue, and it was getting late and the truck stops would soon all be filled up. As it was, I think I got the last open spot here. So now I'll just finish up today's report, get ready for bed, and get to sleep. I'll be up and back on the road at 6:00 tomorrow morning, the earliest I can given the 10-hour break requirement. I think I have around 500 miles to go tomorrow to reach the Jacksonville area, where I'll hole up for the night before getting up to make Wednesday morning's delivery. I think the weather's supposed to be good tomorrow, as it was today, so I ought to make good time.

Thanks one more time for your readership. I do look forward to reading your comments, so please indulge me and leave some. And don't forget, keep on truckin'.