The Home Front

DATELINE: HOME! 3:55 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 197
Miles Yesterday: Um, I left that info in the truck

I'm finally home for another bout of days off. I arrived here early this afternoon after a short drive from the Vandalia terminal to the yard where I park my truck during home time, then a ride home from my brother-in-law. (Thanks, Fred!) It's always great to get home, and here's hoping for some good weather so I can get a lot of needed yard work done.

To recap yesterday: The dealership completed the repairs on my truck at 11:30 a.m. (they picked me up at 11:00--checkout time--from my hotel), so I was ready when they were. I got in, sent in my "back to work" message to dispatch, then waited for my next pickup assignment, which came in shortly before noon. You Simpsons fans will like this: I had been in Springfield for the past 2 days, and my pickup was in Shelbyville (60 miles southeast of Springfield). After the drive to the pickup, it took 2 hours at the site before I was ready to roll. Since I would be headed home the next day, my assignment was to take the load to Vandalia for another driver to take it from there to its destination in Virginia. I arrived at Vandalia right around 11:00 p.m. EDT, so I was ready to get right to sleep (I had awoken at 5:00 a.m. CDT, unable to fall back asleep).

Now a quick answer to reader Dennis the Accompanist's quick question about my truck's fuel economy: The truck will get mileage in the range of 6 to 8 miles per gallon depending on the weight of the load I'm hauling and the terrain over which I'm driving.

Since I'm home, I probably won't post another update for y'all 'til I get back on the road on Tuesday. So don't be disappointed if you don't see any 'til then. Thanks again for reading, and keep on truckin'.