DATELINE: VAN BUREN, AR, 8:00 p.m. CDT
I know you've all been on pins and needles waiting to hear (or, more accurately, read), so I won't keep you waiting any longer...I passed my road test this morning! So it's back on the road for me. Well, after a bit more waiting. (What else would you expect?)
After passing my test at 8:30, I messaged in to dispatch that I was ready for a load assignment. The first response was that I was "7th on the board", meaning a bit of a wait 'til my turn came up. So I tried dozing in my bunk for a while. Did I mention I was up before 5:30 this morning for my 6:30 appointment to start waiting for my road test? Anyway, the load assignment came in at 10:30 a.m. Grab a loaded trailer here at the terminal and take it...to a customer 56 miles away for an 11:05 p.m. delivery tonight.
OK, so that, of course, meant more waiting. I have plenty of time to get in a 10-hour break before starting work tonight to take that load a whole hour away, so I waited for lunch (did I mention they've been giving us students free lunches while we've been here?), then hit the sack to rest up for tonight's shift. I haven't been getting enough sleep here each night, so I certainly needed it. I slept for 5-1/2 hours, then got up. I wasn't hungry yet, and didn't feel like concentrating on anything, so I went into the drivers' lounge to see what was on TV.
They actually have 2 side-by-side lounges here, each with its own big-screen TV (and those leather recliners I mentioned in an earlier post), and one of 'em was tuned to TNT's broadcast of Forrest Gump. So I plopped down to watch that. Good flick. That was followed by Cast Away, so I caught the first bit of that before heading back to my truck to tell you all about it. And now you're up to date with my activities. In about an hour I'll start prepping for the trip: unhooking this empty trailer I've been hauling around for training, hooking up to the loaded trailer, fueling up the truck, and getting underway.
I don't know what's in store after tonight's delivery. Being the weekend--and the middle of the night at that--I'm skeptical about my chances of picking up another load right away. Perhaps they'll have me swing back to pick up another load that someone else will have dropped here. I doubt many companies do much shipping very early on Sundays, so I don't expect to be sent for a live load. But we'll see. I'll be sure to let you know about it in my next update. Check back for that.
Thanks for guiding your browser here. Drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Turning Tightly
DATELINE: VAN BUREN, AR, 5:20 p.m. CDT
Today I finished the training portion of my Driver Skills Development course here at company HQ. First thing tomorrow morning I take my road test then, assuming I pass that, I'll get a new load assignment and hit the road again. (In case you're wondering, I do get training pay while cooped up here. So I'm not losing income while not hauling loads.)
The training the past 2 days has just been me and another driver driving around the area with an instructor, being taught and practicing techniques for making turns in tight streets. Yesterday morning we went to a nearby abandoned Army base and drove up and down its tiny, narrow streets between the rows of barracks. The narrow streets, all parallel to each other, were maybe wide enough for 2 compact cars to squeeze by each other. The adjoining streets on either end of the blocks were a bit wider, or else there's no way any truck with a 53-foot trailer was going to negotiate them. To make things even scarier, along the sides of the streets were drainage ditches. Make a turn wrong and you'd drop the trailer's wheels into the ditch, leaving you stuck and in need of a tow. So concentration levels were high. But nobody messed up and we're still USA Truck employees.
Tonight I think I'll take advantage of the free laundry facilities here and spend some turn-my-mind-off time watching whatever's on TV in the drivers' lounge while my laundry churns. It's been very warm and humid here the last 2 days, so it's best to stay either in the truck with the engine idling and AC running, or in the lounge in its air-conditioned comfort. (Besides, the lounge has wonderful, huge, leather recliners to relax in.)
That's the scoop for now. Gimme some commentary about how you like this blog, and ask any question(s) you may have about life on the road. Thanks for following my continuing saga, and keep on truckin'.
Today I finished the training portion of my Driver Skills Development course here at company HQ. First thing tomorrow morning I take my road test then, assuming I pass that, I'll get a new load assignment and hit the road again. (In case you're wondering, I do get training pay while cooped up here. So I'm not losing income while not hauling loads.)
The training the past 2 days has just been me and another driver driving around the area with an instructor, being taught and practicing techniques for making turns in tight streets. Yesterday morning we went to a nearby abandoned Army base and drove up and down its tiny, narrow streets between the rows of barracks. The narrow streets, all parallel to each other, were maybe wide enough for 2 compact cars to squeeze by each other. The adjoining streets on either end of the blocks were a bit wider, or else there's no way any truck with a 53-foot trailer was going to negotiate them. To make things even scarier, along the sides of the streets were drainage ditches. Make a turn wrong and you'd drop the trailer's wheels into the ditch, leaving you stuck and in need of a tow. So concentration levels were high. But nobody messed up and we're still USA Truck employees.
Tonight I think I'll take advantage of the free laundry facilities here and spend some turn-my-mind-off time watching whatever's on TV in the drivers' lounge while my laundry churns. It's been very warm and humid here the last 2 days, so it's best to stay either in the truck with the engine idling and AC running, or in the lounge in its air-conditioned comfort. (Besides, the lounge has wonderful, huge, leather recliners to relax in.)
That's the scoop for now. Gimme some commentary about how you like this blog, and ask any question(s) you may have about life on the road. Thanks for following my continuing saga, and keep on truckin'.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Drive; Train
DATELINE: VAN BUREN, AR 4:00 p.m. CDT
Miles Yesterday: 633
Miles Today: 0* (some training driving, but no "official" miles)
Looks like I owe y'all another 2-day update. Yesterday was an overly long day and I was exhausted when I finished up. Here's how it went.
My pickup was scheduled for 8:00 a.m. just across the river from New Orleans. It was at a company right on the wharf, right alongside a huge tanker tied to the dock. I arrived early, 7:15 or so, and had to wait a few minutes before anyone even showed up. I guess it's not an early starter of a company. (This is, after all, the Big Easy.) But someone did arrive by 7:30, directed me to the appropriate loading dock, and I was loaded (well, the trailer was; I don't drink on the job) and on my way shortly after 8:00. And I had quite a long haul to make.
I wound my way through the streets and highways of NOLA and onto I-10 for the westward jaunt. That took me through Baton Rouge to Lafayette, where I turned north-northwestward onto I-49. That took me to Shreveport, and from there I hopped on US-71 for the pretty-much-straight-north shot through Texarkana to here. (I did take a short side-trip east along I-30 from Texarkana to a Flying J to fuel up the truck, but after that it was back to US-71.)
The weather had been beautiful in southern Louisiana, but as I drove northward the clouds grew in number, sky coverage, an darkness. After passing Texarkana, the rain started. For the rest of the drive, I passed through varying patches of light rain, heavy downpours, and no rain. By the time I reached Van Buren, which was around 9:15 p.m., the rain had stopped and the sun had gone down. I was feeling alright all the time I was driving, but after unhooking my trailer (so another driver could continue the load on its way to its destination) and parking, fatigue hit me like a brick. So I just went right to bed.
As you recall from earlier posts, I'm in Van Buren to attend a "Driver Skills Development" course, which will take 3 days. I got up this morning at 5:30 because my Fleet Manager had not yet told me what time the course would start. So in case it would have started at 6:00, I was ready. I sent another message to my FM to inquire about the starting time (and where I needed to go for the class), and he finally responded: check in at 7:30. So I had plenty of time to get a bite to eat and take a shower and shave before reporting for the class.
The class, as I found out today, will be all driving--no classroom work. Today we did some practicing of backing maneuvers on the driving range in the morning, then after lunch (which was free!--Whaddaya mean there's no such thing as a free lunch?) we--me, the instructor, and 1 other driver--drove through some city streets to learn some skills for turning tight corners. Why such things weren't required in training to begin with, I don't know. But I did pick up some good tips today, and it's good practice, so I'll be that much better when I'm back on the road this weekend.
We had to stop early today because a heavy rain front came through. No thunder & lightning, though. We had finished the drive through town and were going to do some more backing practice when we noticed how dark the skies to the west had become. Shortly afterward the rain started, washing out the day's activities at 2:45 (we were going to go 'til 3:30). Fine by me--I'm still a bit tired. I grabbed a snack from the vending machines in the drivers' lounge, waited out the rain, then returned to my truck to tell y'all about it. And that's where things stand right now. I may give in to my fatigue and take a nap next, unless I decide to fight it and take a crack at another freeroll poker tourney. I think I'm leaning towards nap right now, though.
Thanks for checking in once more, please do join the comment chorus, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 633
Miles Today: 0* (some training driving, but no "official" miles)
Looks like I owe y'all another 2-day update. Yesterday was an overly long day and I was exhausted when I finished up. Here's how it went.
My pickup was scheduled for 8:00 a.m. just across the river from New Orleans. It was at a company right on the wharf, right alongside a huge tanker tied to the dock. I arrived early, 7:15 or so, and had to wait a few minutes before anyone even showed up. I guess it's not an early starter of a company. (This is, after all, the Big Easy.) But someone did arrive by 7:30, directed me to the appropriate loading dock, and I was loaded (well, the trailer was; I don't drink on the job) and on my way shortly after 8:00. And I had quite a long haul to make.
I wound my way through the streets and highways of NOLA and onto I-10 for the westward jaunt. That took me through Baton Rouge to Lafayette, where I turned north-northwestward onto I-49. That took me to Shreveport, and from there I hopped on US-71 for the pretty-much-straight-north shot through Texarkana to here. (I did take a short side-trip east along I-30 from Texarkana to a Flying J to fuel up the truck, but after that it was back to US-71.)
The weather had been beautiful in southern Louisiana, but as I drove northward the clouds grew in number, sky coverage, an darkness. After passing Texarkana, the rain started. For the rest of the drive, I passed through varying patches of light rain, heavy downpours, and no rain. By the time I reached Van Buren, which was around 9:15 p.m., the rain had stopped and the sun had gone down. I was feeling alright all the time I was driving, but after unhooking my trailer (so another driver could continue the load on its way to its destination) and parking, fatigue hit me like a brick. So I just went right to bed.
As you recall from earlier posts, I'm in Van Buren to attend a "Driver Skills Development" course, which will take 3 days. I got up this morning at 5:30 because my Fleet Manager had not yet told me what time the course would start. So in case it would have started at 6:00, I was ready. I sent another message to my FM to inquire about the starting time (and where I needed to go for the class), and he finally responded: check in at 7:30. So I had plenty of time to get a bite to eat and take a shower and shave before reporting for the class.
The class, as I found out today, will be all driving--no classroom work. Today we did some practicing of backing maneuvers on the driving range in the morning, then after lunch (which was free!--Whaddaya mean there's no such thing as a free lunch?) we--me, the instructor, and 1 other driver--drove through some city streets to learn some skills for turning tight corners. Why such things weren't required in training to begin with, I don't know. But I did pick up some good tips today, and it's good practice, so I'll be that much better when I'm back on the road this weekend.
We had to stop early today because a heavy rain front came through. No thunder & lightning, though. We had finished the drive through town and were going to do some more backing practice when we noticed how dark the skies to the west had become. Shortly afterward the rain started, washing out the day's activities at 2:45 (we were going to go 'til 3:30). Fine by me--I'm still a bit tired. I grabbed a snack from the vending machines in the drivers' lounge, waited out the rain, then returned to my truck to tell y'all about it. And that's where things stand right now. I may give in to my fatigue and take a nap next, unless I decide to fight it and take a crack at another freeroll poker tourney. I think I'm leaning towards nap right now, though.
Thanks for checking in once more, please do join the comment chorus, and keep on truckin'.
Monday, June 25, 2007
The Waiting Game Concludes
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS, LA, 6:20 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 222
Well, I finally did get a load assignment (see "The Waiting Game" post from earlier today). I'm to pick up a load across the river from the Big Easy at 8:00 in the morning and haul a** with it to Van Buren. That'll be over 550 miles, so stay outta' my way. (There's another Thank You card I owe dispatch.) I drove down into the city this afternoon to spend the night at a truck stop near the pickup site, so I'll have nearly my full complement of driving hours available for the run to Van Buren tomorrow.
That's all that's new that I have to report at this juncture. Thanks again for checking up on me, and keep truckin' on.
Miles Today: 222
Well, I finally did get a load assignment (see "The Waiting Game" post from earlier today). I'm to pick up a load across the river from the Big Easy at 8:00 in the morning and haul a** with it to Van Buren. That'll be over 550 miles, so stay outta' my way. (There's another Thank You card I owe dispatch.) I drove down into the city this afternoon to spend the night at a truck stop near the pickup site, so I'll have nearly my full complement of driving hours available for the run to Van Buren tomorrow.
That's all that's new that I have to report at this juncture. Thanks again for checking up on me, and keep truckin' on.
The Waiting Game
DATELINE: HAMMOND, LA, 1:30 p.m. CDT
Miles Yesterday: 348
Right now I'm at a truck stop in this town, waiting for my next load assignment. I've been here over 2-1/2 hours and am getting stir-crazy. Maybe by pulling out the laptop, booting it up, getting online, and starting a new composition I'll spur some action in the cosmos to get my assignment to come in and interrupt me. I've already tried napping, reading, and snacking, and still I wait. Which I'd already done a bit of this morning at my delivery. But I'm ahead of myself. Let me re-cap yesterday for you.
You saw the update I posted in the morning, after which I hit the road and headed south. I intended to reach this town (and this truck stop) yesterday, but I settled for the Flying J in Jackson, MS where I had stayed a couple times before. That way I could get up early today and get my day started earlier, which would mean it would end earlier, before the truck stops would be filling up. The drive from West Memphis to Jackson took just over 4 hours, after which I hit the buffet at the "J" for dinner, then went online for another turn at the poker tables. I had modest success there, then went to bed around 9:00 p.m., aiming for a 4:00 wake-up time.
Unfortunately, I woke up a little before midnight, tossed and turned, then had to head inside the truck stop to answer a call. Since I knew I wasn't going to fall back asleep very readily, I spent a few minutes walking around in the still warm and humid parking lot, trying to burn off some energy. I got back into bed around 1:00 to try to salvage something resembling a "good" night's sleep, and had modest success there.
My alarm woke me as planned this morning at 4:00, and at 4:15 I was on the road. I arrived at my delivery right on time, checked in at the guard shack, then drove back to the warehouse loading docks. This was a big place (a distribution center of a national retailer) with lots of deliveries arriving at the same time. I was going to back right into the dock assigned at the guard shack, but the way was blocked by other trucks parked in the way. Apparently all the other drivers decided they had to park in the right-of-way and check in at the Shipping/Receiving office before backing into their docks, so I did the same. Then I waited in a lengthy line in the office. By the time I finished up there, the way was clear to "hit the dock". This was more than an hour after I had initially arrived.
At this site (and the other DCs I've been to for this company), once you back your trailer into a dock, you unhook your cab and drop the trailer there, then park the cab in a waiting area. They then notify you when the unload is complete, at which point you go back into the office to get your paperwork, then you drive back, hook up your trailer, then leave. I had another good, long wait while they were unloading my trailer. All told, I was at that site for 3 hours. Then I drove the 15 minutes to this truck stop and have been waiting some more. Sheesh!
I know my ultimate destination for tomorrow: my Fleet Manager has me booked for a safety class (a continuing-ed kind of thing) in Van Buren, AR that starts on Wednesday morning. But dispatch won't want me driving empty all the way there; they'd prefer a customer be paying for those miles. So they're searching for a load I can take along the way. I've been composing this update now for 1/2 an hour, and still no word yet. They'll have to get me something soon so I can get rolling, or I won't be able to get to Van Buren (I figure it's about 13 hours of driving from here) without violating DOT reg's.
Anyway, it's hot and humid down here, with possible thunderstorms in the forecast, as they are anywhere when it's hot and humid. Hopefully I'll get an assignment soon. All this waiting isn't helped by my sleep deficit. I hope your day is a bit more stimulating. Thanks for reading; please drop a line with your comments and/or questions, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 348
Right now I'm at a truck stop in this town, waiting for my next load assignment. I've been here over 2-1/2 hours and am getting stir-crazy. Maybe by pulling out the laptop, booting it up, getting online, and starting a new composition I'll spur some action in the cosmos to get my assignment to come in and interrupt me. I've already tried napping, reading, and snacking, and still I wait. Which I'd already done a bit of this morning at my delivery. But I'm ahead of myself. Let me re-cap yesterday for you.
You saw the update I posted in the morning, after which I hit the road and headed south. I intended to reach this town (and this truck stop) yesterday, but I settled for the Flying J in Jackson, MS where I had stayed a couple times before. That way I could get up early today and get my day started earlier, which would mean it would end earlier, before the truck stops would be filling up. The drive from West Memphis to Jackson took just over 4 hours, after which I hit the buffet at the "J" for dinner, then went online for another turn at the poker tables. I had modest success there, then went to bed around 9:00 p.m., aiming for a 4:00 wake-up time.
Unfortunately, I woke up a little before midnight, tossed and turned, then had to head inside the truck stop to answer a call. Since I knew I wasn't going to fall back asleep very readily, I spent a few minutes walking around in the still warm and humid parking lot, trying to burn off some energy. I got back into bed around 1:00 to try to salvage something resembling a "good" night's sleep, and had modest success there.
My alarm woke me as planned this morning at 4:00, and at 4:15 I was on the road. I arrived at my delivery right on time, checked in at the guard shack, then drove back to the warehouse loading docks. This was a big place (a distribution center of a national retailer) with lots of deliveries arriving at the same time. I was going to back right into the dock assigned at the guard shack, but the way was blocked by other trucks parked in the way. Apparently all the other drivers decided they had to park in the right-of-way and check in at the Shipping/Receiving office before backing into their docks, so I did the same. Then I waited in a lengthy line in the office. By the time I finished up there, the way was clear to "hit the dock". This was more than an hour after I had initially arrived.
At this site (and the other DCs I've been to for this company), once you back your trailer into a dock, you unhook your cab and drop the trailer there, then park the cab in a waiting area. They then notify you when the unload is complete, at which point you go back into the office to get your paperwork, then you drive back, hook up your trailer, then leave. I had another good, long wait while they were unloading my trailer. All told, I was at that site for 3 hours. Then I drove the 15 minutes to this truck stop and have been waiting some more. Sheesh!
I know my ultimate destination for tomorrow: my Fleet Manager has me booked for a safety class (a continuing-ed kind of thing) in Van Buren, AR that starts on Wednesday morning. But dispatch won't want me driving empty all the way there; they'd prefer a customer be paying for those miles. So they're searching for a load I can take along the way. I've been composing this update now for 1/2 an hour, and still no word yet. They'll have to get me something soon so I can get rolling, or I won't be able to get to Van Buren (I figure it's about 13 hours of driving from here) without violating DOT reg's.
Anyway, it's hot and humid down here, with possible thunderstorms in the forecast, as they are anywhere when it's hot and humid. Hopefully I'll get an assignment soon. All this waiting isn't helped by my sleep deficit. I hope your day is a bit more stimulating. Thanks for reading; please drop a line with your comments and/or questions, and keep on truckin'.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Hold-Em Hold It
DATELINE: WEST MEMPHIS, AR, 11:30 a.m. CDT
Miles Yesterday: 300 (plus another 130-ish after midnight before I stopped for the night)
I had a lot of free time yesterday since my pickup time was 8:00 p.m. and I had completed my delivery the day before at 7:15 p.m. I woke up yesterday before 6:00 a.m. after having gone to bed fairly early. My pickup in the evening was about 2-1/2 hours away, so I was planning to get underway at 5:00 p.m., perhaps 4:00 to include a stop at a Flying J en route for fuel and a shower (I'd have to buy at least 50 gallons of fuel to earn a free shower there). But that plan changed just a bit.
Because of my scads of free time, I hit the online poker tables. No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em is my game. I played some (VERY low stakes) cash games and a couple of freeroll (no entry fee) tournaments, with varying results. But all-in-all I came out a bit ahead. My biggest disappointment was my last freeroll tourney. It started at 12:35 and had 3300+ entrants. I knew if I had a good run it would take me close to the time I'd have to start my workday, but it's always good practice. So I entered anyway.
I can't say I was eating the competition alive, but I was hanging on, increasing my chip stack now and then with good hands. I always had less than the average chip stack, but I was playing to survive into the payouts (top 18 places) rather than to score big early. 4:00--my departure time if I wanted to stop for a shower--came and went, and I was still alive, into the top 100. I had 1 hour to complete the tournament one way or another. Naturally, the pace of players getting busted out slowed way down. As 5:00--my departure time--approached, I made it into the top 30. I started preparing to hit the road--getting into my driving clothes (jeans instead of the shorts I'd been wearing all day) and securing my loose gear--while trying to complete the tourney. But the dropout rate was too slow, and I had to give up my quest for the cash (a whole $1 if I made it into 10th through 18th place, up to $10 for 1st place). I had to start going all-in with every hand in an effort to bust out so I could hit the road. It took 2 hands to lose all my chips, and I finished in 24th place. Naturally, my best run in one of these tournaments and I can't finish because of time constraints. :-( I'm sure I would have cashed if I could have stayed in.
So that's my sob story. After that the day was pretty anti-climactic. I made the drive to the pickup, arriving 20 minutes early. The load took about an hour, and I was headed south (I-55 the whole way) at 9:15. My goal for the night was to reach our West Memphis terminal, which was nigh on 300 miles, or 5 hours of steady driving, away. Mission accomplished, though at midnight I had attempted to find a spot in a couple of truck stops, even though I wasn't too terribly tired yet. No luck there, so I pressed on and reached West Mem at 2:15 a.m. By then I was quite tired, so I was soon to bed.
I've had my shower this morning, so I'll be ready to go when my 10-hour break concludes in another half hour. Today I'm headed for Robert, LA, which is just north of Lake Pontchartrain along I-18. I'll probably stop for the night in Hammond, just west of Robert, because there's a truck stop there. My delivery is at 7:15 tomorrow morning, so today's a transition from overnight to daytime driving.
Now it's time for me to get ready to hit the road once more. Thanks for your loyal readership, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 300 (plus another 130-ish after midnight before I stopped for the night)
I had a lot of free time yesterday since my pickup time was 8:00 p.m. and I had completed my delivery the day before at 7:15 p.m. I woke up yesterday before 6:00 a.m. after having gone to bed fairly early. My pickup in the evening was about 2-1/2 hours away, so I was planning to get underway at 5:00 p.m., perhaps 4:00 to include a stop at a Flying J en route for fuel and a shower (I'd have to buy at least 50 gallons of fuel to earn a free shower there). But that plan changed just a bit.
Because of my scads of free time, I hit the online poker tables. No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em is my game. I played some (VERY low stakes) cash games and a couple of freeroll (no entry fee) tournaments, with varying results. But all-in-all I came out a bit ahead. My biggest disappointment was my last freeroll tourney. It started at 12:35 and had 3300+ entrants. I knew if I had a good run it would take me close to the time I'd have to start my workday, but it's always good practice. So I entered anyway.
I can't say I was eating the competition alive, but I was hanging on, increasing my chip stack now and then with good hands. I always had less than the average chip stack, but I was playing to survive into the payouts (top 18 places) rather than to score big early. 4:00--my departure time if I wanted to stop for a shower--came and went, and I was still alive, into the top 100. I had 1 hour to complete the tournament one way or another. Naturally, the pace of players getting busted out slowed way down. As 5:00--my departure time--approached, I made it into the top 30. I started preparing to hit the road--getting into my driving clothes (jeans instead of the shorts I'd been wearing all day) and securing my loose gear--while trying to complete the tourney. But the dropout rate was too slow, and I had to give up my quest for the cash (a whole $1 if I made it into 10th through 18th place, up to $10 for 1st place). I had to start going all-in with every hand in an effort to bust out so I could hit the road. It took 2 hands to lose all my chips, and I finished in 24th place. Naturally, my best run in one of these tournaments and I can't finish because of time constraints. :-( I'm sure I would have cashed if I could have stayed in.
So that's my sob story. After that the day was pretty anti-climactic. I made the drive to the pickup, arriving 20 minutes early. The load took about an hour, and I was headed south (I-55 the whole way) at 9:15. My goal for the night was to reach our West Memphis terminal, which was nigh on 300 miles, or 5 hours of steady driving, away. Mission accomplished, though at midnight I had attempted to find a spot in a couple of truck stops, even though I wasn't too terribly tired yet. No luck there, so I pressed on and reached West Mem at 2:15 a.m. By then I was quite tired, so I was soon to bed.
I've had my shower this morning, so I'll be ready to go when my 10-hour break concludes in another half hour. Today I'm headed for Robert, LA, which is just north of Lake Pontchartrain along I-18. I'll probably stop for the night in Hammond, just west of Robert, because there's a truck stop there. My delivery is at 7:15 tomorrow morning, so today's a transition from overnight to daytime driving.
Now it's time for me to get ready to hit the road once more. Thanks for your loyal readership, and keep on truckin'.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Another Wait
DATELINE: COLUMBIA, MO, 8:00 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 364
Just a quick update this time around to let you know how today's delivery went and where I'm headed next, since I composed such a lengthy update earlier today.
The drive from Effingham to my delivery in Columbia was unremarkable, save for rush hour traffic north of St. Louis. I left Effingham just after 2:00 p.m., reached the St. Louis area around 4:00, and my destination at 6:45. This was undoubtedly my fastest live unload, and I was done there at 7:15. I then headed for a truck stop 10 miles away, where I had spent the night the last time I had delivered to the same place 12 days ago. I'll be spending tonight here as well.
My next assignment came in as I was driving to this truck stop (not one of the national chains). Since weekends are light for shipping and receiving activity, I get to wait a bit before picking up the next load. That'll be at 8:00 tomorrow (Saturday) evening in Illinois, just across the big river from Missouri. I'll make the drive over there before the pickup, rather than tonight, because I am still quite tired from too many short nights of sleep. The load is headed for a Monday morning delivery in Louisiana--I still have to plot which part of the state the town is in, so I can't be more specific than that right now--so I'll probably be able to stop for the night relatively early after making the pickup, then haul a** on Sunday to get close to the delivery site. I'll do more complete trip planning tomorrow.
For now, I think I'll just get ready for bed, then get into bed. I'm one tired trucker. Thanks for following my saga, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 364
Just a quick update this time around to let you know how today's delivery went and where I'm headed next, since I composed such a lengthy update earlier today.
The drive from Effingham to my delivery in Columbia was unremarkable, save for rush hour traffic north of St. Louis. I left Effingham just after 2:00 p.m., reached the St. Louis area around 4:00, and my destination at 6:45. This was undoubtedly my fastest live unload, and I was done there at 7:15. I then headed for a truck stop 10 miles away, where I had spent the night the last time I had delivered to the same place 12 days ago. I'll be spending tonight here as well.
My next assignment came in as I was driving to this truck stop (not one of the national chains). Since weekends are light for shipping and receiving activity, I get to wait a bit before picking up the next load. That'll be at 8:00 tomorrow (Saturday) evening in Illinois, just across the big river from Missouri. I'll make the drive over there before the pickup, rather than tonight, because I am still quite tired from too many short nights of sleep. The load is headed for a Monday morning delivery in Louisiana--I still have to plot which part of the state the town is in, so I can't be more specific than that right now--so I'll probably be able to stop for the night relatively early after making the pickup, then haul a** on Sunday to get close to the delivery site. I'll do more complete trip planning tomorrow.
For now, I think I'll just get ready for bed, then get into bed. I'm one tired trucker. Thanks for following my saga, and keep on truckin'.
Back in the Saddle
DATELINE: EFFINGHAM, IL, 11:00 a.m. CDT
Miles Yesterday: 386
That mileage total is accurate but misleading. Why? Because it's only for the calendar date of 6/21/07. My latest driving shift spanned midnight last night, so I actually drove a bit farther before stopping. But let me give you the whole story.
I returned to work yesterday after a couple of days off at home. I woke up n the morning at 5:00 and Mrs. Reluctant Trucker drove me to my truck's parking place. We arrived there at about 6:00. I sent in my "Back to Work" message to dispatch, then waited for my first assignment of this deployment. It came in about 45 minutes later: Pick up a load in Detroit and take it to Columbia, MO, to a site I'd delivered to just a couple of weeks ago. The downside of the assignment? The pickup time was 5:00 p.m., so I'd have to wait quite a while before even getting started. Then I'd have to drive an overnight--or at least VERY deep into the night--shift, since the delivery is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. the next day. Oy!
During my time at home I had been very busy and had to stay up late each night in an attempt to finish needed tasks. Naturally I didn't get a chance to sleep in on any of the following mornings, either. So the night before returning to the truck I only got about 4 hours of sleep. Not a good total for having to wait all day before driving through the next night. So during my wait I worked on catching up on my sleep, with some success.
I got about 3 hours of sleep in the morning, then woke up hungry. There's a small truck stop about 1/2 mile down the road from the trucking company where I park my truck during home time, so I walked down there and bought a sandwich and beverage. After the walk back I hit the bunk for a bit more shut-eye, maybe another hour's worth. Still not enough, but better than nothing.
Finally the time came to get to work. Because of rush hour traffic it took me an hour to get to the pickup, but I had planned plenty of time for the trip and arrived about 15 minutes early. I didn't have to wait long for a dock to open up for me, and backed in. By 5:45 p.m. the trailer was loaded and I was on my way.
I decided to take the "western route" south, I-69 through Indiana rather than I-75 through Ohio, so my trek brought me along I-94 past my "home" truck stop just west of Ann Arbor. I stopped there to weigh my truck and grab some dinner. It was there that I had my first good luck of the day. I dined at the Popeye's Chicken stand at the truck stop, ordering a 2-piece chicken meal. I ordered their spicy chicken as opposed to the mild, and it turned out that at the time they only had 2 spicy pieces left, both breasts (usually they give you 1 breast and 1 leg quarter). Then it was back on the road to get as far as I could in my available hours.
I made it down to Indianapolis by 11:30 p.m. without anything remarkable to report, then headed west on I-70. Shortly after that the light show began. It started with a huge, orange, cloud-to-ground lightning bolt up ahead in the distance. (No cool wind in my hair--I drive with the windows closed.) After that one the lightning was pretty regular--varying from cloud-to-ground and cloud-to-cloud bolts and flashing skies. But it was a good while before any rain fell. That started just as I crossed the state line into Illinois. But very little of it was heavy.
I reached Effingham and pulled into a Pilot truck stop to fuel up. It was getting towards the end of my driving hours allotment, so I looked for a place to park after finishing at the fuel island. Nothing available there. Fortunately, Effingham has several truck stops within 4 highway miles, so I proceeded to my favorite, the Flying J. Its lot was crowded, but wonder of wonders, I got my second bit of good luck for the shift. I found an easy-in (no backing required) spot to park. That was fortunate because:
a) I was getting very tired, and
b) By that time the cloudburst had begun big-time, and I would have had to open a window or two--and thus gotten soaked--to be able to see well enough to back into a spot.
After parking, I finished my logging paperwork for the day and went right to bed. This was now nearly 4:00 a.m. CDT. I woke up this morning around 9:30 and couldn't fall back asleep, so I gave up my attempt after a while and decided it was time to bring you the tale. I'll hit the road again this afternoon at around 2:00, I think, because I estimate I have another 4 hours of driving to reach my delivery site. As I mentioned earlier, delivery is set for 8:00 p.m., so that will leave some "wiggle room" for traffic problems and/or a leisurely dinner break en route. After the delivery, I don't know if dispatch will find me a load to pick up in the evening, or if I may have to wait 'til morning. Be sure to check back later to find out.
Thanks for checking up on me. Please do send me some comments and/or questions, have a great weekend, and keep right on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 386
That mileage total is accurate but misleading. Why? Because it's only for the calendar date of 6/21/07. My latest driving shift spanned midnight last night, so I actually drove a bit farther before stopping. But let me give you the whole story.
I returned to work yesterday after a couple of days off at home. I woke up n the morning at 5:00 and Mrs. Reluctant Trucker drove me to my truck's parking place. We arrived there at about 6:00. I sent in my "Back to Work" message to dispatch, then waited for my first assignment of this deployment. It came in about 45 minutes later: Pick up a load in Detroit and take it to Columbia, MO, to a site I'd delivered to just a couple of weeks ago. The downside of the assignment? The pickup time was 5:00 p.m., so I'd have to wait quite a while before even getting started. Then I'd have to drive an overnight--or at least VERY deep into the night--shift, since the delivery is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. the next day. Oy!
During my time at home I had been very busy and had to stay up late each night in an attempt to finish needed tasks. Naturally I didn't get a chance to sleep in on any of the following mornings, either. So the night before returning to the truck I only got about 4 hours of sleep. Not a good total for having to wait all day before driving through the next night. So during my wait I worked on catching up on my sleep, with some success.
I got about 3 hours of sleep in the morning, then woke up hungry. There's a small truck stop about 1/2 mile down the road from the trucking company where I park my truck during home time, so I walked down there and bought a sandwich and beverage. After the walk back I hit the bunk for a bit more shut-eye, maybe another hour's worth. Still not enough, but better than nothing.
Finally the time came to get to work. Because of rush hour traffic it took me an hour to get to the pickup, but I had planned plenty of time for the trip and arrived about 15 minutes early. I didn't have to wait long for a dock to open up for me, and backed in. By 5:45 p.m. the trailer was loaded and I was on my way.
I decided to take the "western route" south, I-69 through Indiana rather than I-75 through Ohio, so my trek brought me along I-94 past my "home" truck stop just west of Ann Arbor. I stopped there to weigh my truck and grab some dinner. It was there that I had my first good luck of the day. I dined at the Popeye's Chicken stand at the truck stop, ordering a 2-piece chicken meal. I ordered their spicy chicken as opposed to the mild, and it turned out that at the time they only had 2 spicy pieces left, both breasts (usually they give you 1 breast and 1 leg quarter). Then it was back on the road to get as far as I could in my available hours.
I made it down to Indianapolis by 11:30 p.m. without anything remarkable to report, then headed west on I-70. Shortly after that the light show began. It started with a huge, orange, cloud-to-ground lightning bolt up ahead in the distance. (No cool wind in my hair--I drive with the windows closed.) After that one the lightning was pretty regular--varying from cloud-to-ground and cloud-to-cloud bolts and flashing skies. But it was a good while before any rain fell. That started just as I crossed the state line into Illinois. But very little of it was heavy.
I reached Effingham and pulled into a Pilot truck stop to fuel up. It was getting towards the end of my driving hours allotment, so I looked for a place to park after finishing at the fuel island. Nothing available there. Fortunately, Effingham has several truck stops within 4 highway miles, so I proceeded to my favorite, the Flying J. Its lot was crowded, but wonder of wonders, I got my second bit of good luck for the shift. I found an easy-in (no backing required) spot to park. That was fortunate because:
a) I was getting very tired, and
b) By that time the cloudburst had begun big-time, and I would have had to open a window or two--and thus gotten soaked--to be able to see well enough to back into a spot.
After parking, I finished my logging paperwork for the day and went right to bed. This was now nearly 4:00 a.m. CDT. I woke up this morning around 9:30 and couldn't fall back asleep, so I gave up my attempt after a while and decided it was time to bring you the tale. I'll hit the road again this afternoon at around 2:00, I think, because I estimate I have another 4 hours of driving to reach my delivery site. As I mentioned earlier, delivery is set for 8:00 p.m., so that will leave some "wiggle room" for traffic problems and/or a leisurely dinner break en route. After the delivery, I don't know if dispatch will find me a load to pick up in the evening, or if I may have to wait 'til morning. Be sure to check back later to find out.
Thanks for checking up on me. Please do send me some comments and/or questions, have a great weekend, and keep right on truckin'.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Uncertainties Before Heading Home
DATELINE: HOME, 12:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Yesterday: 197
Miles Sunday: 668
After reporting to you Sunday morning, I sent another message to dispatch asking about a load to take on my way home. A while later I got a response: "U R still on the load to TN" (the one I had picked up in Dallas). Apparently the dispatchers on the different shifts don't communicate with each other. So I got ready, hooked back up to the trailer, fueled up the truck, and headed out. The problem with that load was its delivery time of 3:30 p.m. on Monday. I was scheduled to go home on Monday, and if I had to make that delivery, just south of Knoxville, TN, I would not be able to make it home then. (Plus, I'm sure they'd want me to pick up another load in that area--which I'd probably have to drop at Vandalia--so I wouldn't be driving several hundred miles without a load, also delaying my arrival home.)
Just after I got on the highway, a new message came in. Since I was moving, I couldn't read the message; I would have to stop to do so. However, there are no rest areas or truck stops in western TN along I-40 for 42 miles. So after an hour of driving, I finally got the chance to read it, "Don't leave yet, I may have a solution for you." And a second message, "Head back to West Memphis." And a third message with the load assignment: grab a loaded trailer at the West Memphis terminal that needs to go to northwest Ohio for a Monday morning delivery.
So I turned around, returned to West Memphis, and switched trailers. There were a couple slight problems with this new arrangement:
1. West Memphis to Vandalia is a 10-hour drive. I had already driven 2 hours in my aborted start, so I was destined to violate the 11-hour driving regulation.
2. The new load's delivery appointment was 10:00 Monday morning, and the customer is located about a 3-hour drive from Vandalia. Since Dispatch was so late getting me the load assignment, I would not be able to get in the required 10-hour break at Vandalia before I'd have to leave to make the delivery on time. I made sure to alert Dispatch of that problem, and it took a few messages and responses to get them to see the light about that. Still, I wouldn't know 'til I got to Vandalia and asked again whether I would drop the load there or make the delivery and violate the 10-hour break regulation. They did let me drop it.
The drive to Vandalia, other than the uncertainty about the load's disposition, was uneventful. I arrived at 10:30 p.m., fueled up again, did my logging paperwork, and got ready for and went to bed. Another reason I couldn't deliver either of my weekend loads was that I had an appointment for regular maintenance service on my truck at 6:00 Monday morning at Vandalia. I had been getting messages for 2 weeks reminding me to set up the appointment whenever I would be routed through a terminal. Well, over that period all of my loads were either too short on time or not near a terminal, so I couldn't get in for the service. So I figured I'd get the chance at Vandalia on my way home and made the appointment. By that time my truck was 3000+ miles overdue for the service.
Therefore, after getting to bed at 11:30 p.m., I woke up at 5:30 to get my truck to the shop. Normally, this maintenance work, known as "E Service", takes about an hour. This time, however, the mechanic doing the work was new to the job and a bit slow. In addition, he found a coolant leak and low batteries, so another mechanic would have to deal with those issues. To wrap up this portion of the story, the work on my truck wound up taking 4 hours.
Did I mention that I had been woken up in the middle of the night by a load assignment message coming in? (The infernal box beeps when a new message arrives, then beeps again every 5 minutes 'til I read the message.) The assignment was to take a loaded trailer from Vandalia to the Detroit area for a Tuesday delivery. Since I was headed home and wouldn't be working on Tuesday, my Fleet Manager pulled me off that load and told me just to find an empty trailer at Vandalia and head home. However, there weren't any empties there, so I just "bobtailed" (driving the tractor without a trailer) home, arriving at the yard where I park the truck at around 4:00 p.m.
And that's where the story of my latest tour of duty ends. I'm very glad to have gotten home on Monday as scheduled, since it was my birthday. I'll be busy for a couple of days taking care of things at home before I have to head back to the truck and the open road on Thursday morning. But I'm always glad to be home to see my family.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to take a peek at my blog. Check back next on Thursday night or Friday after I start my next deployment and get the chance to report about it. And don't forget to keep on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 197
Miles Sunday: 668
After reporting to you Sunday morning, I sent another message to dispatch asking about a load to take on my way home. A while later I got a response: "U R still on the load to TN" (the one I had picked up in Dallas). Apparently the dispatchers on the different shifts don't communicate with each other. So I got ready, hooked back up to the trailer, fueled up the truck, and headed out. The problem with that load was its delivery time of 3:30 p.m. on Monday. I was scheduled to go home on Monday, and if I had to make that delivery, just south of Knoxville, TN, I would not be able to make it home then. (Plus, I'm sure they'd want me to pick up another load in that area--which I'd probably have to drop at Vandalia--so I wouldn't be driving several hundred miles without a load, also delaying my arrival home.)
Just after I got on the highway, a new message came in. Since I was moving, I couldn't read the message; I would have to stop to do so. However, there are no rest areas or truck stops in western TN along I-40 for 42 miles. So after an hour of driving, I finally got the chance to read it, "Don't leave yet, I may have a solution for you." And a second message, "Head back to West Memphis." And a third message with the load assignment: grab a loaded trailer at the West Memphis terminal that needs to go to northwest Ohio for a Monday morning delivery.
So I turned around, returned to West Memphis, and switched trailers. There were a couple slight problems with this new arrangement:
1. West Memphis to Vandalia is a 10-hour drive. I had already driven 2 hours in my aborted start, so I was destined to violate the 11-hour driving regulation.
2. The new load's delivery appointment was 10:00 Monday morning, and the customer is located about a 3-hour drive from Vandalia. Since Dispatch was so late getting me the load assignment, I would not be able to get in the required 10-hour break at Vandalia before I'd have to leave to make the delivery on time. I made sure to alert Dispatch of that problem, and it took a few messages and responses to get them to see the light about that. Still, I wouldn't know 'til I got to Vandalia and asked again whether I would drop the load there or make the delivery and violate the 10-hour break regulation. They did let me drop it.
The drive to Vandalia, other than the uncertainty about the load's disposition, was uneventful. I arrived at 10:30 p.m., fueled up again, did my logging paperwork, and got ready for and went to bed. Another reason I couldn't deliver either of my weekend loads was that I had an appointment for regular maintenance service on my truck at 6:00 Monday morning at Vandalia. I had been getting messages for 2 weeks reminding me to set up the appointment whenever I would be routed through a terminal. Well, over that period all of my loads were either too short on time or not near a terminal, so I couldn't get in for the service. So I figured I'd get the chance at Vandalia on my way home and made the appointment. By that time my truck was 3000+ miles overdue for the service.
Therefore, after getting to bed at 11:30 p.m., I woke up at 5:30 to get my truck to the shop. Normally, this maintenance work, known as "E Service", takes about an hour. This time, however, the mechanic doing the work was new to the job and a bit slow. In addition, he found a coolant leak and low batteries, so another mechanic would have to deal with those issues. To wrap up this portion of the story, the work on my truck wound up taking 4 hours.
Did I mention that I had been woken up in the middle of the night by a load assignment message coming in? (The infernal box beeps when a new message arrives, then beeps again every 5 minutes 'til I read the message.) The assignment was to take a loaded trailer from Vandalia to the Detroit area for a Tuesday delivery. Since I was headed home and wouldn't be working on Tuesday, my Fleet Manager pulled me off that load and told me just to find an empty trailer at Vandalia and head home. However, there weren't any empties there, so I just "bobtailed" (driving the tractor without a trailer) home, arriving at the yard where I park the truck at around 4:00 p.m.
And that's where the story of my latest tour of duty ends. I'm very glad to have gotten home on Monday as scheduled, since it was my birthday. I'll be busy for a couple of days taking care of things at home before I have to head back to the truck and the open road on Thursday morning. But I'm always glad to be home to see my family.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to take a peek at my blog. Check back next on Thursday night or Friday after I start my next deployment and get the chance to report about it. And don't forget to keep on truckin'.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
The Great Unknown
DATELINE: WEST MEMPHIS, AR, 5:45 a.m. CDT
Miles Yesterday: 432
Long day yesterday. Not as a work day, but because I woke up around 1:30 a.m. and could not get back to sleep. So I spent a couple hours figuring out what would and what wouldn't work (mostly what wouldn't) against online poker foes before it was time to get dressed, get some breakfast, and hit the road, which I did at 4:45.
The drive was one I've done many times now, from just east of Dallas to West Memphis, and took 7 hours of driving. I took one hour-long break at a rest stop in western AR, a bit past the midway point of the trip, for a quick nap. 'Twas much needed and beneficial.
I arrived at the West Memphis terminal at 2:00 and unhooked my trailer. (Remember, the load is headed for a Monday afternoon delivery in Tennessee; I'm headed homeward to start some time off on Monday.) I sent in my "empty call" message to dispatch so they could assign me a loaded trailer from here to haul to Vandalia, OH today. (More reminder background: The drive from here to Vandalia--and vice versa--takes a full shift, so I need to stop there for a night before finishing the trip home. Because of that, I set up an appointment for regular maintenance service on my truck Monday morning at the Vandalia terminal.) Right now (6:00 a.m.) I'm still waiting for a load assignment. Maybe there just aren't any loads here headed that way, but you'd think somebody would at least let me know that. But no, I haven't heard anything back from dispatch. Sheesh. Hence the time right now to blog away at you.
I woke up this morning just after 4:30 (I'm used to that schedule right now), hit the showers here at the terminal, and grabbed some breakfast (a Buffalo Chicken sandwich from the vending machine in the drivers' lounge--yum!). So I'm ready to roll; I just don't know what to take with me yet. I've sent in yet another message to dispatch to see if they have a load for me yet, but still no word. While I'm waiting, I'll take the time to answer reader Jim's query.
Jim wants to know, "Who enforces all of the rules about how many hours a day you can spend on the road? Is there a DOT police car out there checking on you?"
Well, Jim, the DOT is the enforcement agency for the hours of service regulations. They do indeed perform spot checks, but don't (that I know of) pull trucks over just to take a look at a driver's log books. When they pull a truck over for an inspection, usually at a weigh station or rest area, they'll look at the driver's logs in the course of their inspection. It hasn't happened to me yet, but that's what they told us in trucker school. I also don't know what penalties they will impose for violations. I know they can impose fines and suspend or revoke licenses. I'm sure the penalty they choose depends on the level of infraction.
So that's yesterday's story. I'll sign off here and continue my waiting game. I hope to get some news soon; I'm ready and want to get rolling. Thanks again for your patronage, questions and comments, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 432
Long day yesterday. Not as a work day, but because I woke up around 1:30 a.m. and could not get back to sleep. So I spent a couple hours figuring out what would and what wouldn't work (mostly what wouldn't) against online poker foes before it was time to get dressed, get some breakfast, and hit the road, which I did at 4:45.
The drive was one I've done many times now, from just east of Dallas to West Memphis, and took 7 hours of driving. I took one hour-long break at a rest stop in western AR, a bit past the midway point of the trip, for a quick nap. 'Twas much needed and beneficial.
I arrived at the West Memphis terminal at 2:00 and unhooked my trailer. (Remember, the load is headed for a Monday afternoon delivery in Tennessee; I'm headed homeward to start some time off on Monday.) I sent in my "empty call" message to dispatch so they could assign me a loaded trailer from here to haul to Vandalia, OH today. (More reminder background: The drive from here to Vandalia--and vice versa--takes a full shift, so I need to stop there for a night before finishing the trip home. Because of that, I set up an appointment for regular maintenance service on my truck Monday morning at the Vandalia terminal.) Right now (6:00 a.m.) I'm still waiting for a load assignment. Maybe there just aren't any loads here headed that way, but you'd think somebody would at least let me know that. But no, I haven't heard anything back from dispatch. Sheesh. Hence the time right now to blog away at you.
I woke up this morning just after 4:30 (I'm used to that schedule right now), hit the showers here at the terminal, and grabbed some breakfast (a Buffalo Chicken sandwich from the vending machine in the drivers' lounge--yum!). So I'm ready to roll; I just don't know what to take with me yet. I've sent in yet another message to dispatch to see if they have a load for me yet, but still no word. While I'm waiting, I'll take the time to answer reader Jim's query.
Jim wants to know, "Who enforces all of the rules about how many hours a day you can spend on the road? Is there a DOT police car out there checking on you?"
Well, Jim, the DOT is the enforcement agency for the hours of service regulations. They do indeed perform spot checks, but don't (that I know of) pull trucks over just to take a look at a driver's log books. When they pull a truck over for an inspection, usually at a weigh station or rest area, they'll look at the driver's logs in the course of their inspection. It hasn't happened to me yet, but that's what they told us in trucker school. I also don't know what penalties they will impose for violations. I know they can impose fines and suspend or revoke licenses. I'm sure the penalty they choose depends on the level of infraction.
So that's yesterday's story. I'll sign off here and continue my waiting game. I hope to get some news soon; I'm ready and want to get rolling. Thanks again for your patronage, questions and comments, and keep on truckin'.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Dallas Doin's
DATELINE: ROCKWALL, TX, 9:50 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 356
Yesterday I reported a celebrity sighting. Today I'll start by talking--er, typing--about sightings of a different sort of celebrity.
Those of you who know me well probably already know that I'm a big sports fan, and like to see famous sports venues. In this job I get to pass by such places as I roll on down the nation's highways. 'Twould be nice if I could stop and get a good look, but time and the question of what to do with a 70-foot truck make that impossible. On today's drives I caught glimpses of 2 stadiums (stadia?) I've seen from the road before, and 1 first-timer. The repeats: The Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA, and Dallas' Texas Stadium, where the Cowboys play. ("Why does Texas Stadium have a hole in its roof? So God can watch his team play." I've always hated that joke, but it is funny.) The newbie: The Cotton Bowl, also in Dallas. But enough about the fun stuff. On to today's work journal.
This morning I actually slept 'til my alarm sounded. True, it was still early, 4:30, and my night's sleep was again shorter than I'd have liked, but I didn't feel too worse for the wear. Since I had to be in Dallas, 300 miles away, by 11:30, I was up and on the road by 5:00. The drive went well, and with a breakfast stop en route I still reached my delivery site at 10:45. However, when I checked in, they told me to wait 'til my appointment time. Fortunately, they have ample room in their lot, so I (and a couple other trucks early for their appointments as well) parked and waited. At the appointed hour I checked back in and got my dock assignment. I backed to the door with no problems, then waited some more. Apparently they all went to lunch at that time, and nothing happened with my load 'til after 12:30. Remind me to send a thank-you card to their receiving scheduling department for that appointment time.
Once they started unloading, the process went quickly and was complete by 1:15. I took the next 15 minutes to take care of my paperwork and log entry, send in my "empty call" message to dispatch, and pull away from the dock, and shut the trailer doors. Soon my next assignment came in: pick up a load from a metal recycling company that I'd been to once previously.
The pickup site wasn't very far away, so I headed right over there, even though I would get there more than an hour before the scheduled pickup time. The time I'd been there before, I had quite a wait as well as some tricky maneuvering through their tight yard to park my empty trailer. This time the pre-loaded trailer I was to pick up was already full, and I just needed to wait only a few minutes for them to bring it out. They also had me drop my empty trailer on the shoulder of the street out front, instead of pulling it into their empties lot. All in all it went much better and quicker than last time, but it's still not a lot of fun going to that place. It's in an economically-challenged part of the city and on a wide, busy street. There's a lot of activity going on at and immediately surrounding the place, what with lots of trucks going in and out, people in cars and pickups dropping off metal for recycling. And we truckers need to make U-turns across that busy street to park and drop trailers and to head back towards the highway when we're done there. However, on Mondays and Fridays they have a big grill set up by their office and give away free hot dogs, so I got to take advantage of that perk.
Anyway, the stop at that site took around 45 minutes, and I was back underway. By this time I was getting quite tired, and a couple of traffic jams on the highway didn't help matters. I set my sights on a Love's truck stop just east of Dallas for a late lunch at their Carl's Jr. fast food joint. When I got there, I found an open spot in the small lot and parked, rather than pulling into the fuel island and running in and grabbing something to go. I had intended to continue on to the Texarkana area, but my fatigue was getting the better of me. So I decided to just stay here, since I'm in no particular rush with this load. (The load is headed to a Monday afternoon delivery in Tennessee. I'm due home on Monday.) It is better not to drive when you're eyes just want to be closed, especially when you're operating a 75,000-pound gross weight (truck + load) vehicle. Anyway, I had a Chipotle Chicken Salad--yum!--then returned to my truck. I hit the bunk, called home, then went to sleep by 5:00. Man was I tired.
I woke up from my nap after 9:00. A little bit hungry, I went inside for a snack. Then it was back to the truck to pull out my laptop and tell you all about it. And that's how my day went. I drove through a few small showers in the morning, but it's been dry since. And warm, though not blazingly hot. And now it's time to wrap up the day by signing off, heading back inside to brush my teeth, and getting back to sleep. I'll be getting up early again to drive this load to our West Memphis, AR terminal, so another driver can pick it up and take it to its final destination. I'm sure I'll be assigned to pick up another loaded trailer from the West Memphis lot that's headed my way home. I'll drive to the Vandalia, OH terminal on Sunday, where I have an appointment Monday morning for regular service on my truck. Once that's done, it'll be time to head home for a few much-needed days off. I won't have had any days off during this 3-week deployment, so I'm looking forward to it.
Thanks for looking in again, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 356
Yesterday I reported a celebrity sighting. Today I'll start by talking--er, typing--about sightings of a different sort of celebrity.
Those of you who know me well probably already know that I'm a big sports fan, and like to see famous sports venues. In this job I get to pass by such places as I roll on down the nation's highways. 'Twould be nice if I could stop and get a good look, but time and the question of what to do with a 70-foot truck make that impossible. On today's drives I caught glimpses of 2 stadiums (stadia?) I've seen from the road before, and 1 first-timer. The repeats: The Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA, and Dallas' Texas Stadium, where the Cowboys play. ("Why does Texas Stadium have a hole in its roof? So God can watch his team play." I've always hated that joke, but it is funny.) The newbie: The Cotton Bowl, also in Dallas. But enough about the fun stuff. On to today's work journal.
This morning I actually slept 'til my alarm sounded. True, it was still early, 4:30, and my night's sleep was again shorter than I'd have liked, but I didn't feel too worse for the wear. Since I had to be in Dallas, 300 miles away, by 11:30, I was up and on the road by 5:00. The drive went well, and with a breakfast stop en route I still reached my delivery site at 10:45. However, when I checked in, they told me to wait 'til my appointment time. Fortunately, they have ample room in their lot, so I (and a couple other trucks early for their appointments as well) parked and waited. At the appointed hour I checked back in and got my dock assignment. I backed to the door with no problems, then waited some more. Apparently they all went to lunch at that time, and nothing happened with my load 'til after 12:30. Remind me to send a thank-you card to their receiving scheduling department for that appointment time.
Once they started unloading, the process went quickly and was complete by 1:15. I took the next 15 minutes to take care of my paperwork and log entry, send in my "empty call" message to dispatch, and pull away from the dock, and shut the trailer doors. Soon my next assignment came in: pick up a load from a metal recycling company that I'd been to once previously.
The pickup site wasn't very far away, so I headed right over there, even though I would get there more than an hour before the scheduled pickup time. The time I'd been there before, I had quite a wait as well as some tricky maneuvering through their tight yard to park my empty trailer. This time the pre-loaded trailer I was to pick up was already full, and I just needed to wait only a few minutes for them to bring it out. They also had me drop my empty trailer on the shoulder of the street out front, instead of pulling it into their empties lot. All in all it went much better and quicker than last time, but it's still not a lot of fun going to that place. It's in an economically-challenged part of the city and on a wide, busy street. There's a lot of activity going on at and immediately surrounding the place, what with lots of trucks going in and out, people in cars and pickups dropping off metal for recycling. And we truckers need to make U-turns across that busy street to park and drop trailers and to head back towards the highway when we're done there. However, on Mondays and Fridays they have a big grill set up by their office and give away free hot dogs, so I got to take advantage of that perk.
Anyway, the stop at that site took around 45 minutes, and I was back underway. By this time I was getting quite tired, and a couple of traffic jams on the highway didn't help matters. I set my sights on a Love's truck stop just east of Dallas for a late lunch at their Carl's Jr. fast food joint. When I got there, I found an open spot in the small lot and parked, rather than pulling into the fuel island and running in and grabbing something to go. I had intended to continue on to the Texarkana area, but my fatigue was getting the better of me. So I decided to just stay here, since I'm in no particular rush with this load. (The load is headed to a Monday afternoon delivery in Tennessee. I'm due home on Monday.) It is better not to drive when you're eyes just want to be closed, especially when you're operating a 75,000-pound gross weight (truck + load) vehicle. Anyway, I had a Chipotle Chicken Salad--yum!--then returned to my truck. I hit the bunk, called home, then went to sleep by 5:00. Man was I tired.
I woke up from my nap after 9:00. A little bit hungry, I went inside for a snack. Then it was back to the truck to pull out my laptop and tell you all about it. And that's how my day went. I drove through a few small showers in the morning, but it's been dry since. And warm, though not blazingly hot. And now it's time to wrap up the day by signing off, heading back inside to brush my teeth, and getting back to sleep. I'll be getting up early again to drive this load to our West Memphis, AR terminal, so another driver can pick it up and take it to its final destination. I'm sure I'll be assigned to pick up another loaded trailer from the West Memphis lot that's headed my way home. I'll drive to the Vandalia, OH terminal on Sunday, where I have an appointment Monday morning for regular service on my truck. Once that's done, it'll be time to head home for a few much-needed days off. I won't have had any days off during this 3-week deployment, so I'm looking forward to it.
Thanks for looking in again, and keep on truckin'.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Elsewhere
DATELINE: RAYVILLE, LA, 1:00 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 441
Let's start today's report with the unusual, the unexpected for this job--a celebrity sighting! The usual disclaimers apply here: I'm pretty sure it was him, but it was a quick 10-second walk-by, yada, yada, yada. Anyway, the circumstances first. I stopped at a rest area in Mississippi and was walking up the sidewalk to the building. Coming alone down the walk was a tall, light-blonde man with glasses. You guessed it (whaddaya mean you didn't?) Ed Begley Jr. (Didja' catch the clue in today's title?) The physique was right, the walk was right, the hair, it hadda be him. If not, he was a dead-on facsimile. Now back to the usual boring stuff about how my workday went.
Not a bad mileage total for 8 hours of travel time. Factor in a couple lengthy construction zones and rest stops, and it's very respectible indeed. I woke up at 3:45 (EDT) this morning, 30 minutes before my alarm would sound. Since I knew I wouldn't fall back asleep, I just got up, took a shower, walked down the street to grab a bite to eat at the nearby Pilot truck stop (the breakfast choices at Flying J's aren't as enticing as those at Pilots), fueled up, and was rolling at 5:00.
The weather was perfect; warm and (after dawn) sunny. My 8 available hours meant I was done at noon, CDT. By scouting my truck stop directory, I figured I'd hit this town--and the Pilot at which I'm now parked--about then. That calculation was dead-on. (Well, it was maybe 4 minutes off by the time I'd exited the highway, negotiated the road and parking lot, and hit the parking brakes.) So now I have all afternoon to wander the web and perfect losing at poker. ;-) I figure I have 5-6 hours to drive to reach Dallas in the morning (11:30 a.m.), so I'll have to be on the road by 5:00 tomorrow. Therefore I'll need to get to bed early tonight, too.
Well, that's about all I can think of to report about today. Let me know how you're doing and what questions you may have about this job and/or my life on the road. Thanks for reading this gibberish, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 441
Let's start today's report with the unusual, the unexpected for this job--a celebrity sighting! The usual disclaimers apply here: I'm pretty sure it was him, but it was a quick 10-second walk-by, yada, yada, yada. Anyway, the circumstances first. I stopped at a rest area in Mississippi and was walking up the sidewalk to the building. Coming alone down the walk was a tall, light-blonde man with glasses. You guessed it (whaddaya mean you didn't?) Ed Begley Jr. (Didja' catch the clue in today's title?) The physique was right, the walk was right, the hair, it hadda be him. If not, he was a dead-on facsimile. Now back to the usual boring stuff about how my workday went.
Not a bad mileage total for 8 hours of travel time. Factor in a couple lengthy construction zones and rest stops, and it's very respectible indeed. I woke up at 3:45 (EDT) this morning, 30 minutes before my alarm would sound. Since I knew I wouldn't fall back asleep, I just got up, took a shower, walked down the street to grab a bite to eat at the nearby Pilot truck stop (the breakfast choices at Flying J's aren't as enticing as those at Pilots), fueled up, and was rolling at 5:00.
The weather was perfect; warm and (after dawn) sunny. My 8 available hours meant I was done at noon, CDT. By scouting my truck stop directory, I figured I'd hit this town--and the Pilot at which I'm now parked--about then. That calculation was dead-on. (Well, it was maybe 4 minutes off by the time I'd exited the highway, negotiated the road and parking lot, and hit the parking brakes.) So now I have all afternoon to wander the web and perfect losing at poker. ;-) I figure I have 5-6 hours to drive to reach Dallas in the morning (11:30 a.m.), so I'll have to be on the road by 5:00 tomorrow. Therefore I'll need to get to bed early tonight, too.
Well, that's about all I can think of to report about today. Let me know how you're doing and what questions you may have about this job and/or my life on the road. Thanks for reading this gibberish, and keep on truckin'.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Temple Time
DATELINE: TEMPLE, GA, 7:20 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 390
I'll start today by answering reader Dennis the Accompanist's inquiry about my little 'fridge. I do still have it, of course, and use it. It is a soft-sided cooler instead of an actual refrigerator, and it is small; large enough for at least a 6-pack of sodee-pop cans. I keep some milk, small jars of salsa and mayo, and 20-ounce or 1-litre bottles of Diet Coke (my beverage of choice, but they're not paying me for this endorsement--yet) in there. Sometimes a sandwich or side salad if I pick one up and want to save it for later. But it's not big enough to keep a comprehensive stock on hand. I do also have a plastic bin in my storage compartment that I keep non-perishable foods in, too. Those no-refrigeration-necessary entrees are quite handy. I can heat 'em up in my little lunchbox oven, which I need to do more of so I can keep my food costs down. (And I know I've ended a couple sentences and/or clauses with prepositions; that's something you English majors will just have to deal with.) Now on to today's report.
I woke up at 4:15 per my watch alarm, groggy from a bad night's sleep (all too common--probably too much caffeine too late in the day). But I had an appointment to keep. I hit the road at 5:00 as my requisite 10-hour break ended, and reached the shipper at 7:00. It rained just a bit early in the drive, but cleared up as the sun rose. The pickup turned out to be a drop-and-hook, so I was back underway by 7:30. The longest part of the stop was waiting at the shipping clerk's window while he handled the paperwork.
Not much to say about the westward drive today. I made a stop shortly after the pickup for breakfast, made a couple other rest stops, then stopped in this town at around noon with the intention of just fueling up. I'm at a Flying J here that is on our network list, but as I was pulling in, I decided that I was just too plumb fatigued to continue today. I only had another couple of hours available for today, but I'll save them for tomorrow since I'd only have 5-3/4 hours to use then. So I'll drive for about 8 hours tomorrow instead (after fueling up in the morning). I imagine I'll make it across AL and MS and into LA, then have to get up good 'n early on Friday to complete the drive to Dallas.
I guess I'll tell you about my frustration for the day. As you regular readers know, when I'm driving I listen to books on tape that I borrow from my father-in-law. I've been listening to a Ridley Pearson cop story ("Middle of Nowhere") for the last couple of days, and finished the 6th of 7 cassettes. The action was good and tense--the bad guy was holding a policewoman hostage, the good guys were on their way to the rescue--and I discovered the 7th tape is broken. GRRRRR! Guess I'll have to find another source to catch the ending of that one.
Speaking of the books on tape, a few days ago I bought a CD player with cassette adapter, so I'll be able to listen to CDs now, too. My F-I-L has some audiobooks on CD, too, so I'll be raiding that part of his library next week when I'm home.
On another note, how 'bout that Justin Verlander kid, huh? 'Bout time a Tiger threw a no-hitter. Last time that happened, as you all know, they went on to win the World Series that fall. I'd be fine with that happening, too. I kind of caught the no-hitter live; I was online playing poker when my brother-in-law found me on the site and started a dialogue via the site's chat feature. He told me about the no-no in progress. I inquired about the inning, who he was shutting down, etc. He told me it was going into the 9th inning, then he gave me the play-by-play of the last 3 batters (strikeout, strikeout, fly out). Way to go, Justin! And GO TIGERS!
That's enough rambling for today. Thanks for dropping in, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 390
I'll start today by answering reader Dennis the Accompanist's inquiry about my little 'fridge. I do still have it, of course, and use it. It is a soft-sided cooler instead of an actual refrigerator, and it is small; large enough for at least a 6-pack of sodee-pop cans. I keep some milk, small jars of salsa and mayo, and 20-ounce or 1-litre bottles of Diet Coke (my beverage of choice, but they're not paying me for this endorsement--yet) in there. Sometimes a sandwich or side salad if I pick one up and want to save it for later. But it's not big enough to keep a comprehensive stock on hand. I do also have a plastic bin in my storage compartment that I keep non-perishable foods in, too. Those no-refrigeration-necessary entrees are quite handy. I can heat 'em up in my little lunchbox oven, which I need to do more of so I can keep my food costs down. (And I know I've ended a couple sentences and/or clauses with prepositions; that's something you English majors will just have to deal with.) Now on to today's report.
I woke up at 4:15 per my watch alarm, groggy from a bad night's sleep (all too common--probably too much caffeine too late in the day). But I had an appointment to keep. I hit the road at 5:00 as my requisite 10-hour break ended, and reached the shipper at 7:00. It rained just a bit early in the drive, but cleared up as the sun rose. The pickup turned out to be a drop-and-hook, so I was back underway by 7:30. The longest part of the stop was waiting at the shipping clerk's window while he handled the paperwork.
Not much to say about the westward drive today. I made a stop shortly after the pickup for breakfast, made a couple other rest stops, then stopped in this town at around noon with the intention of just fueling up. I'm at a Flying J here that is on our network list, but as I was pulling in, I decided that I was just too plumb fatigued to continue today. I only had another couple of hours available for today, but I'll save them for tomorrow since I'd only have 5-3/4 hours to use then. So I'll drive for about 8 hours tomorrow instead (after fueling up in the morning). I imagine I'll make it across AL and MS and into LA, then have to get up good 'n early on Friday to complete the drive to Dallas.
I guess I'll tell you about my frustration for the day. As you regular readers know, when I'm driving I listen to books on tape that I borrow from my father-in-law. I've been listening to a Ridley Pearson cop story ("Middle of Nowhere") for the last couple of days, and finished the 6th of 7 cassettes. The action was good and tense--the bad guy was holding a policewoman hostage, the good guys were on their way to the rescue--and I discovered the 7th tape is broken. GRRRRR! Guess I'll have to find another source to catch the ending of that one.
Speaking of the books on tape, a few days ago I bought a CD player with cassette adapter, so I'll be able to listen to CDs now, too. My F-I-L has some audiobooks on CD, too, so I'll be raiding that part of his library next week when I'm home.
On another note, how 'bout that Justin Verlander kid, huh? 'Bout time a Tiger threw a no-hitter. Last time that happened, as you all know, they went on to win the World Series that fall. I'd be fine with that happening, too. I kind of caught the no-hitter live; I was online playing poker when my brother-in-law found me on the site and started a dialogue via the site's chat feature. He told me about the no-no in progress. I inquired about the inning, who he was shutting down, etc. He told me it was going into the 9th inning, then he gave me the play-by-play of the last 3 batters (strikeout, strikeout, fly out). Way to go, Justin! And GO TIGERS!
That's enough rambling for today. Thanks for dropping in, and keep on truckin'.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Driving and Waiting, All Too Familiar
DATELINE: SPARTANBURG, SC, 7:40 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 445
'Twas another long workday, mostly consumed by driving. I woke up at 5:00 this morning as planned (despite a hard time getting to sleep last night) and was on the road at 5:30. The drive across Tennessee and a corner of North Carolina, then a portion of this state, was just lengthy and uneventful. I stopped in Knoxville for fuel, a shower, and a quick lunch at a TA truck stop. (They had a Burger King and Pizza Hut inside; I opted for a Whopper Jr. and onion rings.)
I found the delivery customer without any difficulties, but was about 2 hours early for my appointment. I have delivered to 2 other locations for this company--a national discount retailer that shall remain nameless, but probably not one you'd think of--in the past, and both of those times the deliveries had been drop-and-hooks. This one, however, turned out to be a live unload, and I had to sit and wait in their staging area 'til they were ready for me. That turned out to be at my appointment time, anyway.
After backing to my assigned door, the weather turned. The wind picked up and dark clouds started rolling in. I turned on the weather band of my radio and heard severe thunderstorm warnings for the area. It rained just a little bit and we got a few chunks of hail, but nothing very much at all. The brunt of the storm must have passed by where I was.
My delivery was only about 15 miles or so from USA's terminal here in Spartanburg, off the same exit off of I-85. So after completing the delivery, I headed over here. While on my way, my next assignment message came in. I did get a chance to glance at it while stopped at a traffic light, enough to notice that the pickup time was 10:00 p.m. tonight. That is far after my 14-hour window for the day would have ended, and getting there would have used up my available work hours, too. So after reaching and parking at the terminal, I sent back a message stating those facts. Apparently they want me to take my 10-hour break, then go make the pickup in the morning, which I'll be happy to do.
The pickup will be in a town just north of Columbia, SC, about 90-ish miles from here. I'll get up at 4:00 (well, maybe 4:30) to hit the road at 5:00, when I will have observed my requisite 10 hours. The load is headed for Dallas, TX (due on Friday), so it'll be one highway, I-20, the whole way. I haven't taken that route yet, so I'm looking forward to it. That is, IF I can make the whole trip.
I'm bumping up against my 70-hour limit, and I may not have sufficient hours available to get there on time. I only have about 16 hours for tomorrow and Thursday (10 tomorrow, less than 6 for Thursday), and at least 2 of those will be taken up getting to the pickup in the morning. It's over 1000 miles from Columbia to Dallas, for which we would plan 20+ hours of driving. I can finish up Friday morning though, as the delivery appointment is not 'til 11:30 a.m. So we'll see if I can make some good time on the trip. (I'm going to have to check into how my available hours line up for the return trip, too; I'm scheduled to get home on Monday, my birthday. Don't want to miss that schedule.)
Anyway, I'm here now and getting tired. Since I gotta get up early, it would behoove me to wrap this up and get off to beddy-bye. Thanks for dropping by, keep those cards and letters--er, comments and questions--coming, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 445
'Twas another long workday, mostly consumed by driving. I woke up at 5:00 this morning as planned (despite a hard time getting to sleep last night) and was on the road at 5:30. The drive across Tennessee and a corner of North Carolina, then a portion of this state, was just lengthy and uneventful. I stopped in Knoxville for fuel, a shower, and a quick lunch at a TA truck stop. (They had a Burger King and Pizza Hut inside; I opted for a Whopper Jr. and onion rings.)
I found the delivery customer without any difficulties, but was about 2 hours early for my appointment. I have delivered to 2 other locations for this company--a national discount retailer that shall remain nameless, but probably not one you'd think of--in the past, and both of those times the deliveries had been drop-and-hooks. This one, however, turned out to be a live unload, and I had to sit and wait in their staging area 'til they were ready for me. That turned out to be at my appointment time, anyway.
After backing to my assigned door, the weather turned. The wind picked up and dark clouds started rolling in. I turned on the weather band of my radio and heard severe thunderstorm warnings for the area. It rained just a little bit and we got a few chunks of hail, but nothing very much at all. The brunt of the storm must have passed by where I was.
My delivery was only about 15 miles or so from USA's terminal here in Spartanburg, off the same exit off of I-85. So after completing the delivery, I headed over here. While on my way, my next assignment message came in. I did get a chance to glance at it while stopped at a traffic light, enough to notice that the pickup time was 10:00 p.m. tonight. That is far after my 14-hour window for the day would have ended, and getting there would have used up my available work hours, too. So after reaching and parking at the terminal, I sent back a message stating those facts. Apparently they want me to take my 10-hour break, then go make the pickup in the morning, which I'll be happy to do.
The pickup will be in a town just north of Columbia, SC, about 90-ish miles from here. I'll get up at 4:00 (well, maybe 4:30) to hit the road at 5:00, when I will have observed my requisite 10 hours. The load is headed for Dallas, TX (due on Friday), so it'll be one highway, I-20, the whole way. I haven't taken that route yet, so I'm looking forward to it. That is, IF I can make the whole trip.
I'm bumping up against my 70-hour limit, and I may not have sufficient hours available to get there on time. I only have about 16 hours for tomorrow and Thursday (10 tomorrow, less than 6 for Thursday), and at least 2 of those will be taken up getting to the pickup in the morning. It's over 1000 miles from Columbia to Dallas, for which we would plan 20+ hours of driving. I can finish up Friday morning though, as the delivery appointment is not 'til 11:30 a.m. So we'll see if I can make some good time on the trip. (I'm going to have to check into how my available hours line up for the return trip, too; I'm scheduled to get home on Monday, my birthday. Don't want to miss that schedule.)
Anyway, I'm here now and getting tired. Since I gotta get up early, it would behoove me to wrap this up and get off to beddy-bye. Thanks for dropping by, keep those cards and letters--er, comments and questions--coming, and keep on truckin'.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Back to Familiar Territory
DATELINE: OAK GROVE, KY, 9:15 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 406
I did go to bed last night without knowing my next load assignment. As I guessed, nobody was shipping anything on Sunday night. And, somehow, I didn't get awakened by an assignment message in the middle of the night. I actually woke up on my own--albeit around 5:30, earlier than I would have wanted to--and still had to wait a while for my assignment. It finally came in around 8:00: head east across the border into Illinois (just northeast of St. Louis, MO) and grab a load headed for the Spartanburg, South Carolina area.
Since the pickup time was 1:00 p.m., I had plenty of time for a nice, easy drive over there. I still made it plenty early; around 11:30, in fact. And I had little to no waiting this time, either. They assigned me a dock right away, I backed into it, and they started loading almost immediately. By 12:45 I was loaded, had picked up my paperwork, closed up the trailer, and was on my way.
I just can't seem to stay away from the I-40 corridor of Tennessee on this tour of duty. I'm headed back that way and will be driving it tomorrow on my way to SC. I'm about 45 miles northwest of Nashville right now at a Pilot "Travel Center." I stopped here for the night at around 6:00 'cuz it was getting on in the evening and the truck stop choices between here and where my driving hours would run out are rather slim (and would be filling up by the time I got there). I'll have plenty of time tomorrow to get to my delivery appointment at 5:30 p.m. I expect I'll be up and on my way early so I can make that delivery early, too. (And my load is fairly light, too, so it won't slow me down much in the TN and NC mountains.)
So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. It's time for your humble correspondent to hit the sack and rest up for tomorrow's assault on the roads. Thanks for taking a peek, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 406
I did go to bed last night without knowing my next load assignment. As I guessed, nobody was shipping anything on Sunday night. And, somehow, I didn't get awakened by an assignment message in the middle of the night. I actually woke up on my own--albeit around 5:30, earlier than I would have wanted to--and still had to wait a while for my assignment. It finally came in around 8:00: head east across the border into Illinois (just northeast of St. Louis, MO) and grab a load headed for the Spartanburg, South Carolina area.
Since the pickup time was 1:00 p.m., I had plenty of time for a nice, easy drive over there. I still made it plenty early; around 11:30, in fact. And I had little to no waiting this time, either. They assigned me a dock right away, I backed into it, and they started loading almost immediately. By 12:45 I was loaded, had picked up my paperwork, closed up the trailer, and was on my way.
I just can't seem to stay away from the I-40 corridor of Tennessee on this tour of duty. I'm headed back that way and will be driving it tomorrow on my way to SC. I'm about 45 miles northwest of Nashville right now at a Pilot "Travel Center." I stopped here for the night at around 6:00 'cuz it was getting on in the evening and the truck stop choices between here and where my driving hours would run out are rather slim (and would be filling up by the time I got there). I'll have plenty of time tomorrow to get to my delivery appointment at 5:30 p.m. I expect I'll be up and on my way early so I can make that delivery early, too. (And my load is fairly light, too, so it won't slow me down much in the TN and NC mountains.)
So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. It's time for your humble correspondent to hit the sack and rest up for tomorrow's assault on the roads. Thanks for taking a peek, and keep on truckin'.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Awaiting the Unknown
DATELINE: COLUMBIA, MO, 8:20 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 234 (so far)
"So far" because I don't know yet if I'm done for the day or not. I made the drive from Effingham to this city (a 4-hour drive), made my delivery, then zipped over to a truck stop just down the highway. I've been waiting for my next assignment for over 2-1/2 hours now, and still no word. I'm guessing that there just aren't any loads that need to go out on a Sunday night, so I won't get one 'til the morning. Still, you'd think they'd be able to at least make the assignment for a morning pickup and send it to me so I can make plans.
In the meantime, I wait. If an assignment comes across, I can still drive 'til 2:00 a.m. (I started my workday at noon today). Or I can wait 'til 4:15 a.m., when I'll have had a 10-hour break since I got here and started waiting. I have been attempting to nap for the last 1-1/2 hours or so, but that wasn't working, so I decided to turn on the ol' laptop and tell y'all about it.
And that's how things stand at this point. Thanks for your loyal readership, and keep on truckin' (and commentin' and askin' questions).
Miles Today: 234 (so far)
"So far" because I don't know yet if I'm done for the day or not. I made the drive from Effingham to this city (a 4-hour drive), made my delivery, then zipped over to a truck stop just down the highway. I've been waiting for my next assignment for over 2-1/2 hours now, and still no word. I'm guessing that there just aren't any loads that need to go out on a Sunday night, so I won't get one 'til the morning. Still, you'd think they'd be able to at least make the assignment for a morning pickup and send it to me so I can make plans.
In the meantime, I wait. If an assignment comes across, I can still drive 'til 2:00 a.m. (I started my workday at noon today). Or I can wait 'til 4:15 a.m., when I'll have had a 10-hour break since I got here and started waiting. I have been attempting to nap for the last 1-1/2 hours or so, but that wasn't working, so I decided to turn on the ol' laptop and tell y'all about it.
And that's how things stand at this point. Thanks for your loyal readership, and keep on truckin' (and commentin' and askin' questions).
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Two-A-Days
DATELINE: EFFINGHAM, IL, 7:10 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 422
Well now, how 'bout this? Two updates in one day! What's this world coming to? OK, enough with the sarcasm. On to today's tale.
Not much to tell, really. I just had a pleasant drive down here in beautiful weather. I made the southward portion of the drive through Indiana (I-69) instead of Ohio (I-75) because Indiana has a higher speed limit for trucks. And it's not Ohio. ;-) One interesting thing that's going on, I keep seeing the same USA truck (besides my own).
It started yesterday on my drive to my delivery in Monroe. I stopped at the Michigan Welcome Center along northbound I-75 around mile marker 10 or so. As I was walking back to my truck after stopping in, I saw another USA truck parking down the row from mine. I noticed its number--'twas an easy one to remember, but I won't reveal it here for privacy. Later, when I reached my evening pickup site, that same truck was in the dock getting loaded. (It's the one I had to wait for before I could back into the same dock.) This morning at the truck stop in Dexter, I saw it parked at the other end of the row from mine. Small world. I then fueled up and left Dexter before the other one. Then this afternoon, just west of Indianapolis, I was leaving another rest area whose exit loops around near the entrance ramp before horseshoeing back onto the freeway. Guess who was pulling up the entrance ramp as I exited? I suspect he's probably headed for the same delivery site that I am.
Speaking of which, it occurs to me that I neglected to mention where I'm headed with this load. It's Columbia, MO, just a bit further west along I-70 than where I started my trek east a couple days ago. Something about this tour of duty has me retracing my steps a lot.
And that's how I've come to be here. Thanks again for dropping by, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 422
Well now, how 'bout this? Two updates in one day! What's this world coming to? OK, enough with the sarcasm. On to today's tale.
Not much to tell, really. I just had a pleasant drive down here in beautiful weather. I made the southward portion of the drive through Indiana (I-69) instead of Ohio (I-75) because Indiana has a higher speed limit for trucks. And it's not Ohio. ;-) One interesting thing that's going on, I keep seeing the same USA truck (besides my own).
It started yesterday on my drive to my delivery in Monroe. I stopped at the Michigan Welcome Center along northbound I-75 around mile marker 10 or so. As I was walking back to my truck after stopping in, I saw another USA truck parking down the row from mine. I noticed its number--'twas an easy one to remember, but I won't reveal it here for privacy. Later, when I reached my evening pickup site, that same truck was in the dock getting loaded. (It's the one I had to wait for before I could back into the same dock.) This morning at the truck stop in Dexter, I saw it parked at the other end of the row from mine. Small world. I then fueled up and left Dexter before the other one. Then this afternoon, just west of Indianapolis, I was leaving another rest area whose exit loops around near the entrance ramp before horseshoeing back onto the freeway. Guess who was pulling up the entrance ramp as I exited? I suspect he's probably headed for the same delivery site that I am.
Speaking of which, it occurs to me that I neglected to mention where I'm headed with this load. It's Columbia, MO, just a bit further west along I-70 than where I started my trek east a couple days ago. Something about this tour of duty has me retracing my steps a lot.
And that's how I've come to be here. Thanks again for dropping by, and keep on truckin'.
Overlong Day
DATELINE: DEXTER, MI, 8:30 a.m. EDT
Miles Yesterday: 551
I have a rare opportunity to blog in the morning before getting started for the day. I will reveal the reason why I'm doing so instead of a post-workday update last night in today's story.
My last update told the story of a day full of challenges. Yesterday was quite the opposite--hardly anything came up that was particularly difficult at all (unless you count how warm and muggy it was when I got up in the morning and headed into the truck stop for a shower). I was up, showered, and on the road before 6:00 a.m. CDT. Traffic was light as I plowed east through Illinois, Indiana, and western Ohio to I-75. There I headed northwards after stopping at our Vandalia, OH terminal to fuel up. That part of the trip, including a rest stop and another stop for a bite to eat, took 5 hours.
The drive up I-75 started just fine, but as time went on, the skies ahead, and coming from the west, grew increasingly ominous. As I neared Toledo (within 50 or 75 miles), the wind picked up greatly. Eventually the promised storm hit, with a deluge of rain along with the howling crosswinds. OK, so that part was a challenge, hoping the truck would remain upright. (Did you know that each side of the trailer has more surface area to catch the wind than the sails of the Mayflower?) The tempest blew itself out within a few minutes--as such storms normally do--without any adverse effects to my journey, other than to slow me down a bit. I continued on to my destination in Monroe, MI under clearing skies.
My delivery was about the quickest I've had yet in this career. It was a simple drop-and-hook, with the only delays being checking in at the guard shack, and waiting for a couple other trucks to back into their spots and clear my route. After hooking up a new empty trailer, I sent in my "empty call" message; my new assignment came across within just a couple of minutes. That's when the "fun" began.
The first thing I noticed was that the pickup was in Warren, MI, a city where my dad had been a teacher when I was growing up and just a couple cities over from my where we lived. The second thing I noticed was the pickup time: 21:00 (that's 9:00 p.m. for you civilians). Uh-oh. That was beyond my 14-hour driving window for the day. I messaged that fact back to my fleet manager, asking if the shipper would have the load ready for me if I got there early. He replied that they "should" and that I should go ahead and head over.
Well, it was now 4:00 p.m., which meant I would be driving along I-275 and I-696 during the Friday rush hour. That's always a joy, if you like having plenty of time to scrutinize the scenery. Of course, since I was driving, my scenery was the tangle of cars surrounding me.
I arrived at the shipper just before 6:30, 2 hours before my driving window would close, but with only 1/2 hour left of my allotted 11 driving hours for the day. (Remember, we drivers get 14 hours to drive those 11 hours before we have to take a 10-hour break before driving again). I checked in and they assigned me a dock door to back into--once another USA truck vacated it. That actually didn't take long, and I used the interim time to turn my truck around to get into position to approach the dock, open the trailer doors, and slide the trailer's tandems to the rear. By the time I completed those steps at a leisurely pace, the other truck was pulling out.
Backing into the dock went smoothly, after which I set my brakes and chocked the trailer wheels. I then called Mrs. Reluctant Trucker and made plans to meet later that evening. Since Warren is only about an hour's drive away, I figured to spend the night at the TA truck stop near our home. She would drive over once I arrived and we would grab a quick bite to eat and exchange pleasantries. However, fate would have other ideas.
After completing the phone call I waited. And waited. And waited. 8:30 p.m., the end of my 14-hour window came and went. 9:00, the original pickup time, came and went. A little after 9:30 a guy finally came out and told me that they were "getting the load ready right now". I called home again to discuss things. Since it would still be at least 1-1/2 hours before I would even get to the truck stop, and Mrs. R.T. had to work in the morning, we decided to scrub the mission to meet. Bummer.
Finally, after 10:00, they started loading my trailer. They finished up at 10:30, at which time I headed into the office to pick up my paperwork. Picking that up, pulling out of the dock, closing and locking the trailer doors, sliding the tandems back forward, and sending in my "loaded and leaving shipper" message took another 15 minutes, and I was finally on my way, violating the DOT hours of service regulations. Remind me to send a nice Thank You card to my fleet manager.
I still drove to the aforementioned truck stop, but I wouldn't be meeting anyone there. :-( I had the truck weighed (this is a heavy load and I needed to make sure the weight was legally distributed between the axles--it was; I had adjusted the tandems to a proper position), grabbed a quick bite (I was hungry), and hit the sack. It was now after midnight.
Since a 10-hour break is mandatory before I can drive again, I have this time this morning to fill you in. I woke up around 7:30 this morning, and though I was still tired, knew I wouldn't get back to sleep. So I got dressed and started the day by leisurely strolling (more like stumbling in fatigue) across the street to McDonald's for breakfast. Then it was back to the truck to tell you all about it.
It's now 9:30, and I get to start my work day in just a few more minutes. So I need to wrap this up and hit the road. I plan to head right back to Effingham today (from whence I started yesterday), which will probably take around 9 hours. If I have any energy left when I get there, I'll write up another report for y'all. So have a good day yourselves, thanks for reading, keep entertaining me with your comments, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 551
I have a rare opportunity to blog in the morning before getting started for the day. I will reveal the reason why I'm doing so instead of a post-workday update last night in today's story.
My last update told the story of a day full of challenges. Yesterday was quite the opposite--hardly anything came up that was particularly difficult at all (unless you count how warm and muggy it was when I got up in the morning and headed into the truck stop for a shower). I was up, showered, and on the road before 6:00 a.m. CDT. Traffic was light as I plowed east through Illinois, Indiana, and western Ohio to I-75. There I headed northwards after stopping at our Vandalia, OH terminal to fuel up. That part of the trip, including a rest stop and another stop for a bite to eat, took 5 hours.
The drive up I-75 started just fine, but as time went on, the skies ahead, and coming from the west, grew increasingly ominous. As I neared Toledo (within 50 or 75 miles), the wind picked up greatly. Eventually the promised storm hit, with a deluge of rain along with the howling crosswinds. OK, so that part was a challenge, hoping the truck would remain upright. (Did you know that each side of the trailer has more surface area to catch the wind than the sails of the Mayflower?) The tempest blew itself out within a few minutes--as such storms normally do--without any adverse effects to my journey, other than to slow me down a bit. I continued on to my destination in Monroe, MI under clearing skies.
My delivery was about the quickest I've had yet in this career. It was a simple drop-and-hook, with the only delays being checking in at the guard shack, and waiting for a couple other trucks to back into their spots and clear my route. After hooking up a new empty trailer, I sent in my "empty call" message; my new assignment came across within just a couple of minutes. That's when the "fun" began.
The first thing I noticed was that the pickup was in Warren, MI, a city where my dad had been a teacher when I was growing up and just a couple cities over from my where we lived. The second thing I noticed was the pickup time: 21:00 (that's 9:00 p.m. for you civilians). Uh-oh. That was beyond my 14-hour driving window for the day. I messaged that fact back to my fleet manager, asking if the shipper would have the load ready for me if I got there early. He replied that they "should" and that I should go ahead and head over.
Well, it was now 4:00 p.m., which meant I would be driving along I-275 and I-696 during the Friday rush hour. That's always a joy, if you like having plenty of time to scrutinize the scenery. Of course, since I was driving, my scenery was the tangle of cars surrounding me.
I arrived at the shipper just before 6:30, 2 hours before my driving window would close, but with only 1/2 hour left of my allotted 11 driving hours for the day. (Remember, we drivers get 14 hours to drive those 11 hours before we have to take a 10-hour break before driving again). I checked in and they assigned me a dock door to back into--once another USA truck vacated it. That actually didn't take long, and I used the interim time to turn my truck around to get into position to approach the dock, open the trailer doors, and slide the trailer's tandems to the rear. By the time I completed those steps at a leisurely pace, the other truck was pulling out.
Backing into the dock went smoothly, after which I set my brakes and chocked the trailer wheels. I then called Mrs. Reluctant Trucker and made plans to meet later that evening. Since Warren is only about an hour's drive away, I figured to spend the night at the TA truck stop near our home. She would drive over once I arrived and we would grab a quick bite to eat and exchange pleasantries. However, fate would have other ideas.
After completing the phone call I waited. And waited. And waited. 8:30 p.m., the end of my 14-hour window came and went. 9:00, the original pickup time, came and went. A little after 9:30 a guy finally came out and told me that they were "getting the load ready right now". I called home again to discuss things. Since it would still be at least 1-1/2 hours before I would even get to the truck stop, and Mrs. R.T. had to work in the morning, we decided to scrub the mission to meet. Bummer.
Finally, after 10:00, they started loading my trailer. They finished up at 10:30, at which time I headed into the office to pick up my paperwork. Picking that up, pulling out of the dock, closing and locking the trailer doors, sliding the tandems back forward, and sending in my "loaded and leaving shipper" message took another 15 minutes, and I was finally on my way, violating the DOT hours of service regulations. Remind me to send a nice Thank You card to my fleet manager.
I still drove to the aforementioned truck stop, but I wouldn't be meeting anyone there. :-( I had the truck weighed (this is a heavy load and I needed to make sure the weight was legally distributed between the axles--it was; I had adjusted the tandems to a proper position), grabbed a quick bite (I was hungry), and hit the sack. It was now after midnight.
Since a 10-hour break is mandatory before I can drive again, I have this time this morning to fill you in. I woke up around 7:30 this morning, and though I was still tired, knew I wouldn't get back to sleep. So I got dressed and started the day by leisurely strolling (more like stumbling in fatigue) across the street to McDonald's for breakfast. Then it was back to the truck to tell you all about it.
It's now 9:30, and I get to start my work day in just a few more minutes. So I need to wrap this up and hit the road. I plan to head right back to Effingham today (from whence I started yesterday), which will probably take around 9 hours. If I have any energy left when I get there, I'll write up another report for y'all. So have a good day yourselves, thanks for reading, keep entertaining me with your comments, and keep on truckin'.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Pick A Better Theme Next Time
DATELINE: EFFINGHAM, IL, 8:45 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 365
The theme for today seems to have been pre-ordained to be "Challenges". Not that I would have picked that as a theme for any day, but that's how today went. Here's the story.
The challenges started when I woke up shortly after 3:30 this a.m. and could not fall back asleep. (I had planned to wake up at 6:00.) By 5:30 I figured I might as well get up and start being productive. So I got dressed and made the walk back across the street and under the highway to McDonald's for a leisurely breakfast. (It's next door to the Taco Bell I made the trek to for lunch yesterday.) I took my time there, watching the news on the CNN broadcast they had on their TV screens hanging from the ceiling.
After breakfast, I ambled back to my truck and decided to go ahead and fuel up, since the Pilot truck stop where I was is on USA Truck's network fuel list. While doing my daily pre-trip inspection of my truck, I noticed that one of the trailer's tires was a bit low on air. I was going to fill it with the air hose at the fuel island, but the trailer tires are tied in to the air lines and fill automatically, and there isn't a valve stem to pump air into (not without disconnecting the air lines, which I don't know how to do). So since the tire wasn't falling-off-flat, just kind of low, I decided I'd leave it for the time being and get to my deliveries.
The next challenge was at my first delivery of the morning. They have a small dock, down a narrow ramp with concrete walls. To get to it, I had to pull into and through a small, full parking lot that had just enough clearance for me to squeeze my truck through. Then I had to pull out the driveway on the other end, which the dock faces, to line up my trailer with the dock. Then I hopped out to open the trailer doors, and noticed that the hook on the side that holds the door on the driver's side open was missing. (This was my first delivery with this trailer--I had just picked it up pre-loaded at the shipper.) A previous driver had left a thick wire to hold the door in place, so I did use that, but as I was pulling into the street to line up with the dock, the wire gave way and the door swung out. Fortunately nothing was nearby for it to hit, so I pulled all the way into the street and along the curb to find something else to secure the door. I have a package of plastic zip ties in my truck, so I used a couple of those. They did the trick as I backed into the dock, which went better than I expected. I didn't hold up traffic in the street for very long.
The rest of that delivery went quickly--they only had 2 pallets and a small box to take off the trailer--and it was time to pull back out of the dock and make the very short drive (3 blocks) to the next site. I did have to pull over to the curb and close the trailer doors, of course, and in doing so the zip ties gave way and the door swung out again. Next time I'll try doubling the zip ties.
I suppose you would call the area I was in a business park, but the streets are narrow and almost looked residential, especially at the second delivery site. They have nice lawns between the curb and businesses' parking lots (and no sidewalks). I found the building where I was headed and saw nothing but very narrow driveways--and a sign that said, "No 53-foot trucks". So I parked along the curb and walked to the delivery entrance. There I encountered the businesses' owner (I guess that's what he is) and he told me to try to back into the driveway (the dock is built into the side of the building) from the street. There is a driveway directly across from his that I could have pulled into to set up the approach to his, but he said that building's owner "gets pissed" when his driveway is used as such. So I made an attempt to back in from the street, but it was just too narrow--unless I was to drive up onto lawns and take out some "No Parking" signs and the "No 53-Foot Trucks" one in the process.
It turns out the business has another building across the street that does have a proper loading dock in the back. So the owner, after consulting a partner on the phone, finally decided we'd just have to unload there and he'd use a smaller company truck to move the materials to the new building afterwards. When all was said and done there, I had my next assignment and was out of there at 9:30--and I wasn't even supposed to deliver at the second place 'till 11:00. So not everything about the day was bad.
My next assignment was to drive 100-ish miles to the town of Mexico, MO to pick up a load there at 12:30. I had plenty of time to make the drive and stop for lunch on the way, so I made that stop at a TA truck stop in Foristell, MO, that has a Taco Bell among its food choices. That was my next challenge: the girl--er, young lady--putting my order together was heavy-handed with the fillings, so when I had finished eating I was just plain stuffed! On just a bean burrito and steak grilled taquito!
And then it was on to Mexico. I arrived right on time, but still had to wait a while for an open dock. (I guess that counts as another of the day's challenges. Are you counting them? I haven't been.) Once the dock opened up, the loading there went just fine, except by then the day was quite warm, and I didn't have the engine running, which meant no AC. While there, I also decided that I'd better get that flat tire fixed soon, so I called USA's breakdown department. They suggested I go to the nearest TA on my route--which happened to be the one where I had lunched mere hours before. (Most TAs have service departments, and USA uses them a lot for such repairs.)
By the way, did I mention that my new load is headed to Monroe, Michigan? To a site where I've delivered before. I'll be there to deliver it on Friday evening. It'll be a mad dash to get it there on time--7:30 p.m.--from here, especially since I had to stop for the tire repair. But I'm up to the challenge. So back to the story.
Long story short, the stop for the repair took 1-1/2 hours, from 2:30 to 4:00. Most of that time I was sitting in my cab, engine off, sweating while I read. Since Foristell is about 50 miles west of St. Louis, and I was heading east, that meant that I'd hit the big city's metro are just at rush hour. So that slowed me up a bit, too. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and I completed the drive here (central IL) without any further troubles. I was worried that, since it would be after 7:30 when I got here (the Flying J that I've been to a few times before), I might have trouble finding an easy-in parking space. But those fears were unfounded as I had many spaces to choose from.
So that's the story of my challenge-filled day. (I've also been more fumble-fingered than usual on this keyboard--count that one, too!) Thanks for taking the time to check in on me. And keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 365
The theme for today seems to have been pre-ordained to be "Challenges". Not that I would have picked that as a theme for any day, but that's how today went. Here's the story.
The challenges started when I woke up shortly after 3:30 this a.m. and could not fall back asleep. (I had planned to wake up at 6:00.) By 5:30 I figured I might as well get up and start being productive. So I got dressed and made the walk back across the street and under the highway to McDonald's for a leisurely breakfast. (It's next door to the Taco Bell I made the trek to for lunch yesterday.) I took my time there, watching the news on the CNN broadcast they had on their TV screens hanging from the ceiling.
After breakfast, I ambled back to my truck and decided to go ahead and fuel up, since the Pilot truck stop where I was is on USA Truck's network fuel list. While doing my daily pre-trip inspection of my truck, I noticed that one of the trailer's tires was a bit low on air. I was going to fill it with the air hose at the fuel island, but the trailer tires are tied in to the air lines and fill automatically, and there isn't a valve stem to pump air into (not without disconnecting the air lines, which I don't know how to do). So since the tire wasn't falling-off-flat, just kind of low, I decided I'd leave it for the time being and get to my deliveries.
The next challenge was at my first delivery of the morning. They have a small dock, down a narrow ramp with concrete walls. To get to it, I had to pull into and through a small, full parking lot that had just enough clearance for me to squeeze my truck through. Then I had to pull out the driveway on the other end, which the dock faces, to line up my trailer with the dock. Then I hopped out to open the trailer doors, and noticed that the hook on the side that holds the door on the driver's side open was missing. (This was my first delivery with this trailer--I had just picked it up pre-loaded at the shipper.) A previous driver had left a thick wire to hold the door in place, so I did use that, but as I was pulling into the street to line up with the dock, the wire gave way and the door swung out. Fortunately nothing was nearby for it to hit, so I pulled all the way into the street and along the curb to find something else to secure the door. I have a package of plastic zip ties in my truck, so I used a couple of those. They did the trick as I backed into the dock, which went better than I expected. I didn't hold up traffic in the street for very long.
The rest of that delivery went quickly--they only had 2 pallets and a small box to take off the trailer--and it was time to pull back out of the dock and make the very short drive (3 blocks) to the next site. I did have to pull over to the curb and close the trailer doors, of course, and in doing so the zip ties gave way and the door swung out again. Next time I'll try doubling the zip ties.
I suppose you would call the area I was in a business park, but the streets are narrow and almost looked residential, especially at the second delivery site. They have nice lawns between the curb and businesses' parking lots (and no sidewalks). I found the building where I was headed and saw nothing but very narrow driveways--and a sign that said, "No 53-foot trucks". So I parked along the curb and walked to the delivery entrance. There I encountered the businesses' owner (I guess that's what he is) and he told me to try to back into the driveway (the dock is built into the side of the building) from the street. There is a driveway directly across from his that I could have pulled into to set up the approach to his, but he said that building's owner "gets pissed" when his driveway is used as such. So I made an attempt to back in from the street, but it was just too narrow--unless I was to drive up onto lawns and take out some "No Parking" signs and the "No 53-Foot Trucks" one in the process.
It turns out the business has another building across the street that does have a proper loading dock in the back. So the owner, after consulting a partner on the phone, finally decided we'd just have to unload there and he'd use a smaller company truck to move the materials to the new building afterwards. When all was said and done there, I had my next assignment and was out of there at 9:30--and I wasn't even supposed to deliver at the second place 'till 11:00. So not everything about the day was bad.
My next assignment was to drive 100-ish miles to the town of Mexico, MO to pick up a load there at 12:30. I had plenty of time to make the drive and stop for lunch on the way, so I made that stop at a TA truck stop in Foristell, MO, that has a Taco Bell among its food choices. That was my next challenge: the girl--er, young lady--putting my order together was heavy-handed with the fillings, so when I had finished eating I was just plain stuffed! On just a bean burrito and steak grilled taquito!
And then it was on to Mexico. I arrived right on time, but still had to wait a while for an open dock. (I guess that counts as another of the day's challenges. Are you counting them? I haven't been.) Once the dock opened up, the loading there went just fine, except by then the day was quite warm, and I didn't have the engine running, which meant no AC. While there, I also decided that I'd better get that flat tire fixed soon, so I called USA's breakdown department. They suggested I go to the nearest TA on my route--which happened to be the one where I had lunched mere hours before. (Most TAs have service departments, and USA uses them a lot for such repairs.)
By the way, did I mention that my new load is headed to Monroe, Michigan? To a site where I've delivered before. I'll be there to deliver it on Friday evening. It'll be a mad dash to get it there on time--7:30 p.m.--from here, especially since I had to stop for the tire repair. But I'm up to the challenge. So back to the story.
Long story short, the stop for the repair took 1-1/2 hours, from 2:30 to 4:00. Most of that time I was sitting in my cab, engine off, sweating while I read. Since Foristell is about 50 miles west of St. Louis, and I was heading east, that meant that I'd hit the big city's metro are just at rush hour. So that slowed me up a bit, too. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and I completed the drive here (central IL) without any further troubles. I was worried that, since it would be after 7:30 when I got here (the Flying J that I've been to a few times before), I might have trouble finding an easy-in parking space. But those fears were unfounded as I had many spaces to choose from.
So that's the story of my challenge-filled day. (I've also been more fumble-fingered than usual on this keyboard--count that one, too!) Thanks for taking the time to check in on me. And keep on truckin'.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Surprise Assignment
DATELINE: PACIFIC, MO, 6:10 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 300
My work day today was just a bit shorter than I had expected. In fact, I'm almost tempted to call it a wasted day. Here's the scoop.
As you recall, I was to drive to St. Louis (the one with the big arch) and drop my loaded trailer at a trucking company, then get another assignment. So I did that part--got up before 5:00 a.m. and hit the road by 6:00. With a stop for 2nd Breakfast, it took just over 5 hours to reach my destination. I found the place easily enough, parked, unhooked my trailer, and sent in my "empty call" message. Nearly an hour later the assignment came in; it was for the load I had just unhooked! Naturally I messaged back that fact, and it turns out that because I was bumping up against my 70-hour limit, they decided to keep me on that load. It's due for delivery to 2 companies in a town just SW of St. Louis tomorrow morning, the first at 8:00 a.m., the second at 11:00. The 2 places are only about 2 blocks apart, so I don't expect any trouble being on time at the second.
Anywho, after clearing up the "new" load confusion, I consulted my truck stop directory and company network fuel list to find the nearest truck stop where I could spend the rest of the afternoon, evening, and night. That turned out to be a brand-spanking new Pilot truck stop here in Pacific ("Pacific" in the middle of the country?). It's about 20 miles past (west) of where I need to deliver tomorrow, but it was still the nearest and best option.
I'll get back 11 work hours tomorrow, along with the allotted time I didn't use today, so I have a full work day coming up. (Since it's going to start so "late"--relative to when I like to get going--I'll likely stop early anyway in order to get a good parking spot for the night. But that will depend on my next assignment's demands, of course.)
It's bright and sunny and hot today, so I'm spending most of my time in my truck with the idle set and the AC running. That's keeping things good & comfy in here. I did walk across the street and under the highway to the nearby Taco Bell for lunch after I arrived here, so I haven't just been sitting. When the sun gets a bit lower (and therefore, cooler), I may go for another walk to burn some more calories. That is, if I don't feel too tired, first. I did have another bad night of sleep last night--went to bed early, 8:30-ish, but woke up at 11:30 and couldn't get back to sleep 'til after 1:00. No idea why, because I was very tired. And I am feeling the fatigue right now, so perhaps a nap is in order. We'll see.
Thanks once again for your patience in slogging through my "writing". Send me some of your own as payback, if you please. ;-) And do keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 300
My work day today was just a bit shorter than I had expected. In fact, I'm almost tempted to call it a wasted day. Here's the scoop.
As you recall, I was to drive to St. Louis (the one with the big arch) and drop my loaded trailer at a trucking company, then get another assignment. So I did that part--got up before 5:00 a.m. and hit the road by 6:00. With a stop for 2nd Breakfast, it took just over 5 hours to reach my destination. I found the place easily enough, parked, unhooked my trailer, and sent in my "empty call" message. Nearly an hour later the assignment came in; it was for the load I had just unhooked! Naturally I messaged back that fact, and it turns out that because I was bumping up against my 70-hour limit, they decided to keep me on that load. It's due for delivery to 2 companies in a town just SW of St. Louis tomorrow morning, the first at 8:00 a.m., the second at 11:00. The 2 places are only about 2 blocks apart, so I don't expect any trouble being on time at the second.
Anywho, after clearing up the "new" load confusion, I consulted my truck stop directory and company network fuel list to find the nearest truck stop where I could spend the rest of the afternoon, evening, and night. That turned out to be a brand-spanking new Pilot truck stop here in Pacific ("Pacific" in the middle of the country?). It's about 20 miles past (west) of where I need to deliver tomorrow, but it was still the nearest and best option.
I'll get back 11 work hours tomorrow, along with the allotted time I didn't use today, so I have a full work day coming up. (Since it's going to start so "late"--relative to when I like to get going--I'll likely stop early anyway in order to get a good parking spot for the night. But that will depend on my next assignment's demands, of course.)
It's bright and sunny and hot today, so I'm spending most of my time in my truck with the idle set and the AC running. That's keeping things good & comfy in here. I did walk across the street and under the highway to the nearby Taco Bell for lunch after I arrived here, so I haven't just been sitting. When the sun gets a bit lower (and therefore, cooler), I may go for another walk to burn some more calories. That is, if I don't feel too tired, first. I did have another bad night of sleep last night--went to bed early, 8:30-ish, but woke up at 11:30 and couldn't get back to sleep 'til after 1:00. No idea why, because I was very tired. And I am feeling the fatigue right now, so perhaps a nap is in order. We'll see.
Thanks once again for your patience in slogging through my "writing". Send me some of your own as payback, if you please. ;-) And do keep on truckin'.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
A Turn Towards the North (of I-40 Anyway)
DATELINE: OAK GROVE, KY, 5:15 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 495
I'm starting to bump up against my 70-work-hours-in-8-days limit, so I halted today a bit earlier than I would have had I had a full day's hours available. As it was, I had 10 hours to work with, and I came across a Flying J about 45 minutes before hitting the 10-hour mark. Since I'll need a shower in the morning (it's been hot and sweaty down here in the southland), and I have a free one coming from buying fuel at Flying J's, the decision to stop here was automatic.
I got up this morning at 5:30 EDT per my alarm, and was on the road at 6:00. 'Twas another uneventful drive (the best kind) with just a few stops--for a loaded breakfast burrito at a Hardee's in NC, for fuel in Knoxville, and the occasional leg-stretcher. The weather was mostly pleasant--warm & sunny--but a shower did pop up near the end of my drive. The skies here in southwestern Kentucky since I've arrived have been what you'd expect when the forecast calls for possible showers and/or thunderstorms. But no major wetness yet.
I did get a little exercise today. After I parked here, I walked about 1/4 mile up the road--to a Wendy's for a late lunch--and back. On the walk back the sky was a good bit darker than when I set out, and the wind had picked up, so I thought it possible I may have regretted the walk. But it stayed dry, and I returned to my truck for the afternoon's entertainment.
I played some online poker for about 45 minutes, and had some success there. But I realized I'm a bit tired and wasn't concentrating on my game enough to continue without disastrous consequences. However, apparently I'm plenty awake to compose my (nearly) daily drivel for my faithful readers. ;-)
Tomorrow it's on to St. Louis from here (who's gonna meet me in Saint Louie?). That's around 200 miles, and I'll have 8 hours available to get there, drop this load, get my next assignment, and start heading in whatever direction the new load will take me. The next 2 days I'll get back 11 hours each as previous work days roll off the rolling 8-day period. So I'm good to go for paying mileage for the next few days, anyway.
And that's the Reluctant Trucker scoop for today. Thanks for looking in. Don't be a stranger (i.e., send in your questions and comments), and keep on truckin'.
P.S., Those are TASTY burgers they have at Hardee's and Carl's Jr., not TESTY as yesterday's typo suggested. My apologies to those fine establishments.
Miles Today: 495
I'm starting to bump up against my 70-work-hours-in-8-days limit, so I halted today a bit earlier than I would have had I had a full day's hours available. As it was, I had 10 hours to work with, and I came across a Flying J about 45 minutes before hitting the 10-hour mark. Since I'll need a shower in the morning (it's been hot and sweaty down here in the southland), and I have a free one coming from buying fuel at Flying J's, the decision to stop here was automatic.
I got up this morning at 5:30 EDT per my alarm, and was on the road at 6:00. 'Twas another uneventful drive (the best kind) with just a few stops--for a loaded breakfast burrito at a Hardee's in NC, for fuel in Knoxville, and the occasional leg-stretcher. The weather was mostly pleasant--warm & sunny--but a shower did pop up near the end of my drive. The skies here in southwestern Kentucky since I've arrived have been what you'd expect when the forecast calls for possible showers and/or thunderstorms. But no major wetness yet.
I did get a little exercise today. After I parked here, I walked about 1/4 mile up the road--to a Wendy's for a late lunch--and back. On the walk back the sky was a good bit darker than when I set out, and the wind had picked up, so I thought it possible I may have regretted the walk. But it stayed dry, and I returned to my truck for the afternoon's entertainment.
I played some online poker for about 45 minutes, and had some success there. But I realized I'm a bit tired and wasn't concentrating on my game enough to continue without disastrous consequences. However, apparently I'm plenty awake to compose my (nearly) daily drivel for my faithful readers. ;-)
Tomorrow it's on to St. Louis from here (who's gonna meet me in Saint Louie?). That's around 200 miles, and I'll have 8 hours available to get there, drop this load, get my next assignment, and start heading in whatever direction the new load will take me. The next 2 days I'll get back 11 hours each as previous work days roll off the rolling 8-day period. So I'm good to go for paying mileage for the next few days, anyway.
And that's the Reluctant Trucker scoop for today. Thanks for looking in. Don't be a stranger (i.e., send in your questions and comments), and keep on truckin'.
P.S., Those are TASTY burgers they have at Hardee's and Carl's Jr., not TESTY as yesterday's typo suggested. My apologies to those fine establishments.
Monday, June 4, 2007
DATELINE: SALISBURY, NC, 7:21 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 297
That may look like a short work day, but it was only in terms of miles driven. I hadda do a LOT of waiting around today. That seems to be the way things are on this tour of duty, especially when I reach a customer site early. Today's recap:
I woke up at 5:30 this morning in Knoxville, took time for a shower and shave, and set out on the road by 6:15. It took about 5 hours, including time to stop for a proper breakfast en route, to reach my delivery in Statesville, NC. My appointment was at noon, and I got there just after 11:15. However, the shipping/receiving department's lunch break was from 11:15 'til noon. So I had to wait for them to get back before they could give me a dock assignment. Which I also had to wait just a bit for 'til another truck vacated the dock.
I was done there at a little after 1:15. Then I had to wait for my next load assignment. After I sent in my "empty call" message to dispatch, they sent me a message telling me that I was "#3 on the board", which I took to mean that they had 2 other drivers in the area to provide loads before they could get to me. So I high-tailed it to a truck stop about 10 miles down the road to wait. And wait. And wait. The assignment finally came in at about 3:00; pick up a load in Salisbury, 35-ish miles away, at 5:00.
I took my time getting back underway, but still got to the shipper at about 4:15. Naturally, when I checked in the fella there told me the load wasn't ready yet and he'd come out and get me when it was ready. (They pre-load trailers there, rather than do "live loads" with the driver backing into a dock and sitting there while they load.) In the mean time, they had me back my empty trailer into another dock, then unhook and park in the lot to wait. And wait. And wait. Finally at about 6:15--only 1-1/4 hours late--the guy came out with the paperwork and told me which trailer to grab and take with me.
Since it'd been a long day and was getting to be the time of day when truck stops get full, I decided to head to one nearby rather than drive my remaining 1-1/2 work hours and then try to find a place to spend the night. This load is headed to the St. Louis, MO area, due for delivery on Thursday at 2 stops. However, dispatch wants me to drop it at a yard we have in St. Louis as soon as I can get there (Wednesday morning by my estimation) so I won't lose a day during which I could be driving more paying miles. Fine by me. So my goal for tomorrow is drive, drive, drive. This is a very light load so the mountains of western NC and eastern TN won't slow me down. The first bit of the trip, from here to Nashville, is once again back the way I just came. Ho hum. I expect I can get into southern Illinois in my allotted driving time tomorrow, then finish up in St. L fairly early the next day.
So that's how my day went. Now it's time for Trucker John's Q & A.
1. Reader Dennis the Accompanist asks, "Now that you've been driving quite a while, what do you think of truck-stop food? Obviously, some of them have chain restaurants, but what about the other places to eat? (I've had some pretty good food in truck stops, often at buffets.)"
Nowadays, most of the time I eat at the fast food places at truck stops (my current fave is Hardees or Carl's Jr.--man those burgers are testy!), or grab a sandwich out of their refrigerator cases, rather than eat at their sit-down restaurants. Much more economical that way. However, when I have eaten at their in-house eateries, I have been less than impressed. Sure, their food is usually tolerable, and fairly good as down-home cookin' goes. But it's generally fairly bland. I like food with more pizazz, or depth of flavor that comes from actually using things like herbs and spices. So I can't give a ringing endorsement of truck stops' in-house fare.
2. Reader mrr asks two questions: 1) How 'bout posting some pics of your truck/living quarters - interior and exterior? (you can photo-shop out any identifying marks, if desired/necessary) 2) Do you get a chance to do any running when you get to a stop early-ish in the day? Or are you no longer into that?
Regarding pictures of my home on the road, maybe someday I'll remember to bring along a camera. A better option: sometime when I'm home or in your area, we can arrange to meet at a truck stop and I can show you the real thing. (Now I'll have to see if I can get a load to the western NY area sometime.)
As for running and/or working out, that's something that I just don't have time for in this job. Besides, there's not always a shower available (or if there is, I may have to pay for it) for post-workout freshening up. I have on occasion done some walking around parking lots at a truck stop or USA terminal, but no running. I also don't have my workout gear along with me; my storage space is somewhat limited.
Thanks for your questions and comments; keep 'em coming! And truck on keepin'.
Miles Today: 297
That may look like a short work day, but it was only in terms of miles driven. I hadda do a LOT of waiting around today. That seems to be the way things are on this tour of duty, especially when I reach a customer site early. Today's recap:
I woke up at 5:30 this morning in Knoxville, took time for a shower and shave, and set out on the road by 6:15. It took about 5 hours, including time to stop for a proper breakfast en route, to reach my delivery in Statesville, NC. My appointment was at noon, and I got there just after 11:15. However, the shipping/receiving department's lunch break was from 11:15 'til noon. So I had to wait for them to get back before they could give me a dock assignment. Which I also had to wait just a bit for 'til another truck vacated the dock.
I was done there at a little after 1:15. Then I had to wait for my next load assignment. After I sent in my "empty call" message to dispatch, they sent me a message telling me that I was "#3 on the board", which I took to mean that they had 2 other drivers in the area to provide loads before they could get to me. So I high-tailed it to a truck stop about 10 miles down the road to wait. And wait. And wait. The assignment finally came in at about 3:00; pick up a load in Salisbury, 35-ish miles away, at 5:00.
I took my time getting back underway, but still got to the shipper at about 4:15. Naturally, when I checked in the fella there told me the load wasn't ready yet and he'd come out and get me when it was ready. (They pre-load trailers there, rather than do "live loads" with the driver backing into a dock and sitting there while they load.) In the mean time, they had me back my empty trailer into another dock, then unhook and park in the lot to wait. And wait. And wait. Finally at about 6:15--only 1-1/4 hours late--the guy came out with the paperwork and told me which trailer to grab and take with me.
Since it'd been a long day and was getting to be the time of day when truck stops get full, I decided to head to one nearby rather than drive my remaining 1-1/2 work hours and then try to find a place to spend the night. This load is headed to the St. Louis, MO area, due for delivery on Thursday at 2 stops. However, dispatch wants me to drop it at a yard we have in St. Louis as soon as I can get there (Wednesday morning by my estimation) so I won't lose a day during which I could be driving more paying miles. Fine by me. So my goal for tomorrow is drive, drive, drive. This is a very light load so the mountains of western NC and eastern TN won't slow me down. The first bit of the trip, from here to Nashville, is once again back the way I just came. Ho hum. I expect I can get into southern Illinois in my allotted driving time tomorrow, then finish up in St. L fairly early the next day.
So that's how my day went. Now it's time for Trucker John's Q & A.
1. Reader Dennis the Accompanist asks, "Now that you've been driving quite a while, what do you think of truck-stop food? Obviously, some of them have chain restaurants, but what about the other places to eat? (I've had some pretty good food in truck stops, often at buffets.)"
Nowadays, most of the time I eat at the fast food places at truck stops (my current fave is Hardees or Carl's Jr.--man those burgers are testy!), or grab a sandwich out of their refrigerator cases, rather than eat at their sit-down restaurants. Much more economical that way. However, when I have eaten at their in-house eateries, I have been less than impressed. Sure, their food is usually tolerable, and fairly good as down-home cookin' goes. But it's generally fairly bland. I like food with more pizazz, or depth of flavor that comes from actually using things like herbs and spices. So I can't give a ringing endorsement of truck stops' in-house fare.
2. Reader mrr asks two questions: 1) How 'bout posting some pics of your truck/living quarters - interior and exterior? (you can photo-shop out any identifying marks, if desired/necessary) 2) Do you get a chance to do any running when you get to a stop early-ish in the day? Or are you no longer into that?
Regarding pictures of my home on the road, maybe someday I'll remember to bring along a camera. A better option: sometime when I'm home or in your area, we can arrange to meet at a truck stop and I can show you the real thing. (Now I'll have to see if I can get a load to the western NY area sometime.)
As for running and/or working out, that's something that I just don't have time for in this job. Besides, there's not always a shower available (or if there is, I may have to pay for it) for post-workout freshening up. I have on occasion done some walking around parking lots at a truck stop or USA terminal, but no running. I also don't have my workout gear along with me; my storage space is somewhat limited.
Thanks for your questions and comments; keep 'em coming! And truck on keepin'.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
A Sunday Drive
DATELINE: KNOXVILLE, TN, 5:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 287
I decided to treat myself to a "short" work day today and only drove as far as Knoxville. I woke up earlier than planned (4:45 as opposed to 5:30) and hit the road at 5:15. By the time I reached Knoxville, ready to stop for the day, it was still only 11:00--well, I did cross into the Eastern time zone, so it was actually noon.
Several truck stops here are on the company's fuel network list, so I was going to stop here to refuel, anyway. (I last fueled up in Texarkana yesterday morning, and I still had 1/4 of a tank of diesel left. Shows you the range we can make in these trucks on a fill-up.) Since my delivery isn't due 'til noon tomorrow, and I only have 200 or so miles left to get there, I'll hit the road around 6:00 tomorrow morning and still get there plenty early. Beats starting the day later (and nearer the delivery site) and having to worry about finding a place to stop later in the evening when all the truck stops and rest areas are pretty much full.
Today's drive was mostly uneventful, except for a bit of a "gully-washer" cloudburst for a few minutes that slowed all of the traffic way down. But it cleared up pretty well after that. I'm parked for the night at a TA truck stop and had a nice, leisurely lunch at the Perkins restaurant inside. Since then I've been doing some online work (paying bills, yech!), websurfing, and reading. Guess I'll either try some poker or take a nap ('twas not a good night's sleep last night) next. Either way, I'll take some time to answer reader mrr's query first.
Mrr asks: "Say you have a pickup in Michigan that needs to go to Buffalo. Are you allowed/authorized/permitted/required/pick-your-verb to go through Canada, or do you need to take the long route around the south side of Lake Erie?"
USA Truck does have some customers in Canada (Ontario and Quebec only, I believe), so we do cross the border sometimes. However, I think that if the load is not destined for a site inside Canada, we can't take it in there. So we would have to go the long way 'round. (That's my suspicion, anyway. I've never explicitly asked that question. It wouldn't be worth the paperwork and time at customs to do a "drive-through" even if it is permitted.)
And that's my Sunday Report. Thanks for stopping in, and do please send me your comments and questions. And, as always, keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 287
I decided to treat myself to a "short" work day today and only drove as far as Knoxville. I woke up earlier than planned (4:45 as opposed to 5:30) and hit the road at 5:15. By the time I reached Knoxville, ready to stop for the day, it was still only 11:00--well, I did cross into the Eastern time zone, so it was actually noon.
Several truck stops here are on the company's fuel network list, so I was going to stop here to refuel, anyway. (I last fueled up in Texarkana yesterday morning, and I still had 1/4 of a tank of diesel left. Shows you the range we can make in these trucks on a fill-up.) Since my delivery isn't due 'til noon tomorrow, and I only have 200 or so miles left to get there, I'll hit the road around 6:00 tomorrow morning and still get there plenty early. Beats starting the day later (and nearer the delivery site) and having to worry about finding a place to stop later in the evening when all the truck stops and rest areas are pretty much full.
Today's drive was mostly uneventful, except for a bit of a "gully-washer" cloudburst for a few minutes that slowed all of the traffic way down. But it cleared up pretty well after that. I'm parked for the night at a TA truck stop and had a nice, leisurely lunch at the Perkins restaurant inside. Since then I've been doing some online work (paying bills, yech!), websurfing, and reading. Guess I'll either try some poker or take a nap ('twas not a good night's sleep last night) next. Either way, I'll take some time to answer reader mrr's query first.
Mrr asks: "Say you have a pickup in Michigan that needs to go to Buffalo. Are you allowed/authorized/permitted/required/pick-your-verb to go through Canada, or do you need to take the long route around the south side of Lake Erie?"
USA Truck does have some customers in Canada (Ontario and Quebec only, I believe), so we do cross the border sometimes. However, I think that if the load is not destined for a site inside Canada, we can't take it in there. So we would have to go the long way 'round. (That's my suspicion, anyway. I've never explicitly asked that question. It wouldn't be worth the paperwork and time at customs to do a "drive-through" even if it is permitted.)
And that's my Sunday Report. Thanks for stopping in, and do please send me your comments and questions. And, as always, keep on truckin'.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Headin' East; Ho Hum.
DATELINE: JACKSON, TN, 9:25 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 452
Not much to write about today. I just woke up and drove, with a couple of stops for food and fuel en route. My route was just east on I-30 from where I spent the night in Texas, to Little Rock, then I-440 around that town, then I-40 to here, about 130 miles west of Nashville (or 80 miles east of Memphis). Tomorrow will be all I-40 all day into North Carolina.
As you can tell by my dateline above, it's getting late and I need to get on the way to dreamland so I can get up early and on the road again. So thanks once more for checking in, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 452
Not much to write about today. I just woke up and drove, with a couple of stops for food and fuel en route. My route was just east on I-30 from where I spent the night in Texas, to Little Rock, then I-440 around that town, then I-40 to here, about 130 miles west of Nashville (or 80 miles east of Memphis). Tomorrow will be all I-40 all day into North Carolina.
As you can tell by my dateline above, it's getting late and I need to get on the way to dreamland so I can get up early and on the road again. So thanks once more for checking in, and keep on truckin'.
Friday, June 1, 2007
About Face
DATELINE: MT. VERNON, TX, 8:45 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 399
Miles Yesterday: 608
First things first: Reader hrr, could you please 'splain your most recent comment? Thanks.
Next things next: Apologies again for neglecting yesterday's posting. It was another of those days when I was too weary to think straight at the end of the day. I had had a bad night's sleep followed by a l-o-n-g day of driving, and I was just beat and went right to bed. So I'll make up for it today.
As I mentioned, yesterday was all about driving as far as I could. That wound up being from Knoxville, TN to 35 miles east of Texarkana, AR, where I spent the night at a TA truck stop. Since my delivery appointment was for 7:30 p.m. today, I had planned on sleeping in late and hitting the road around noon. However, since I went to bed so early, I woke up correspondingly early and decided to just go ahead and get going. So I was headed west at 6:30 a.m. My delivery customer would just have to fit me in early.
I reached the customer in Irving, TX at 11:30 a.m. I did have to wait a while, though, because of my early arrival, but when all was said and done, I was outta' there 5 hours before I was even supposed to be there. (I really didn't want to make the delivery as scheduled, then go make a pickup, then drive into the night and have to find a place to stop in the middle of the night.) They decided to have me swap my loaded trailer with an empty one in a dock door, which meant the old triple drop and hook. What made it more fun was the tight area to maneuver when backing the loaded trailer into the dock. But I managed it eventually.
After leaving the delivery, it took a while for my new assignment to come through. During that time I was driving across town (Dallas) to a truck stop I was familiar with (another TA with a Taco Bell and Burger King inside, on the south side of town). Shortly before I got there, it finally came through. Of course, the Qualcomm message box won't let you read it while the vehicle's in motion, so I had to wait 'til I reached the TA to read the assignment. Which was: Pick up a load in Garland, TX (a northeast Dallas suburb) headed for North Carolina, delivery at noon on Monday. That meant driving back up the eastern side of the highway loop around the city. Since it was still just a bit before rush hour, that wasn't a problem.
When I reached the pickup site, I had to wait for another USA truck to get loaded (it was just backing into the dock) and leave before taking its place in the same dock. Fortunately, that was fairly quick, and I was done there within 1-1/2 hours. However, I only had another 2-1/2 hours of my 14-hour work window for the day, so I wasn't going to get as far as I'd hoped afterwards. I was hoping to reach at least the AR state line, where there are a few truck stop options as well as a nice big welcome center rest area. However, that was at least a 3 hour drive under good conditions. This now was rush hour around Big D, and I only made it to the first rest area along I-30. Fortunately, despite this being a very small rest area, there was a parking space available, and I nabbed it. And here I am, blogging away, telling y'all about it.
This weekend I'll be retracing my steps back east along I-30 and I-40 from whence I came the last 2 days, then going a wee bit further and into western NC. I think this is the first time I've had a load going back as far along the route I had just come. I just wish it wasn't a route that I'm already so familiar with. Oh well. At least the weather has been mostly terrific--warm and mostly sunny, despite a few scattered raindrops yesterday.
I hope all is going well with you. Do drop me a line to let me know. And do keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 399
Miles Yesterday: 608
First things first: Reader hrr, could you please 'splain your most recent comment? Thanks.
Next things next: Apologies again for neglecting yesterday's posting. It was another of those days when I was too weary to think straight at the end of the day. I had had a bad night's sleep followed by a l-o-n-g day of driving, and I was just beat and went right to bed. So I'll make up for it today.
As I mentioned, yesterday was all about driving as far as I could. That wound up being from Knoxville, TN to 35 miles east of Texarkana, AR, where I spent the night at a TA truck stop. Since my delivery appointment was for 7:30 p.m. today, I had planned on sleeping in late and hitting the road around noon. However, since I went to bed so early, I woke up correspondingly early and decided to just go ahead and get going. So I was headed west at 6:30 a.m. My delivery customer would just have to fit me in early.
I reached the customer in Irving, TX at 11:30 a.m. I did have to wait a while, though, because of my early arrival, but when all was said and done, I was outta' there 5 hours before I was even supposed to be there. (I really didn't want to make the delivery as scheduled, then go make a pickup, then drive into the night and have to find a place to stop in the middle of the night.) They decided to have me swap my loaded trailer with an empty one in a dock door, which meant the old triple drop and hook. What made it more fun was the tight area to maneuver when backing the loaded trailer into the dock. But I managed it eventually.
After leaving the delivery, it took a while for my new assignment to come through. During that time I was driving across town (Dallas) to a truck stop I was familiar with (another TA with a Taco Bell and Burger King inside, on the south side of town). Shortly before I got there, it finally came through. Of course, the Qualcomm message box won't let you read it while the vehicle's in motion, so I had to wait 'til I reached the TA to read the assignment. Which was: Pick up a load in Garland, TX (a northeast Dallas suburb) headed for North Carolina, delivery at noon on Monday. That meant driving back up the eastern side of the highway loop around the city. Since it was still just a bit before rush hour, that wasn't a problem.
When I reached the pickup site, I had to wait for another USA truck to get loaded (it was just backing into the dock) and leave before taking its place in the same dock. Fortunately, that was fairly quick, and I was done there within 1-1/2 hours. However, I only had another 2-1/2 hours of my 14-hour work window for the day, so I wasn't going to get as far as I'd hoped afterwards. I was hoping to reach at least the AR state line, where there are a few truck stop options as well as a nice big welcome center rest area. However, that was at least a 3 hour drive under good conditions. This now was rush hour around Big D, and I only made it to the first rest area along I-30. Fortunately, despite this being a very small rest area, there was a parking space available, and I nabbed it. And here I am, blogging away, telling y'all about it.
This weekend I'll be retracing my steps back east along I-30 and I-40 from whence I came the last 2 days, then going a wee bit further and into western NC. I think this is the first time I've had a load going back as far along the route I had just come. I just wish it wasn't a route that I'm already so familiar with. Oh well. At least the weather has been mostly terrific--warm and mostly sunny, despite a few scattered raindrops yesterday.
I hope all is going well with you. Do drop me a line to let me know. And do keep on truckin'.
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