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'.