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'.