DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, 7:15 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 290
I was due a short workday, 'cuz before today I've been averaging over 10 hours each day since returning from my time off on Tuesday. I am closing in on my 70-hours-in-8-days limit; as of now I have 12 hours left that I can work over the next 2 days, so I have some "me time" coming. Anyway, back to today's events.
As you recall, when I left you last night I was awaiting word about whether or not another driver would be coming to pick up my load since I wouldn't be able to get to the delivery on time. After 10:30 p.m. I sent a message asking if a swap would take place and, if so, what the river's ETA was. I needed to know so I could either wait up for him or get some sleep before taking the load to the delivery in the morning. The reply came back shortly; another driver was on the way, but he was still over an hour away. So I set my watch alarm for an hour and laid back to catch some Z's during the wait. I slept off and on 'til I awoke and saw the other USA truck sitting in front of mine.
This was now after 1:00 a.m., and the other driver did not have a trailer with him; he had bobtailed over from the Vandalia terminal. No matter, that meant less work for me; I didn't have to hook up another trailer. So I just pulled out from under mine, parked in a new spot, gave the paperwork to the other guy, and got ready for bed.
Could someone please explain sleep to me? Here I was dead tired after a long day of work (a long few days, actually), and when I hit the sack, I could not fall asleep. I don't know why. I was really physically fatigued, but sleep wouldn't come. I flopped around some trying to fall asleep, then gave up and did some reading for a while, then tried again and finally fell asleep sometime after 3:30 a.m.
I awoke after 9:15 this morning and checked my Qualcomm box; no new load assignment yet. There's gotta be a glitch somewhere in the system, 'cuz I'm getting all of the other messages. So I sent in a message asking if dispatch had sent me one. Indeed they had, and they re-sent it. My next mission, should I choose to accept it (not that I actually have a choice): drive over to the Vandalia terminal and pick up a loaded trailer there. The load is destined for two stops, the first near Rome, NY (all-right! I finally get to add NY state to my "been there on the job" list and buy the refrigerator magnet), the second in Philadelphia (I've never been there, on the job or off). But first I had to head back west to Vandalia.
Even though I had slept late, I was still dead tired. Breakfast and Diet Coke took some of the edge off of that, and I was on the road by 10:00. But the drive d-r-a-g-g-e-d on, the longest 5-1/2 hours I've ever driven. By the time I got here I was once again dead on my feet. It was all I could do just to walk into the building to use the rest room before crawling into my bunk for a much-needed nap. I wasn't even bothered by the air show going on at the Dayton airport, right next to the terminal. (Those jet fighters can be loud when flying low directly overhead.) But I got in a good nap of over an hour before I woke up again. This time I was refreshed enough to head inside to grab a quick bite to eat, then back to the truck to blog for you.
So that's where I am now. It's about 600 miles to my first delivery, which is due Tuesday morning at 11:00, so I have plenty of time to get there with a nice, leisurely drive split between tomorrow and Tuesday morning. (The Philly delivery is set for Wednesday morning.) Note to reader mrr and family: I'll be driving through on I-90 and I'm planning on stopping for the night tomorrow in your vicinity. Give me a call on my cell phone (you should have the number--but maybe I'll give in and call you first if I can dig out yours) and let me know which rest area/service plaza in the area has the most truck parking and would be most convenient for you to come over and tour my truck. Hope you're not busy what with this short notice.
That's enough rambling for today. I need to hit the sack early tonight so I can resume my preferred work schedule tomorrow ("early to bed, early to rise..."). Thanks for your interest in my foibles. Drop me a line; ask anything you're curious about this profession. And keep right on truckin'.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
3-Day Catch-Up
DATELINE: BRADY'S LEAP SERVICE PLAZA, EB OHIO TURNPIKE, MILE 197, 8:30 p.m. EDT
Miles Thursday: 427
Miles Friday: 564
Miles Today: 540
Pardon me for missing a couple of days, but I've been tres busy and finishing my workdays rather fatigued. But now I'll get you up to speed about my last few days.
When last I updated you on Wednesday, I had stopped in West Memphis for the night after picking up a new load headed to Des Moines, IA. On Thursday I arose early and hit the road, north into Missouri 'til I hit the St. Louis area, looped around the west side of the city, then headed west across the state. I stopped for the night at a TA just outside of Kansas City.
Friday morning I awoke at 2:15, unable to get back to sleep. Since I couldn't start work 'til 4:30, I played some online poker before heading in to hit the showers. I got rolling at 4:30 so I could make my delivery in Des Moines on time, 10:00. Bingo; I was there an hour early, and the trailer was unloaded before I was even supposed to be there. Afterwards, I drove over to a truck stop that is at the exit where I got off the highway for the delivery customer and waited there for my next assignment. And waited. And waited. I received a couple of messages on my Qualcomm box during the wait, but they were just blast messages to all drivers (an alert about a missing trailer; reminder about an air show at the Dayton airport making traffic around the Vandalia terminal difficult). So I assumed it was just taking a while for dispatch to get me a load.
After a while I sent a message asking for an ETA on my next assignment. At least I typed the message and pressed "Send". The "home" screen on Qualcomm displays a couple of lines, one showing the number messages waiting to be read, the other showing the number to be sent. I noticed that the "to be sent" count stayed at 1, meaning my inquiry message wasn't getting through. After giving it ample time to go on its way, and that not happening, I called in to my fleet manager to find out if he had sent a load assignment that hadn't come through. Of course he had, way back right after I had sent my "empty call" message before leaving my delivery site. Sheesh! I had waited over 3-1/2 hours at that truck stop. And now I had a pickup in Ft. Dodge, IA in an hour. The problem was, Ft. Dodge was a 2-hour drive away, so I'd be late.
I hopped in the driver's seat and set right out (after consulting my map to see where Ft. Dodge was and how to get there). Along the way the wayward load assignment message came in, and I stopped at a rest area to get the full details. I made it to the listed site, checked in at the gate, drove back to the shipping office, parked and checked in there, then was told the load was at another site, a transfer and storage company they use 5 miles down the road. AARGH! So I hopped back in the truck and drove over there. Fortunately, that place was easy to find, the load went smoothly, and I was done there an hour after arriving.
Unfortunately, I only had about an hour left of my 14-hour window since starting work for the day. More unfortunately, the load is headed for Mechanicsburg, PA, more than 1000 miles away, and due Sunday morning at 10:00. That meant I had 40 hours to drive the 1000+ miles plus take 2 mandatory 10-hour breaks. So I decided to ignore the 14 hour rule so I could get in 11 driving hours as many miles as I could for the day. I had just under 5 hours left after my drives from KC to Des Moines and then to Ft. Dodge, and by my calculation I could reach Walcott, IA, site of The World's Largest Truck Stop. I've been there a couple times before and mentioned it in prior updates, and it is a favorite stop of mine, so I happily set out to get there. Which I did at 9:30 p.m. After waking up at 2:15, that had been a L-O-N-G day. Somehow I hadn't felt much fatigue until I got to Walcott.
This morning I actually slept 'til my alarm woke me at 6:15. Since my 10-hour break wouldn't end 'til 7:30, I had plenty of time for a leisurely shower and shave. Once it was time to get back to work, I fueled up the truck and got moving. Since I had to make tracks with this load, I got permission to take the Indiana and Ohio turnpikes, which would be on the most direct route and would allow higher speeds in OH. So I spent the day hauling a--er, the load--across the northern part of IL, IN, and OH, before running out of time here. Actually, I could drive another hour, but there's no good place to stop and park for the night that I could reach in that hour.
Even as much as I've pushed the pace on this trip, I won't be able to reach the delivery site on time; the best I could do would be to get there a couple hours late. I knew from the start that it would be a tall order--too many miles and not enough hours. I've sent dispatch a message to that effect, so right now I'm waiting to hear if they're going to send another driver here to pick up this load in order to deliver it on time. I hope they're quick in letting me know (it's been a couple hours now), 'cuz if I need to stay on the load, I'll need to get to sleep so I can get up early and back underway.
So that's how my situation stands right now. Check back tomorrow to see how it all turns out. Thanks for checking in, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Thursday: 427
Miles Friday: 564
Miles Today: 540
Pardon me for missing a couple of days, but I've been tres busy and finishing my workdays rather fatigued. But now I'll get you up to speed about my last few days.
When last I updated you on Wednesday, I had stopped in West Memphis for the night after picking up a new load headed to Des Moines, IA. On Thursday I arose early and hit the road, north into Missouri 'til I hit the St. Louis area, looped around the west side of the city, then headed west across the state. I stopped for the night at a TA just outside of Kansas City.
Friday morning I awoke at 2:15, unable to get back to sleep. Since I couldn't start work 'til 4:30, I played some online poker before heading in to hit the showers. I got rolling at 4:30 so I could make my delivery in Des Moines on time, 10:00. Bingo; I was there an hour early, and the trailer was unloaded before I was even supposed to be there. Afterwards, I drove over to a truck stop that is at the exit where I got off the highway for the delivery customer and waited there for my next assignment. And waited. And waited. I received a couple of messages on my Qualcomm box during the wait, but they were just blast messages to all drivers (an alert about a missing trailer; reminder about an air show at the Dayton airport making traffic around the Vandalia terminal difficult). So I assumed it was just taking a while for dispatch to get me a load.
After a while I sent a message asking for an ETA on my next assignment. At least I typed the message and pressed "Send". The "home" screen on Qualcomm displays a couple of lines, one showing the number messages waiting to be read, the other showing the number to be sent. I noticed that the "to be sent" count stayed at 1, meaning my inquiry message wasn't getting through. After giving it ample time to go on its way, and that not happening, I called in to my fleet manager to find out if he had sent a load assignment that hadn't come through. Of course he had, way back right after I had sent my "empty call" message before leaving my delivery site. Sheesh! I had waited over 3-1/2 hours at that truck stop. And now I had a pickup in Ft. Dodge, IA in an hour. The problem was, Ft. Dodge was a 2-hour drive away, so I'd be late.
I hopped in the driver's seat and set right out (after consulting my map to see where Ft. Dodge was and how to get there). Along the way the wayward load assignment message came in, and I stopped at a rest area to get the full details. I made it to the listed site, checked in at the gate, drove back to the shipping office, parked and checked in there, then was told the load was at another site, a transfer and storage company they use 5 miles down the road. AARGH! So I hopped back in the truck and drove over there. Fortunately, that place was easy to find, the load went smoothly, and I was done there an hour after arriving.
Unfortunately, I only had about an hour left of my 14-hour window since starting work for the day. More unfortunately, the load is headed for Mechanicsburg, PA, more than 1000 miles away, and due Sunday morning at 10:00. That meant I had 40 hours to drive the 1000+ miles plus take 2 mandatory 10-hour breaks. So I decided to ignore the 14 hour rule so I could get in 11 driving hours as many miles as I could for the day. I had just under 5 hours left after my drives from KC to Des Moines and then to Ft. Dodge, and by my calculation I could reach Walcott, IA, site of The World's Largest Truck Stop. I've been there a couple times before and mentioned it in prior updates, and it is a favorite stop of mine, so I happily set out to get there. Which I did at 9:30 p.m. After waking up at 2:15, that had been a L-O-N-G day. Somehow I hadn't felt much fatigue until I got to Walcott.
This morning I actually slept 'til my alarm woke me at 6:15. Since my 10-hour break wouldn't end 'til 7:30, I had plenty of time for a leisurely shower and shave. Once it was time to get back to work, I fueled up the truck and got moving. Since I had to make tracks with this load, I got permission to take the Indiana and Ohio turnpikes, which would be on the most direct route and would allow higher speeds in OH. So I spent the day hauling a--er, the load--across the northern part of IL, IN, and OH, before running out of time here. Actually, I could drive another hour, but there's no good place to stop and park for the night that I could reach in that hour.
Even as much as I've pushed the pace on this trip, I won't be able to reach the delivery site on time; the best I could do would be to get there a couple hours late. I knew from the start that it would be a tall order--too many miles and not enough hours. I've sent dispatch a message to that effect, so right now I'm waiting to hear if they're going to send another driver here to pick up this load in order to deliver it on time. I hope they're quick in letting me know (it's been a couple hours now), 'cuz if I need to stay on the load, I'll need to get to sleep so I can get up early and back underway.
So that's how my situation stands right now. Check back tomorrow to see how it all turns out. Thanks for checking in, and keep on truckin'.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Changing Horses Mid-Stream
DATELINE: WEST MEMPHIS, AR, 8:00 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 564
Whooo-eee, another long day today. I logged my full 11 hours of driving (although there are some short rest stops in there along the way), and boy am I bushed now. I'll be heading off to sleep once I get y'all caught up with today's story.
As you recall from yesterday's update, I'm on my way to the Dallas area with my current load. Well, let's make that I WAS on my way to Dallas with my FORMER load. I got a message from dispatch when I was on my way across western TN that I was to meet up with another driver at a truck stop en route and swap loads. (Why? I don't know. We never know why dispatch does the things they do.) Actually, this was part of a 3-way swap, and all I know (and care about) is I'll be taking my new load to Des Moines, IA, also due for a Friday morning delivery. That increases my total miles (woo-hoo!) during this trip, plus this new load caries a bonus of 3 cents per mile that I haul it. (WOO-HOO!) Well, at least for the miles that officially go on the books, that is, which in this case will be 590.
Anyway, the swap (my part of it, at least) went off without a hitch, and I finished my day by driving the rest of the way here to West Memphis. And now I've told you about it, so my day is done. Like I stated earlier, I am tired, even though I did get a good night's sleep last night. It was a very pleasant night weather-wise in the Dayton area, and I slept with my sleeper berth's windows open and the engine off. But I'm still a bit short on sleep from my time at home (go figure!), so I'm still playing catch-up.
Thanks once again for looking in. Do please drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 564
Whooo-eee, another long day today. I logged my full 11 hours of driving (although there are some short rest stops in there along the way), and boy am I bushed now. I'll be heading off to sleep once I get y'all caught up with today's story.
As you recall from yesterday's update, I'm on my way to the Dallas area with my current load. Well, let's make that I WAS on my way to Dallas with my FORMER load. I got a message from dispatch when I was on my way across western TN that I was to meet up with another driver at a truck stop en route and swap loads. (Why? I don't know. We never know why dispatch does the things they do.) Actually, this was part of a 3-way swap, and all I know (and care about) is I'll be taking my new load to Des Moines, IA, also due for a Friday morning delivery. That increases my total miles (woo-hoo!) during this trip, plus this new load caries a bonus of 3 cents per mile that I haul it. (WOO-HOO!) Well, at least for the miles that officially go on the books, that is, which in this case will be 590.
Anyway, the swap (my part of it, at least) went off without a hitch, and I finished my day by driving the rest of the way here to West Memphis. And now I've told you about it, so my day is done. Like I stated earlier, I am tired, even though I did get a good night's sleep last night. It was a very pleasant night weather-wise in the Dayton area, and I slept with my sleeper berth's windows open and the engine off. But I'm still a bit short on sleep from my time at home (go figure!), so I'm still playing catch-up.
Thanks once again for looking in. Do please drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The Road Beckons Once More
DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, 19:45 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 423
Well, I'm back at it after 4 days at home. While at home I got to:
- Go to the Ann Arbor Art Fair, something I look forward to every summer,
- Spend several late night hours at Borders to pick up the final Harry Potter book,
- Read that book after my daughter finished it,
- Attend the annual summer picnic of Measure for Measure, the men's chorus of which I'm a member (and helped start nigh on 19 years ago),
- And, of course, spend some time with my family.
'Twas a great weekend, with perfect weather the whole time. But, sadly, it ended far too soon for my liking, and now I'm back in my truck and away from all that. Here's how today went.
My alarm woke me up at 5:00 this morning so I could get back to work good and early. However, I was still too tired at that time--having missed sleeping Sunday night while finishing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, then not getting to bed 'til after midnight last night--so I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. Finally, I got up around 7:15 and got ready for work. Many thanks to Mrs. R.T. for the ride back to my truck.
After arriving and sending in my "Back to Work" message, I had to wait over 2 hours before my load assignment came in. It directed me to head to Bay City, MI, to pick up a load at the same place I had picked one up exactly one week ago. I drove the 2-1/4 hours up there and made the quick drop-and-hook pickup. This load is headed for the Dallas, TX area, and is due for delivery on Friday morning. So I headed down to our terminal here today. My plan is to drive to the West Memphis, AR terminal tomorrow, and the Dallas area on Thursday. So far, so good, as I reached here without incident, although I did have to stop for a nap at a truck stop just north of the OH border (I'm still just a wee bit short of sleep).
It's time now to head back to dreamland, so I'll wrap up this report now. Thanks for keeping up with my travels and travails. Please honor me with your comments and questions, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 423
Well, I'm back at it after 4 days at home. While at home I got to:
- Go to the Ann Arbor Art Fair, something I look forward to every summer,
- Spend several late night hours at Borders to pick up the final Harry Potter book,
- Read that book after my daughter finished it,
- Attend the annual summer picnic of Measure for Measure, the men's chorus of which I'm a member (and helped start nigh on 19 years ago),
- And, of course, spend some time with my family.
'Twas a great weekend, with perfect weather the whole time. But, sadly, it ended far too soon for my liking, and now I'm back in my truck and away from all that. Here's how today went.
My alarm woke me up at 5:00 this morning so I could get back to work good and early. However, I was still too tired at that time--having missed sleeping Sunday night while finishing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, then not getting to bed 'til after midnight last night--so I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. Finally, I got up around 7:15 and got ready for work. Many thanks to Mrs. R.T. for the ride back to my truck.
After arriving and sending in my "Back to Work" message, I had to wait over 2 hours before my load assignment came in. It directed me to head to Bay City, MI, to pick up a load at the same place I had picked one up exactly one week ago. I drove the 2-1/4 hours up there and made the quick drop-and-hook pickup. This load is headed for the Dallas, TX area, and is due for delivery on Friday morning. So I headed down to our terminal here today. My plan is to drive to the West Memphis, AR terminal tomorrow, and the Dallas area on Thursday. So far, so good, as I reached here without incident, although I did have to stop for a nap at a truck stop just north of the OH border (I'm still just a wee bit short of sleep).
It's time now to head back to dreamland, so I'll wrap up this report now. Thanks for keeping up with my travels and travails. Please honor me with your comments and questions, and keep on truckin'.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Finally Back Home
DATELINE: HOME! 7:50 p.m.
My apologies for neglecting to post updates the last 2 days. Wednesday night I was too tired, and yesterday I finally got home, so reuniting with my family was the priority. Besides, it was another long day and I just wanted to rest. But here's what I was up to.
WEDNESDAY
I was up early and on the road from southwest MI to southeast WI. That drive took about 3 hours with some slowdowns in Chicago rush hour traffic. The customer was in a large industrial/business park area, not far from a Jelly Belly plant. It took me a few minutes to place the aroma of the area, but it finally came to me...confectioner's/powdered sugar. Very pleasant. But I digress; back to my activities. When I checked in at the customer, they sent me to another site they have a few blocks away. So I drove over there, where they had me back my trailer against the wall of their building and drop it there. They didn't have an emtpy trailer for me to take to my next pickup, so besides my next assignment (if it wasn't to pick up a pre-loaded trailer), dispatch needed to find me a place to pick up an empty.
Mission accomplished. My next load would be waiting for me in Kimberly, WI, which is in the Appleton area (on the northern end of Lake Winnebago). An empty trailer would be available at a customer in Milwaukee that I've been to twice before, and is right on the route I would take to Kimberly. So off I went.
The empty pickup went quickly, as did the drive to Kimberly and the pickup there. My fleet manager told me that I'd just take the load to the yard where I park during my hometime, and another driver would pick it up there and take it to its North Carolina destination. While they were loading my trailer, I called my sister, who lives in the Milwaukee area with her family. I'd have enough driving hours left for the day to return to that area and spend the night at a Flying J there, so I thought a quick family reunion would be in order. Fortunately, they had some free time, so we met at the FJ that evening and had a good chat in my truck. Too soon, though, they had to head back home and I needed to get to rest up for my drive home the next day. (I wanted to get up and moving early enough to get around Chi-town before rush hour.)
THURSDAY
I woke up even earlier than I had planned and set right out. I was on the road at 4:30 a.m. I made a stop at one of the oasis rest areas along I-294 circling Chicago for breakfast at their McDonald's. The rest of the drive around Chicagoland was smooth and slowdown-free. I was a few miles into Indiana when my Qualcomm message box beeped. It seemed urgent, since it kept beeping at short intervals. So I pulled into the next Pilot truck stop to check it out. Surprise, a change of plans.
Naturally, since I had already made it past Chicago, they wanted me to turn around and drop the load at USA's yard in Blue Island, IL, a small suburb on the city's south side. Just what I should have expected when I was on my way home. To make the longish story short, the detour added about 3 hours to my workday and drive home.
I finally made it back home. Many thanks to reader jerry for picking me up in Romulus and driving me home. I get to stay home 'til Tuesday morning, so I'll have a full 4 days off. Finally a good respite from the job, especially since I'd worked every single day of the 4-week tour of duty I just finished.
Thanks for keeping up with my travels. I probably won't post again 'til I get back to work on Tuesday, so be sure to check back then. But please do send me your comments and questions. And keep on truckin'.
My apologies for neglecting to post updates the last 2 days. Wednesday night I was too tired, and yesterday I finally got home, so reuniting with my family was the priority. Besides, it was another long day and I just wanted to rest. But here's what I was up to.
WEDNESDAY
I was up early and on the road from southwest MI to southeast WI. That drive took about 3 hours with some slowdowns in Chicago rush hour traffic. The customer was in a large industrial/business park area, not far from a Jelly Belly plant. It took me a few minutes to place the aroma of the area, but it finally came to me...confectioner's/powdered sugar. Very pleasant. But I digress; back to my activities. When I checked in at the customer, they sent me to another site they have a few blocks away. So I drove over there, where they had me back my trailer against the wall of their building and drop it there. They didn't have an emtpy trailer for me to take to my next pickup, so besides my next assignment (if it wasn't to pick up a pre-loaded trailer), dispatch needed to find me a place to pick up an empty.
Mission accomplished. My next load would be waiting for me in Kimberly, WI, which is in the Appleton area (on the northern end of Lake Winnebago). An empty trailer would be available at a customer in Milwaukee that I've been to twice before, and is right on the route I would take to Kimberly. So off I went.
The empty pickup went quickly, as did the drive to Kimberly and the pickup there. My fleet manager told me that I'd just take the load to the yard where I park during my hometime, and another driver would pick it up there and take it to its North Carolina destination. While they were loading my trailer, I called my sister, who lives in the Milwaukee area with her family. I'd have enough driving hours left for the day to return to that area and spend the night at a Flying J there, so I thought a quick family reunion would be in order. Fortunately, they had some free time, so we met at the FJ that evening and had a good chat in my truck. Too soon, though, they had to head back home and I needed to get to rest up for my drive home the next day. (I wanted to get up and moving early enough to get around Chi-town before rush hour.)
THURSDAY
I woke up even earlier than I had planned and set right out. I was on the road at 4:30 a.m. I made a stop at one of the oasis rest areas along I-294 circling Chicago for breakfast at their McDonald's. The rest of the drive around Chicagoland was smooth and slowdown-free. I was a few miles into Indiana when my Qualcomm message box beeped. It seemed urgent, since it kept beeping at short intervals. So I pulled into the next Pilot truck stop to check it out. Surprise, a change of plans.
Naturally, since I had already made it past Chicago, they wanted me to turn around and drop the load at USA's yard in Blue Island, IL, a small suburb on the city's south side. Just what I should have expected when I was on my way home. To make the longish story short, the detour added about 3 hours to my workday and drive home.
I finally made it back home. Many thanks to reader jerry for picking me up in Romulus and driving me home. I get to stay home 'til Tuesday morning, so I'll have a full 4 days off. Finally a good respite from the job, especially since I'd worked every single day of the 4-week tour of duty I just finished.
Thanks for keeping up with my travels. I probably won't post again 'til I get back to work on Tuesday, so be sure to check back then. But please do send me your comments and questions. And keep on truckin'.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Home State Tour
DATELINE: SAWYER, MI, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 525
Another long, busy day creating another tired trucking blogger. So let's see if I can make this one quick...and coherent.
I once again woke up too early, unable to fall back asleep. This time I lost only about 1 hour of sleep, though. My drive from Dexter to Port Huron took just about 2 hours (with a quick rest stop along the way), and I was at my delivery a little bit early. I did have to wait a few minutes--20 to 30--for the truck already in the dock I was to use to clear out, but it did and I backed in competently. The unloading took 45-ish minutes, then I was on my way to a rest area down the highway to wait for my next assignment.
This time the assignment came in relatively quickly--only about an hour or so after I sent in my "empty call" message. To do: Drive up to Bay City--the farthest north I've been in this state while on this job--to pick up a load to haul westward to Pleasant Prairie, WI. I've been to Pleasant Prairie once before, though to a different company for a pickup. It's just along I-94, the first exit (or maybe 2nd) into WI from IL. So it won't be a long haul for me to get back home as scheduled on Thursday. Anyway, I made the drive to Bay City, found the shipper without any problem, and made the pickup. That was a quick drop-and-hook, so I was back on the road in short order.
I was done with that pickup around 1:00, so I stopped en route at a Flying J with a Wendy's to grab a quick lunch. Then it was back on the road to get in as many miles as possible in today's available hours. I figured that I could make it to the TA here in Sawyer, and I was right. This place is on USA's fuel network, so I'll fill up (and earn another shower credit) before I hit the road in the morning. (I'll use an existing shower credit first thing in the morning, though.) It was after 6:00 p.m. when I got here, and the lot was filling up, so I decided to park first and save fueling up for tomorrow.
So that's how my day went. Tomorrow I will have to get up somewhat early in order to make my 9:30 a.m. delivery appointment in WI. But I will gain an hour as I cross into the Central time zone, and I only have another 150-ish or fewer miles to go from here. Then again, I will have to negotiate the Chicagoland freeways, so I have to plan for slowdowns there. So my plan is to hit the road at about 6:30.
Thanks again for following my exploits. Send me your comments and questions, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 525
Another long, busy day creating another tired trucking blogger. So let's see if I can make this one quick...and coherent.
I once again woke up too early, unable to fall back asleep. This time I lost only about 1 hour of sleep, though. My drive from Dexter to Port Huron took just about 2 hours (with a quick rest stop along the way), and I was at my delivery a little bit early. I did have to wait a few minutes--20 to 30--for the truck already in the dock I was to use to clear out, but it did and I backed in competently. The unloading took 45-ish minutes, then I was on my way to a rest area down the highway to wait for my next assignment.
This time the assignment came in relatively quickly--only about an hour or so after I sent in my "empty call" message. To do: Drive up to Bay City--the farthest north I've been in this state while on this job--to pick up a load to haul westward to Pleasant Prairie, WI. I've been to Pleasant Prairie once before, though to a different company for a pickup. It's just along I-94, the first exit (or maybe 2nd) into WI from IL. So it won't be a long haul for me to get back home as scheduled on Thursday. Anyway, I made the drive to Bay City, found the shipper without any problem, and made the pickup. That was a quick drop-and-hook, so I was back on the road in short order.
I was done with that pickup around 1:00, so I stopped en route at a Flying J with a Wendy's to grab a quick lunch. Then it was back on the road to get in as many miles as possible in today's available hours. I figured that I could make it to the TA here in Sawyer, and I was right. This place is on USA's fuel network, so I'll fill up (and earn another shower credit) before I hit the road in the morning. (I'll use an existing shower credit first thing in the morning, though.) It was after 6:00 p.m. when I got here, and the lot was filling up, so I decided to park first and save fueling up for tomorrow.
So that's how my day went. Tomorrow I will have to get up somewhat early in order to make my 9:30 a.m. delivery appointment in WI. But I will gain an hour as I cross into the Central time zone, and I only have another 150-ish or fewer miles to go from here. Then again, I will have to negotiate the Chicagoland freeways, so I have to plan for slowdowns there. So my plan is to hit the road at about 6:30.
Thanks again for following my exploits. Send me your comments and questions, and keep on truckin'.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Shuffling On Home
DATELINE: DEXTER, MI, 7:20 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 490
Let's see if I can make this a quick update because I'm tired and need to get to sleep soon; it's gonna be another early morning tomorrow.
I did opt for more sleep before setting out this morning (instead of just staying up and hitting the road at 10:30 p.m.), though not as much as I would have liked. After I signed off my update last night, I couldn't get to sleep right away, so I hiked across the street from the truck stop to a Wal-Mart to pick up a couple things I needed. Then it was back to the truck. I finally did get to sleep sometime before 11:00 p.m., intending to get up and get going either when I woke up on my own, or at 3:30 by my alarm.
I woke up at around 2:15 a.m. CDT, and decided that I was indeed rested enough to make the day's drive. (Though a few more hours of sleep would have been nice, I did have incentive to get a move-on, since I was headed homeward.) So I was on the road a little after 2:30. I had to stop for fuel 70 miles later, and made a few other rest and meal stops along the way. I arrived here right around 1:30 EDT and topped off my fuel tanks to earn another shower credit (I'm at the TA that I consider my "home" truck stop).
I then called Mrs. Reluctant Trucker to warn her--er, let her know--that I had arrived, and she said she'd be out to see me after she made a necessary trip to the grocery store. I used the interim to shower and shave--the showers at the TA where I'd stayed last night were closed for renovation--so I'd be presentable in public when we went out for dinner. After getting cleaned up, I returned to my truck to await the Mrs.'s arrival. In my fatigued state, I even dozed a bit during the wait. Finally she arrived, and we went to the usual place I make her take me when I'm here for a brief stop--Q'doba Mexican Grill. I love the food at that place. We ate our meals there then took an entree home to our youngest daughter, who hadn't wanted to leave the house for dinner. But that's OK. Before we left to bring me back here to the truck, our eldest daughter got home from work, so I got to see her (briefly), too. Then it was back here to plan the drive for tomorrow morning (thank goodness for Mapquest) and compose this here update.
And now it's time to wrap up and head to bed. Thanks for dropping by this corner of the WWWeb. Drop me a comment or question (or both if you dare), and keep on a-truckin'.
Miles Today: 490
Let's see if I can make this a quick update because I'm tired and need to get to sleep soon; it's gonna be another early morning tomorrow.
I did opt for more sleep before setting out this morning (instead of just staying up and hitting the road at 10:30 p.m.), though not as much as I would have liked. After I signed off my update last night, I couldn't get to sleep right away, so I hiked across the street from the truck stop to a Wal-Mart to pick up a couple things I needed. Then it was back to the truck. I finally did get to sleep sometime before 11:00 p.m., intending to get up and get going either when I woke up on my own, or at 3:30 by my alarm.
I woke up at around 2:15 a.m. CDT, and decided that I was indeed rested enough to make the day's drive. (Though a few more hours of sleep would have been nice, I did have incentive to get a move-on, since I was headed homeward.) So I was on the road a little after 2:30. I had to stop for fuel 70 miles later, and made a few other rest and meal stops along the way. I arrived here right around 1:30 EDT and topped off my fuel tanks to earn another shower credit (I'm at the TA that I consider my "home" truck stop).
I then called Mrs. Reluctant Trucker to warn her--er, let her know--that I had arrived, and she said she'd be out to see me after she made a necessary trip to the grocery store. I used the interim to shower and shave--the showers at the TA where I'd stayed last night were closed for renovation--so I'd be presentable in public when we went out for dinner. After getting cleaned up, I returned to my truck to await the Mrs.'s arrival. In my fatigued state, I even dozed a bit during the wait. Finally she arrived, and we went to the usual place I make her take me when I'm here for a brief stop--Q'doba Mexican Grill. I love the food at that place. We ate our meals there then took an entree home to our youngest daughter, who hadn't wanted to leave the house for dinner. But that's OK. Before we left to bring me back here to the truck, our eldest daughter got home from work, so I got to see her (briefly), too. Then it was back here to plan the drive for tomorrow morning (thank goodness for Mapquest) and compose this here update.
And now it's time to wrap up and head to bed. Thanks for dropping by this corner of the WWWeb. Drop me a comment or question (or both if you dare), and keep on a-truckin'.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Texas Turn-Around
DATELINE: MT. VERNON, IL, 6:15 p.m. CDT
Miles Friday: 454
Miles Yesterday: 435
Miles Today: 539 (so far; I may hit the road again before midnight tonight)
Well, I have some catching up to do, don't I? I hope you'll pardon my lack of updates the last 2 days, but I was either busy, exhausted, or out of range of a connection. But here's what I've been up to.
FRIDAY
When I left off on Thursday, I had stopped in southern KY on my way to a Friday noon pickup in Evansville, IN. I went to bed early that night, and woke up before 6:00 Friday morning. Knowing I wasn't going to fall back asleep, I actually got up and went for a run. (In reality, a better description of that activity would be a "slog", or slow jog.) Because of my limited (usually nonexistent) exercise time on this job, I've really gotten badly out of shape. That's a huge downside to this job. But I digress; back to the narrative.
I "ran" for 10 minutes--much of it uphill--before my stamina gave out and I turned around and walked back the way I'd come. Back at my truck, I stretched out my legs, had a bite to eat, then dressed and drove 3 miles up the highway to a Flying J truck stop. I had a shower credit on my Flying J account, so I used that to freshen up for the day.
Eventually, it was time to start my workday and hit the road. I was on track to be a bit early, but being Friday the 13th, I missed a turn in Evansville and wound up 10-ish miles out of my way before I found a place to stop and consult my map. I quickly discovered the error of my ways and found my way back to the pickup site. I was only 15-20 minutes late, but it wouldn't have mattered had I been on time, because their loading docks were full when I checked in. In fact, another USA truck was just getting ready to leave, and I took his spot after he pulled out. The loading went quickly, and I was soon on my way to Texas.
I reached the West Memphis, AR terminal a few hours later, totally beat. It was past 7:00 p.m., and if I had gone farther, parking spots at truck stops would have been hard to come by. So I stayed at West Memphis for the night, planning to get back underway at 6:00 the next morning in order to reach my delivery by noon.
SATURDAY
Since I was so tired--too tired to blog for you--getting to sleep wasn't a problem. However, inexplicably I woke up around 2:15 a.m. and, even though I was dead tired, I could not fall back asleep. So I figured I'd go in to the drivers' lounge and try getting comfy in one of the big, leather recliners in front of the TV. Sleep wouldn't come there, either, and it was eventually time to get back to work. Walking back to my truck, I noticed a patchy fog hanging over the parking lot. It was just after 5:00 a.m., and the sky was starting to lighten as dawn neared (it sure does do that early in the eastern end of the time zones). I decided to set out a bit earlier than I had planned just in case the fog slowed traffic down.
The fog was indeed thick in some spots in my drive across AR, but it didn't impede my progress much. It was pretty much gone by the time I reached Little Rock 2 hours later. It was replaced by patchy drizzle, which persisted for most of the rest of the morning.
I reached my destination in Mt. Vernon, TX right on time, a few minutes before noon. (Funny, that delivery was in Mt. Vernon, TX, and now I'm in an IL city of the same name.) The delivery was a quick drop-and-hook (though it took a little time to find my new empty trailer--this was a large place). I sent in my "empty call" message to dispatch before hooking up the new trailer, and had my new assignment before I left the place around 12:45. Next up: pick up a load at a place in Ashdown, AR, (15 miles north of Texarkana) that I'd been to twice before. However, the pickup time was midnight. That meant I'd have to stop for a 10-hour break before making the pickup, which I did at a rest area along I-30 in eastern TX.
I was tired enough to sleep because of my early awakening in the morning, but I only managed a couple hours of sleep. Also, I could not get a Verizon connection for my laptop, so I couldn't get online to blog about the day. I wound up spending the interim reading, walking around the rest area (it was a scenic site set in a full canopy of trees), and lying in my bunk trying unsuccessfully to fall asleep. Eventually it was time to get up and back to work.
SUNDAY
I finished the drive to Ashdown, arriving a few minutes early. Despite the pickup being a live load, it went remarkably quickly, and I was underway by 12:30. I forgot to mention earlier that this load is headed for Port Huron, MI, due for a Tuesday morning delivery. That means that if I make serious tracks over the 1000-mile-plus trip, I can spend Monday night at my "home" truck stop and see Mrs. R.T. and the kids. This will be my first trip back to the ol' home state since I started this tour of duty 3-1/2 weeks ago, and I'm scheduled to start my next time off on Thursday.
So I spent the night and morning hours wending my way back across AR to West Memphis, then north from there into MO and then IL. I had to stop at a rest area in southern MO for a fatigue break after sunup and took a nap for 1-1/2 hours or so before continuing my drive. I just about used up my available hours when I reached the TA truck stop in this town, just as I had calculated. So I'm here for my 10-hour break before continuing my journey homeward. I've already had about 4 hours of sleep, but again I woke up knowing it'd be fruitless to try to get back to sleep right away. Right now, besides catching you up on my saga, I'm trying to decide if I want to hit the road again right away when I reach 10 hours on my break (which would be around 10:30 p.m.) in order to get home sooner, or get a bit more sleep and set out around 4:00. Tough call, though I may opt for the sleep before driving.
Right now (7:20 p.m.) I'll wrap this up and work on some sleep, whether it be for only a couple hours or a bit more. Thanks for checking up on me, and pardon me again for missing a couple days of updates. Let me know your comments and questions, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Friday: 454
Miles Yesterday: 435
Miles Today: 539 (so far; I may hit the road again before midnight tonight)
Well, I have some catching up to do, don't I? I hope you'll pardon my lack of updates the last 2 days, but I was either busy, exhausted, or out of range of a connection. But here's what I've been up to.
FRIDAY
When I left off on Thursday, I had stopped in southern KY on my way to a Friday noon pickup in Evansville, IN. I went to bed early that night, and woke up before 6:00 Friday morning. Knowing I wasn't going to fall back asleep, I actually got up and went for a run. (In reality, a better description of that activity would be a "slog", or slow jog.) Because of my limited (usually nonexistent) exercise time on this job, I've really gotten badly out of shape. That's a huge downside to this job. But I digress; back to the narrative.
I "ran" for 10 minutes--much of it uphill--before my stamina gave out and I turned around and walked back the way I'd come. Back at my truck, I stretched out my legs, had a bite to eat, then dressed and drove 3 miles up the highway to a Flying J truck stop. I had a shower credit on my Flying J account, so I used that to freshen up for the day.
Eventually, it was time to start my workday and hit the road. I was on track to be a bit early, but being Friday the 13th, I missed a turn in Evansville and wound up 10-ish miles out of my way before I found a place to stop and consult my map. I quickly discovered the error of my ways and found my way back to the pickup site. I was only 15-20 minutes late, but it wouldn't have mattered had I been on time, because their loading docks were full when I checked in. In fact, another USA truck was just getting ready to leave, and I took his spot after he pulled out. The loading went quickly, and I was soon on my way to Texas.
I reached the West Memphis, AR terminal a few hours later, totally beat. It was past 7:00 p.m., and if I had gone farther, parking spots at truck stops would have been hard to come by. So I stayed at West Memphis for the night, planning to get back underway at 6:00 the next morning in order to reach my delivery by noon.
SATURDAY
Since I was so tired--too tired to blog for you--getting to sleep wasn't a problem. However, inexplicably I woke up around 2:15 a.m. and, even though I was dead tired, I could not fall back asleep. So I figured I'd go in to the drivers' lounge and try getting comfy in one of the big, leather recliners in front of the TV. Sleep wouldn't come there, either, and it was eventually time to get back to work. Walking back to my truck, I noticed a patchy fog hanging over the parking lot. It was just after 5:00 a.m., and the sky was starting to lighten as dawn neared (it sure does do that early in the eastern end of the time zones). I decided to set out a bit earlier than I had planned just in case the fog slowed traffic down.
The fog was indeed thick in some spots in my drive across AR, but it didn't impede my progress much. It was pretty much gone by the time I reached Little Rock 2 hours later. It was replaced by patchy drizzle, which persisted for most of the rest of the morning.
I reached my destination in Mt. Vernon, TX right on time, a few minutes before noon. (Funny, that delivery was in Mt. Vernon, TX, and now I'm in an IL city of the same name.) The delivery was a quick drop-and-hook (though it took a little time to find my new empty trailer--this was a large place). I sent in my "empty call" message to dispatch before hooking up the new trailer, and had my new assignment before I left the place around 12:45. Next up: pick up a load at a place in Ashdown, AR, (15 miles north of Texarkana) that I'd been to twice before. However, the pickup time was midnight. That meant I'd have to stop for a 10-hour break before making the pickup, which I did at a rest area along I-30 in eastern TX.
I was tired enough to sleep because of my early awakening in the morning, but I only managed a couple hours of sleep. Also, I could not get a Verizon connection for my laptop, so I couldn't get online to blog about the day. I wound up spending the interim reading, walking around the rest area (it was a scenic site set in a full canopy of trees), and lying in my bunk trying unsuccessfully to fall asleep. Eventually it was time to get up and back to work.
SUNDAY
I finished the drive to Ashdown, arriving a few minutes early. Despite the pickup being a live load, it went remarkably quickly, and I was underway by 12:30. I forgot to mention earlier that this load is headed for Port Huron, MI, due for a Tuesday morning delivery. That means that if I make serious tracks over the 1000-mile-plus trip, I can spend Monday night at my "home" truck stop and see Mrs. R.T. and the kids. This will be my first trip back to the ol' home state since I started this tour of duty 3-1/2 weeks ago, and I'm scheduled to start my next time off on Thursday.
So I spent the night and morning hours wending my way back across AR to West Memphis, then north from there into MO and then IL. I had to stop at a rest area in southern MO for a fatigue break after sunup and took a nap for 1-1/2 hours or so before continuing my drive. I just about used up my available hours when I reached the TA truck stop in this town, just as I had calculated. So I'm here for my 10-hour break before continuing my journey homeward. I've already had about 4 hours of sleep, but again I woke up knowing it'd be fruitless to try to get back to sleep right away. Right now, besides catching you up on my saga, I'm trying to decide if I want to hit the road again right away when I reach 10 hours on my break (which would be around 10:30 p.m.) in order to get home sooner, or get a bit more sleep and set out around 4:00. Tough call, though I may opt for the sleep before driving.
Right now (7:20 p.m.) I'll wrap this up and work on some sleep, whether it be for only a couple hours or a bit more. Thanks for checking up on me, and pardon me again for missing a couple days of updates. Let me know your comments and questions, and keep on truckin'.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
More Waiting than Working
DATELINE: OAK GROVE, KY, 6:00 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 76
Not much happenin' today. I got up, showered, had breakfast, drove the 3 miles to my delivery (it was indeed the facility I had visited twice while an employee of the company), sat for an hour and a half as they unloaded, drove the 3 miles back to the truck stop from whence I started, and waited 3 hours for my next assignment. I also had lunch while waiting.
It must be getting close to time for me to head home for some time off, 'cuz they're sending me to Texas. This time I'm heading first to Evansville, IN to pick up a load tomorrow at noon, then I'll haul it to Mt. Vernon, TX to deliver it at noon the next day. So tomorrow's gonna be a long day of driving. It's 600+ miles from Evansville to Mt. Vernon, and I'll have 24 hours to make the drive and fit in a 10-hour break. That really ought to be plenty of time.
I stopped here (a Pilot truck stop in southern KY) because there isn't much in the way of truck stops between here and Evansville. It's only about 80-90 miles from here, so I'll make that part of the drive in the morning. Then I'll haul a** to get as far across Arkansas as I can tomorrow. When I stop I'll pull out the ol' laptop and tell y'all about it.
Thanks for checking up on me once again. Send me your comments, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 76
Not much happenin' today. I got up, showered, had breakfast, drove the 3 miles to my delivery (it was indeed the facility I had visited twice while an employee of the company), sat for an hour and a half as they unloaded, drove the 3 miles back to the truck stop from whence I started, and waited 3 hours for my next assignment. I also had lunch while waiting.
It must be getting close to time for me to head home for some time off, 'cuz they're sending me to Texas. This time I'm heading first to Evansville, IN to pick up a load tomorrow at noon, then I'll haul it to Mt. Vernon, TX to deliver it at noon the next day. So tomorrow's gonna be a long day of driving. It's 600+ miles from Evansville to Mt. Vernon, and I'll have 24 hours to make the drive and fit in a 10-hour break. That really ought to be plenty of time.
I stopped here (a Pilot truck stop in southern KY) because there isn't much in the way of truck stops between here and Evansville. It's only about 80-90 miles from here, so I'll make that part of the drive in the morning. Then I'll haul a** to get as far across Arkansas as I can tomorrow. When I stop I'll pull out the ol' laptop and tell y'all about it.
Thanks for checking up on me once again. Send me your comments, and keep on truckin'.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Success At Last!
DATELINE: ANTIOCH, TN, 6:30 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 261
Finally, some success! No, not with this job, though I do believe I know what I'm doing now. But with my "second job", ;-) the online poker thing. I played another online freeroll (no entry fee) Texas Hold-em tournament after I arrived here, and made it into the money. I took 17th place out of 3119 entrants! The top 18 places earned prizes, with 10th through 18th places earning a buck apiece. Big stakes, eh? (First place earns a whole $10.) But it's better than nothing, for sure. I would have liked to have finished higher but, as is custom, as we came down to the wire I stopped getting any semblance of playable hands. But that's not why you're here. You wanna read about my trucking work, don'tcha'?
Since my delivery is not 'til 9:30 tomorrow morning, and I only had 5 hours to drive to get close, I took my time making the drive. I woke up shortly after 6:00 (I would have liked to have slept in a bit later, but what can you do?) and hit the road by 6:30. I made one stop about a half-hour later for breakfast at a Pilot truck stop with a McDonald's, and was sorely disappointed that this one--as many down here in the south--didn't carry the bagel breakfast sandwiches. I was really jonesing for my fave, the Steak, Egg, & Cheese bagel. But I settled for a McGriddle meal instead.
Breakfast complete, I continued on towards Knoxville, planning to stop at the TA there to fuel up the truck and head inside for a shower (by buying 50+ gallons of fuel, I earn a free shower). My truck did need more than 50 gallons, but I strategized to earn another free shower by completing the fill-up when I stopped in the Nashville area. So I bought 51 gallons in Knoxville. Luck was on my side, too. For TA Road King Club members, you swipe your club card at the pump and your shower credit gets added to your account, then you redeem it at a kiosk inside. If you're not a club member, the pump prints a shower coupon when you buy 50+ gallons. Anyway, when I fueled up and swiped my card, I noticed a receipt from the previous driver hanging out of the pump. 'Twas a free shower coupon. So I got to use that for today's clean-up and save my earned one for later.
All clean and back on the road, I just proceeded here to the Antioch TA, where I've stopped a few times now. This is just southeast along I-24 from Nashville, and my delivery tomorrow is in LaVergne, another 2 miles down the highway. I reached here around 11:30 CDT and filled up the truck's tanks, earning yet another free shower. (By the way, the shower credits expire after a week, so I can't just hoard them indefinitely.) I'll have plenty of time in the morning to use that before I need to head out for the delivery.
After fueling I parked in the lot and headed inside for lunch. This TA has a Burger King and a Popeye's chicken along with TA's restaurant. Today I went for the chicken. Boy that stuff is good! Then it was back to the truck for the poker tourney. 5-1/2 hours later I busted out as described above, earning that whole dollar, then went back inside for dinner. Couldn't pass up the chicken this time, either.
So that's my day so far. It's sunny and hot down here this afternoon, after having been rainy all morning. I am feeling a bit tired, so I'll take it easy this evening, then probably get to sleep early. There's really not much to do besides reading and doing stuff online, and that all gets old after a while. Maybe I'll get up early in the morning and go for a short run--with that 9:30 delivery only a couple miles away, I'll have ample time for that (and the shower afterwards).
Thanks ever so much for dropping by to read my inane jabbering. Let me know what you want to know about; I'm sure there are facets of this job you're curious about that I haven't thought to comment on yet. And please do keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 261
Finally, some success! No, not with this job, though I do believe I know what I'm doing now. But with my "second job", ;-) the online poker thing. I played another online freeroll (no entry fee) Texas Hold-em tournament after I arrived here, and made it into the money. I took 17th place out of 3119 entrants! The top 18 places earned prizes, with 10th through 18th places earning a buck apiece. Big stakes, eh? (First place earns a whole $10.) But it's better than nothing, for sure. I would have liked to have finished higher but, as is custom, as we came down to the wire I stopped getting any semblance of playable hands. But that's not why you're here. You wanna read about my trucking work, don'tcha'?
Since my delivery is not 'til 9:30 tomorrow morning, and I only had 5 hours to drive to get close, I took my time making the drive. I woke up shortly after 6:00 (I would have liked to have slept in a bit later, but what can you do?) and hit the road by 6:30. I made one stop about a half-hour later for breakfast at a Pilot truck stop with a McDonald's, and was sorely disappointed that this one--as many down here in the south--didn't carry the bagel breakfast sandwiches. I was really jonesing for my fave, the Steak, Egg, & Cheese bagel. But I settled for a McGriddle meal instead.
Breakfast complete, I continued on towards Knoxville, planning to stop at the TA there to fuel up the truck and head inside for a shower (by buying 50+ gallons of fuel, I earn a free shower). My truck did need more than 50 gallons, but I strategized to earn another free shower by completing the fill-up when I stopped in the Nashville area. So I bought 51 gallons in Knoxville. Luck was on my side, too. For TA Road King Club members, you swipe your club card at the pump and your shower credit gets added to your account, then you redeem it at a kiosk inside. If you're not a club member, the pump prints a shower coupon when you buy 50+ gallons. Anyway, when I fueled up and swiped my card, I noticed a receipt from the previous driver hanging out of the pump. 'Twas a free shower coupon. So I got to use that for today's clean-up and save my earned one for later.
All clean and back on the road, I just proceeded here to the Antioch TA, where I've stopped a few times now. This is just southeast along I-24 from Nashville, and my delivery tomorrow is in LaVergne, another 2 miles down the highway. I reached here around 11:30 CDT and filled up the truck's tanks, earning yet another free shower. (By the way, the shower credits expire after a week, so I can't just hoard them indefinitely.) I'll have plenty of time in the morning to use that before I need to head out for the delivery.
After fueling I parked in the lot and headed inside for lunch. This TA has a Burger King and a Popeye's chicken along with TA's restaurant. Today I went for the chicken. Boy that stuff is good! Then it was back to the truck for the poker tourney. 5-1/2 hours later I busted out as described above, earning that whole dollar, then went back inside for dinner. Couldn't pass up the chicken this time, either.
So that's my day so far. It's sunny and hot down here this afternoon, after having been rainy all morning. I am feeling a bit tired, so I'll take it easy this evening, then probably get to sleep early. There's really not much to do besides reading and doing stuff online, and that all gets old after a while. Maybe I'll get up early in the morning and go for a short run--with that 9:30 delivery only a couple miles away, I'll have ample time for that (and the shower afterwards).
Thanks ever so much for dropping by to read my inane jabbering. Let me know what you want to know about; I'm sure there are facets of this job you're curious about that I haven't thought to comment on yet. And please do keep on truckin'.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
A Day on 81
DATELINE: GREENVILLE, TN, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 526
As you can see, it was a long drive today. I had a pickup in the morning, which was a drop-and-hook, so I didn't have any waiting time there at all. In and out in 15 minutes. Then it was back to the road for a long day on southbound I-81, from the Harrisburg, PA area through narrow strips of MD and WV, a l-o-n-g stretch of VA, then, finally, 40-ish miles of TN to my current resting place. I only had 10-1/4 work hours available today (of my 70-in-8-days), or else I would have driven a bit farther to Knoxville. But this truck stop was right where I'd used up my hours.
I've been here once before, a few months back, but the place has undergone a transformation. It used to be an independent joint, but has since been taken over and redecorated by TA. I do remember a sign from my previous visit that that change was imminent. Anyway, it is nicer than it was, but it is still small for a TA. No fast food court here, just TA's restaurant.
When I picked up my load this morning, I didn't have a set appointment time for the delivery end of the trip. I sent a message in to my fleet manager to let him know my ETA at the site, which would be late tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. I didn't hear back from him, so after I stopped here and had dinner, I sent a message to the evening crew asking if they'd set an appointment yet. The reply: 9:30 a.m. on the 12th. That's Thursday. I'm about 5 hours away from the site now, and could easily make it tomorrow, then get my next load, and pile on the (paid) miles. Instead I guess I'll sleep in and have a leisurely drive tomorrow to Nashville and have plenty of time to try to make up the paycheck difference at the poker tables. (Right, like my luck's ever gonna be that good!)
So that's where things stand now. Since I won't have to get up dark and early tomorrow, mayhaps I'll stay up to catch the All Star game, now that the Tigers finally have a multi-player contingent. Perchance it'll even be on the TV in the truckers' lounge here. But I'm not holding my breath about that one.
Note to reader nancyr: I've seen the previous hour-long show about the ice truckers once or twice the past couple of years, but I haven't been able to catch the series now airing. It looks fascinating on one level, but I don't think I'd want to chance the dangers of breaking down or breaking through the ice. Too many ways to die very cold. Brrrr!
Thanks once again for spending some time with my tales. Drop me a note if you have any questions about this job or the glamorous life on the road, or if you just want to say, "Hi!" And, as always, do keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 526
As you can see, it was a long drive today. I had a pickup in the morning, which was a drop-and-hook, so I didn't have any waiting time there at all. In and out in 15 minutes. Then it was back to the road for a long day on southbound I-81, from the Harrisburg, PA area through narrow strips of MD and WV, a l-o-n-g stretch of VA, then, finally, 40-ish miles of TN to my current resting place. I only had 10-1/4 work hours available today (of my 70-in-8-days), or else I would have driven a bit farther to Knoxville. But this truck stop was right where I'd used up my hours.
I've been here once before, a few months back, but the place has undergone a transformation. It used to be an independent joint, but has since been taken over and redecorated by TA. I do remember a sign from my previous visit that that change was imminent. Anyway, it is nicer than it was, but it is still small for a TA. No fast food court here, just TA's restaurant.
When I picked up my load this morning, I didn't have a set appointment time for the delivery end of the trip. I sent a message in to my fleet manager to let him know my ETA at the site, which would be late tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. I didn't hear back from him, so after I stopped here and had dinner, I sent a message to the evening crew asking if they'd set an appointment yet. The reply: 9:30 a.m. on the 12th. That's Thursday. I'm about 5 hours away from the site now, and could easily make it tomorrow, then get my next load, and pile on the (paid) miles. Instead I guess I'll sleep in and have a leisurely drive tomorrow to Nashville and have plenty of time to try to make up the paycheck difference at the poker tables. (Right, like my luck's ever gonna be that good!)
So that's where things stand now. Since I won't have to get up dark and early tomorrow, mayhaps I'll stay up to catch the All Star game, now that the Tigers finally have a multi-player contingent. Perchance it'll even be on the TV in the truckers' lounge here. But I'm not holding my breath about that one.
Note to reader nancyr: I've seen the previous hour-long show about the ice truckers once or twice the past couple of years, but I haven't been able to catch the series now airing. It looks fascinating on one level, but I don't think I'd want to chance the dangers of breaking down or breaking through the ice. Too many ways to die very cold. Brrrr!
Thanks once again for spending some time with my tales. Drop me a note if you have any questions about this job or the glamorous life on the road, or if you just want to say, "Hi!" And, as always, do keep on truckin'.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Monday Waiting
DATELINE: BETHEL, PA, 8:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 324
Yet another day with lots of waiting around and challenges. Here's how it went.
I woke up at 4:30 and was on the road by 5:00. It took me just about 3-1/4 hours to reach my delivery site in Newark, including a mammoth traffic jam at the toll plaza of the New Jersey Turnpike where I needed to exit. What a colossally badly-designed conjunction of entrance and exit ramps. Sheesh! Anyway, once I fought through that mess, I was soon nearing the customer. I get to the last street and...it's closed! With no "Detour" signs. So I took my best guess and drove one block north, then back east in the proper direction. I stopped by the side of the road there to call the customer and get proper directions. They included going one more block straight ahead from where I was (Hurray! I had guessed right so far!), then cutting--twisting might be a better verb--through a parking lot back to the (very narrow) street on the other side of the closure. I made that just fine, though v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y to avoid scraping anything with any part of my truck. I then turned down the driveway to the loading docks.
As I expected, this being an old part of town, they had docks with just enough room to get the trucks swung around and backed in straight. And that was if other trucks weren't in the way. They had to fill the docks from one end to the other; there was no way to back around any trucks already in a dock to an opening on the other side.
I was early for my appointment, so I had to wait 'til the trucks in place cleared out, which occurred shortly after my scheduled appointment time. During my time waiting, I had studied the area and devised my plan for backing into the dock properly. And when the time came, I pulled it off! Though because of the scarce run-up room in front of the docks for pulling forward to straighten up, I did have to take 3 or 4 pull-ups, but at least I got in straight. :-) (Self-administered pat on the back included.) Unlike the 2 trucks that followed me, the latter of which was WAY off kilter, but apparently close enough for this place.
Once unloading began, I thought I'd be away before too much longer. But n-o-o-o. They got past halfway done when break time began. A 20-minute break, to boot. OK, I've been dwelling on this site long enough. Suffice to say that I was there all told for nearly 3 hours. I left and hit the road for a rest area or truck stop to await my next assignment.
After one missed turn due to the confusing nature of the NJ Pike and its signage, I eventually came to a Service Plaza along the southbound side where I had stopped on my previous mission into the Newark area. However, this time it was inundated with traffic--car and truck--and I found no open spots to park. So I continued to the next exit where I looped around to the northbound side. I tried the Plaza across from the swamped one I had just passed through, and it was also full. I then continued on northbound where I knew I'd come to another Plaza in a few (20-ish?) miles.
This one turned out to be a HUGE place, parking lot-wise; I spied it from the highway bridge above. I pulled in and, after a short search, found a spot very close to the building. The NJ Pike Service Plazas each have a food court with several culinary choices. I elected to eat from the Burger King stand at this one. Did I mention that so far today, all I had had to eat was 1 Nutri-Grain bar and a 20-oz. bottle of Pepsi? So by this time I was starting to get a bit peckish. I was surprised that I wasn't getting hunger shakes and weakness. I must be getting used to eating less. (See yesterday's post about that topic.)
After lunch I returned to the truck, expecting my next assignment to be waiting for me. Nope. To summarize in the interest of time: wait; read; nap; 2-1/2 hours before assignment came in. That assignment: Head west into PA to near Pittsburgh, grab a load there tomorrow morning, and take it to Lyons, NY. Awright! I finally get to add NY to my states-visited-on-the-job list, and Lyons is right near where my brother and his family live. I may get a chance to see them and show them my truck. Cool. So I promptly got myself ready and hit the road.
Just a few minutes into the drive, just after I had made it back onto the turnpike, my message box beeped--an incoming message. Fortunately, there was another Service Plaza coming up in another mile or two, so I made my way through traffic to it, pulled in, and parked again. The message: "Bad load. They're (meaning the load coordinators) looking for something else." I'm glad I had found a place to pull in to read that fairly quickly, or I may have found myself way outta' the way of where I'd need to be for the new assignment. I waited there about a 1/2 hour 'til got the new one: Pick up a load near Harrisburg, PA in the morning and take it to LaVergne, TN (near Nashville). The funny thing about this load is that the company to whom I'll be delivering the load is one of my former employers (the W arm of the company, not B, for those of you familiar with my history and the company's makeup). I may have even visited the facility on a couple of day-trips while working for them, if they only have one facility in LaVergne. I don't yet have a delivery appointment for the load. The drive is a tad over 700 miles, so I'll be getting there sometime on Wednesday, I'm sure.
Anyway, once I got the assignment, I had just enough time in my 14-hour driving window to get back here to the Bethel terminal from whence my day had started. I may even be in the same parking spot I had vacated in the morning, but it's hard to tell on a grave lot without lined spaces. It's been a long day and I'm getting tired, despite my afternoon nap. I had another bad night's sleep last night, waking up nearly every hour. So I need to play catch-up again. At least my pickup in the morning isn't 'til 8:00, and I'm within an hour's drive from there, so I'll be able to sleep in relatively late.
Oh, reader Dennis the Accompanist has posed another question, wanting to know where I've had the best BBQ ribs. Well, ribs are not really on my dining budget, and I'm not really an aficionado of them for the most part. But I do enjoy them on occasion, though I haven't while I've been on the road in this job. I do have to say that the best ribs I've had have been...at my house. Though not technically barbecued--they're braised long and slow in the oven--I use a tweaked version a recipe from Alton Brown of Food Network fame. For a nearly-reasonable fee I'll let you know which recipe and what the tweaking is, and you can make your own. (P.S., Dennis, I'm looking forward to your chili in another couple weeks. Hope you'll have it at the picnic.)
The time has come again to put an end to my rambling. Thanks for taking the time to take a look, and please ramble back at me. And keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 324
Yet another day with lots of waiting around and challenges. Here's how it went.
I woke up at 4:30 and was on the road by 5:00. It took me just about 3-1/4 hours to reach my delivery site in Newark, including a mammoth traffic jam at the toll plaza of the New Jersey Turnpike where I needed to exit. What a colossally badly-designed conjunction of entrance and exit ramps. Sheesh! Anyway, once I fought through that mess, I was soon nearing the customer. I get to the last street and...it's closed! With no "Detour" signs. So I took my best guess and drove one block north, then back east in the proper direction. I stopped by the side of the road there to call the customer and get proper directions. They included going one more block straight ahead from where I was (Hurray! I had guessed right so far!), then cutting--twisting might be a better verb--through a parking lot back to the (very narrow) street on the other side of the closure. I made that just fine, though v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y to avoid scraping anything with any part of my truck. I then turned down the driveway to the loading docks.
As I expected, this being an old part of town, they had docks with just enough room to get the trucks swung around and backed in straight. And that was if other trucks weren't in the way. They had to fill the docks from one end to the other; there was no way to back around any trucks already in a dock to an opening on the other side.
I was early for my appointment, so I had to wait 'til the trucks in place cleared out, which occurred shortly after my scheduled appointment time. During my time waiting, I had studied the area and devised my plan for backing into the dock properly. And when the time came, I pulled it off! Though because of the scarce run-up room in front of the docks for pulling forward to straighten up, I did have to take 3 or 4 pull-ups, but at least I got in straight. :-) (Self-administered pat on the back included.) Unlike the 2 trucks that followed me, the latter of which was WAY off kilter, but apparently close enough for this place.
Once unloading began, I thought I'd be away before too much longer. But n-o-o-o. They got past halfway done when break time began. A 20-minute break, to boot. OK, I've been dwelling on this site long enough. Suffice to say that I was there all told for nearly 3 hours. I left and hit the road for a rest area or truck stop to await my next assignment.
After one missed turn due to the confusing nature of the NJ Pike and its signage, I eventually came to a Service Plaza along the southbound side where I had stopped on my previous mission into the Newark area. However, this time it was inundated with traffic--car and truck--and I found no open spots to park. So I continued to the next exit where I looped around to the northbound side. I tried the Plaza across from the swamped one I had just passed through, and it was also full. I then continued on northbound where I knew I'd come to another Plaza in a few (20-ish?) miles.
This one turned out to be a HUGE place, parking lot-wise; I spied it from the highway bridge above. I pulled in and, after a short search, found a spot very close to the building. The NJ Pike Service Plazas each have a food court with several culinary choices. I elected to eat from the Burger King stand at this one. Did I mention that so far today, all I had had to eat was 1 Nutri-Grain bar and a 20-oz. bottle of Pepsi? So by this time I was starting to get a bit peckish. I was surprised that I wasn't getting hunger shakes and weakness. I must be getting used to eating less. (See yesterday's post about that topic.)
After lunch I returned to the truck, expecting my next assignment to be waiting for me. Nope. To summarize in the interest of time: wait; read; nap; 2-1/2 hours before assignment came in. That assignment: Head west into PA to near Pittsburgh, grab a load there tomorrow morning, and take it to Lyons, NY. Awright! I finally get to add NY to my states-visited-on-the-job list, and Lyons is right near where my brother and his family live. I may get a chance to see them and show them my truck. Cool. So I promptly got myself ready and hit the road.
Just a few minutes into the drive, just after I had made it back onto the turnpike, my message box beeped--an incoming message. Fortunately, there was another Service Plaza coming up in another mile or two, so I made my way through traffic to it, pulled in, and parked again. The message: "Bad load. They're (meaning the load coordinators) looking for something else." I'm glad I had found a place to pull in to read that fairly quickly, or I may have found myself way outta' the way of where I'd need to be for the new assignment. I waited there about a 1/2 hour 'til got the new one: Pick up a load near Harrisburg, PA in the morning and take it to LaVergne, TN (near Nashville). The funny thing about this load is that the company to whom I'll be delivering the load is one of my former employers (the W arm of the company, not B, for those of you familiar with my history and the company's makeup). I may have even visited the facility on a couple of day-trips while working for them, if they only have one facility in LaVergne. I don't yet have a delivery appointment for the load. The drive is a tad over 700 miles, so I'll be getting there sometime on Wednesday, I'm sure.
Anyway, once I got the assignment, I had just enough time in my 14-hour driving window to get back here to the Bethel terminal from whence my day had started. I may even be in the same parking spot I had vacated in the morning, but it's hard to tell on a grave lot without lined spaces. It's been a long day and I'm getting tired, despite my afternoon nap. I had another bad night's sleep last night, waking up nearly every hour. So I need to play catch-up again. At least my pickup in the morning isn't 'til 8:00, and I'm within an hour's drive from there, so I'll be able to sleep in relatively late.
Oh, reader Dennis the Accompanist has posed another question, wanting to know where I've had the best BBQ ribs. Well, ribs are not really on my dining budget, and I'm not really an aficionado of them for the most part. But I do enjoy them on occasion, though I haven't while I've been on the road in this job. I do have to say that the best ribs I've had have been...at my house. Though not technically barbecued--they're braised long and slow in the oven--I use a tweaked version a recipe from Alton Brown of Food Network fame. For a nearly-reasonable fee I'll let you know which recipe and what the tweaking is, and you can make your own. (P.S., Dennis, I'm looking forward to your chili in another couple weeks. Hope you'll have it at the picnic.)
The time has come again to put an end to my rambling. Thanks for taking the time to take a look, and please ramble back at me. And keep on truckin'.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Hmmm, What Would Be A Good Title for Today?
DATELINE: BETHEL, PA, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 331
Just another easy drive today between USA terminals. Roanoke's setting is wonderful--green mountains on the horizon in all directions. Bethel has some of that, but not as much. And the facility is small, with no drivers' lounge to speak of. But it's in a rural area and very quiet out here.
My delivery tomorrow morning is in Newark, NJ, which is about 140 or so miles from here. Since my appointment is at 9:00, I'll have plenty of time to get there if I leave here around 5:00 a.m., which is when I like--well, "prefer" is a better description than "like"--to start my workday. The roads in and around Newark are--based on my one trip there so far--confusing, congested, and chaotic, so I'm not really looking forward to that part of the trip. But it will just add experience to my driving career. Be sure to check back tomorrow when I report on that experience and let you know where I'll be headed next.
Time now to catch up on some reader questions I've neglected recently. Reader Dennis the Accompanist queried a while back about what I wear while on the job, whether I can wear shorts in this summertime weather. No.
Oh, you want me to expand on that answer some? OK. USA has a dress code for drivers that forbids shorts, though quite a number of drivers do ignore it. I normally--actually, always--wear jeans while driving or at customer sites for two reasons:
1. Because of the dress code, and
2. To keep the sun off my legs. Remember, I'm blonde; sun and blondes' skin don't make a favorable combination.
In addition to the jeans, when I'm driving I usually wear a T-shirt and a long-sleeve denim shirt to keep the sun off my arms. I'll take off the long-sleeve one when I get out of the truck, 'cuz it's just too durn hot these days. My truck's air conditioner works just fine at keeping me comfortable while I'm driving and wearing the heavy clothes. When I'm relaxing in the truck or at truck stops or terminals, I do switch to shorts for the comfort factor.
Reader mrr asked if kids on the road give me the "horn sign" and if I accommodate their requests. Yes, I do get the signal quite frequently (though certainly not every day). And no, I do not toot my own horn for them. Horns on the roadway are for alerting drivers of "situations", and I don't want (or need) to startle anyone with mine for some adolescent's entertainment.
The inquisitive mrr also asked, "With all the sitting, and eating in restaurants, are you packin' on the pounds?" I've been very conscious about the possibility of poundage packing, so I have (usually) been very stringent about how much I eat. Not always so stringent about the healthful content of that food, but certainly about the quantity. Besides, I can't afford enough food to drive up my weight. I have been maintaining a fairly steady weight since I've been on the road--in fact, when I was driving with my trainer late last year, I did drop 5 to 10 pounds. However, I do have a tendency to eat too much when I'm home.
And responding to reader nancyr's correction, of course I did mean Coconut Shrimp instead of chicken in yesterday's post. But I imagine the dish would still be dee-lish with chicken instead of shrimp. And maybe scallops or crabmeat, too.
That's all I can come up with for today's report. Thanks for checking it out, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 331
Just another easy drive today between USA terminals. Roanoke's setting is wonderful--green mountains on the horizon in all directions. Bethel has some of that, but not as much. And the facility is small, with no drivers' lounge to speak of. But it's in a rural area and very quiet out here.
My delivery tomorrow morning is in Newark, NJ, which is about 140 or so miles from here. Since my appointment is at 9:00, I'll have plenty of time to get there if I leave here around 5:00 a.m., which is when I like--well, "prefer" is a better description than "like"--to start my workday. The roads in and around Newark are--based on my one trip there so far--confusing, congested, and chaotic, so I'm not really looking forward to that part of the trip. But it will just add experience to my driving career. Be sure to check back tomorrow when I report on that experience and let you know where I'll be headed next.
Time now to catch up on some reader questions I've neglected recently. Reader Dennis the Accompanist queried a while back about what I wear while on the job, whether I can wear shorts in this summertime weather. No.
Oh, you want me to expand on that answer some? OK. USA has a dress code for drivers that forbids shorts, though quite a number of drivers do ignore it. I normally--actually, always--wear jeans while driving or at customer sites for two reasons:
1. Because of the dress code, and
2. To keep the sun off my legs. Remember, I'm blonde; sun and blondes' skin don't make a favorable combination.
In addition to the jeans, when I'm driving I usually wear a T-shirt and a long-sleeve denim shirt to keep the sun off my arms. I'll take off the long-sleeve one when I get out of the truck, 'cuz it's just too durn hot these days. My truck's air conditioner works just fine at keeping me comfortable while I'm driving and wearing the heavy clothes. When I'm relaxing in the truck or at truck stops or terminals, I do switch to shorts for the comfort factor.
Reader mrr asked if kids on the road give me the "horn sign" and if I accommodate their requests. Yes, I do get the signal quite frequently (though certainly not every day). And no, I do not toot my own horn for them. Horns on the roadway are for alerting drivers of "situations", and I don't want (or need) to startle anyone with mine for some adolescent's entertainment.
The inquisitive mrr also asked, "With all the sitting, and eating in restaurants, are you packin' on the pounds?" I've been very conscious about the possibility of poundage packing, so I have (usually) been very stringent about how much I eat. Not always so stringent about the healthful content of that food, but certainly about the quantity. Besides, I can't afford enough food to drive up my weight. I have been maintaining a fairly steady weight since I've been on the road--in fact, when I was driving with my trainer late last year, I did drop 5 to 10 pounds. However, I do have a tendency to eat too much when I'm home.
And responding to reader nancyr's correction, of course I did mean Coconut Shrimp instead of chicken in yesterday's post. But I imagine the dish would still be dee-lish with chicken instead of shrimp. And maybe scallops or crabmeat, too.
That's all I can come up with for today's report. Thanks for checking it out, and keep on truckin'.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Unremarkable Day
DATELINE: ROANOKE, VA, 6:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 389
Just a simple drive in the country today. I woke up a bit before 7:00, took a shower, had some cereal for breakfast, and hit the road before 8:00. I did stop in Spartanburg, SC for second breakfast (McDonald's Steak, Egg, 'n Cheese Bagel meal--haven't had one for a while), but otherwise nothing remarkable to tell as far as the trip goes.
One interesting note, though. For the last few day's I've been listening to "The Lion's Game" audiobook by Nelson DeMille. (I finished it today.) It's a long book about a chase to find a murderous Libyan terrorist loose in the U.S. The interesting bit is that his first victim, and American military officer murdered in England, lived--and his wife still lives--in Ann Arbor. It also came out in his profile that his religion was Lutheran, so it's a good bet that this fictional character and his family would have been members of my church back home. Just an interesting thing to think about.
In yesterday's post I mentioned my dinner at a Chinese Buffet restaurant. I forgot to rave about one of the dishes I had, called Coconut Chicken. I know many of us are familiar with a dish with the same name, which usually consists of large, butterflied shrimp covered in a breading that includes coconut, and is deep fried. This dish was different; smaller non-fried shrimp in a sweetish sauce that obviously had coconut milk as its main ingredient. Boy it was good. Guess I'll have to investigate that recipe.
That's enough for the past now. Back to the future. My next assignment is to grab a loaded trailer here tomorrow morning and haul it to Newark, NJ, to deliver it Monday morning. So tomorrow night I'll be posting my next update from somewhere in the northeast, anywhere from Bethel, PA to somewhere in NJ. Truck stops are few and far between in the Newark area, and along my route in NJ, so I may have to stop in PA then drive into the city in the morning. But I'll tell you about it tomorrow.
Thanks for lending me your eyes for these few minutes. Drop me a comment or question or two, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 389
Just a simple drive in the country today. I woke up a bit before 7:00, took a shower, had some cereal for breakfast, and hit the road before 8:00. I did stop in Spartanburg, SC for second breakfast (McDonald's Steak, Egg, 'n Cheese Bagel meal--haven't had one for a while), but otherwise nothing remarkable to tell as far as the trip goes.
One interesting note, though. For the last few day's I've been listening to "The Lion's Game" audiobook by Nelson DeMille. (I finished it today.) It's a long book about a chase to find a murderous Libyan terrorist loose in the U.S. The interesting bit is that his first victim, and American military officer murdered in England, lived--and his wife still lives--in Ann Arbor. It also came out in his profile that his religion was Lutheran, so it's a good bet that this fictional character and his family would have been members of my church back home. Just an interesting thing to think about.
In yesterday's post I mentioned my dinner at a Chinese Buffet restaurant. I forgot to rave about one of the dishes I had, called Coconut Chicken. I know many of us are familiar with a dish with the same name, which usually consists of large, butterflied shrimp covered in a breading that includes coconut, and is deep fried. This dish was different; smaller non-fried shrimp in a sweetish sauce that obviously had coconut milk as its main ingredient. Boy it was good. Guess I'll have to investigate that recipe.
That's enough for the past now. Back to the future. My next assignment is to grab a loaded trailer here tomorrow morning and haul it to Newark, NJ, to deliver it Monday morning. So tomorrow night I'll be posting my next update from somewhere in the northeast, anywhere from Bethel, PA to somewhere in NJ. Truck stops are few and far between in the Newark area, and along my route in NJ, so I may have to stop in PA then drive into the city in the morning. But I'll tell you about it tomorrow.
Thanks for lending me your eyes for these few minutes. Drop me a comment or question or two, and keep on truckin'.
Friday, July 6, 2007
The Waiting Game -- A New Record
DATELINE: COMMERCE, GA, 10:30 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 238
Well, that's not a lot of miles for a work day that stretched 15-1/2 hours, is it? Here's the story.
As you recall, my load was destined for 2 deliveries in the Atlanta area this morning, 2 facilities of the same company within 1-1/2 miles of each other. I got up this morning with plenty time for a shower and shave before setting out. I arrived at the first delivery just a wee bit ahead of my 7:30 appointment. I checked in and was promptly assigned a dock door to back up to. That and the unloading went off without a hitch, and by 8:00 I was on my way down the road (2 roads, actually, with a right turn between) to the second site. No problems yet, except I was 4 hours early for that appointment. When I checked in, the receiving clerk directed me to back my rig into a corner of their (very small) lot and wait 'til they were ready for me. I expected a bit of a wait, but little did I know what was in store.
After 3 hours (but still an hour early), they finally assigned me a dock. However, I would need to wait 'til the truck currently in it was done and gone. (It is easier to get into the dock that way.) That took 10-15 more minutes, but I finally got to do something. (Here, because it's been a long day and I'm tired, I'll just gloss over the cramped area of their parking lot/loading dock area and the curbs in the way. But the docking maneuver was a challenge and took a little more finagling to get the truck straight than I like.) Then the inexplicable took over.
I sat in my truck and read while waiting...and waiting...and reading....and waiting... Every now and then I'd feel unloading activity (it shakes the whole truck when the forklifts drive into the back of the trailer), so I knew I wasn't being ignored. But it took FIVE FREAKING HOURS for them to remove the whole load! And it wasn't even a full trailer; some had been removed at the first stop. All in all I was at that %$#@! site for 8 hours! What a waste of my day!
Of course, afterward I would need to get a new pickup assignment. Since those usually take a while to come across, and the current site had no room for me to sit and wait, I hit the road for a rest area just a few (10-to-15-ish) miles up the highway (I-85). Naturally, because of the "delay" at the delivery, it was rush hour when I left. I don't know if you've driven through (or around) Hotlanta at rush hour, but they certainly do have a LOT of cars here. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it did take a little while to get to the rest area. Which was closed. Naturally. So I drove ahead to the next exit, turned around, and caught the rest area on the opposite side of the highway.
By that time my next assignment message had come in, so I took the time there to check that out and plot my course to the pickup. It was along I-20 east of ATL, which meant I'd have to head back along 85 to the I-285 loop around the city, take that south to 20, then east about 20 miles. That drive went OK, except for some slowdowns, and I reached the pickup site at 6:30 p.m. This was a drop-and-hook, thankfully (no more waiting), and went quickly, except for a bit of extra paperwork. By the time I left there, I had only 30 minutes left of my 14-hour window for driving (although I certainly had LOTS of my 11 driving hours left--but that doesn't matter).
This load is headed for Delaware, but I'm assigned to take it to our Roanoke, VA terminal and drop it there. No doubt because it's not due for delivery 'til Tuesday and dispatch wants to get me another load that I can haul for more miles over the weekend. Fine with me. So my route to Roanoke meant I had to backtrack along I-20 to I-285 back to I-85 to head northeast. Just to start wrapping this up, I drove to a TA in this town, going just a smidge beyond those 14 hours.
Did I mention I hadn't had a proper meal all day? I had a bowl of cereal in my truck while at my first delivery, a bag of dark chocolate peanut M&Ms (have you seen & tried those yet? YUM!) and a cup of milk at the marathon delivery, and a bag of Bugles and a Diet Coke on the way to the pickup. That was it. So when I got here, I was just a tad hungry, though I would have expected to be really starving by then. Anyway, this is at a busy highway exit, with lots of businesses right nearby. After parking I walked down to the road to see just what was available. I spotted a Taco Bell sign just up the road and started walking that way. However, what I came across first was a Chinese Buffet. Hmmm. I really did want to eat tres cheaply, but sometimes you just feel that with all the, um, er, crud you have to put up with on a day like today, you just deserve a little reward. So I splurged and hit the buffet. That really hit the spot. I had mostly seafood items, since that isn't available at most of the places I stop for food.
Anyway, I've rambled on far too long for my current fatigue level. Time to wrap this up and hit the sack. Thanks again for your readership, and keep on truckin'
Miles Today: 238
Well, that's not a lot of miles for a work day that stretched 15-1/2 hours, is it? Here's the story.
As you recall, my load was destined for 2 deliveries in the Atlanta area this morning, 2 facilities of the same company within 1-1/2 miles of each other. I got up this morning with plenty time for a shower and shave before setting out. I arrived at the first delivery just a wee bit ahead of my 7:30 appointment. I checked in and was promptly assigned a dock door to back up to. That and the unloading went off without a hitch, and by 8:00 I was on my way down the road (2 roads, actually, with a right turn between) to the second site. No problems yet, except I was 4 hours early for that appointment. When I checked in, the receiving clerk directed me to back my rig into a corner of their (very small) lot and wait 'til they were ready for me. I expected a bit of a wait, but little did I know what was in store.
After 3 hours (but still an hour early), they finally assigned me a dock. However, I would need to wait 'til the truck currently in it was done and gone. (It is easier to get into the dock that way.) That took 10-15 more minutes, but I finally got to do something. (Here, because it's been a long day and I'm tired, I'll just gloss over the cramped area of their parking lot/loading dock area and the curbs in the way. But the docking maneuver was a challenge and took a little more finagling to get the truck straight than I like.) Then the inexplicable took over.
I sat in my truck and read while waiting...and waiting...and reading....and waiting... Every now and then I'd feel unloading activity (it shakes the whole truck when the forklifts drive into the back of the trailer), so I knew I wasn't being ignored. But it took FIVE FREAKING HOURS for them to remove the whole load! And it wasn't even a full trailer; some had been removed at the first stop. All in all I was at that %$#@! site for 8 hours! What a waste of my day!
Of course, afterward I would need to get a new pickup assignment. Since those usually take a while to come across, and the current site had no room for me to sit and wait, I hit the road for a rest area just a few (10-to-15-ish) miles up the highway (I-85). Naturally, because of the "delay" at the delivery, it was rush hour when I left. I don't know if you've driven through (or around) Hotlanta at rush hour, but they certainly do have a LOT of cars here. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it did take a little while to get to the rest area. Which was closed. Naturally. So I drove ahead to the next exit, turned around, and caught the rest area on the opposite side of the highway.
By that time my next assignment message had come in, so I took the time there to check that out and plot my course to the pickup. It was along I-20 east of ATL, which meant I'd have to head back along 85 to the I-285 loop around the city, take that south to 20, then east about 20 miles. That drive went OK, except for some slowdowns, and I reached the pickup site at 6:30 p.m. This was a drop-and-hook, thankfully (no more waiting), and went quickly, except for a bit of extra paperwork. By the time I left there, I had only 30 minutes left of my 14-hour window for driving (although I certainly had LOTS of my 11 driving hours left--but that doesn't matter).
This load is headed for Delaware, but I'm assigned to take it to our Roanoke, VA terminal and drop it there. No doubt because it's not due for delivery 'til Tuesday and dispatch wants to get me another load that I can haul for more miles over the weekend. Fine with me. So my route to Roanoke meant I had to backtrack along I-20 to I-285 back to I-85 to head northeast. Just to start wrapping this up, I drove to a TA in this town, going just a smidge beyond those 14 hours.
Did I mention I hadn't had a proper meal all day? I had a bowl of cereal in my truck while at my first delivery, a bag of dark chocolate peanut M&Ms (have you seen & tried those yet? YUM!) and a cup of milk at the marathon delivery, and a bag of Bugles and a Diet Coke on the way to the pickup. That was it. So when I got here, I was just a tad hungry, though I would have expected to be really starving by then. Anyway, this is at a busy highway exit, with lots of businesses right nearby. After parking I walked down to the road to see just what was available. I spotted a Taco Bell sign just up the road and started walking that way. However, what I came across first was a Chinese Buffet. Hmmm. I really did want to eat tres cheaply, but sometimes you just feel that with all the, um, er, crud you have to put up with on a day like today, you just deserve a little reward. So I splurged and hit the buffet. That really hit the spot. I had mostly seafood items, since that isn't available at most of the places I stop for food.
Anyway, I've rambled on far too long for my current fatigue level. Time to wrap this up and hit the sack. Thanks again for your readership, and keep on truckin'
Thursday, July 5, 2007
On My Mind
DATELINE: CARTERSVILLE, GA, 6:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 540
Not much to type about today, just 10 long hours of driving. I did finally get caught up on my sleep, even though when my alarm woke me at 4:00 this morning, I didn't really want to get up yet. But I did and I felt good and energetic all day. Even now, after having stopped and had dinner, I'm not very tired yet. But I'll be sure to make myself go to bed early enough to get plenty of sleep tonight, too. No need to start another deficit.
Tonight I'm parked at a TA truck stop at this town mentioned in the dateline, above. It's naturally not in the town, but along the highway at the exit for the town. In this case, exit 296 on I-75 here in the Peach state. It's a nice, warm, sunny day, but not as hot as you'd expect in July in "Jaw-ja". It feels good in shorts and a T-shirt, but I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time outside wearing jeans.
I finally got word of my delivery appointment times for the 2 stops for this load, both tomorrow morning. The first one is at 7:30 a.m., the second at noon. The hilarious part is that the 2 sites are, according to Mapquest, about 1-1/2 miles apart. So the second one had better be willing to take delivery early, or else I'll have to find somewhere to park and wait a long time. (That is, of course, unless the first place dawdles an incredible amount in unloading their portion of the load.)
That's about all I can think of to report today. Check back tomorrow to find out where I'm headed next. If I had a vote, I'd say I'm due for a load heading back to the ol' home state so I can stop by and see the family. I've been out on this deployment for 2 weeks now, and my next scheduled home time isn't for another 2 weeks. (I'll see y'all at the A2 Art Fair!)
Thanks for dropping by yet again, send me your questions and comments, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 540
Not much to type about today, just 10 long hours of driving. I did finally get caught up on my sleep, even though when my alarm woke me at 4:00 this morning, I didn't really want to get up yet. But I did and I felt good and energetic all day. Even now, after having stopped and had dinner, I'm not very tired yet. But I'll be sure to make myself go to bed early enough to get plenty of sleep tonight, too. No need to start another deficit.
Tonight I'm parked at a TA truck stop at this town mentioned in the dateline, above. It's naturally not in the town, but along the highway at the exit for the town. In this case, exit 296 on I-75 here in the Peach state. It's a nice, warm, sunny day, but not as hot as you'd expect in July in "Jaw-ja". It feels good in shorts and a T-shirt, but I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time outside wearing jeans.
I finally got word of my delivery appointment times for the 2 stops for this load, both tomorrow morning. The first one is at 7:30 a.m., the second at noon. The hilarious part is that the 2 sites are, according to Mapquest, about 1-1/2 miles apart. So the second one had better be willing to take delivery early, or else I'll have to find somewhere to park and wait a long time. (That is, of course, unless the first place dawdles an incredible amount in unloading their portion of the load.)
That's about all I can think of to report today. Check back tomorrow to find out where I'm headed next. If I had a vote, I'd say I'm due for a load heading back to the ol' home state so I can stop by and see the family. I've been out on this deployment for 2 weeks now, and my next scheduled home time isn't for another 2 weeks. (I'll see y'all at the A2 Art Fair!)
Thanks for dropping by yet again, send me your questions and comments, and keep on truckin'.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
The Fatigue Factor
DATELINE: NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR, 5:30 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 290
Miles Yesterday: 740
Happy 4th, everybody!
Well, I've been a little busier than usual the last couple of days. As you can see, yesterday's mileage total is on the high side. But it wasn't all in one driving shift, so it's a bit more understandable. Here's the scoop.
I awoke yesterday at midnight, after far too little sleep the evening before. I had earned a shower credit with my fuel purchase at the truck stop the day before, so I used that to clean up before starting my workday. At 1:00 a.m. I started up and zipped over to the shipper less than 2 miles away. I hooked up the loaded trailer, pulled it out of the dock, closed, sealed, and locked the doors, and hit the road for Tulsa. (When we pick up a load, the shipper usually gives us some sort of numbered "seal", a plastic or metal strip that snaps together at then ends. I loop that through the device on the trailer door that latches over the door handle, then add a padlock to secure the load. That gives the customer verification that the load has not been tampered with when it arrives with the seal intact--you can't open the door without breaking the seal.) I had 21 hours to get to Tulsa and deliver the load on time (10:00 p.m.) , and I would need a 10-hour break somewhere in that time, too. So that left 11 hours to make the 615-mile drive. If traffic problems developed to keep me from being able to make it, I'd probably have to divert to our Van Buren, AR terminal (from whence I'd just come, and which is on the way and 2 hours from Tulsa) and relay the load to another driver. But the traffic gods were with me and I made it to a rest area along Oklahoma's Muskogee Turnpike, about 40 miles from Tulsa, in 10 hours. That left plenty of time for my 10-hour break and the conclusion of the drive to the receiving customer.
Unfortunately, I found it difficult to sleep--what with my shifts bouncing between daytime and night, and the copious amounts of Diet Coke I'd been drinking to keep alert--despite a good level of fatigue. I did drowse for 3 or 4 hours, then woke up ready for a bite to eat. The rest areas along Oklahoma's turnpikes have McDonald's restaurants at them, so I indulged in a Big Mac combo. Back at the truck, I couldn't sleep, so it was time to read some. (To answer reader nancyr's query of a couple days ago, I have just been reading books on Poker lately in an attempt to better my game. Nothing "interesting" in her terminology. But I have been listening to some interesting audiobooks as I've been driving, so that balances the literature pretty well.) After reading a while, I tried napping again, to moderate success. But I didn't manage to get back to a full, restful sleep, and eventually it was time to get back up and make my delivery.
I had timed the trip perfectly, and arrived at the customer a few minutes early. This was going to be a drop-and-hook (back the trailer to a dock door, unhook it and leave it there, grab an empty trailer from their yard, and depart), so I wouldn't have to do any waiting while they unloaded. The docking and unhooking went well, I quickly found an empty, and sent dispatch my "empty call" message to initiate the process of getting my next load assignment while I hooked up to the new trailer. Happily, the assignment came in before I finished hooking up, sliding the trailer's tandems back to "normal" position (they had been slid all the way back per the customer's preference--many do like them all the way back as a safety measure for their forklift drivers who drive into the back of the trailers when unloading them), and completing my paperwork for this delivery.
My next pickup was set for 4:00 a.m. in Fayetteville, AR, about a 3-hour drive away. Since it was not yet 10:30 p.m., I had plenty of time to swing by the Van Buren terminal--which was along the way--and fuel up, both my truck and me. So I did that; diesel for the truck, a "Chicken Cordon Jack" sandwich and more Diet Coke from the vending machines for me.
Fayetteville is about 50 miles north of Van Buren (which is by Fort Smith, AR) along I-540. It's a very scenic route, even in the dark of night with a just-past-full moon. Patchy fog added to the scenery in the valleys below. I made it to the shipper an hour early and found nobody around. The pickup instructions mentioned the number of the trailer I was to pick up, that the company doesn't have its own yard truck (meaning they can't move trailers around on their own), and that I should slide the empty trailer's tandems back before dropping it at a dock door, but nothing more specific--such as where would the load's Bill of Lading (paperwork) be and at which door they'd like the new trailer dropped, and even verification that the load was ready to go. After consultation via Qualcomm messages with dispatch, I just went ahead and put the empty trailer into an unoccupied dock and pulled out the target trailer. It was indeed fully loaded and the paperwork was lying on top of the back of the load. So I closed, locked, and sealed the trailer and hit the road. It was now just before 4:00 a.m.
This new load is headed for 2 stops in the Atlanta, GA area, so my route was back down I-540 to I-40 and back east, they way I'd come from Nashville the day before. After Nashville I'll head east on I-24 to Chattanooga, then onto I-75 to Atlanta. My intent was to drive to our West Memphis, AR terminal and take my next 10-hour break there, but fatigue soon set in. At 5:15 or so I came to a rest area along I-40 and pulled in. Wonder of wonders, there was a parking spot open, so I took it and set my watch alarm to allow myself a 1-hour nap. (I had plenty of time in my 14-hour window to allow a nap of that length and still make it to West Memphis.) Alas, when the alarm sounded, the sleep felt too good, and I allowed myself to take some more of it.
I woke up just after 8:00 a.m., still tired but rested enough to drive the rest of my shift--my 14-hour driving window since I had started the shift would end at 11:00. West Memphis was out--it was still 4 hours away--but I could make it to Little Rock, 2 hours away, where I knew of a good "truck stop cluster" to take my next break. So here I am, at a Petro truck stop. I got here at 11:00 (after a breakfast stop en route), called the missus, then promptly hit the sack.
I finally got a good stretch of sleep, waking up after 5:00. I'll go back to bed in a little while to work on a good night's sleep, then get up at 4:00 a.m. to get back on my preferred schedule. I don't have delivery appointments yet for this load, and when I asked dispatch (the overnight and holiday crew was on duty) they didn't have them yet, either, nothing more specific than "B @ the Final on Friday", "Final" meaning the final stop. So my plan for tomorrow is to drive to the Atlanta area to be ready to deliver at any time on Friday. I'll check with my fleet manager about actual delivery appointment times when he's back from his holiday off tomorrow. By my calculations, it's just about a 10-hour drive to ATL from here (2 hours to Memphis, 4 more to Nashville, 2 more to Chattanooga, then another 2 to Atlanta).
And now you're once again caught up with my exploits. Thanks for your interest, and please do submit your questions and comments. And, as ever, keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 290
Miles Yesterday: 740
Happy 4th, everybody!
Well, I've been a little busier than usual the last couple of days. As you can see, yesterday's mileage total is on the high side. But it wasn't all in one driving shift, so it's a bit more understandable. Here's the scoop.
I awoke yesterday at midnight, after far too little sleep the evening before. I had earned a shower credit with my fuel purchase at the truck stop the day before, so I used that to clean up before starting my workday. At 1:00 a.m. I started up and zipped over to the shipper less than 2 miles away. I hooked up the loaded trailer, pulled it out of the dock, closed, sealed, and locked the doors, and hit the road for Tulsa. (When we pick up a load, the shipper usually gives us some sort of numbered "seal", a plastic or metal strip that snaps together at then ends. I loop that through the device on the trailer door that latches over the door handle, then add a padlock to secure the load. That gives the customer verification that the load has not been tampered with when it arrives with the seal intact--you can't open the door without breaking the seal.) I had 21 hours to get to Tulsa and deliver the load on time (10:00 p.m.) , and I would need a 10-hour break somewhere in that time, too. So that left 11 hours to make the 615-mile drive. If traffic problems developed to keep me from being able to make it, I'd probably have to divert to our Van Buren, AR terminal (from whence I'd just come, and which is on the way and 2 hours from Tulsa) and relay the load to another driver. But the traffic gods were with me and I made it to a rest area along Oklahoma's Muskogee Turnpike, about 40 miles from Tulsa, in 10 hours. That left plenty of time for my 10-hour break and the conclusion of the drive to the receiving customer.
Unfortunately, I found it difficult to sleep--what with my shifts bouncing between daytime and night, and the copious amounts of Diet Coke I'd been drinking to keep alert--despite a good level of fatigue. I did drowse for 3 or 4 hours, then woke up ready for a bite to eat. The rest areas along Oklahoma's turnpikes have McDonald's restaurants at them, so I indulged in a Big Mac combo. Back at the truck, I couldn't sleep, so it was time to read some. (To answer reader nancyr's query of a couple days ago, I have just been reading books on Poker lately in an attempt to better my game. Nothing "interesting" in her terminology. But I have been listening to some interesting audiobooks as I've been driving, so that balances the literature pretty well.) After reading a while, I tried napping again, to moderate success. But I didn't manage to get back to a full, restful sleep, and eventually it was time to get back up and make my delivery.
I had timed the trip perfectly, and arrived at the customer a few minutes early. This was going to be a drop-and-hook (back the trailer to a dock door, unhook it and leave it there, grab an empty trailer from their yard, and depart), so I wouldn't have to do any waiting while they unloaded. The docking and unhooking went well, I quickly found an empty, and sent dispatch my "empty call" message to initiate the process of getting my next load assignment while I hooked up to the new trailer. Happily, the assignment came in before I finished hooking up, sliding the trailer's tandems back to "normal" position (they had been slid all the way back per the customer's preference--many do like them all the way back as a safety measure for their forklift drivers who drive into the back of the trailers when unloading them), and completing my paperwork for this delivery.
My next pickup was set for 4:00 a.m. in Fayetteville, AR, about a 3-hour drive away. Since it was not yet 10:30 p.m., I had plenty of time to swing by the Van Buren terminal--which was along the way--and fuel up, both my truck and me. So I did that; diesel for the truck, a "Chicken Cordon Jack" sandwich and more Diet Coke from the vending machines for me.
Fayetteville is about 50 miles north of Van Buren (which is by Fort Smith, AR) along I-540. It's a very scenic route, even in the dark of night with a just-past-full moon. Patchy fog added to the scenery in the valleys below. I made it to the shipper an hour early and found nobody around. The pickup instructions mentioned the number of the trailer I was to pick up, that the company doesn't have its own yard truck (meaning they can't move trailers around on their own), and that I should slide the empty trailer's tandems back before dropping it at a dock door, but nothing more specific--such as where would the load's Bill of Lading (paperwork) be and at which door they'd like the new trailer dropped, and even verification that the load was ready to go. After consultation via Qualcomm messages with dispatch, I just went ahead and put the empty trailer into an unoccupied dock and pulled out the target trailer. It was indeed fully loaded and the paperwork was lying on top of the back of the load. So I closed, locked, and sealed the trailer and hit the road. It was now just before 4:00 a.m.
This new load is headed for 2 stops in the Atlanta, GA area, so my route was back down I-540 to I-40 and back east, they way I'd come from Nashville the day before. After Nashville I'll head east on I-24 to Chattanooga, then onto I-75 to Atlanta. My intent was to drive to our West Memphis, AR terminal and take my next 10-hour break there, but fatigue soon set in. At 5:15 or so I came to a rest area along I-40 and pulled in. Wonder of wonders, there was a parking spot open, so I took it and set my watch alarm to allow myself a 1-hour nap. (I had plenty of time in my 14-hour window to allow a nap of that length and still make it to West Memphis.) Alas, when the alarm sounded, the sleep felt too good, and I allowed myself to take some more of it.
I woke up just after 8:00 a.m., still tired but rested enough to drive the rest of my shift--my 14-hour driving window since I had started the shift would end at 11:00. West Memphis was out--it was still 4 hours away--but I could make it to Little Rock, 2 hours away, where I knew of a good "truck stop cluster" to take my next break. So here I am, at a Petro truck stop. I got here at 11:00 (after a breakfast stop en route), called the missus, then promptly hit the sack.
I finally got a good stretch of sleep, waking up after 5:00. I'll go back to bed in a little while to work on a good night's sleep, then get up at 4:00 a.m. to get back on my preferred schedule. I don't have delivery appointments yet for this load, and when I asked dispatch (the overnight and holiday crew was on duty) they didn't have them yet, either, nothing more specific than "B @ the Final on Friday", "Final" meaning the final stop. So my plan for tomorrow is to drive to the Atlanta area to be ready to deliver at any time on Friday. I'll check with my fleet manager about actual delivery appointment times when he's back from his holiday off tomorrow. By my calculations, it's just about a 10-hour drive to ATL from here (2 hours to Memphis, 4 more to Nashville, 2 more to Chattanooga, then another 2 to Atlanta).
And now you're once again caught up with my exploits. Thanks for your interest, and please do submit your questions and comments. And, as ever, keep on truckin'.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Another Shift Flip-Flop
DATELINE: ANTIOCH, TN, 3:30 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 331
I was up (4:15 a.m.) and on the road (5:00 a.m.) early today, on my way from West Memphis to deliver my load south of Nashville. The trip took 5-1/2 hours with a couple of rest stops, one including breakfast (just the one--no 2nd breakfast today), so I reached my destination 1/2-hour early. Fortunately they didn't make me wait.
When I checked in at their guard shack, the young lady there directed me to my assigned dock door, to which I promptly drove and backed in. I did wait then, as they took a little while before starting to unload the trailer. All in all I was done there at 12:15.
I headed up the road to this truck stop where I am now to get some lunch and plot my route for my next load. That assignment message had come in while I was driving this way, and I saw the pickup is right near here anyway. However, I also noticed that the pickup time is 21:00, or 9:00 p.m. for you civilians. ;-) That is beyond my 14-hour driving window for today, so I sent a message to dispatch about that. They replied that I should just head over there--they'd have the load ready early. Hedging my bet, I called the shipper. The guy there told me that "We usually don't have that load ready 'til 8:30 or 9:00." However, they didn't have an empty USA trailer on hand to put the load into, so I took mine over there. It turns out the company is only 2 miles or less from this truck stop, and easy to get to from here.
I dropped the trailer there, and they'll load it when they can get to it. In the meantime, I'm back here at the truck stop--it's a TA--and I'm taking my 10-hour break now. When that's over at 1:00 a.m., I'll bop back over to the shipper, pick up the loaded trailer, then hit the road. This load is headed for Tulsa, OK, and due for delivery tomorrow night, so I'm gonna have to make tracks. It's only 615 miles. And, of course, once again I'm flip-flopping back to the overnight shift. GRRRRR!
So now I need to attempt sleep. I had a very short night's sleep last night, so I am tired. But it's fully daylight outside and I'm not a good daytime sleeper, so we'll see how it goes. Thanks for checking in. Comment away, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 331
I was up (4:15 a.m.) and on the road (5:00 a.m.) early today, on my way from West Memphis to deliver my load south of Nashville. The trip took 5-1/2 hours with a couple of rest stops, one including breakfast (just the one--no 2nd breakfast today), so I reached my destination 1/2-hour early. Fortunately they didn't make me wait.
When I checked in at their guard shack, the young lady there directed me to my assigned dock door, to which I promptly drove and backed in. I did wait then, as they took a little while before starting to unload the trailer. All in all I was done there at 12:15.
I headed up the road to this truck stop where I am now to get some lunch and plot my route for my next load. That assignment message had come in while I was driving this way, and I saw the pickup is right near here anyway. However, I also noticed that the pickup time is 21:00, or 9:00 p.m. for you civilians. ;-) That is beyond my 14-hour driving window for today, so I sent a message to dispatch about that. They replied that I should just head over there--they'd have the load ready early. Hedging my bet, I called the shipper. The guy there told me that "We usually don't have that load ready 'til 8:30 or 9:00." However, they didn't have an empty USA trailer on hand to put the load into, so I took mine over there. It turns out the company is only 2 miles or less from this truck stop, and easy to get to from here.
I dropped the trailer there, and they'll load it when they can get to it. In the meantime, I'm back here at the truck stop--it's a TA--and I'm taking my 10-hour break now. When that's over at 1:00 a.m., I'll bop back over to the shipper, pick up the loaded trailer, then hit the road. This load is headed for Tulsa, OK, and due for delivery tomorrow night, so I'm gonna have to make tracks. It's only 615 miles. And, of course, once again I'm flip-flopping back to the overnight shift. GRRRRR!
So now I need to attempt sleep. I had a very short night's sleep last night, so I am tired. But it's fully daylight outside and I'm not a good daytime sleeper, so we'll see how it goes. Thanks for checking in. Comment away, and keep on truckin'.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
The Overnighter
DATELINE: WEST MEMPHIS, AR, 11:45 a.m.
Miles Yesterday: 66
Miles Today: 338
I made my delivery last night with no difficulties. I arrived a bit early, checked in at the guard shack, got a dock assignment, proceeded to the dock, waited just a few minutes for the truck occupying the specified dock to leave, backed into the dock, unhooked the trailer, drove over to and parked in the driver/cab waiting area, checked in at the receiving office, walked back to my truck, and waited for them to unload the trailer. (I did some reading while waiting, so it wasn't all just "dead" time.) This was at a distribution center for a national retailer--the same company I had delivered to a DC in Louisiana last week--so they had lots of trucks at lots of dock doors to unload. An hour and a half after I had checked in, they finally finished. I retrieved my paperwork from the office, sent in my "empty call" message to dispatch, hooked up my now empty trailer, and headed back out.
Across the street from the site is a truck stop I had encountered once before when I made a delivery to another company further along the small highway this site is on. I parked there to await my next assignment, which came after only a few minutes of waiting. As I had suspected in yesterday's blog, I was to return to the Van Buren terminal and pick up a loaded trailer there. This one is headed for a late Monday morning delivery in Tennessee, a bit south of Nashville.
The round trip between Van Buren and the delivery used 2 of my 11 driving hours for this shift, so I could take the new load 9 hours down the road toward its destination. So just before 3:00 a.m I set out. I had planned on heading for a truck stop in Jackson, TN, which would have been only about 6 hours away. However, by 4:15 I was feeling quite a bit of fatigue. My body just wasn't ready for the sudden shift from daytime to overnight shift. So I--amazingly, considering the time of night--found a spot to park in a rest area along the road (I-40, by the way) and settled down for a one-hour nap. Which actually turned into a two-hour nap.
Yada, yada, long story short 'cuz I'm still tired, I resumed my drive after my nap, took several attempts to find a functioning scale to weigh my truck, and wound up running out of time on my 14-hour driving window as I reached West Memphis. So I've stopped here to regenerate and sleep out my required 10-hour break. I'll actually be here longer than that, as I won't need to leave 'til early tomorrow morning to reach my delivery on time. But I am very tired now and need to catch up on my Zs.
Thanks for looking in, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 66
Miles Today: 338
I made my delivery last night with no difficulties. I arrived a bit early, checked in at the guard shack, got a dock assignment, proceeded to the dock, waited just a few minutes for the truck occupying the specified dock to leave, backed into the dock, unhooked the trailer, drove over to and parked in the driver/cab waiting area, checked in at the receiving office, walked back to my truck, and waited for them to unload the trailer. (I did some reading while waiting, so it wasn't all just "dead" time.) This was at a distribution center for a national retailer--the same company I had delivered to a DC in Louisiana last week--so they had lots of trucks at lots of dock doors to unload. An hour and a half after I had checked in, they finally finished. I retrieved my paperwork from the office, sent in my "empty call" message to dispatch, hooked up my now empty trailer, and headed back out.
Across the street from the site is a truck stop I had encountered once before when I made a delivery to another company further along the small highway this site is on. I parked there to await my next assignment, which came after only a few minutes of waiting. As I had suspected in yesterday's blog, I was to return to the Van Buren terminal and pick up a loaded trailer there. This one is headed for a late Monday morning delivery in Tennessee, a bit south of Nashville.
The round trip between Van Buren and the delivery used 2 of my 11 driving hours for this shift, so I could take the new load 9 hours down the road toward its destination. So just before 3:00 a.m I set out. I had planned on heading for a truck stop in Jackson, TN, which would have been only about 6 hours away. However, by 4:15 I was feeling quite a bit of fatigue. My body just wasn't ready for the sudden shift from daytime to overnight shift. So I--amazingly, considering the time of night--found a spot to park in a rest area along the road (I-40, by the way) and settled down for a one-hour nap. Which actually turned into a two-hour nap.
Yada, yada, long story short 'cuz I'm still tired, I resumed my drive after my nap, took several attempts to find a functioning scale to weigh my truck, and wound up running out of time on my 14-hour driving window as I reached West Memphis. So I've stopped here to regenerate and sleep out my required 10-hour break. I'll actually be here longer than that, as I won't need to leave 'til early tomorrow morning to reach my delivery on time. But I am very tired now and need to catch up on my Zs.
Thanks for looking in, and keep on truckin'.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)