New Destinations On Tap

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'.