End of a Long Work Week

DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, 2:45 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 308
Miles Yesterday: 593

Well, I'm back on familiar turf, my "home" terminal in southern OH. I did use up all of the hours remaining from my 70-working-hours-in-8-days-limit in getting here, and since this is only day 7, I'll have to sit out tomorrow and relax here. But I'll have plenty of other work to do concerning my other interests, so I won't just be sitting idly. Anyway, on to the terribly dull recounting of my activities since Friday's update.

Yesterday I allowed myself to sleep in 'til 6:00 a.m., since I was in no rush to get my load anywhere by any deadline. As you recall, I spent the night in Oklahoma City, OK, so that's where I started yesterday's trip. The day's drive, 10 hours' worth, crossed the northeast quadrant of OK, all of Missouri, and half of Illinois before I stopped in Effingham, one of my "regular" haunts. I parked at the Flying J there, as I usually do when I pass by the town nearing the end of a shift. After a leisurely dinner in my cab, I went out for a walk, something I haven't been doing much of lately.

It was 6:30 p.m when I started, and the sun was setting, but the temperature was still 88 degrees. This is October in the Midwest? The truck stop is at a bustling commercial intersection, so I walked past restaurants, hotels, and retail establishments. I was wearing jeans, so I kept my pace nice and casual so I wouldn't get too hot and sweaty, because I wanted to stop at the nearby Wal-Mart on my way back for a couple of supplies.

After the walk/shopping trip, I decided to veg out and spent the rest of the evening in the drivers' lounge watching college football on the big-screen TV. When I finally decided I was tired enough to retire to my truck, I was too tired to compose an update for y'all. Since I knew today would be a short work day, I'd just save the day's news for this bloggage.

So today I slept in once again 'til the 6:00 hour, hit the shower and shaved, then hit the road by 7:00. 6-ish hours later (including an early lunch stop around Indy), I arrived here, filled my fuel tanks, dropped my trailer, and found a parking place in the front row nearest the drivers' building. And now I get to bide my time 'til I can return to work on Tuesday. Which is fine by me; after 6 long work days and one short one, I'm ready NOT to be driving anywhere for a little while. Mayhaps I'll head inside to the lounge and catch today's NFL action--the Patriots/Browns game is on in there currently.

Thanks once more for stopping by for a look-see of my trucking life. Drop me a comment and/or question, and keep on truckin'.