Steps Retraced

DATELINE: PENDLETON, KY, 9:00 p.m. EST

Miles Wednesday: 226
Miles Thursday: 545
Miles Today: 644

Tsk, tsk, tsk, I missed another couple of days of updates. This time it wasn't (entirely) my fault--I couldn't get an internet connection at the place I stayed both nights. So I'll have to catch up tonight. So here goes.

Wednesday started with me handing my key over to the shop at the West Memphis terminal so they could do the regular maintenance on my truck. My appointment was at 8:00, I checked in at 7:35, and I didn't get my truck back until after 11:30 a.m. That was OK since my load wasn't due for delivery until 11:30 the next morning in Irving, TX, a 7-ish-hour drive away. So Wednesday afternoon I split the difference and drove to Prescott, AR. I would have gone a bit further, into Texas, but I figured I'd stay at Prescott's TA so I could use one of my shower credits in the morning and clean up before heading to my delivery. The unfortunate part of that decision was the lack of a clear signal for my Verizon card to connect me to the 'net. So I had to settle for going to bed early.

On Thursday I got up early, hit the shower, then headed into the Lone Star state. As I had expected, it took me 4 hours of driving to get to the delivery, a site I'd been to twice before. The assigned me a dock door right away, but I had to wait a while for them to unload a couple other USA trucks before they started on mine. Once they did, though, unloading went pretty quick. Then I was off to find a truck stop at which to await my next assignment.

I tried stopping at a place somewhat near where I had just left, but when I got there I discovered that they charge for parking. Cheapskate that I am, I decided to head to another TA on the south side of Dallas and wait there (and to get lunch in their food court--they have a Burger King, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut Express). With the swing through first place and some traffic, the drive to the TA took me about an hour. My assignment still hadn't come in, so I had time to go in and grab lunch (I decided on Taco Bell). I took it to go and walked back to my truck to eat it there. While lunching, the assignment came in: Pick up a load at the place to which I had just delivered this morning. Sheesh! More backtracking. So I finished my burrito (a grilled stuft burrito with chicken) and headed back.

This time the drive only took 30 minutes. The pickup was a drop-and-hook, so that was nice 'n quick, too. This load is headed for a Saturday noon delivery in Troy, OH, so I was once again headed back along I-30 and I-40, at least as far as Nashville, TN before diverging northward. But on Thursday my remaining available hours only got be back to the Prescott TA from whence I had started the day. So, once again, no opportunity to blog for y'all to let you know what I was up to.

Today was just a lot of driving through a lot of drizzle (and some steady rain, too). I didn't encounter any traffic tie-ups the whole way, so as you can tell by my mileage figures above, I made it quite a ways today. I've stopped at a Pilot for the night, about 30-40 miles east of Louisville. I have about 3 hours more to drive tomorrow to reach my delivery, so I won't have to get up in the wee hours to get there on time. But I probably will, anyway, so I can get there and deliver early. Check back tomorrow to see how that goes. Now on to some reader questions.

Reader nancy r. asks, "So what state do you spend the most time in, do you suppose? You do seem to go through Tennessee quite a bit."

That is a tough one to answer with any certainty. With all of my trips to Texas lately, that state must be high on my list. But earlier on this year I may have thought perhaps Virginia was a candidate, since I made many trips along its western edge on I-81, either passing through or heading to customers in the state. Tennessee and Arkansas are also states where I do spend a lot of time, since they are "in the way" of other places I need to go. Besides, with 2 terminals in AR, I have spent many hours in that state.

Reader mrr asks, "So, what's your schedule looking like for around the holidays? Any chance you'll get to spend them at home?"

Well now, I have some good news on that front. I'll have my next regular home time starting on 12/21. That'll carry me through Christmas Day, but then I'm going to take my first paid vacation on this job for the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. Yes, I'll finally be eligible for that vacation as of 12/21. (Unfortunately, I only get 1 week of paid vacation, so that'll be it for another 12 months unless I find other employment.) So, yes, I will be able to be home for the holidays.

So now I'm caught back up. Thanks for following along with my story. Be like readers nancy r and mrr and send in some comments and questions. And don't forget to keep on truckin'.