Marietta, OK

DATELINE: MARIETTA, OK, 8:45 a.m. CDT

Miles Today: 403

You read it right, the timestamp above IS in the a.m., and I've already driven 403 miles and made my delivery. And I get to blog now because I used up my available hours just to get to and make the delivery, so now I get to sit (and S-L-E-E-E-E-E-P) for the rest of the day. With my luck, Dispatch'll assign my next load so that I'll have to hit the road at midnight again, just when I get tomorrow's ration of hours from the 70 allowed in any consecutive 8-days. Tomorrow's ration will just be 6-1/2 hours, but I'll get back double-digit hours each of the following 3 days.

Anyway, I did head out this morning just after midnight so I could cover the distance and make my 8:00 delivery appointment. 'Twas a long, dark drive with very light traffic (the bonus for night driving) 'til I hit Dallas just at the very early part of the build-up to rush hour. But that wasn't too bad at all either, as the traffic kept flowing with nary a slowdown. I never did get any more sleep after posting last night's report, so fatigue was an issue during the drive. I'm reporting to you now instead of heading right to bed because I popped a couple of caffeine pills en route, so I'm bodily tired but still a bit overstimulated to be able to drift off. But that will pass soon and I'm sure I'll crash hard through the entrance to dreamland.

One treat about today's drive: along my route, in Van, TX is a Love's truck stop with a Carl's Jr. I just about always stop there when heading that-a-way, and this morning I could get one of my favorite breakfast items, their Steak & Egg Burrito. Yum! I've raved about 'em before, and they're one thing that makes me look forward to trips to the Lone Star State. And, theoretically, I could even have another one this morning. I'm at a small truck stop just across the highway from my delivery site (how convenient), and across the street is a stand-alone Carl's Jr. Being that we're still in the breakfast hours...

But discretion is the better part of weight loss (or the avoidance of significant weight gain), so I'm staying away for now. But I may head over there for lunch/dinner--depending on when I wake up after my dreamland crash--for one of their Tex-Mex charbroiled chicken sandwiches, which I also do adore.

Well, I'm finally feeling the fatigue (a.k.a. "drowsiness") settling in behind my eyes, and I've covered everything I need to about my work day. And I have no new reader comments or questions to which to respond, so it's time to sign off and get horizontal. Thanks for checking up on me today (be sure to read last night's post, just below this one, if you haven't yet), and keep on truckin'.

UPDATE, 3:00 p.m. CDT

I have my next assignment now. I'll be picking up a load in Ardmore, OK, 17 miles up the highway (I-35) from here, tomorrow morning by 8:00. That load is bound for Lake Orion, MI, with delivery scheduled for Monday morning, so it looks like I'll be able to stop by my "home truck stop" for Sunday night. Consider this fair warning to my family and Measure for Measure guys that you may be seeing me then. ;-)