White Time in PA

DATELINE: CARLISLE, PA, 9:20 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 374

Kind of a short day today, as I got to sleep in 'til 7:00 this morning and finished up at about 5:30 p.m. But I got to drive through my first snowstorm of the season as I plowed my way across western PA. Ironically (or merely coincidentally) enough, the snowfall didn't start 'til just after I had passed the exit to Yukon, PA. So I should have expected the winter weather. But it didn't impede my progress any, and I made it here (the Pilot in Carlisle) without incident.

As far as my load situation went, the pickup was a live load just outside of Columbus, OH, and took a bit longer than usual, almost 2 hours. But since I had a fairly short drive to make, it wasn't a big deal. You may recall from yesterday's post that this load's scheduled delivery date was Friday morning. However, I got word from my Fleet Manager shortly after picking up the load that he had moved the delivery up to tomorrow morning. So I don't have to sit around for a day. That's good for racking up paying miles, but it does lead to one concern.

I'm scheduled to return home on Monday for my next stretch of home time. Monday will be my 8th day since I started back up after my 34-hour restart last weekend. And I burned u p a lot of hours the first 2 days back (12-1/4 and 12 hours, respectively). I do have the 70-work-hours-in-8-days regulation to contend with, so I'm going to have to make sure Dispatch dispatches me properly over the next few days to make sure I can get home within that regulation. I'll send 'em a note after I make the delivery tomorrow.

After arriving here, I got back to online poker after a couple days off and found I still have to scratch and claw my way into the money in the tournaments I'm playing. (Just the Double or Nothing Sit-n-Go variety tonight.) I played 5 of 'em and cashed in 3 (going lose, win, lose, win, win), so I finally wound up ahead--by a whole 50 cents. Tough way to make a living. But because of that time at the tables, the evening has crept by, and I need to get myself to bed right quick. Seems I'll need to get up at 4:00 tomorrow to clean up and fuel up my truck before heading down the road to my delivery. That's set for 7:00 a.m., and I figure I'm about an hour away. With the cold weather and potentially slick roads, that'll leave plenty of time to make my way over there good and safely.

So for now, time to wrap up. Thanks for today's peek at my offering here. Please let me hear from you, and keep on truckin'.

Long Day for an Early Drop

DATELINE: HEBRON, OH, 6:50 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 622

Whew! Another long day of movin' on down the highway. And that's just about all I did, but with a bonus at the end. I got up at 4:30 in West Memphis, AR, hit the road at 4:45, and just drove up here to Columbus, OH. I did stop for about 30 minutes for brunch at a McDonald's around the midway point in southern KY, and 15 minutes for a fuel stop in northern KY, but except for quick rest stops, I just kept 'er rollin'.

The aforementioned bonus was that I could make the delivery today instead of waiting 'til the scheduled time tomorrow morning. About the time I turned north at Nashville, I realized that I'd probably be able to make it all the way within my hours for the day. I've delivered to the company a couple times before (the last time was just a couple weeks ago), so I knew it'd be a drop-and-hook delivery. Therefore, it wouldn't be a big deal to drop off the trailer there whenever I could get there. And I got confirmation from Dispatch, so the die was cast.

I got there with 30 minutes of driving time left, so after dropping the loaded trailer and hooking up an empty, I had just enough time left to zip over here to the Pilot in Hebron, 16 miles east of C-bus. I got myself a free dinner (a Chicken Pizziola sandwich from the Subway outlet here) with my Pilot driver payback points, and shortly after returning to my truck my next assignment came in.

Tomorrow morning I'll be picking up a load in Obetz, OH, just south of C-bus, then heading east with it to York, PA. Pickup's at 9:00, but delivery isn't scheduled 'til Friday morning, even though it's only a 380-mile trip. So either I'll have another free day waiting to make the delivery (the assignment instructions say not to deliver 'til the appointment time) or Dispatch will have me drop the load somewhere after I pick it up. I won't know about that 'til after I make the pickup and get a chance to check with my Fleet Manager after he starts his work day (which should be about the time I'm making the pickup).

Anyway, as I typed up top, it's been a long day and I'm feeling it now. Time to head inside to brush my teeth, then hustle back here to get wrapped up under my covers. (You know, it's COLD up here!) Good thing my truck's heater works pretty well. Thanks for your interest today, and keep on truckin'.

Trekking Back East

DATELINE: WEST MEMPHIS, AR, 7:15 p.m. CDT

Miles Today: 587

Hmmm, I drove a full 11 hours today, so why isn't my mileage total above 600 miles for the day? Oh yea, I know. It's 'cuz I had to drive through the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex during the morning rush hour, that's why. What a pain in the asterisk. Oh well. But that was after I had already made my delivery and subsequent assignment's pickup, so I'd better fill you in on those.

I got myself out of bed at 2:00 this morning to shower and shave before starting my work day. By 3:00 I was rolling out of the truck stop parking lot, heading for Garland, TX. I arrived at the delivery site at 3:45 for my 4:00 appointment, only to see a sign at the driveway stating that Receiving hours started at 5:00. Fortunately, nobody there seemed to care, as the guard let me right in and the lone guy working in the Receiving Department took care of me right away. This turned out to be a drop-and-hook delivery (which I had suspected from the start, because I'd delivered there once before--on my first delivery in Texas as a solo trucker), with the slight difference being that I would open the trailer's doors and back it to a dock door before dropping it, instead of in a spot in the lot with the doors closed.

That went good 'n quickly, and I was done within 30 minutes. And my next assignment came in promptly, too. (Actually, as I was pulling up to the guard shack on my way out.) My next pickup was in Haslet, TX, which is just on the north side of Fort Worth. The drive over there was before rush hour (between 4:30 and 5:45), so I didn't have any traffic tie-ups just yet. But boy, that's a long drive between the two. I have to keep reminding myself that Dallas and FW are not neighboring cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul. They're at least 30 miles apart, or like driving from Ann Arbor to Detroit. But boy, during rush hour the jams can be aggravating. Anyway, back to the pickup.

'Twas another D&H, so that went quickly, too. This load (and, therefore, so am I) is bound for Columbus, OH, so I'm following the all-too-familiar route back east. By good fortune the D-FW traffic didn't hold me up too much, and I was able to hoof it all the way back here to our West Memphis terminal just within my allotted 11 driving hours for the day. And with the delivery, pickup, rest, and meal stops along the way, I made it with 30 minutes to spare in my 14-hour work window, too. So it was a full, long day.

I rewarded myself by dropping in drivers' lounge and sitting through the last half of "The Hulk", which somebody had playing on the TV in there. Then I moseyed over to the Mexican restaurant down the street and had some real food for a change. Pretty tasty fare at a reasonable cost, too. And now I'm back here at my blogging station, finally feeling REALLY tired. So I'm gonna' hit the sack right quick. I'm not even gonna' sit up to catch any of what could be this year's final World Series game. I'll find out tomorrow if the Phil's have clinched the crown or if the Series is heading back to Tampa.

Thanks for lending me your eyeballs for a few minutes. Please do send me your questions and comments, and keep on truckin'.

Poker Boom (Not the Good Kind)

DATELINE: ANNA, TX, 6:15 p.m. CDT

Miles Yesterday: 299

Not much to write about today as far as trucking goes. Yesterday I just made my way down here from Joplin, MO, a 5-1/2 hour drive. I'm at a Love's truck stop along US-75, about 35 miles north of where I deliver my load tomorrow morning. (Morning? Did he say, "morning"? The delivery's at 4:00 a.m.! That's still the middle of the night!) So I've just been a-sitting here, mostly playing poker, since I arrived in the early afternoon. I need to hit the sack early tonight so I can get up about 2:00 for a shower and shave before rolling out. So I had to call and end to the poker in order to write up this report for y'all and get to bed.

As far as the poker goes, it just astounds me that on the occasions I have all day to play, I don't experience the same success that I do when I can just play for a little while. Mostly lately I've been playing those double-or-nothing sit-n-go tournaments, and "winning" (staying alive into the top 5) a rather high percentage of them. That helped me build up my poker bankroll to an all-time high, a whopping $30.59! (Remember, I'm trying to build the bankroll up from nothing, so I still have to play at very low stakes. Therefore it's taking a while to grow.) So I was expecting with all my free time this weekend to build it up substantially. However, the bottom dropped out. Especially yesterday, when the deck found every way it could to beat me, no matter how much the odds were in my favor on the given hands when it dealt the final blow. All told, the damage was about 35% of my bankroll. Now I'm going to have to grind my way to build it back up. As you can imagine, I am a bit frustrated by all that. (Understatement alert!)

Anyway, enough of my griping. Time for bed. Thanks for taking a look in today. Drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.

Two Days and an Essay (A Must Read, If I Say So Myself)

DATELINE: JOPLIN, MO, 8:45 p.m. CDT

Miles Today: 502
Miles Yesterday: 370

Sorry for not blogging last night, gang, but I had a bit of a dodgy connection where I stopped for the night. It kept disconnecting and, when it was connected, was very slow. So after a longish day, I decided not to fight it any longer (after a couple of SNG poker tourneys--I cashed in both of 'em) and went to bed. So here's my 2-day story.

Yesterday I was up and rolling by 6:00 to cover the 100 miles to my 9:00 delivery appointment. Traffic was light and the going was easy, so I arrived at about 7:45. I had to wait just a little bit for a dock assignment, then after docking I had a whopping great wait. All told I was there for over 2-1/2 hours. But my next assignment came in pretty quickly afterwards.

Next up was a drive over to Arcadia, WI, a little ways south of Eau Claire, roughly another 100-mile trip. That drive went quickly and smoothly, as did the pickup. This load is taking me to the Lone Star State, back to the city of Garland. (You remember, a northeast Dallas suburb.) Unfortunately, delivery is scheduled for Monday morning (at 4:00 no less), so I have ample time to wing my way down there. But rather than take my time, I'm working on getting down there tomorrow so I can fit in another 34-hour break before starting back up to make the delivery. I'm heading for a Love's truck stop in the town of Anna, TX, about 35 miles north of "Big D". It's on our fuel network so I'll be able to fill my truck's tanks and earn a shower credit, which I can use to get clean and presentable before heading to that delivery. But I'm ahead of myself again. Back to finishing up yesterday and recounting today's trip.

After making that pickup in Arcadia, I be-bopped my way west into MN in order to head south on I-35. I was retracing a route I hadn't taken since my first week as a solo driver on this job, back just before New Year's Eve of 2006. That was the last (and only) time I'd trucked along I-90, on that occasion eastward in the middle of a rainy night. This time it was during the daylight hours, so I could see what I'd missed that time. Nothing much exciting--it's mostly open farm space--but there is a large wind farm near the Rochester area. Lots of windmills, that is. Anyway, I stopped for the night at the Love's in Albert Lea, MN, which is also on our fuel network. It's right across the street from a TA that I've stayed at once or twice before the Love's was added to the network. (BTW, Albert Lea is right at the junction of I-35 and I-90.)

This morning I used my shower credit from fueling up when I arrived last night before setting out. My goal for today was to reach Joplin, MO, about a 500-mile jaunt. As you can tell from the "Dateline:" above, I made it. 'Twas gloomy and rainy most of the day, with a few rays of sunshine through some breaks in the cloud cover. But I made good time and completed the trip in only 8-1/2 hours of driving. I'm not taking I-35 all the way down, which you might expect if you looked on a highway map. After all, it does connect Minneapolis/St. Paul with Dallas. (In fact, it runs from Duluth to Laredo.) However, it does swing a little bit out of the way to the west to pick up Wichita and Oklahoma City. So instead, between Kansas City, MO and the Dallas area I'm taking mostly US highways to shorten the mileage for the trip. Tonight I'm parked at a Pilot here in Joplin. It's also on the fuel network, so I'll "diesel up" before starting out in the morning. (I have a couple of Pilot shower credits already, so I can use one of them tomorrow.) And that's the story of my last couple of work days. And now on to an interesting tidbit.

Ya' know, my most reliable source of income since starting this job (well, other than from driving) is just finding money on the ground. Just about any day if I do much walking around at truck stops, terminals, or wherever, I find at least one penny lying around. Today when I stopped at a Pilot in Des Moines for a restroom break, when I got out of my truck I found a dime just below my driver's door. And tonight on my way into the building here I found a penny in the parking lot. Last week in Ontario I found a Canadian dime at a highway service plaza. A couple weeks ago in Texas, when I stopped for a quick break at a Love's I found a quarter right below my driver's door again. On one happy occasion I found a $5 bill by my trailer when I was walking around it doing my pre-trip inspection. (I guess it literally pays to do those, eh?) Maybe I oughta' be keeping track of these sums so I can report them on my income tax returns. Right! Sure! And now for something completely different.

With the election just a week-and-a-half away, I hope you don't mind if I stray a bit into a political essay. I just feel that with all the negative advertising going on, I want to throw in something to think about.

One side has been throwing out a lot of rhetoric accusing the other of being "socialist". That's one of those buzzwords they like to use to scare their non-thinking followers into voting for them. (Disclaimer: I'm not accusing all Republican voters of being "non-thinking", nor do I claim the Democrats have no non-thinking followers. And don't anybody accuse me of claiming that. However, we all know that in this real world, some voters on each side do not spend a great deal of time researching or critically thinking about the positions they hold on various issues. So they just glom onto the "facts" they hear on talk radio or from the candidates themselves and take them as gospel. Please, people, take everything with a grain of salt and actually THINK for yourself before spouting the campaign rhetoric you're hearing.) I'm certainly no "socialist", and readily advocate capitalism as the way to go, as I'm sure Barack Obama and the Democratic Party do. However, what's so wrong with the country having some social programs to supply basic needs for the good of all? Let me recount a story for you. A while back, sometime in my teens I think it was, I heard a minister (I don't remember who, or where, or the circumstances of the service) tell this story in a sermon.

A man had died and God was showing him the afterlife options. Their first stop was Hell, where they found all the denizens sitting at a huge table in a great banquet hall. The table was filled with huge amounts of all sorts of gourmet foods, plenty for everyone. The man was amazed that those condemned to Hell could have such bounty before them. Then he noticed that everyone there was miserable, wailing in anger and starvation, because affixed to each one's hand was a long spoon--longer than his arms so he could not get the food into his mouth. Thus each would spend eternity in hunger, tormented by what he could not have.

Then God took the man up to Heaven, where he found a similar scene: a great banquet hall with a huge table filled with food. All the population of Heaven was seated there, with the same too-long spoons affixed to their hands. However, everyone at this table was happy, smiling, and laughing, totally joyous. That's because each person there was using his spoon to feed his neighbor.

Anybody besides me see a parallel to capitalism versus socialism? Again, let me reiterate that I DO NOT ADVOCATE THAT THIS COUNTRY BECOME A SOCIALIST STATE. Everyone should have the right to run a business on his own without government intervention, save for regulations that protect the public and consumers of his (or her--I'm just using the masculine in this essay for compositional ease) products. And I do not regard living under a Republican administration as "Hell". And yes, I know that this is all a very simplistic view of the whole issue. But in complex times, sometimes it helps to step back and strip away all the complexity to see things in their simplest forms. Do you remember hearing somewhere, "'Tis better to give than to receive"?

All in all, IMHO the best path for the USA is a blending of capitalism with some social government programs. This isn't the proper forum to go into details, or any more depth, but I hope I did stimulate some thought in my readership--both of you ;-) If you found my little essay food for thought, please pass along the link to anyone else you think may find it helpful as the election nears.

Thanks all for checking up on me today. I hope you didn't mind my foray into the political arena. Please post some comments (and/or questions), and keep on truckin'.

Among the Cheeseheads

DATELINE: COLOMA, WI, 5:45 p.m. CDT

Miles Today: 557

Whew! Long day (OK, I have had longer), but I'm whipped. Just plain tired. Ready for bed. But I gotta tell y'all about it first. So here goes.

I got to sleep in all the way 'til 5:30 this morning before hitting the road at 6:00 for my 7:00 pickup. Boy, I hate going to places for the first time in the dark, and it was still plenty dark when I approached the company to which I was headed in Bellevue, OH. First, I almost missed the turn onto the street they're on because the intersection was not well lighted, and the street sign was on the far side and totally in the dark. But I was anticipating it and was going slow enough that I could make the turn before I passed by.

Next, the sign in front of the company itself was not lighted. (Never mind that my directions said the company was on the right side of the street, while it actually was on the left.) But I saw the sign and kept an eye on it as I crept up to it 'til there was enough ambient light on it for me to read it. So I could swing into the driveway before passing the point of no return. (Or the "point of needing to back up some".)

The pickup itself was a quick drop-and-hook, so I was in and out of there in under 30 minutes. Then the rest of the day was all about drive, drive, drive. (Oh, and a combination fuel/shower stop in South Bend, IN as well as various rest stops and grub grabs.) My total driving time was 10-1/2 hours today, and that brought me to a small truck stop here along I-39. I have about another 100 or so miles to get to my delivery by 9:00 tomorrow morning, so I plan to get rolling at about 6:00. But first, lots of quality time with my pillow. (Sleep, that is, for those of you with dirty minds!)

Thanks for checking in today. Check back tomorrow to find out where I'll be headed next. Send me your comments and questions (more than just pointing out my typos, please!), and keep on truckin'.

Trekking Westward

DATELINE: AMHERST, OH, 10:15 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 372

A relatively short day--only 7-1/2 hours of driving--but the job still kept me occupied for over 12 hours. That's 'cuz I had some waiting time at my pickup this morning (2 hours); almost 1/2 an hour fighting with my trailer's tandems to get them to slide after getting loaded at the pickup; and most of an hour cleaning out my trailer after my delivery then waiting for my next assignment. But I'm ahead of myself again. Here are the salient portions of my day in chronological order.

I woke up about 3:30 this morning, a bit earlier than my planned 4:00 rousing. I tried to grab that last 20 minutes of sleep, but it didn't happen. So I sent in my "back to work" message (since I was coming off my 34-hour restart) and went in to shower and shave. Once all celaned up 30 minutes later, I returned to my truck to find my assignment for the day still hadn't come in. But that wait was short as the message came in at 4:45.

My mission: pick up a load at a company in Carlisle, PA (where I was anyway--the city, not the company) at 4:30. Hmmm. Another case of Dispatch asking me to travel back in time to make an appointment. Anyway, I was to take the load to Cuyahoga Falls, OH, about 300 miles away. And the delivery time on the assignment was 7:00 a.m. today. Again they assume I can do the impossible. (I know I'm good, but they're taking it to a bit of an extreme, don't you think?) But I set out to do the best that I could anyway.

The drive over to the pickup only took 15 minutes. Checking in and getting docked took another 15, then I had to wait. Apparently the dock crew was off doing something else. But, finally, 2 hours after I arrived, I was loaded and ready to go. Except I had to slide the trailer's tandems back forward (the shipper requires that the tandems be slid all the way back for loading). Of course I hadn't had any troubles sliding 'em when I picked up the trailer empty on Sunday, and again before docking this morning. But once I had that load in there, the brakes wouldn't hold enough for the trailer body to slide on its rails over the tandem axles. To shorten the story, I finally found some wheel chocks over by the dock doors and carried them over to where I was rasslin' with the beast. They did the job, and I was finally on my way. (By the way, I keep looking for chocks at the stores in the truck stops, but they don't carry 'em. Where in the world can I obtain one or two to carry with me for just such contingencies? Maybe I'd better resort to searching online, eh?)

My first stop after picking up the load was back at the Carlisle Pilot to fuel up, then 'twas "westward ho" along I-76 towards Cuyahoga Falls (which is by Akron). Six hours and a couple of rest stops (one including grabbing lunch to go) later, I arrived at my destination. Small hangup there: they only had one dock door and there was an empty trailer sitting in it. They'd been waiting all day for someone to move it, but that hadn't happened yet. So I accepted their invitation to move it for them. Of course, that meant unhooking my trailer, hooking up to the rogue one and moving it, unhooking from it and be-bopping back to where I'd dropped my trailer, hooking it back up, and then backing into the dock. But that was better than however long I may have had to wait for someone to come move it. Who knows? I'd probably still be waiting. Anyway, the unloading there was quick.

However, they left quite a bit of debris in the trailer when they were done. The shipper had nailed 2-by-4s onto the trailer floor to hold the racks that carried their product (glass) in place. The delivery customer yanked them up to get the racks out, but left the wood in the trailer. As well as quite a few nails still sticking up from the floor. So I had to pull over to a dumpster in their yard, toss the 2x4s, and yank the nails (with a crowbar I keep in my truck) and toss them. By the time I finished with that, my next assignment was in.

I have a pickup tomorrow morning in Bellevue, OH, which is kinda' halfway between Toledo and Cleveland, but south of the Turnpike. The instructions with the assignment mentioned that the trailer must be swept out before arriving at te pickup, because it's a load of food products. So it was finally time for me to find a pushbroom to call my very own. Fortunately, there is a Pilot just off the Turnpike on my route to tomorrow's shipper, and I stopped there in search of a broom. Hallelujah! The had some for sale! So I nabbed one.

After picking up my new prize, I headed to the "Middle Ridge" Service Plaza here along the OH 'pike. I have roughly 30 more miles to go along the 'pike, then a few more south to get to the pickup, which is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. So I plan to get up between 5:00 and 5:30 and get rolling at 6:00. That should get me to the pickup fashionably early. Once I have the load on board, my destination is Abbotsford, WI. That's up in the middle of that state, roughly halfway between Green Bay and St. Paul, MN, or maybe 30 miles west of Wausau. I haven't been to the upper midwest (other than MI) for quite a while now, so this trip will be a nice diversion from the parts of the country I've seen a lot lately. Delivery is due at 9:00 Thursday morning, and it's purportedly a 570-mile trip, so I should have ample time to get there. Then again, I do have to go either through or around Chicago, so all bets are off. ;-)

I can tell by the ol' clock in the corner of the laptop screen that it's time to wrap this up and hit the sack. Thanks for your eyes (and, hopefully, engaged brain, too) today. Drop me a line or two, and keep on truckin'.

Cooped Up In Carlisle

DATELINE: CARLISLE, PA, 7:15 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 0, zero, zippo, nada, zilch
Miles Yesterday: 302

No miles today 'cuz I'm on a 34-hour restart. I made my delivery yesterday with only 4 hours left out of my 70 for 8 days. (Today is the 8th day.) Dispatch did assign me a load after that, but I would only have had enough time to make the pickup, but not drive all the way to the delivery set for today. So I let them know that, they took me off the load, and I started my break.

My delivery yesterday was in Carlisle, PA, so I wasn't far from a bunch of truck stops afterwards. When I've stayed in this town in the past, I've always parked at the Flying J. But since it's no longer on our fuel network, I've opted for the Pilot just down the road. (It is on the network.) So I can use my Pilot Driver Payback Points to eat free at their Wendy's and use my credits to shower in the morning. All in all not a bad deal.

Now, I do have a dilemma. My break started at noon yesterday. That means it reaches the 34-hour mark at 10:00 tonight. Oy! I don't want to start working then, 'cuz I've been up all day. One just can't shift from daytime to overnight work in one day. I want to wait 'til 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning to get started. But I imagine Dispatch will be on my case if I don't report for duty at 10:00. So I have that stress weighing down on me right now.

In the meantime, I've been playing a lot of poker, of course, in my down time. I've managed to come out ahead each day (by $1.43 yesterday, 65 cents today), but it's a real struggle, and not a good per-hour rate. I have been playing tournaments exclusively (no "ring" games), and it just seems that the poker gods want to make it as hard on me as possible. Whenever I try to play aggressively, as everyone says you're supposed to in order to be a successful player, things go badly for me. My timing is always off as I run into opponents with "monster" hands". Or they suck out on me when I go all in with the better hand. But I have my best results (not crashing and burning before reaching the money) when I play "weak". So I'm trying to be patient, swallow my ego, and play timidly. After all, it's all about building that bankroll for me. (It's all the way up to $23.19 now. Woo-Hoo!)

Well, like I mentioned, I may have to get rolling in just a couple more hours, so I guess I'd better try to catch a couple hours of Zs. Thanks for looking in, and keep on truckin'.

OH to ON and Back to OH

DATELINE: MANTUA, OH, 8:00 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 581
Miles Yesterday: 413

Wow, I knew I'd had a long day today, but somehow it didn't seem like that many miles today, but I did drive a full 11 hours. I was surprised when I added them all up. But I'm already ahead of myself. I need to fill you in on 2 days. So I'll get right to it.

First of all, the reason I didn't (couldn't) blog last night is because my assignment yesterday was to haul a load into Canada, where my Verizon card doesn't have coverage. (Well, it may actually work, but I'd have to pay roaming charges for my online time there, and as slowly as I compose these things, that'd be a pretty penny.) I got up at 5:30 to request my assignment, hoping I could get my day started nice 'n early. (Incidentally, I was feeling much better--still had some cold symptoms, but my energy level was back up.) Naturally I had to wait a couple hours before the assignment came in. It was to grab a loaded trailer there in the Vandalia yard and take it to its destination in Milton, Ontario, and deliver it when I got there. (BTW, when the assignment message came in, the delivery date was Friday, the day before!)

Milton's just west of Toronto, so I was looking at 8 hours of driving to get there: 4 hours up to Detroit, then a right turn and 4 more hours along Highway 401. Of course, in the middle of that, is the stop for Customs clearance at a spot below the Ambassador Bridge. A refresher: at that stop I go into the office (a trailer in a dirt lot) with my load info, the clerk there faxes the info to a broker, the broker gets the entry number from Customs, passes that back to the clerk, who gives it to me with the OK to head across the bridge. They say that's supposed to take an hour. Hah! The next time it takes an hour for me will be the first time. Yesterday it took 2 hours. All the while I'm sitting there (in my truck most of the time) thinking that it's getting later...by the time I get to Milton the truck stop there (I've been there once before, so I know there's one at that exit) will be full, and who knows how far I'll have to go to find a place to park for the night.

Yada yada, long story short, I made the delivery (a quick drop-and-hook) and zipped over to the truck stop. Lo and behold, the place was wide open. It was about 8:00 p.m. by then but, being the weekend, the demand was down. So all my stressing about the parking availability was for naught. Now, I did have a couple more hours available to work, but Dispatch (thankfully) didn't find another load for me to go pick up last night. Instead, they gave me a pickup in Bay City, MI at noon today.

So this morning I got up at 5:30 in order to hit the road at 6:00 when I completed my 10-hour respite. Yada yada, long story short, the drive went fine. This time though I came back to MI via the Blue Water Bridge betwixt Sarnia and Port Huron instead of going all the way to Windsor to cross back to Detroit. A much shorter route. I've picked up loads at this company in Bay City 3 or 4 (or 5?) times before, so 'twas easy to find...save for the detour around the Zilwaukee Bridge on northbound I-75, but they had the detour clearly marked all the way so it wasn't a problem. The pickup was another D&H, so I was done there within 30 minutes.

I'm taking this load to Carlisle, PA, to deliver it late tomorrow morning, so my route south out of MI from Bay City afforded an opportunity to swing by my "home" truck stop in Dexter and see Mrs. R.T. briefly for a late lunch. It's always a bonus when I get a MI load in the middle of my tours of duty (this one's going 'til right before Election Day) so I can stop by and see whichever of my family members are available. It is better when I can actually stop there for the night instead of just a quick "howdy-do" on my way through, but I'll take what I can get. Good thing this time 'twas on a weekend so the Mrs. was free to drive on over in the middle of the afternoon.

Back to work after the late lunch, I drove the rest of the hours I had available for the day to get here to the "Brady's Leap" Service Plaza along the Ohio Turnpike. I gotta get up and running again tomorrow as soon as my DOT-forced break hits 10 hours in order to get to my delivery as close to on-time as possible. (I don't think I'm quite gonna make it by 10:00, as I can't roll 'til 5:30 and I have over 250 miles to go.) So it's once again time to wrap up this report and head to bed.

Thanks for taking a peek at today's report, and be a pal and send me some comments and questions. And, as ever, keep on truckin'.

Can't Come Up With a Clever Title Today

DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, 10:00 p.m. EDT

Gonna be a short one today, R.T. fans, 'cuz I'm definitely under the weather. Ya' know, as much sleep as I miss and as much stress I get on this job, it's amazing to me that I haven't really been sick at all during the two years since I started this odyssey. (Two years ago at this time I was in truck driver school.) But I've always had a pretty stout constitution as far as fighting off illness goes. I'm just surprised it's holding up this well as I advance further and further into middle-age and get virtually no exercise. Well, anyway, I promised myself I'd keep this short so I can get back to bed and ultra-necessary rest, so back to the topic of what I did today.

I got up at 5:30 so I could shower and shave before heading over here to the terminal for my certification class at 8:00. The class, with a grand total of 3 students, was on the "Smith System" of defensive driving. You remember from Driver's Ed: "Aim high in steering", "Always leave yourself an out", and the like. The company's requiring the class for all of its drivers, and I guess they assigned me to today's 'cuz I was in the area. Fine by me, as it worked out, 'cuz of my "under-the-weatherness" today. It would have been a miserable day for making a long haul. As it was, by the end of the 6-1/2 hours of class (including some time on the road in a minivan practicing the techniques) I was ready for bed. So I did hit the sack and slept soundly for a good 4 hours or so.

I got up a little after 7:30 p.m. only 'cuz nature was calling. If not for that, I would have stayed in bed 'cuz I was still way wiped out and had developed a nearly-raging headache. (Probably 'cuz I hadn't had much caffeine today nor much liquids and was also a bit dehydrated.) But I got up to take care of business and grab some nutrition. Not much to discuss after that. I just came back here to my truck and came online to check my e-mail and blog up about the day. Now it's time to wrap up and drift back to the land o' nod so I can rest up for tomorrow's assignment. I'll just sleep in tomorrow 'til my body's ready to get up, then I'll let Dispatch know I'm ready for a load.

Thanks for checking in today. I do love to get your questions and comments, so send 'em on in! And keep on truckin'.

Two Long Ones

DATELINE: LONDON, OH, 6:40 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 560
Miles Yesterday: 519

Ya' know, I haven't checked, but I suspect that there's an inverse relationship between the length of my work day and the length of my report here for that night. So in conclusion...

Just kidding. (Maybe.) Anyway, on to telling you 'bout my last 2 days. They've been long days, I haven't had a good night's sleep for a while now, and I'm very tired tonight. And I think I may be coming down with something, too; my throat's scratchy and my head's a little fuzzy (don't go suggesting that I just shave to take care of that!). So I'm gonna make this quick tonight and get right to bed.

USA Truck must really think I'm good at my job, but I think they're overdoing it; they keep asking me to do the impossible. For example, yesterday my assignment was to make a pickup at 8:00 a.m. in Franklin, PA, and deliver that load at 1:00 p.m. in Robbinsville, NJ. So that gave me 5 hours to make the drive (even less if I arrived at the pickup on time and didn't leave 'til after, when the load was complete). But I did arrive 45 minutes early and hit the road at 7:45. (That company only had 3 pallets to add to my load--it was the 3rd of 3 pickups for the load.) Anyway, it turned out to be over 400 miles from door to door, and it took 7-1/2 hours to drive it. That delivery was a drop-and-hook, so it didn't take long.

Next up, after a 45-minute wait for my next assignment, was to zip up to North Bergen, NJ, 53 miles away, for a pickup 45 minutes later. Another impossibility. But I made the drive in an hour. The pickup was another drop-and-hook, after which I only had enough available work hours to head to the Vince Lombardi Service Plaza along the NJ Turnpike for the night. When I arrived there, dusk was falling, and the place was pretty well filled up. (This it the place with a HUGE truck parking lot--I've written about it before.) But I did manage to find a good spot. Instead of blogging, I took a goodly walk around and through the lot for about an hour for some much-needed exercise. Then I hit the sack.

By the way, the load I picked up last night was headed for Columbus, OH. It was yet another case of asking the impossible. The delivery time on the assignment was 8:00 this morning, or 13 hours after I completed the pickup. Since I needed to "take 10" right away, there was no way I was going to make the 527-mile trip by 8:00. When I sent that note in to Dispatch, nobody ever responded, so I took it as a just-get-there-when-I-can mandate.

So I got up and hit the road at 6:00 this morning and made it to the delivery at 4:45 this afternoon. That was yet another drop-and-hook, so after I grabbed an empty trailer I headed west towards Vandalia. I'm going there 'cuz I've been assigned to take a certification class there tomorrow from 8:00 to 4:00. I think that's 'cuz I've asked to become a trainer for the company's Apprenticeship Training Program. So getting started towards that (and the extra trainer income) is good. I didn't quite have enough hours left to get all the way to Vandalia, so I've stopped at a Pilot here between C'bus and Vandalia. I'll get up early and head to the terminal in the morning. Another factor swaying my decision to stop here is I can grab a shower and shave here at the beginning of the day--the terminal still doesn't have working showers.

OK, I promised to make this a short report. Hard to do when I have 2 days to cover. But now I'm done and ready for some much-needed rest. Thanks for following me around the country. Drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.

1, 2, 3 Stops to Make

DATELINE: BARKLEYVILLE, PA, 9:15 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 305

Good evening, fans! The Reluctant Trucker is back on the road and the blogwaves. It was a far-too-short weekend at home (less than 36 hours), but I got to see all of my family, including all of us taking my mom out for lunch to celebrate her birthday, which is today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! Back to work, today has been a long day for ol' R.T., but not a long work day. Here's the scoop.

Mrs. R.T. drove me back to my truck (at the Dexter, MI TA) early this morning on her way to work. By "early", I mean we got to the truck by 4:30. I promptly sent in my "Back to Work" message, cleared my stuff off of my bunk, and stretched out to nap 'til my load assignment came in. (Did I mention it was a short night of sleep last night?) I woke up a while later, checked my watch, ad found it was 6:30. Still no assignment. So I got up and got myself some breakfast from the McDonald's across the street. (I had gotten a "Free Breakfast Sandwich" game piece in their Monopoly game last week, so I redeemed it this morning.)

Back from breakfast a while later, still no assignment. So I hit the bunk again. It took a while to drift off back to sleep, but I was trying hard to because I knew that as soon as I did, that message would come in and wake me up. Yup. Just before 8:00 the box beeped and got me a-goin'.

My mission was a pickup--well, the first pickup--in Romulus, MI, at a company where I've picked up loads 4 or 5 times before. That was a 9:00 appointment and went nice 'n quickly. After that was another pickup (it turned out to be only one pallet) in Cleveland, OH early this afternoon. And I have one more stop tomorrow morning at 8:00 to pick up even more for this load. That pickup is in Franklin, PA, and I'm at a TA at the exit off of I-80 that I needed to take to get over to Franklin, which is not far up PA highway 8 from here. So I'll be getting up around 5:30 in the morning to head over there. Hopefully they'll be ready and willing to accommodate me arriving a tad early.

After that 3rd pickup, then I'm off to Robbinsville, NJ, to drop the load at a customer I've been to twice before (both times with loads from today's original shipper). That ought to be a drop-and-hook delivery, so it shouldn't take very long--once I get there, that is. It does take a while to drive clear across PA. But I should still have a few hours when that's done to get started on my next assignment, which hopefully will come in soon afterwards.

I got here to the TA round about 5:00 this afternoon, and I spent a while playing some more poker before giving that up to report to y'all. My cards were dead most of the time, and I took a couple of bad beats, but after the dust settled I wound up on the plus side of the ledger. Not by much, but at least my bankroll nudged up in the right direction. Now let me move on to answer an interesting query from reader andy (OK, he's my baby brother):

"I spoke with our cousin, also a trucker, at the recent family reunion. His company's model is for drivers to do their routes exclusively at night, and to sleep during the day at hotels the company has national contracts with (thus no sleeper cabs). Compare and contrast, please?"

I've done a lot of overnight driving, and I gotta say that, despite the MUCH lower traffic competition, I still prefer driving during the daylight hours. Driving at night you don't get to see this marvelous land we live in as you pass through it. And the darkness really exacerbates any fatigue that might be creeping in. And it can be hard to see the end of the trailer in the mirrors when you're maneuvering in tight situations. And glare from any and all lights off the truck's windows and mirrors can make it hard to distinguish what you're really seeing. And it's hard to read signs that are not well-lighted. And when you want to pull into a rest area for a quick pit stop, they're all full of parked trucks. So to make a pit stop you have to take the extra time to pull all the way off the highway to pull into a truck stop. (Then again, the fuel islands are usually wide open, so stopping there is easier than in the daytime.)

On the other hand, staying at hotels sounds like a S-W-E-E-T deal. No need to worry about finding truck stops where you have shower credits. And if you have to get up in the middle of the night, you don't have to get completely dressed (especially fun in the winter up north) and hike however far to the building to take care of business. But having the sleeper cab is nice when I need to (and have time to) pull over for a power nap during a trip. Stretching out is much better than sleeping sitting up in the driver's seat. (Then again, the shorter "day cab"--a truck cab without the sleeper berth--would make it a bit easier to squeeze into some of the docking situations I've come across.)

So all in all, I think I still prefer my situation. Seeing the country as I roll by trumps sleeping through the daylight hours in a hotel room. But that's just my preference; other drivers may prefer otherwise.

Well, I think I've covered my activities today pretty completely. (I was gonna' write "pretty well", but I'll leave that determination up to you.) Thanks for coming back on the road with me. Drop me a line (or 2, or 5), and keep on truckin'.

Finally Out of Texas

DATELINE: LEBANON JUNCTION, KY, 8:15 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 517
Miles Yesterday: 507

Guess I'd better blog up tonight since I didn't yesterday and I go home tomorrow. And I gotta get up early tomorrow morning (3:30) so I can get rolling and get to my 9:00 delivery in Urbana, OH on time. So it's time I get right to my story of the last 2 days.

Yesterday I slept in all the way 'til the decadent hour of 5:30, and by 6:00 I was rolling. My first stop was 3 miles later to fuel up at a Pilot on our network list. After that I drove down to my pickup customer, arriving 45 minutes early for my 8:00 appointment. That didn't phase them, as they directed me right into a dock. (Not a big company, with only 2 shipping docks and not much truck traffic.) However, it did take them quite a while to finish off my load; I wasn't done there 'til 2-1/2 hours after I arrived. Sheesh! So that meant that my remaining drive time and hours left in my 14-hour window were identical--10 hours. Which meant that any stops I'd have to make--such as to weigh my truck, rest stops, and grub grabs--would eat into the distance I'd be able to drive that day. And I really was looking forward to racking up some serious mileage.

There was an outside shot that if the pickup had gone quickly, with clear traffic and a strong tail wind, I could make it all the way to our West Memphis, AR terminal. Alas, with the delay I only made it as far as Benton, AR, about 25 miles southwest of Little Rock. I stopped at a Pilot there for the night, then got hooked at the Poker tables (online). That's what kept me away from writing up a report for you last night. Sorry. But I did manage a whopping 20-cent profit for the night! I know you're jealous. (Or is "envious" the proper adjective?) After that I needed to get to sleep 'cuz I had to get up early again this morning.

Since I was at a Pilot, I got up early enough--4:00--to grab a shower and breakfast (a free Chipotle Steak Omelet sandwich from Subway with my Driver Payback Points) before hitting the road east at 4:45. I had to make a stop at the West Memphis terminal on my way through that town, so that drive plus a fuel stop in North Little Rock took 3 hours.

My West Memphis stop was to get my bi-annual DOT physical. My original one was set to expire on the 17th, so I needed a new one and we can get them done at our terminals. As I found out, the terminal actually sends us to a nearby clinic, so I had to drop my trailer in the yard and bobtail over. (It was either that or wait for a taxi. Since I was on a tight time frame, I chose the more expedient option.) It was only 4 miles back down the highway, so not a big deal. But the whole deal took over 3 hours from the time I arrived at the terminal 'til I was back underway with my load. (I got a clean bill of health, BTW.)

So that once again ate into my drive time, hence my stopping here (at another Pilot), about 20 miles south of Louisville. Actually, I could have driven another hour or so to another Pilot on the other side of "L-ville", but 'twas getting on in the day, I was getting rather tired, and it wouldn't make any difference in terms of when I'd get to my delivery tomorrow (and then home). Wherever I stopped I'd be back up and on the road as soon as I've had 10 hours worth of break.

Tonight I played yet another poker tournament online (just one this time because of my time crunch and fatigue). PokerStars has a new type of sit-n-go (SNG) tourney; it's called a "Double or Nothing". It starts when 10 players have signed up and plopped down their buy-ins and entry fees, and ends when 5 players have been eliminated (by betting and losing all of their 1500 starting chips). The remaining 5 double up their buy-ins. So, for example, I've been playing the "micro" buy-in version with $1.00 buy-in and 10-cent fee. (The buy-in goes into the prize pool.) At the conclusion of the game, each of the 5 "winners" gets $2.00. I've played 6 of 'em so far and cashed in 5. I know enough about proper tournament strategy that I (think I) can survive into the money just about every time. (Of course, now that I've publicly bragged about that, the poker gods are gonna start slapping me around to prove me wrong.)

OK, enough poker talk. And all talk, actually. I need to hit the sack since 3:30's gonna come right quick. Thanks for dropping by this corner of the WWWeb today, and keep on truckin'.

Bouncing Around Big D

DATELINE: WACO, TX, 8:00 p.m. CDT

Miles Today: 258

Well the sun has rose and the sun has set, and I still ain't out of Texas yet. Today just didn't go as I expected, which means I should have expected something like it, especially since it's time to be heading towards home. But here's the story.

I got up at 4:30 this mawnin' so I could clean up before heading off to my 6:00 a.m. delivery. I got rolling at 5:30 in Hutchins, which is just southeast of Dallas, and arrived right on time in Garland, on "Big D's" northeast corner. Nothing notable about the delivery, except that I recognized the place as once to which I've delivered once before. They had me done by 7:15, and I pulled out onto the street and parked along the curb to wait for my next assignment.

That initial wait took almost an hour, then I was reminded why, as my requested home date nears (this time it's Saturday), I need to remind the office folk when that is. I gotta' stop assuming they look at that info (it's on their computer screens when they assign loads to drivers). Anyway, the pickup was at another company about 2 miles away--another company from which I'd made a pickup once before. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that the load was headed west, when I need to be started east. (Well, and north, too.) The load was (still is, actually) destined for 3 stops, the first in Lubbock, TX, and the other two in small towns in very eastern New Mexico. I would have liked to have completed that run, because I don't get west of Dallas very often--usually only as far as Fort Worth. (But I did take a load to the Lubbock area once before.) And I haven't trucked in New Mexico yet, so that would have added a new state to my resume. Alas, the siren song of home was calling, so I had to voice my objection to that assignment.

That led to another hour-plus of waiting for a new load, instructions to make the pickup and further instructions for a drop or swap, or direction to just pick it up, make the deliveries, and stop whining about getting home late again. Eventually word came down: "Go make the pickup and we're working on a swap". If I didn't hear from them (Dispatch) about a swap by the time the load was complete, I was to just get started on the way towards Lubbock.

The pickup was set for 11:00, and it still wasn't even 10:00, so I just sat and waited a little more. At 10:00 I did head over to the pickup site. I recalled from my previous visit there that if you're early, they make you wait along the curb on the street 'til they call you in. (Drivers do check in at the intercom by the gate when we arrive so they know we're there and which load we're picking up. They also take our cell phone numbers to make the call at the appointed hour.) I figured that being within an hour of the scheduled appointment, I had a chance of getting in early. I did, but not 'til about 10:45, after a 30-minute curbside wait. (I did a lot of waiting today.)

The load went pretty smoothly and quickly, although they do have kind of a small area to maneuver the truck around in, especially in the docks at the end of the building, where I was assigned. But I made it in alright, especially after the truck in the space next to my target left and made the move immeasurably easier.

Whew, this report is getting long already, and I'm suddenly getting tired. (That happens after a 14-hour workday that encompassed only 6-1/2 hours of actual work: driving, site check-in, and paperwork duties.) And I haven't even told you yet how I was on my way westward, just past Fort Worth, an hour into the drive, when Dispatch finally let me know that they'd arranged for me to drop the load at a drop yard we use in back in Dallas. And how I had to drive that hour back. And how I had to wait (of course) for over an hour after dropping the load there for my next assignment. And how the new one sent me south, (again, not the direction I need to go), to a pickup at 8:00 in the morning in Jarrell, TX. And how Jarrell is 150 miles south of Dallas. And how I made it as far as Waco before my 14-hour window for this shift ran out. And how after I make the pickup in the morning (after driving another hour first to get there and make a fuel stop en route), I need to hustle 'cuz that load is due for delivery in Urbana, OH on Saturday morning. At least as a result of all my inactivity today, I'll have plenty of my 70 hours available for the trip back to the Midwest.

Oh well, I need to wrap up and get to bed, although I can sleep in 'til about 5:30 tomorrow. (Did I mention that, after posting last night's report, I didn't get much more sleep? Just couldn't fall asleep, and when I did, I kept waking up. That may have something to do with today's fatigue.) Anyway, I'm at the Flying J down here where I've stayed on multiple occasions previously. I guess today's theme, besides "Waiting", was "Familiar Ground". (I'm also headed back south on I-35, which I just drove northbound yesterday on my trip from Edinburg.)

Thanks for following my crazy, mixed-up goings-on. Please do send me your comments and questions and, as always, keep on truckin'.

Farther Than Pharr

DATELINE: HUTCHINS, TX, 10:15 p.m. CDT

Miles Today: 517
Miles Yesterday: 227

Quick update tonight 'cuz I have an early morning (6:00) delivery and need to get back to sleep. I say, "back to sleep" 'cuz I had a long nap after I stopped here this afternoon (I was just wiped out). I then got up around 7:45 p.m. after being rudely awakened by a call from Mrs. R.T. (just kidding about the "rudely" part), grabbed some dinner, went through my e-mail, and played a quick poker tourney. But since I neglected my blogging duties yesterday, I'll make the time to fill you in on my latest goings on.

I gave myself the luxury of sleeping in 'til 6:00 yesterday morning before heading to my delivery in Brownsville, TX. The drive down took a couple of hours, and the delivery went without a hitch. Then I had a wait. After an hour or so I sent in a message asking how soon my next load assignment might come in. The reply: I was "#82 on the board, with 15 more behind you". That meant a goodly wait to come, so I had plenty of time to heat up some lunch (I was parked at a "Parking Area" along the highway through Brownsville, so nowhere to buy grub) and catch a few Zs. Finally, after 4 or 4-1/2 hours, I had a new assignment: Pick up a load in Hidalgo, TX, bound for Garland, TX.

About a week and a half ago, you may remember that I had an assignment to pick up a load in Eufala, AL that was to go to Pharr, TX, but that load fell through. (See my posting entitled "Stuck" dated Sunday, September 28.) For this pickup I had to go through Pharr on my way to Hidalgo. So I actually had to go farther than Pharr. Anyway, I bustled on over to Hidalgo (about 50 miles west of Brownsville) and picked up the load. I only had 6 work hours available for the whole day, so I didn't have much time to drive very far after the pickup.

I stopped at a Love's in Edinburg, TX, which is just north of the that Hidalgo/Pharr/McAllen vicinity and is the lone fuel stop on our company's fuel network in extreme southern Texas. That was handy 'cuz I was getting low on fuel, so I filled up first thing this morning when I got started.

Speaking--er, writing--of which, I got up at 4:00 this morning to make the drive up to Garland, which is a suburb on the northeast corner of Dallas. That was about a 500-mile trip, and I only had 9-3/4 hours available to complete it. Nobody had ever confirmed a delivery appointment for this load--in fact, they told me one hadn't been set yet when I asked--so I figured I'd just head there and drop on in. Provided, of course, that I could get there within my available hours.

Along the way, I sent in another message asking if a delivery time had been set yet, and mentioned that my ETA would be 3:00 p.m. The only reply I got a little while later was, "Can't deliver early." OK, that was helpful. Earlier than when? I had to ask that question again. In the meantime, I was approaching the Dallas area and my time was running short, so I headed over to the Love's here in Hutchins, where I've stayed a few times before. (This one has a Carl's Jr. fast food outlet inside, one of my favorites. I've written about that before. Looking forward to a Steak 'n Egg Burrito for breakfast in the morning--one of the things I really look forward to when I get assignments into Texas--and I had a Guacamole Bacon Burger for dinner tonight. YUM!) Once here I finally got an answer to my delivery appointment; it's 6:00 tomorrow morning.

So I'll be getting up at 4:30 to shower up and shave before starting my workday (and getting that burrito). And now that it's after 11:00, I need to wrap this up and get back to bed. Thanks for looking in today, and keep on truckin'.

Traipsin' Through Texas

DATELINE: KINGSVILLE, TX, 9:00 p.m. CDT

Miles Today: 446
Miles Yesterday: 506

OK, I'm overdue by a day again...sorry 'bout dat. When I finished up yesterday at the TA in Lafayette, LA, I went inside to the drivers' lounge and watched some college football (most of the Alabama-Kentucky game), then returned to my truck and played some poker for a while. By the time I got ahead at that (by a whole 10 cents), it was time for beddy-bye. Hence no blogging. But, hey, nobody reads this thing on the weekends anyway, right? Well, here's how my weekend went, anyway.

I allowed myself the luxury of sleeping 'til 4:00 a.m. instead of getting rolling at 1:00 when my break hit the 10-hour mark. Since the load I was picking up was:
a. Waiting in a drop yard, and
b. Not due 'til noon on Monday
an ASAP pickup was not mission-critical. So I gave myself some extra shut-eye. But I was up at 4:00 and on the road shortly thereafter.

I had to return 40-50 miles to Birmingham after having been given premature direction Friday afternoon to head north for another load. I easily found the pickup site, but it wasn't an easy approach. The drop yard is along a narrow, 2-lane street in town, and bordered immediately on the far side by a railroad bed that's several inches below the street's level. So the right turn onto the street was tricky.

Next, the drop yard itself is accessed by a gate on a fence perpendicular to the street, and it has a short driveway/lot to enter before squeezing through the gate. Much fun when it's dark out. Once in the yard, dropping my empty trailer and hooking up the loaded one was easy enough. But exiting the yard and getting back onto that narrow street without dropping off into the railroad bed was still more fun than anyone deserves. I don't know who thought it'd be a good place to regularly be taking 53-foot trailers. Hopefully I won't have to go there again.

Anyway, that fun behind me, the rest of the day was just drive on across the deep south. (Well, except for a scale/fuel/shower/meal stop in Tuscaloosa, AL en route.) I haven't been down that-a-way for a few months now, and I'd missed it. (Way too much east coast/northeast lately.) And I haven't been down in this part of Texas for even longer.

When I was driving with my trainer, we headed down this way to Brownsville (and/or McAllen) once or twice each week. Since then, I'd only been through here a couple of times. So it's fun to be heading back to "deepest, darkest Texas". This morning I got up at 4:00 again and got rolling by 4:30. 'Twas another uneventful drive, and I've holed up at a Love's in this town. I have about 100 to 125 miles to go to Brownsville tomorrow, and with delivery due at noon, I'll have plenty of time to sleep in a bit and grab a shower. But I'm gonna' have to pay for the shower since this place isn't on out fuel network list and I can't fuel up and earn a shower credit. I'd better do so because I'll be stuck in Brownsville for the rest of the day after delivering tomorrow. I'll be just about out of my 70 hours 'til I get some more back on Tuesday, and there are precious few truck stops down there--and none with showers available. So I'd better be good and clean going in.

Well, I've reached the late hours of another long day, and I'm getting well fatigued now. Since I stopped here early this afternoon, I've played a good deal of online poker, with my usual lots-of-time-to-play results. That is, I've been the poster boy for "card dead". I played 7 10-cent-entry-fee multi-table tournaments, one 50-center, and one with a $1.10 entry fee, and got no help from the deck at all in those, crashing and burning long before making the money. But I capped off my day by winning a 9-player sit-n-go ($1.20 entry), so I wound up $1 ahead for the day. I FINALLY got some good cards--and action from my opponents when I had 'em. (On one hand, I eliminated 3--count 'em 3--opponents and took all their chips.) So that left me in a good enough frame of mind to wrap that up and tell y'all about my weekend.

So that's my current state of affairs. I'm hoping for an easy week as I head back for home--I'm due back there on Saturday. Thanks for your readership today. Please drop me a line so I'll know you're still out there, and keep on truckin'.

The Ol' Switcheroo

DATELINE: CULLMAN, AL, 5:00 p.m. CDT

Miles Today: 353

Not an impressive mileage total today, but I still managed to use up almost all of my 14-hour window, making for another long day after a short night. So what else is new? How 'bout this: I'm here in this town, but needn't be after all. So here's today's story.

I got up before 2:00 EDT this morning to go make my pickup in Cartersville, GA. That drive took about 1-1/2 hours, but went quickly with virtually no traffic at those hours. The pickup was a drop-and-hook, but took extra time because of the procedures used by the shipper. Afterwards I burned up more time weighing my truck at the nearby TA, readjusting the tandems because too much weight was on the trailer axles, and reweighing. And this was a very heavy load, so I had to get it just right (and I did ob the first reweigh).

After all that rigmarole, I hit the road for the delivery in Birmingham, AL. That drive, with a fuel stop and later pit stop, took 4 hours, and I got to the delivery about 45 minutes behind schedule. Nobody there took any notice of my tardiness, but by the time I got there 8 trucks were already on-site for unloading. Since they only have 4 docks, (and were only unloading on 3), I had a bit of a wait.

All told, I was at the delivery for 4-1/2 hours. But at least I managed to catch a few Z's during my wait (did I mention I didn't sleep much last night--probably only 4 hours total). Afterwards I hightailed it over to a Pilot in town to send in my load paperwork and wait for my next assignment. Apparently the company's server was down, so they couldn't send me the assignment message, but my Fleet Manager did tell me (via Qualcomm message) to head towards the town of Moulton, AL for my next pickup.

Now, by that time of the day, my 14-hour driving window was closing up. I only had 1-1/4 hours left, and Moulton was at least 90 miles away. I messaged in that I couldn't get all the way to the pickup within my 14 hours before I'd have to take my 10-hour break, but I'd head up the road (I-65) to get closer for a morning pickup. And off I went.

Along the way, my new assignment message came in. A few miles later I came to a rest area so I could pull over, read the message, and get the load details. As I suspected (and had mentioned to Mrs. R.T. on the phone that it was a possibility), they switched my assignment. Instead of picking up a load in Moulton, I was now to grab a trailer from a drop yard we use back in--ready for this--Birmingham.

Yup, I coulda' stayed at that Pilot, where I coulda' eaten free at their Wendy's and taken a shower in the morning. Also, if they'd kept me on the Moulton pickup, I was headed for another Pilot up that-a-way. But no, I'm 40-50 miles up the road at an independent truck stop, since I didn't have the available hours to drive all the way back. At least there's a Hardee's right next door, so I got something tasty for dinner anyway. (A Jalapeno Burger and side salad.)

So now, come early morning--or the middle of the night, more accurately--when I've finished this 10-hour break, I'm gonna' get up and head back to B'ham to start that new load on its way. This one is headed for Brownsville, TX, about as far south as you can get in that state. (When I was driving with my trainer nigh on almost 2 years ago now, we went to Brownsville several times.) I deliver there on Monday, so I'll be hoofin' it pretty good over the weekend. It's about 1000 miles from B'ham to B'ville (at least, that's what the load assignment will pay me for), so that'll be a couple of full days of driving.

Well, once again I have to hit the sack early so I can rise in the dark. Thanks for looking in today, and keep on truckin'.

Unstuck

DATELINE: JEFFERSON, GA, 6:15 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 444
Miles Yesterday: 337
Miles Tuesday: 645
Miles Monday: 329

First of all, apologies once more for a few days of not updating you on my whereabouts. USA's been keeping me running, late into the nights and with no spare time in my schedule. I'm hitting the road every time my daily break hits the 10-hour mark, and when I get done for the day I've been too tired to blog. Today I finally got a short day because I've used up all of my 70 hours allotted for the 8 days since I got back on the road. But that's short-lived as I gotta' hit the road at 2:15 tomorrow morning as I once again complete this 10-hour break and I get 10-1/4 hours back to work tomorrow (the 10-1/4 hours I worked last Thursday).

Anyway, no, I'm not still in Spartanburg, SC. I got out of there on Monday afternoon when I finally got the go-ahead from Dispatch to deliver my load, despite signs at the customer site that they don't take deliveries on Monday. But when I drove over (5 miles from our terminal where I'd been parked), the gate was open. I went into the office and announced myself. The first thing the guy said to me was, "You know, we don't take deliveries on Monday." But he also told me I could drop the trailer in one of the doors and take away an empty one they had there. Oh happy day!

So that went quickly, and soon I had my next assignment. It was for a pickup in Greenville, SC, so I plotted out my course and headed that way. Somewhere en route a message came in on my Qualcomm, but since I was driving on the highway I couldn't pull over to read it. When I got onto the surface streets headed to the pickup and finally hit a red light, I got to read the message. They had switched my assignment, and now I was to make for a pickup in Salem, SC.

Of course, I was on a road with no place to turn around (much less stop and figure out how to get to Salem), so I had to go a number of miles out of my way before I finally found a place for an about-face. I also had to stop in the center left-turn lane to write down the directions to the new pickup.

It turns out Salem is way back in the mountains, NW of I-85, past Clemson (the town and the U). The last 30 miles are all narrow, twisty, hilly road. I could tell it was going to be a fun drive out in the dark. Once I reached the shipper, it was late afternoon and they had a line of trucks waiting to get loaded. So, naturally, I had a bit of a wait there. But I was on my way within a couple of hours.

Since I had started the day so late, I could run well past midnight. My plan was to make it to our Roanoke, VA terminal, which was just within reach with my available hours. (I would get there about 4:00 a.m.) But I caught a break when I stopped at a truck stop outside of Mount Airy (aka, "Mayberry"), NC at 2:00 a.m. After an unsuccessful search for a parking spot in the lot, I had pulled into the fuel island to run inside to use the rest room. Just as I came out, a truck was pulling out of a parking spot right next to the building. Since I was a bit tired, I grabbed that spot for the night. Oh happy day--er, night!

Anyway, I'm going to sum up the rest of the week, since I'm getting tired again and I need to get up early once more. I took that Salem, SC load to Berwick, PA, delivering it Tuesday evening. Then I went to Fredericksburg, PA to pick up my next load. I made that pickup between midnight and 2:00 a.m., then zipped over to our former terminal in Bethel, PA, just 10 miles away, for the night. That load was bound for Buford, GA. The "funny" part is it was due at 11:59 p.m., or 22 hours after I picked it up. With a 700-mile trip and me needing a 10-hour break as soon as I made the pickup, the delivery wasn't going to happen on time. So I had some stress as my Fleet Manager seemed to think I was at fault that I couldn't do the impossible. (Where's the accountability for the idiots--er, people--that assign these loads without verifying a driver's available hours?) But I made the delivery this afternoon, and nobody at the customer site even said word one about being late.

And now I'm poised for tomorrow's pickup which, incidentally, is the same place I picked up the load that eventually got me stranded in Spartanburg last weekend. This time the load's going to Birmingham, AL, with delivery slated for 8:00 tomorrow morning. (The pickup assignment was originally set for 10:00 tonight, but I couldn't legally go then due to the hours-of-service regulations. Hence my plans for another early start tomorrow.) Happily, AL is in Central time, so I'll get an extra hour to make the journey after picking up the load.

And now I'm off to bed. Thanks for your patience during my reporting lapses. And thanks for taking a look today. Please send me copious questions and comments, and keep on truckin'.