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'.