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'.