The Yard - Amherst, WI

Chicago rush hour

...so was everybody going through downtown Chicago

7 miles of traffic

Some days you're the hammer and some days you're the nail. Everybody coming out of Illinois on I-80/94E happened to be the latter.

Russell, IL

When I last left you, road service was on the way - within an hour, I was told. Since I had some time to kill, I bundled up and tried to sleep a little. About three hours later, 2am if you lost track, the guy showed up. A quick fix of the battery cables and the truck was up and running. Only, by that time, I was on my 10-hr break and couldn't go anywhere. Nothing like spending the night on the shoulder of a busy interstate.

After fighting traffic all day, including a jaunt through Chicago rush hour, I've called it a night here in Russell.

Brokedown, Somewhere

It all started off so wonderful. I got to sleep late, no alarm, took a shower and ate breakfast. I picked up my load to Wisconsin this afternoon in Augusta, GA and was planning on stopping in Franklin, KY, which is less than an hour away. My truck had other plans, see, as it decided to shut down while I was driving through downtown Nashville. So I'm parked on the shoulder waiting for road service to show up. And my 14-hr clock expires in an hour. Good. Times.

Cayce, SC

Rewind to Friday. I'm not sure what they're putting in the water over in Alabama, but it appears to be causing old men in little cars to play chicken with young men in big trucks. The shipper in Cherokee is in an isolated industrial area with very little traffic, so when I leave I usually pull over in the center turn lane to do my paperwork and slide my tandems. Like I said, very little traffic. As per usual, I put my four-way flashers on and began slowing to a stop in the turn lane, only this time I see an oncoming car approaching in the same lane. Mind you, there is nothing back here except the paper plant which the road dead ends into, so there is no place to turn. The car is simply driving in the turn lane. Well, I'm big so surely he'll see me and get back in his lane. He's probably just playing with the radio. Any second he's going to get back in his lane. Any second now. Holy crap, he's going to run straight into me! As I was reaching for the air horn, he slows abruptly and cautiously moves back into his lane, then proceeds to drive by my truck at 5 mph like it was a police car with it's lights on or something. It was then that I noticed he probably grew up with Herbert Hoover. I'm thinking his field of vision only included whatever was 30ft in front of him, because that's about when he apparently saw my truck and decided he didn't want to play chicken anymore. The rest of the trip was much less exciting, fortunately.

Until today. I'm almost ashamed to tell this on myself, but hey, I'm here for your entertainment, so enjoy. I got to the truck today and was going to start it up before I put all my stuff in it. Hmm, that's interesting. The key is in the on position. Hmm, that's interesting. Nothing happens when I turn the key. That's because the batteries are dead, dead, dead, and dead (there are four, ha). An attempt to jump-start them from another truck was fruitless, so a wrecker was called in to perform a pull-start. For those unfamiliar with vehicles with manual transmissions, it is possible to start their engines by getting the vehicle rolling and releasing the clutch while the transmission is in gear. It's a great idea, but if your vehicle has air brakes and no air pressure in the tanks to release the parking brakes because it's been sitting all weekend, the process is a bit more challenging. Fortunately, that's why the tow-truck driver gets the big bucks. He was able to hook a hose from his truck to my tanks to get them pressurized. Next, he hooked a chain to the front of the truck to pull it with. My job, as he explained, was to release the brakes, put the truck in gear, and release the clutch after the truck started rolling. Oh yeah, and not to run into the back of his truck after the engine started. The trick worked like a charm and I managed to avoid trading paint, for which the tow-truck driver shook my hand. Apparently, he hasn't been so lucky in the past.

I was able to drop my load Sunday night and made it to a truck stop a few miles down the interstate, which is where I now sit. I don't have another load yet, which is fine by me - I don't have to set an alarm for the morning.

Capleville, TN

I had a very short, but wonderful Christmas, and am now back at work. Well, the Christmas part was good. The whole leaving the family in the middle of opening presents on Christmas morning and barely being home long enough to pack my bags was not so good. But I was pleasantly surprised upon arriving at the truck and finding I had a load picking up in Cherokee, AL going to Columbia, SC that will get me back home today, hopefully. So, I've got that going for me, which is nice.

What I don't have going for me is a trailer with a securely attached service brake line. It's real fun to be driving seventy-four thousand pounds down the road at sixty-five miles per hour and watch as nothing happens when you press the brake pedal. I still had tractor brakes, but those aren't enough. I actually discovered this little issue Tuesday after I picked this trailer up. The air line from the tractor to the trailer disconnects from the trailer while I'm driving down the road, thus leaving me without trailer brakes. So, I have to pull over and reattach the air line every couple hours or so. Therein lies another problem. With the hose disconnected, if the brakes are applied, air will just leak out the hose and drain the air tanks. When the pressure in the tanks gets too low, the emergency spring brakes activate, locking the wheels. Anyway, with the help of the engine brake, I am able to gear down to about 10 mph, which is slow enough to use the brakes to stop. Good thing I'm dumping this piece of junk after I deliver.

I wanted to make sure I had as much time as possible to get home today, so I managed to find a truck stop that's five minutes from my delivery. I'll even get to sleep late. Beautiful.

Trucker's Christmas

Last night when I got to the receiver, I opened the trailer doors and bumped the dock so the warehouse guys could get started first thing this morning and I could sleep in. I felt the forklift in the trailer around 6am. Normally, getting unloaded an hour ahead of my appointment time might bode well for the rest of the day, however today, I was going to Catawba, SC. As another driver I met today said, "Man, you know they hold hostages at that place!" And they did. For almost 5 hours. On a load that was supposed to be ready 2 hours before I arrived. So, after starting my day at 6am, I made it home around 8pm.

Tomorrow and the next day will be consumed by travel and Christmas gatherings, then it's back on the road. I will most likely be driving on Christmas day. And to rub salt on the wound, I received a satellite message today reminding all the drivers that beginning at noon on the 24th, there will only be one person on duty in the office until Monday at 7am. So, the employees that get to go home from work every day get two and a half days off plus the weekend? And the employees that live in a truck get a day and a half off and have to work on Christmas day? Sounds like somebody didn't get the memo about my hobby-trucker agenda.

Denmark, SC

After following someone's pathetic excuse for an attempt at directions, I managed to find the receiver three minutes before my 7am appointment time. Not like it mattered - I ended up getting detention pay because they took so long to unload their junk. Just as they finished, I got a beep. Great, another load into the Carolinas. It turned out to not be so bad. I got loaded in Kennessaw with seven pallets totaling less than five-thousand pounds. Love those light loads. I made it to the receiver in Denmark, SC this evening, but have to wait until tomorrow morning to get unloaded. Then it's up to Catawba to get loaded and head to the house.

Almost done?

I have a 7am appointment to get unloaded and I'm not sure what's after that, but I'm hoping to be home for Christmas very soon. Especially since I'm less than an hour away from home.

Remember the other day when I was forced to revert to relying solely on my XM radio for entertainment? I must have somehow offended the satellites because all the radio does now is display an error message regarding the antenna, despite that the antenna is plugged in and has an unobstructed view to the clear skies. In my desperation to fix the problem I made a poorly timed call to customer support, whose first line of troubleshooting involved unplugging wires and replugging wires, blah, blah, blah, stuff that you can't do at 65mph. Guess I'll call back tomorrow.

Cherokee, AL

I should have known better than to come down I-65 through Kentucky. My routing actually had me taking I-57 down Illinois, but at the time, the fastest way out of Chicago was I-94 and that was my priority. Anyway, get your act together Kentucky. Your roads suck. Still.

Seeing as how the consignee is a 24-hr facility, I slept in this morning and took my time getting started. That was a nice change of pace. I'm afraid I may be seeing a lot more "change of pace". That's what has most impressed me about this company-I've stayed very busy in what is typically seen as the slow period for trucking. So far, I've always had a new load assignment before I finished the load I was on, except maybe once. So when I got a beep, I wasn't too surprised to find a preplan. I was surprised to see that the load wasn't scheduled to be ready until two days after I delivered my load at the same facility. I dropped my loaded trailer tonight and checked in with shipping to see if the new load was ready. Now, I know it's asking a lot. I'm lucky if most loads are ready when they're scheduled to be, much less earlier than scheduled. Of course it wasn't ready. I was told it may be loaded by tomorrow, though. Works for me.

Remington, IN

Well, at least I'm not in Wisconsin. Try as I might to get away from the bad weather, I'm still in the bullseye of the coming ice storm. Perhaps I'll get to sleep in tomorrow.

I left Catawba yesterday morning and stopped in Whitestown, IN. It was a pretty smooth trip. As I was pulling in to Pilot to stop for the night, I wasn't paying much attention to the CB until I heard crude anatomical references and threats of bodily harm. Well alright, looks like the day wasn't a waste after all. Apparently, some radio-Rambos had pissed-off some passing driver enough that he decided to turn around and come back to the truckstop. Not wanting to miss the show, I grabbed one of the last spots and looked for some popcorn. The Rambos must have run out of ammunition, because they were a no-show at that point. Guess it's back to XM for my entertainment.

I made my delivery in Chicago this morning, dropped the rented trailer (remember the crappy trailers in Charlotte?), picked up an empty company trailer, and got loaded. Four different stops all in Chicago and the Chicago 'burbs. I didn't technically get lost, but I did miss an exit. I unexpectedly found myself on I-290E not knowing exactly how I was going to get back on track, with images of low bridges and laughing devils flashing in my mind. Thankfully, I encountered neither. I was still able to exit to the street I needed, albeit a little farther north.

Hopefully the parking lot won't be a big ice cube in the morning, but with all the snow and rain on the radar, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Catawba, SC

Uh, yeah. I'm just glad today is over with. Mud holes in Rock Hill, crappy trailers in Charlotte, and a load that's not ready in Catawba. I'm going back to sleep now.

Calhoun, TN

I should be home right now. That's my opinion, anyway. I was to deliver in Ringgold, GA this morning, which I did, then pick-up in Calhoun, TN a load going to Manteo, NC. Not bad. I'd get a nice trip to the Outer Banks at least. As I was being unloaded, which started about an hour and a half after I arrived, I decided to take a walk around the truck and check the tire pressure. That's when I noticed one of my trailer tires was missing a chunk of tread. So, I called the shop and was told to go a few miles back down I-75 to get the spare tire put on. At this point, it was 11am and I realized there was no way I could make Manteo by 8am tomorrow. After informing my dispatcher, she asked the obligatory "why not?". Uh, let's see...8am is 21 hours away. It would take over 11 hours to drag the heavy trailer over there, plus a 10 hour break, tire replacement, fuel stops, food stops, and rest breaks. So she canceled that load and gave me one to South Carolina. Crap. I just got out of that black hole. At the same time, she also assigned me a load out of Columbia going to Ringgold again. Whew.

So I check-in with shipping in Calhoun and am told the load that was supposed to be ready yesterday isn't going to be ready until tomorrow. No biggie. I ran hard last week, so I don't mind a little downtime for some r&r. I headed down the road to park at the truckstop for the night and sent a message to my dispatcher to let her know what was going on. I may have also mentioned I need to get to the yard to get an updated fuel tax sticker. Poof! My loads to and from South Carolina were promptly canceled. Now in their place is a load from Calhoun to Charlotte and one from Catawba, SC to Carol Stream, IL. Oh, but it can't be so simple. I have to drop the Charlotte load, not in Charlotte, but in Rock Hill, SC, go up to Charlotte to grab an empty trailer and then go down to Catawba to get loaded.

Apparently three is the magic number. There is some cosmic law that says all trips to the Carolinas must involve at least three stops, take an entire day, and leave you an hour farther than you can legally drive from any decent truckstop. And so it is.

Home again

After a rather productive week, I'm back at home. I should have learned by now, but I still set my alarm for 3am this morning. I hit snooze several times and reset the alarm 3 times before I actually got up at 6am. I just couldn't talk myself into getting up, especially knowing that I didn't have a deadline today and had plenty of time to get home. Oh well, I was home in time for dinner.

I made it to the shipper in Columbia around 11:30am and since it was a huge facility, the guard had to give me directions to the docks. Well, I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and found myself in a rather tight spot. Though, it wouldn't have been so tight if there weren't guard rails everywhere. Seriously, who needs 43598739457 miles of guard rail when the speed limit is 20mph?

The red arrow is where I took a wrong turn. The green arrow is where
I was supposed to go. The yellow lines are some of the guard rails.

Anyway, I found a worker outside that was nice enough to help me get turned around. I checked in with the shipping office and the guy said, "Oh, I've got bad news. It's going to be a live load." Now, the majority of our loads are live loads, meaning we have to sit and wait while they load our trailer, so no big deal. But since he made a point to mention it, I'm thinking it's going to be a while. So I ask. How long do you think it'll take? "Oh gosh, probably an hour." I was proud of myself for not laughing in his face. I didn't want to corrupt his over-achiever spirit with tales of my waiting all day for a load that should have been ready the day before. I went back out to the truck and half an hour later he came and told me I was loaded and ready to go. Awesome.

I had an easy drive back to Georgia that was uneventful, save for the brief slow down encountered in the picture below.

Oops in South Carolina

Came across this on my way back home this afternoon.

St Pauls, NC

Perhaps I shouldn't have been so gleeful when I last returned from Indiana, narrowly avoiding a trip through the snow and bitter cold of the North. Yesterday morning I left Greenwood, LA dark and early. Louisiana was mostly rain, but it snowed all the way across Mississippi. I almost checked my GPS to make sure I wasn't in Michigan. Poor visibility, snow-covered roads, and vehicles in ditches....in Mississippi. What the heck? I passed by a tractor-trailer on it's side in the median and watched as a car did a 180 and slid off the interstate and down an embankment. Fortunately, I didn't have any such experience personally. It cleared up in Alabama and I had a pretty smooth drive all the way to Atlanta. I parked at home just as my 11 drive-hours were up.

This morning, I delivered in Durham, NC and drove down to Fayetteville, NC to pick-up another load. I'll drop this off in the morning in Rock Hill, SC and head down to Columbia, SC to pick up a load that should get me through home.

Greenwood, LA

Bill Engvall, you can have this one: I left Arlington this morning and was trying to get to Carrollton. As I was driving up one street, I came to a newly built 4-lane divided highway (that was not on my map) and was forced to turn right. Now I'm lost. I quickly pulled out my phone and pulled up the GPS. A few turns later and I was almost back on route when the local "Constable" made a u-turn behind me and turned his lights on. Great.

"I stopped you because this isn't a truck route". Oh really, is that what all these houses mean? "License, insurance, and registration please....this registration expired in October". Sir, I believe it expires in October 2009. I explained where I came from, where I was going, and that I got lost at the new construction. Still, he just had to ask, "do you travel this route often?". Every day, sir, but this time I was driving with my eyes closed just for kicks. Here's your sign.

I made my delivery this morning and headed up to Carrollton to get loaded. After waiting until 2pm for my 1pm appointment, I went back inside to the shipping office and was promptly assigned a door. Thanks for coming and telling me I could back in like you said you would, Mr. Dock Manager. I was rolling by 4pm and made it back into Louisiana, just a few miles from where I stayed last night, at 7pm. Nothing like a full 14-hour day.

Shreveport, LA

After a relaxing weekend, I had some miles to knock out today. I figured if I wanted some decent hours remaining to give me any chance of picking up another load after tomorrow morning's delivery, I had better use all my hours today. I left around 6am and made it here at 6pm with just under 11 hours of drive time, so I should be set for a 3 hour drive to my drop in the morning and plenty of hours left for a pick-up (hint hint, dispatcher).

I stopped in Mississippi for a quick break this morning and almost broke a sweat. It's easy to forget it's December when the temperature is in the 70's.

The trip was pretty smooth, save for some torrential rain in Louisiana and the suicidal drivers that came with it. I came across one genius doing 45mph in a 70mph zone with no flashers on. I almost granted his wish. Yeah, better luck next time buddy.

Well, my belly is full and the bed is calling.

Home

It's quite amazing how much better I sleep when I'm at home. I've enjoyed a couple days of downtime here and will be heading back out early tomorrow morning. Should be in Texas Wednesday morning.

Catawba, SC

Okay, you can't let me do this. The whole not blogging for two days means I now have to work harder to remember what I've done the past 48 hours.

So, Thursday morning I left Remington, IN and was going to stop in Tennessee for the night, just north of Alabama, but decided to go on in to Cherokee since I had the hours. I think I got "Shaken Truck-Driver Syndrome" on I-65 through Kentucky. There's about a 20-mile stretch of "road" that the DOT should be sued for failing to maintain. I think I drove over a couple cars that had fallen into the holes. Anyway, I got to Cherokee around 9:30pm, though my appointment wasn't until 3pm Friday. About an hour after I went to sleep, I was awakened by the yard dog (trailer jockey) pounding on my door to let me know I could back into a dock. A few hours later, he pounded on my door again to let me know they were done. Good times. I was on my ten hour break, so I pulled out of the gate and parked on the side of the driveway with a couple of other trucks and went back to sleep. I was scheduled to pick up in Birmingham Friday, though I apparently failed to notice the whole 4pm appointment time thing. Not wanting to waste the day, I got an early start out of Cherokee, arriving in B-Ham, oh, about five hours early. Nice, Bret. Since I'd already started my 14-hour clock, I decided to go ahead and get fuel and grab a shower and some lunch at the Pilot up the road. Once I got back, they had me loaded on schedule and I was rolling by 5:30pm. Since I got started too early, my hours were almost up about the time I got to Atlanta, so I stopped at home for the night.

I drove to Catawba this morning and made my noon delivery on-time and am now waiting for my trailer to get loaded. Next stop....Texas. I'll be able to grab a day or two at home before delivering next week.

Top notch funny

If this doesn't make you laugh, check your pulse.

Remington, IN

The alarm went off at 5am and I hit snooze twice before I just reset it for 6am. Perhaps I should have gone to bed sooner. Nah.

I pulled out around 7am and shortly thereafter my dispatcher messaged me to find out when I'd be able to deliver. Apparently the load just had to be in Wisconsin today, so she arranged to have another driver meet me here to swap loads. Now he gets to go north through the snow and I get to go back south. Sucka!

I had a pretty easy drive today since I managed to miss all the rush hour traffic, though I hit a snag coming into Cincinatti. A pick-up truck was broken down in the left lane on the I-75 bridge across the Ohio river and traffic was crawling for a few miles. After that, it was smooth sailing all the way here. The load I've got now doesn't have to deliver in Alabama until Friday, so I might just have time to get the truck looked at tomorrow. Or maybe I'll just sleep in again. Yeah, that sounds good.

Candler, NC

You'd think with a full 14-hour work day available that I'd be able to make a little progress. Obviously I didn't, as I'm still in the Carolinas. It went something like this: I hit the road at six and made it to the shipper in Taylorsville, NC a couple hours later. Oh what's that, Mr. Guard? This facility closed down a month ago? Don't you worry, I'll be sure to inform my dispatcher. With two hours down the drain, I head over to Lenoir for my first pick-up. What's that? I need a pick-up number? Don't you worry, I'll call my dispatcher. After loading three items, I was off to my second pick-up on the other side of Lenoir. It wasn't too long before they had all twenty-nine pieces loaded and ready to go. However, when I went to the office, I was told that the pieces I was supposed to get in Taylorsville were going to be loaded at this plant and if I waited in the truck they'd let me know when they were done. So a couple hours later I go inside to inquire about the lack of progress.

Have you ever ordered steak in a restaurant and it took so long you jokingly asked the waiter, "did you have to kill the cow? Haha". Well that's basically what happened today. The three pieces of furniture I was waiting on to be loaded turned into almost thirty and they hadn't even been made. So after waiting all day, I finally go back to the office to get my paperwork, and in the middle of getting my bills together, the lady says, "oh, I've got an e-mail" and begins typing a reply. Huh? Lady, I don't care if you just won the lottery. Not once, but twice this happened. "Oh, I've got another e-mail". It'll be there when you get back, wrap it up! After all that, she reminds me that the load has to be in Wisconsin tomorrow. I bit my lip so hard it's still sore. I took my paperwork and left. In fairness, she seemed like a really nice, kind-hearted woman, she just wasn't very expeditious.

I made it to Candler, got fuel, and grabbed a parking spot. I'll try to get an early start in the morning and drive until I'm out of hours.

Rock Hill, SC

After a nice, long holiday weekend, I am back on the road. Thanksgiving with the family was good, as was some downtime at home. I finally got a mini-fridge in the truck and stocked up on drinks and snacks! Yeah, that's pretty exciting.

I started off in Georgia, delivered in NC, picked up and delivered in SC, and will be heading back to NC tomorrow morning to pick up a load going to Wisconsin. Wisconsin. What part of "I'm not a penguin" do these people not understand? Sure it's a nice long run, but you know, it's cold up there. Not to mention, the last time I entered Wisconsin I got a DOT inspection. I could do without all that mess.

Happy Thanksgiving

Birmingham, AL

I almost made it home today, but according to DOT regulations I'm too tired to drive. So I'm sitting in B-Ham for ten hours.

Yesterday, I left Jacksonville at 6am and made it to Orlando at 9am for my delivery appointment. Then it was back to Jacksonville to get loaded at a recycling facility that barely accommodates cars, let alone tractor-trailers. Way too tight. Just getting there was a challenge. When I got off I-95 I needed to go left, but I could only go right. Good times. I was only a couple miles away, but my appointment time was fast approaching and I didn't know how long it would take for me to get un-lost, so I made a quick call to my dispatcher to apprise her of the situation so she could call the shipper. Two left turns later, I was heading in the right direction. Then, the entrance to the facility snuck up on me, so I ended up having to get turned around again. Once I got loaded I drove over to Baldwin and stopped for the night.

I had a lot of ground to cover today, so I woke up at 3:15am and I was rolling by 4:30am. I made it to the receiver in Childersburg, AL for a nice easy drop/hook around noon. Next, I had to go over to Fairfield, AL to pick-up the load that is getting me home. Yellow posts by the road, dirt driveway...alright, I found it. Goat path is a pretty accurate description of the entrance to this place. A ninety degree turn here, down a hill, another ninety degree turn, up a hill....I think they found an old logging site and just started building crap. Whatever, they had me loaded in no time and I was on my way.

I hope to be home by 7-ish and on the road to K-town by 8. See y'all soon.

Jacksonville, FL

I had a nice smooth ride down I-75 today and made my appointment with no problems. The problem happened after I was unloaded when I noticed a significant puddle of fluid under the truck. I'll be calling the shop in the morning to see what they want me to do.

I'm fortunate enough to have a couple friends in the Jacksonville area, so after I parked the truck for the night, they picked me up and we went out to dinner.

Time for a good night's sleep before the fun begins tomorrow morning.

Hometime?

I asked my dispatcher when I could plan on being home. This was her reply.

Lebanon, IN

The weekend is off to a good start! The mechanic came knocking at 7am to take my truck, so I hopped out and went across the street for some breakfast. The brakes had to be inspected, plus I wanted a few other items taken care of. I now have a power inverter installed so I can have a tv and mini-fridge. They also fixed the lumbar support and the "desk" in the cabinet behind the driver's seat. The best part is they were done around lunch time. I've heard stories about guys being stuck there for days getting their truck worked on, so I guess I got lucky.

And because the shop guys were so awesome and got me out of there quickly, I still got the Florida load. I made it to the shipper around 3pm and was told the trailer was pre-loaded, sealed, and ready to go. Sweet. I was out of there in an hour. I actually have two stops, one in Jacksonville on Monday, and the last in Orlando on Tuesday. Including today, that will be three days of nothing but wake up and drive, then shut down and sleep. If only every day were like this.

"Pull around..."

In this profession, I have learned, planning is absolutely pointless. Whether it's waiting in the docks, stuck in traffic, snowed in, or being inspected by the fine folks at Wisconsin DOT, something is going to happen that rips my neat little plan to shreds. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle. If you picked up on that reference, good for you. If not, you were deprived as a child.

Around noon, after seeing traffic moving pretty well and not hearing any horror stories on the CB, I decided it was time to get back on the road. The roads were damp but clear, it wasn't snowing, and the sun was trying to peek through. Five seconds later, I couldn't see the pavement in front of me. The snow didn't last long and I made it out of Michigan and through Indiana without any problems. Then into Illinois. Chicago traffic was, well, Chicago traffic.

As soon as I get into Wisconsin, I go over the scales and get the dreaded "Pull around to the inspection garage" sign. I knew I wasn't overweight, so I figured I was just the unlucky sap they decided to pick on. The officer checked my lights and brakes, looked over my logs and paperwork and told me I could go, but that I needed to get the trailer brakes adjusted soon. So I made my delivery in Menasha and headed to the yard to drop the trailer. So much for picking up the load to Florida. It actually worked out well because I can get the shop to install my inverter and fix the driver's seat while I'm here, hopefully.

More snow!

No more tire tracks...

Hunkered down

This is where I stopped last night. The Michigan DOT hotline reports that roads are snow and/or ice covered and slippery. CB reports are that there is a wreck on I-94 westbound a few miles from where I am and traffic is obviously backed up. I was hoping to get going this morning, but I may be hanging out for a while.

Paw Paw, MI

I wanted to see snow, and I've seen it. My day started off well enough. I got up and made it to the shipper in Kalamazoo at 8am to pick-up the load that was supposed to be ready yesterday. We've seen this movie before. So, I drop my empty trailer and they're supposed (there's that word again) to bring my loaded trailer to me. Nine hours later they bring the loaded trailer-the same trailer I dropped this morning, despite that when I arrived there was already an empty trailer of ours there. Whatever. I hook up and get on my merry way west. As soon as I get on I-94...snow. The roads are wet, the temperature is below freezing, snow is blowing sideways, and I could barely see the stripes on the road. It didn't help my nerves to hear other drivers, who presumably are more experienced than me, over the CB say things such as, "Looks like it's gonna be a fun night" and "Oh shit, I don't wanna be a truck driver any more." Apparently, a few miles up the road that snow turned to ice, because at least one truck got stuck trying to go up a hill. Traffic was backed up over 6 miles, so I got off and set up camp for the night. I decided to check the weather forecast, and below is what I found.

The Weather Channel

Local Severe Weather Alert for Paw Paw, MI (49079)

/O.CON.KGRR.LE.W.0005.000000T0000Z-081121T1800Z/ ALLEGAN-VAN BUREN- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...HOLLAND...SOUTH HAVEN 447 PM EST THU NOV 20 2008

...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST FRIDAY...

A NARROW BAND OF INTENSE LAKE EFFECT SNOW EXTENDING FROM SAUGATUCK TO PAW PAW AT 430 PM IS EXPECTED TO BECOME ORIENTED FARTHER WEST LATER THIS EVENING. THIS BAND HAS BEEN PRODUCING SNOWFALL RATES OF GREATER THAN ONE INCH PER HOUR... WITH A TOTAL OF 5 INCHES REPORTED SO FAR AT SAUGATUCK AS OF 430 PM.

IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THIS MAIN SNOW BAND WILL MOVE OFFSHORE OF SAUGATUCK AND SOUTH HAVEN FOR A TIME TONIGHT BEFORE MOVING BACK ON SHORE EARLY FRIDAY MORNING.

TOTAL STORM ACCUMULATIONS BY 1 PM FRIDAY WILL BE 7 TO 11 INCHES ALONG AND WEST OF A LINE FROM HOLLAND TO PAW PAW. ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE MUCH LIGHTER FARTHER EAST.

THE SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO DIMINISH IN INTENSITY DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY.

A LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE. LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS TYPICALLY ALIGN THEMSELVES IN BANDS AND WILL LIKELY BE INTENSE ENOUGH TO DROP 1 TO SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW PER HOUR FOR SEVERAL HOURS. VISIBILITIES VARY GREATLY AND CAN DROP TO ZERO WITHIN MINUTES. TRAVEL IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT... FOOD... AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

Jenison, MI

Today confirmed that I am type A, not that it was really in doubt. When it comes to schedules and appointments, I like to have a bit of a time cushion. Today I had no such luxury. I drove every last minute of my available 11 hours and made it to the receiver, though I arrived later than scheduled. Of course since I used all my drive hours, I'll be sitting here for at least ten hours, but I freakin' made it! Take that, Murphy! Aside from the scheduling issues, the day was about as good as it gets driving-wise. I got an early start out of Knoxville, didn't hit any traffic jams, didn't get lost, and got unloaded right after I got to the receiver.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to pick-up a load in Kalamazoo going to Menasha, WI. The best part is I don't have to get up at 4am!

Under the gun

Once again, a mad dash to make a delivery on time. I'm in Knoxville
and must be in Grand Rapids, MI by 3:30pm tomorrow, though I can't
leave here until 4am. I was held up for over four hours this morning
to get unloaded, which pretty much wrecked my day. On the plus side, I got to have dinner with Mom and Grandpa.

#3

#2

Since I have some spare time...

Temple, GA

The first day back to work is always the hardest, isn't it? I got
started at 7am and hit some rush hour traffic around Atlanta. Not
long after I got on the road, the Qualcomm beeped with my next load.
I was to pick up a load at the same place I was dropping off going to
Oakwood, GA (basically right back where I came from). When I
responded with my concern about making the 8am appointment, the
dispatcher didn't seem to understand my predicament. You know, the
whole part about me needing to get fuel, eat lunch and dinner, do
paperwork, sleep, etc. So, I pretty much have zero downtime on this
load. I stopped at 7pm and will be back on the road when my break is
up at 5am. Needless to say, I am tired and will be going to bed
forthwith.

11/13/08

Okay, so I'm a little behind.

I've pretty much gone in a big circle these past couple of days. Atlanta to Calhoun, TN, Calhoun to Charlotte, NC, then down to La Grange, GA and back to Atlanta. Presently, I'm sitting at a recycling
facility getting loaded with scrap paper.

I did get to stop in Knoxville Tuesday night and have a nice dinner with Mom and Dad (and a few other people). My load from Charlotte got me back through home in Lawrenceville last night, so I got a good night of sleep.

This week's lesson: when you're responsible for everything (trip planning, driving, paperwork, etc.) it requires a much more concentrated effort to sit down and blog at night instead of allowing yourself to fall asleep standing up. So I've heard.

11/10/08

The lesson learned today was start early. That way, when the punks take 3.5 hours to get me unloaded, I'll still be on schedule. And if little hole-in-the-wall shippers didn't expect me to double drop and hook trailers on the patio that they call a parking lot, I wouldn't have wasted 2 hours of my life today. Yeah, you know who you are.

Anyway. I'm much calmer now. I was supposed to get a load tonight going from Calhoun, TN to NC, only when I arrived at midnight, it wasn't ready. If it had been and if I had arrived earlier, I would have been able to stop in Knoxville and see some family, but that wasn't in the cards today. I'm supposed to check on the load in the morning, so we'll see.

11/9/08

Okay, so no pics yet, but at least I can walk again. Apparently, proper lumbar support is incredibly important while driving. The airbags that are supposed to provide back support in my driver's seat are busted and don't hold air, so I drove for two days bent over like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. By the time I got home late Saturday night I was pretty much invalid. Thanks to Wal-Mart, I am now the proud owner of a lumbar support pillow.

11/07/08

Damn you, Murphy. You just couldn't leave well enough alone. This is how the the day was supposed to have gone (in my perfect world): Leave the yard by 9am and drive up to De Pere where I would hook to my load, head south just in time to miss Chicago rush hour, and make it to Indianapolis around dinner time when I should have no trouble finding parking.

I didn't leave the yard until noon - Murphy intervention #1. And I had to take a load to Green Bay first, then go back to De Pere - Murphy intervention #2. I get to the shipper in De Pere and I'm told to drop my trailer and pick-up my loaded trailer which is ready to go. So after spotting said trailer, I hook up, raise the landing gear, connect all my lines, and pull away from the dock so I can close the doors. Only when I get back there am I able to see that the entire trailer is empty - completing the Murphy trifecta. Now, I was scheduled to pick up this load any time between 8am-4pm, meaning it should have been ready to go at 8am. I got there at 3:30 and didn't get loaded until almost 6pm. On the bright side, I missed Chicago rush hour. I made it to Lebanon, IN just before my clock was up and got one of the last spots available. Not bad.

And so, that was how my first day on the road as a solo driver went.

11/6/08

It's so close I can almost taste it. Tomorrow morning I'm scheduled to meet with the safety director and my dispatcher and afterwards I'll be free to pick-up my first load. My truck has been assigned, I have my required supplies, the laundry is done, and I'm ready to load up the truck....if only it weren't raining. Tomorrow isn't going to be any better, weatherwise.

Speaking of crappy conditions... Chicago, let's get one thing straight, I don't like you and I don't care if you like me, but I'm coming through tomorrow and I don't want any trouble, got it? Good.

I'm supposed to load near Green Bay tomorrow before 4pm and deliver in Atlanta Monday afternoon, so I'll have plenty of time to make the trip.

11/5/08

Looong day, still doing laundry, phone battery almost dead. Should be out of here by Friday, but not yet sure where I'll be going. I'll try to get some pics of the truck up by the weekend.

"I gotta say, today was a good day"

I finally got the hard part over with today - I did my final driving tests for the company, passed, and got my truck. It's a Freightliner Columbia mid-roof with a 10-speed and around 750k miles. I think it's 4-6 years old. I still have another day or two before I'll be able to leave, but hopefully I'll be headed south by the weekend. Maybe the mass of people that has descended upon Chicago will have cleared out by then. Please, please, please.

Most of my evening was spent watching the election results surrounded by several apparent McCain supporters, a couple of which lacked the ability to accept defeat graciously. Turnabout and all.

Don't forget to vote

I'm realizing my motivation to update my blog might be a bit greater if I didn't wait until I was half asleep.

I was supposed to do my final skills test today, but that didn't happen because the tester had the day off. At least that gave me an extra day to practice. Most of the day was spent running errands. First, I went into town to pick up lunch (on the company) for everybody that attended the morning safety meeting. Then I had to pick >up an orientation student around 6pm in Waupaca and another one in Appleton at 9:45pm. So, I just got back to the yard and will be going to bed very shortly.

If you have a pulse, I'm sure you know the election is today, but consider this a friendly reminder to vote today if you haven't already.

Is it Friday yet?

It's freakin' cold here. That is all.

10/31/08

The truck was actually ready this morning, so we hit the road at 11am to make our delivery in Bedford Park. No problems there, on to Kankakee, IL to pick up a load to Wisconsin. No problems there. I drove until midnight, then hopped in the bunk to nap while Steve brought us into Amherst. We just got here (the company yard) a little while ago and I'm officially off of his truck for good now, so I'm enjoying the smoke-free environment of the company bunkhouse. I have the weekend to relax and will hopefully finish the training process next week.

Oh yeah, to the driver of the car that cut me off this afternoon in Chicago and almost wrecked in the process: You're a moron. Don't do that.

Still in Indiana

I'm starting to see the pattern. Hurry up and wait. Last night, Steve asked if I preferred getting up early, as in 5am early, or waiting until after Chicago traffic cleared to head out. Seeing as how we had until 2pm to deliver and it's really early and really cold at 5am, I suggested we sleep in. What's that? We're leaving at 5? Ok then, I hope my opinion was entertaining because it obviously wasn't very meaningful. No problem. Sweet vindication was on the horizon, though I wasn't aware at the time. The first clue was that the truck engine had a hard time starting last night when it was time for the heat to come on. The second clue was that during the night, as a safety precaution, the truck shut itself down. I noticed that when I woke up freezing. So, at 5am, despite the warning buzzer and the truck shutting itself down (which only occurs during engine overheats or low oil pressure), Steve pulls out of the truck stop. The one that has maintenance on site. He made it across the street to the on-ramp before the truck shut down again. Here's the good part: Our company maintenance crew doesn't come in until 7am. So after waiting a couple hours, they tell us to try to limp back to the truck stop, which involves a 6 mile trip up the interstate to turn around and 6 miles back. Our truck only ran about 300ft before shutting down, so we ended up calling a tow truck to take us straight to the Freightliner shop in Gary, IN. Turns out we had a bad fuel injector. No problem, they say, it will be fixed by the end of the day. The end of the day arrived and they informed us that they had to order a part and the truck wouldn't be ready until tomorrow. Thanks for the advance notice. So, we're staying at a Best Western tonight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Dinwiddie, IN

Yeah, I'd never heard of it either, but that's what the map says.

So today I witnessed the reason we are instructed to check our mirrors 57654 times per minute (we're supposed to check our mirrors A LOT). We were driving in the far right lane and were passed on the right by a minivan. No traffic jam, no exit to race to and get off at, just felt like driving on the shoulder to pass a truck. Well, I'll be dang - Steve was right.

I also saw a semi on the side of the interstate (fortunately not the side I was on) that was burnt down to the frame. I don't know what happened, but it was an interesting sight.

I should be in Wisconsin and off the truck by this weekend.

Pioneer, TN

It's great when things work out your way. We delivered this morning and went back to the truckstop since our next load wasn't scheduled to pick-up until 10pm, which would have meant 800 miles in about one day to make our Thursday morning appointment. Steve had the wonderful idea to call the shipper and check on the load around 2pm. It was ready. Sweeeet! The plus side for me was that since I drove to the receiver this morning and didn't get a ten hour break in last night, my 14-hour clock expired before lunch, meaning Steve had to drive all day today.

We had to stop this morning for a quick trailer repair. One of the door handle latches had broken off, so we needed a replacement. Of course nothing can go 100% smoothly, so it was no surprise that the nuts were stuck to the bolts. As the mechanic, wearing zero eye protection, is attempting to cut the bolt with an air-powered cutting blade, he turns to us and says, "I've got to watch this blade. These things will shatter and fly apart." So, that's when I turned and walked away. Apparently, all that is required to prevent permanent catastrophic injuries...to the eyes...is to watch...with the eyes. Ha.

Today consisted of a delivery in Shelby, NC, a pick-up in Catawba, SC, and now we have stopped for the night near Pioneer, TN.

Back in the saddle

I can be awake all day, come on duty at 10pm, and drive all night. Perfectly legal. Good thing the FMCSA is looking out for drivers' safety. Knowing I was going to have to drive tonight, I tried to take a nap this afternoon, but it didn't last long. Cats walking on my head and whatnot.

We're in Shelby, NC for the night, about 6 miles from the consignee.

Lawrenceville, GA

I made it back in time to see Wicked - which was absolutely incredible - but, it wasn't easy. We arrived at the shipper this morning around 7am. We backed up to the dock and waited to get loaded. They put a few bales of scrap metal in our trailer, then some local drivers pulled in, so they left us to go unload them. A few more bales on our trailer, then some cardboard on another trailer. Yeah, take your time guys, we don't have anywhere to be. So, about two hours later, we're loaded and the guy tells us to pull around to the scale and then we can pick-up our paperwork in the office. Great, we're about 500lbs under gross weight, which is 80k lbs. That's too close, so I ask her if we can get individual axle weights in addition to the gross weight. Sure enough, we're about 3k lbs over on our trailer axles. We can't slide our tandems back far enough to accommodate that weight, so they have to fix it by removing some weight (much faster for us) or redistributing the weight by reloading the entire trailer (please, noooo!). They ended up taking two bales off the rear of the trailer, which came out to a little over 4k lbs, so we were good to go. Three hours to get loaded put us a little behind schedule, but I made it home around 4:30pm and Steve continued on to Alabama. All in all, a good start to the weekend.

Are we there yet?

No, we are not. In fact, I'm sitting in the same truck stop I was in last night. I was sleeping soundly before the alarm went off at 6:30 this morning. After waking up, we made our way to the receiver without too much trouble, getting there just after 7am. We were back here at the truck stop by 9am. And then, we waited. And waited. And waited. Tom Petty said it best, "the waiting is the hardest part." The Qualcomm finally beeped around 4pm with our next load assignment. The good news is I'll be home tomorrow! The downside is we can't pick-up until the morning, so here I sit.

Obviously, not a very productive day. I watched some tv, listened to the radio, and tried to take a nap. Now I'm going to try again.

Wednesday 10/22/08

At first, I thought it silly and unnecessary to have to learn how to parallel park a truck. Well, tonight it was necessary. Last spot available. Good times.

Today was a nice drive down memory lane. We ran down I-75 through Kentucky and as we passed through Corbin and came across Jellico Mountain, I remembered Grandma talking about her trips to Kentucky and having to drive up Jellico. Then we crossed into Tennessee and I saw a sign for the Green McAdoo Museum. Hey, I know where we're at now! I wondered if Nana was working. Unfortunately, with no time to spare, we kept rolling. Oh, look! I-40W. Once again, I had to fight to keep the truck from exiting. Continuing on, we drove past the former East Town Mall before stopping for a break at exit 417, where, once upon a time, "bags of stuff Bret doesn't need" were quietly passed from one vehicle to another.

It's always good to be home.

Tuesday 10/21/08

Chicagoans. Are. Crazy. Those people are all in a big hurry, they don't know what a turn signal is, and they all seem to want to be in the same exact spot at the same time. Yes, I'm allowed to make broad generalizations about entire city populations. It wasn't even rush hour and it took about an hour and a half to get from the north side to the south side going down I-94. We ended up making it to Newpoint, IN tonight.

The plan is to be home Thursday pm or Friday am. I'm supposed to see Wicked on Friday night, so I'm really hoping we get through ATL before then.

It's cold up here

We had a long night last night getting up to Carol Stream, IL. I had to call it a night around 10pm and we stopped to grab a few hours of sleep. Since I was on my 10 hour break, Steve got up around 2am and drove us to the consignee. On the two hour ride up there, I was supposed to be sleeping in the bunk. It sure is hard to sleep when your body is touching the bed one second and isn't the next. Why bother with the asphalt, Illinois? Might as well save the taxpayers money.

After our delivery this morning we got a load going to Menasha, WI. Our consignee has two plants up here, one on each side of the river. Silly me for thinking we should go to the one our instructions specify. They didn't have an open dock, so it was much easier for them to say, "we just wanted to waste your time - take it to the plant you passed 15 minutes ago". That's what I heard anyway. There was supposed to be an empty trailer for us to pick up there, too. The guard has other plans and tells us to go up the road to grab a trailer. The guard up the road gives us a trailer number and says it's right where we just came from. So back to guard #1. "We're here to pick up trailer #whatever." Oh, it's broken? Any others by chance? Didn't think so. A brief telephone conversation might have saved us half an hour, but whatever. We can't pick up tonight anyway.

We're in Little Chute, WI for the night. We'll be picking up a load tomorrow morning going to North Carolina.

Chi-town bound

I got back on the road today. We have a load going to the Chicago area. Weekend driving is great - no traffic, no hassles. It also means there isn't much to report. We've stopped in Kentland, IN to get some sleep.

Home again!

I'm finally home! I'm enjoying the travels, but I must say, it feels good to be back in the South.

Tuesday 10/14/08

We left the yard this morning around 7am intending to make a quick run around the road test course so I'd be familiar with it, then head over to a drop lot to grab an empty trailer, get loaded in Wausau, and be on our merry way south. Enter Murphy. My trainer was unsure of the...well let's face it, he didn't know where in the hell he was going. So our 20 minute road course trip took over an hour. Our empty trailer was supposed to be nearby. Nope, not in the drop lot. Maybe its at one of our regular shippers right up the road. Nope. After discussing with dispatch, we were told there was indeed an empty trailer available. In the company yard.

So we finally get to the shipper and get our assigned dock and a guy walks out to tell us they're about to go to lunch, and the brooms are inside the door so make sure the trailer is swept out before we load you. We, and by "we" I mean "I", swept the trailer out before going across the street to grab some lunch. It wasn't ten minutes after we got back that a guy came out with our paperwork. Beautiful. With that, we were finally able to get on the road. US-51S was pretty much our route today. I hit some rush hour traffic, but it cleared up pretty quick.

Oh yeah, I'm going home tomorrow!! My trainer is going to drop me off on the way down and pick me up whenever he comes back through. Sweet!

Live! From Amherst, WI!

We made our deliveries this morning with plenty of time to spare, though it was a bit of a cluster. The first drop was no problem, however the second drop took a little more time. First, our instructions sent us to the wrong entrance gate, then we were told we needed to drop our empty trailer, hook to a loaded one, and bring it back to the company yard for another driver to pick up. The good news is, while we were doing all that...we got a load going south!!! Florida, to be exact. We don't pick up until tomorrow, but at least we got it. I'm not sure if I'll get dropped off in ATL on the way there or on the way back. Hopefully, the former.

My trainer and I met up with another trainer/trainee team here at the yard and we all took a company car out to dinner and played some pool afterwards. It was nice to get away from the truck for a while.

Wisconsin is pretty nice, especially this time of year. There are old farms nearby with rolling, tree-covered hills. It's not too cold (yet) and the leaves are still changing colors. Ah, the fall is a wonderful time of the year.

The Land of Cheese

We made it. We're sitting in Oshkosh, WI about half an hour from our drop, which we have until noon tomorrow to complete. Home-time can't come soon enough.

The Land of Oz

We've stopped for the night just outside Emporia, KS. I believe it's right near The Middle of Nowhere, KS. Only 700 or so miles to go tomorrow, so we might actually make our appointment on time.

We got on the road bright and early this morning. Actually, it was still dark. We started out on I-40W to Tucumcari, NM and then got on US-54E, which took us through the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles before hitting KS. We caught US-283 up to Dodge City, which is where we hit US-50 to I-35. The point being, we spent most of the day on 2-lane highways looking at thousands of acres of farmland and suffering through the acrid fumes associated with thousands of our favorite bovines being confined together while awaiting their death.

A message to Kansas natives: It's not your fault. You didn't ask to be born there. It is alright to pack up and leave - no one will blame you. Especially if they've driven through Kansas before.

10/10/08

Today was pretty much all you could ask for in this job. No shippers, no receivers, light traffic, and plenty of drive time. My trainer is an early bird, so he got our day started as the sun was coming up and I took over around 1:30 in Bellemont, AZ. We stopped to grab a shower and got back on the road before stopping here in Albuquerque for the night.

Help me do the math on this one. Our trip from CA to WI is just over 2,000 miles. We started with 4 days to complete the trip. Yesterday, because we got loaded so late, we only made it about 200 miles. Now we're left with 3 days and 1,800 miles, yes? Let's think about this. That means we have to average 600 miles per day to get to WI Sunday so we can get our 10 hour break Sunday night and deliver Monday morning or afternoon. Our truck is governed at 64mph, so we're lucky if we can average 60mph with traffic, construction zones, and whatever else that slows us down. So, if we drive for 10 hours each day for the next 3 days, we should be in good shape. That is running hard to get the job done. Today, even though my 14 hour clock doesn't expire for another 6 hours, we did about 500 miles before Steve decided to stop for the night. Last time I checked, 500 does not equal 600. Now we're behind the ball and have to run even harder to stay on schedule. Or so it seems to me. Steve appears less concerned. Another late delivery in the near future? Stay tuned.

Made in China

For those of you who don't know, I occasionally moan and complain about the abundance of Chinese consumer goods that line the shelves at so many of the stores we frequent. And I probably wouldn't if China wasn't in the news every week for painting toys with lead or adding industrial chemicals to food products, or evidencing some other utter lack of quality control and regard for human health, but hey, at least it's cheap, right? Anyway, that load I'm hauling? Imported from China.

And it's going to WI, so it looks like I won't be getting home until next week at the earliest. I still have hope.

I wondered how long it would take, and now I know. After being out here for 10 days, I'm ready to sit at home on my couch and watch my t.v. And then I want to sleep in my bed. Sharing a truck with somebody isn't as difficult as I thought it might be. It's certainly close quarters, but as long as we don't both try to run in circles, we can manage.

Alright, I've got my sock full of hammers ready. Time to attempt to sleep.

Tuesday 10/07/08

So much for going east. We picked up a load this morning going to Corona, CA. Steve called the consignee and asked if they had overnight parking and course they didn't, but the guy told us we could park on the street outside the facility. That was okay with Steve, so we took our time driving over here, thinking we would just wake up and get unloaded. Wrong. We get to the place and there are "No Parking" signs all up and down the street, so I hop out and ask the guard if she knows where we might be able to park and she recommends the TA off I-10. You know, the one we passed on the way here.

Hey, Steve, remember about 300 miles ago when I suggested we stop at a truckstop outside of Corona so we could get our 10 hour break and deliver in the morning?

Now we have drive back up the interstate and try to find parking at the TA. As soon as we pull in, we notice cops ticketing drivers that have parked on a side street. Not a good sign. Luckily, we manage to make a spot for ourselves in the parking lot. Now it's 9:30pm and our appointment is at 7:30am. Exactly 10 hours, meaning we're going to be late.

Hey, Steve, remember about 300 miles ago when I suggested we stop at a truckstop outside of Corona so we could get our 10 hour break and deliver in the morning?

Today marks a career milestone - save for about 400 miles, I've driven from Raleigh, NC to Corona, CA. Pretty sweet.

Monday 10/06/08

Today was another solid day with just under 9 hours of driving. Pretty respectable for a new guy, if I do say so myself. We dropped our trailer at the consignee and bobtailed about 15 miles back up I-40 and grabbed a parking space for the night.

So, we got to the consignee, and after checking in with the security guard, who was apparently in a state of permanent unhappiness, I followed the guard's directions to the drop lot. On the left are the rows of trailers that we are dropping our trailer in. On the right are the warehouse docks with a few trailers in them. After setting up for the back just as my trainer had officiously instructed, I got out and observed as he demonstrated how (not) to back. I admit, I watched with some self-satisfaction as the truck brushed against a trailer-stand by the docks. He obviously didn't see it when we pulled into the lot and set up, but I stopped him before he actually ran over it. I've decided that we each have our own style of backing and I've accepted that. I'm not sure that my trainer has.

After a week of consistently receiving pre-plans, our luck has run out. We don't know where we'll be going next, so we get to sit here until dispatch sends us a load assignment. I'm holding out hope for a load heading back east so I can get home for a couple of days. We shall see.

Sunday 10/05/08

Today was very productive. After picking up in Cherokee, AL yesterday, we made it to West Memphis , AR and stopped early for the night. Steve got up early and drove us to Ozark, AR. I drove from Ozark to Tucumcari, NM.

I started out in Arkansas, but I don't remember much. I held the wheel with one hand and my nose with the other and kept the pedal to the floor as I tried to get out of there before they tried to convert me to whatever it is they do in Arkansas.

Oklahoma was full of cows, hayfields, and windmills. Texas was kind enough to open up the floodgates and provide us with a brief downpour as we drove through. More cows, hayfields, and windmills.

By the time we reached New Mexico, it was dark and I was counting down the miles to our stop for the night. So, here we sit at the Flying J. We should be at our destination by tomorrow evening.

I've taken a few pictures but it's a pain to post them from my phone, so I'll try to post them all at once when I get home.

Wild wild West

I'm getting paid to do this. Ha. I had my first taste of mountain driving today as we came into Tennessee from North Carolina on I-40. Just west of Lake Junaluska is a steep up-grade that took me about 10-15 minutes to ascend going 30mph in 7th gear. Oh yeah, our gross weight is over 75k lbs on this load. Okay, so going up isn't too difficult-you put it in a gear that will pull up the hill and keep the pedal down.

So, there is one good thing about going back to Alabama...getting out. We found out this morning that we're picking up a load in AL going to AZ. Since this is my first road trip out West, I'm pretty excited. In addition to the scenery, I'll get some major driving time without all the loading/unloading.

Well, we've stopped for the night, so I'm going to try to get some sleep.

Downtime

We've parked for the day because our load doesn't deliver until tomorrow, even though it's only an hour away. We'll get to relax for the day, do some laundry (which is not the relaxing part), and best of all, watch the VP debate tonight!

The truck

Inside of truck

First run

New rule, America: if you snore in your sleep and happen to wake
someone up, that person has the right to beat you with a sock full of hammers. Got it?

Anyway, today is my second day on the road. Yesterday was a ride down to Port Wentworth with some paper that delivered this morning. Currently, we're in South Carolina picking up...paper...going to Alabama.

So, as you might have gathered, I didn't sleep very well last night. For those that have never slept in a truck before, next time you see a stopped freight train with it's engines running, try lying down right next to it and taking a nap. And then ask Darth Vader to stand next to you and breathe as loud as he can. Yeah.

All that aside, I'm glad to finally be out here and looking forward to the next couple of weeks.