Hebron, IN

Today managed to work out rather nicely. I left Saluda around 7am and stopped in Knoxville for fuel. I ran through some fog around the TN-KY line and then it rained and drizzled through most of Kentucky and Indiana, otherwise the trip was fairly mundane. I drove just over 600 miles in just under 11 hours. Perfect. I'm about 2 hours from my delivery and I've already been assigned a load that picks up in Chicago tomorrow afternoon.

I did notice one thing today. Kentucky drivers are idiots. Either that or Kentucky doesn't have a state law requiring the use of headlights when it's raining, which would also be idiotic. I highly suspect the former. A few cars here and there, I can understand. It happens. Well, in Kentucky it's standard operating procedure to drive in the rain without your headlights on. My informal census counted no less than 10% of the vehicles on the road without lights. Seriously though, when it's raining and practically dark, that's just dangerous. Don't do that.

Saluda, NC

Another trip to the Carolinas, another day filled with waiting. I'm not complaining though. I got to take a nap, watch some tv, and listen to the radio, but eventually I had to work. I made my delivery this morning to a busy grocery distributor, which are notorious for delays. This one was no exception. I was there for four hours, most of which was spent sleeping. It was great. Round two was waiting to get loaded in Catawba. This time I managed to get out in three hours. Not too bad.

I didn't feel like pushing my 14-hr clock tonight, so I stopped at the first truckstop on my list, which turned out to be a dark hole in the wall. I'm expecting Large Marge to pull in any minute.

I've got about 700 miles to my delivery, so I'm hoping to knock out 600 or so tomorrow, which will leave me a pretty easy drive Wednesday morning. Well, as long as there are no surprises around Chicago.

Hobby Trucker

So, I didn't invent the term, but after coming across it I found the idea so intriguing I thought perhaps it deserved to be expounded upon. Perhaps it's most basic summation: Hobby Trucker - One who drives a truck, not out of necessity or for income, but for the pure enjoyment of the tasks involved. When I first read it, it was being used as a slur against someone who was financially stable enough to quit his job, buy a brand new truck and trailer, and start his own one-man trucking company. He was basically tired of the office environment and decided to fulfill a dream of his, sort of living out the childhood fascination with big trucks, equipment, etc. that some of us guys have. It was intended as a slur because the guy, by other's standards, didn't focus on the business-side of being an owner-operator as much as they thought he should. And he probably, by his own admissions, didn't have much concern for his profit margins, but that was obviously not important for someone in his situation. I only wish I had the capital to do what he did, but I can certainly relate to his motivations. And like him, I hope to enjoy the experience and move on before it starts to wear out.

On the subject of truckers' motivations to do what they do and how and why they got into driving, I came across a discussion thread in an online forum today that asked that very question. It was interesting to see that several of the respondents had college degrees. A few had the, um, "starter degrees" such as political science or sociology that are usually a stepping stone to graduate school. Some had advanced business degrees and were successful in their field but hated the work. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to blow smoke up your you know what - just tonight I turned on the CB and instantly heard two guys using profanity and insulting each other before each eventually threatened to kill the other with the gun they supposedly had with them. I'm just going to go ahead and guess they probably didn't worry too much about their SAT scores. So, sadly, there are drivers of that sort also. I'm not knocking the folks that didn't make it to college, but if the majority of your conversations are conspiracies to commit felonies, do the rest of us a favor and lock yourself in a padded room or something.

Anyway, I drove a whopping 140 miles today from Knoxville to Marion, NC. I'll have about 40 or 50 miles to my delivery in the morning, then it's off to Catawba to be held hostage, er, I mean get loaded.

Memphis, IN

I made it out of Amherst this morning! Woohoo! Well, for a little bit anyway. After I picked up my load, which was 45 minutes away from Amherst, I found out I needed additional paperwork for the delivery and had to go back to the yard. The lady I spoke with on the phone, who was not my dispatcher because she was off today (wasn't she just off over three days for Christmas and New Years? No, I'm not bitter), told me she would put the paperwork in an envelope and leave it in the drivers room for me to pick-up. She made it sound like no trouble at all. And for her it wasn't. No, all I had to do was drive 45 minutes back to the yard and 45 minutes back to where I started. Nothing like wasting an hour and a half of drive time. Anyway, that's why I'm in Indiana and not Kentucky.

I was starting to get used to the snow and sub-zero temperatures, though it is nice to be outside for more than five minutes and still be able to feel all my digits. Back to the South tomorrow.

Frozen snow-covered lake

Wisconsin Sunrise

Amherst, WI

My New Year's holiday was spent here at the yard in Amherst, which is about as un-festive as you can imagine. There is, however, more snow than I think I've ever seen, which is neat. I'll be picking-up a load in the morning and heading down south. I have all weekend to get to Hickory, NC, so I'll probably stop in Knoxville for a day and enjoy some time with the family.