Lake Park, GA

On days like today, I think I need a tape recorder or some other means for me to record the various things that I experience out here as they happen, because by the time I park and my day ends, I've spent the last hour or two trying to forget all the crap I've dealt with. And now I have to try to remember so I can share it with you. This must be what it's like to have a psychologist. I'd tell you how that makes me feel, but I doubt you're a licensed professional.

My delivery this morning was to another grocery distributor. I arrived about 45 minutes ahead of my appointment time, but apparently they run things on a strict schedule, as I had to wait until my appointment to bump the dock. The trailer had been sealed, so it wasn't until I opened the doors to back in that I realized it was loaded from the front all the way to the doors and that it was a floor load, meaning none of the cartons were on pallets. Loaded to the doors, eh? I guess I've yet to figure out what purpose the 48' line on the inside of the trailer serves. Anyway, I backed in and checked in with receiving. Now, Atari was slightly before my time so I never got to experience the magic that was Frogger, but I've watched the Seinfeld "Frogger episode" enough to understand the concept. Today, I think I was the frog. When I walked into the warehouse, I had to dodge about 20 forklift drivers that must've been all hyped up on Mt. Dew. The sad part is it still took four and a half hours to get unloaded.

Once they were done, I headed over to Clearwater for my next load. Oh yay, more good news. It was a pre-loaded trailer, but I had to do a double drop and hook. So, I got to play trailer jockey for an hour and finished just in time to join rush hour traffic in Tampa. I've decided one hour of stop and go traffic is all any human should be subjected to. Any more is a violation of the 8th amendment. To top off that fun, I spent about 30 minutes trying to pass a vehicle that was determined to go 64mph on flat ground, as well as up and down every hill. On flat ground, I was ever so slowly gaining on it, so I moved over to pass. And then there was a hill to climb, slowing me down to 60 mph or less and killing my chance to pass. Then on the downhill side I would hit 70 mph and almost catch up, only to be foiled again. And then I realized why Chinese water torture was so effective.

By the time I crossed the state line into Georgia, I was ready to call it a night. I've got two full days of driving ahead of me, so it's time for some rest.

Tampa, FL

I'm ready for warmer weather. It was 15 degrees outside when I woke up this morning, and I was in Georgia. Georgia! Sadly, it's not going to get much better, as I'm due in Wisconsin on Monday.

The drive down today was pretty painless, though I was worried about finding a place to park. For whatever reason, truck stops in Florida seem to always be full. It doesn't matter what time of day or where, there are no spaces. Sure enough, every spot was taken when I pulled in. After circling the lot a few times, I caught a truck pulling out just in time and got his space.

I have a friend from high school that lives down here, so we met up for dinner and then hung out for the evening. A good time was had by all and now it's time for bed.

I'm back! (Temple, GA)

Today was ten hours of driving, one drop and hook, no traffic, and no problems. Nice.

After a wonderful few days at home, I'm back at work and running hard, as usual. I made a drop and hook in Cherokee this afternoon and will be delivering in sunny Florida on Friday. Woohoo! Last time I checked, snow in Florida was an anomaly, so I've got that going for me, which is nice. However, the truck will be due for service soon, so another trip to Wisconsin will most likely be on the agenda in the near future.

Antioch, TN

A day like today doesn't leave much to report. Aside from some annoying traffic in Illinois and a persistent salty white film obscuring my windshield and mirrors, the ten hour drive from Oak Creek was pretty smooth. I stopped in Gary to clean my windshield, but the cleaner was frozen. I figured after all the trouble to stop I might as well make use of the time, so I grabbed a cappuccino before heading out.

Surprisingly, I-65 south out of Louisville wasn't as painful as usual. I'm thinking the lighter load helped. That, and I was going 55mph instead of the 70mph speed limit.

I'll be stopping at home tomorrow, so I should have a relaxed four or five hour drive to look forward to in the morning.

Here, there, everywhere

It's been a long day and I'm still in Wisconsin. I've been to five different cities today, including two visits to the same city, pulled three different trailers, and waited hours to get loaded. The good news is tomorrow will be an all-day drive and I'll be home soon.

Russell, IL

So cold. Can't type. Must set truck afire for heat.

The temperature is -9 and "feels like" -23. Why bother with technicalities? If it "feels like" -23, it's -23! Whatever. I made my first delivery this morning after a protracted effort. Upon my arrival, there was no one to be found at the facility. So, in sub-zero weather, I rang the door-bell, knocked on the door, and walked around the building, all to no avail. Finally, the guy shows up. All by himself. One guy to unload twenty-seven pieces of furniture. Before we even get to that point, I have to get backed into the dock; the downward-sloping, snow-filled dock. I had a slight blind side back to get in, but to the warehouse guy's credit, he stood out there the entire time and helped guide me. Time to open the trailer doors. Only, the padlock I had so studiously put on was now frozen. Getting it off involved about a half-hour of standing outside. Did I mention it was really cold outside? Once again, Warehouse Guy (that's his name) was out there helping me. So, after all that, I thought the least I could do was help him unload the trailer. Great, done. Time to go. Naturally, I can't get out of the dock. I tried putting cardboard under the drive wheels to gain traction. Warehouse Guy, on the other hand, tried putting cardboard under the trailer tires (I said he was helpful, not bright). After 30 minutes of that junk, Warehouse Guy went to the hardware store down the road and got some salt, with which I was finally able to free the truck from the slippery dock.

My second delivery was problem free and I headed to my third, and final, delivery in Wisconsin, but got sidetracked by hunger. After stopping, I didn't really feel like getting back on the road, so I called the receiver and was told it would be no problem for me to deliver in the morning. Awesome.

I'll hang out here for the evening and head into Wisconsin in the AM.

Gary, IN

So much for the roads being cleared by Wednesday. That "Winter Weather Advisory" should really be named "Are You Crazy? Stay Off the Freakin' Roads! They're Covered in Snow and Ice Advisory." After departing this morning, it wasn't long before snow began sticking to the road instead of simply blowing across it. In an effort to keep the same from happening to my windshield, I had the defroster on high, as anything less resulted in ice formation. I thought I was going to have a heat stroke. I eventually cracked my window a bit and was able to breathe again. Ahh, success - no ice on the windshield and I can breathe! Unfortunately, those weren't my only problems. Last night, I noticed I lost air pressure rapidly when the truck wasn't running. It's difficult to sleep with the low-air warning buzzer coming on about every twenty minutes, so I decided I'd be better off shutting the truck down and only restarting it for brief periods when the temperature got cold enough to wake me. Yeah, that's a fun game. The leak persisted this morning. That, coupled with the fact that my windshield-wipers had turned into giant popsicles despite the functioning defroster, led me to stop at the Petro in Remington, IN for service. When it's really really really cold outside, I don't much care for crawling around outside the truck to inspect the entire air system for a leak. Once inside the heated service garage, however, it only took me a minute to locate the source: a frozen air-dryer. I guess it didn't dry fast enough. Anyway, the mechanic busted out the industrial heater, threw in some air-line antifreeze, and I was good to go. Oh yeah, except for all that snow on the road. Despite driving slowly and gently, I was losing traction frequently, as indicated by the "Wheel-Slip" light on my dash. Anything but the mildest attempt at acceleration induced a wheel-spin and I knew that any attempt at braking would also cause a loss of traction, only with more severe consequences. I began to curse the lightweight furniture load that seemed so beneficent through the mountains yesterday and started thinking about stopping. Then it happened. Traffic was stopping ahead. I applied the brakes as softly as possible, little more than resting my foot on the brake pedal, and at 30 mph I almost jacknifed. That was far more proof of the treacherous conditions than I needed. I stopped thinking and got off the interstate as soon as possible.

My deliveries have been rescheduled for tomorrow morning, though I don't have much hope the roads will be any better by then. Since here, I've watched tv, listened to XM, and browsed the Web. Now it's time for more of the same before I get some sleep.