What an interesting couple of days we have had. After our nice night out of the truck, we get up and get around and head back to the shipper. It is 1200 our time and 1000 their time, right when they are opening. Go back up next to the trailer and J jumps out and goes to check. Nope, no load yet. Ok, well, since it is lunch time we decide to head up to the Pilot and grab something to eat. We HAVE to get a load back through Dallas so we can pick up our Nutri System food that was shipped so we are having to eat out till we can get back through there. Anyway, grab a bite and decide to just chill out there in the truck and kill some time. About 2 hours later I call back and still no truck. By this time it is 1400 our time. He mentions that he has our number from when we stopped the night before and he will just call us when the truck shows up. Cool beans. I decide to read for a while and then take a nap. Around 1600 we wake up and J calls just to check and still nothing. Then about 5 minutes later they call and say that they called and the truck was in the customs compound so it would definitely make it across the border. At this point we decide to go ahead and head back to the shipper. As we are pulling in another Prime truck was pulling out, just heading down to the Pilot and was headed back to wait for their load. We go ahead and back up to the trailer and decide to wait it out.
About 20 minutes go by and we hear a truck pulling in and we are hoping it is our load of tomatoes. Nope, it is the other Prime truck returning. They pull up and the driver gets out to go check in. It was nice outside and we had the truck and the APU off and just had the windows down. All of a sudden I hear this driver cussing and raising hell about who knows what. I thought to myself, just great, some asshole giving Prime, and truck drivers in general, a bad name. I didn't get his truck number, but I should have. While he was standing up there I decided to go to the restroom so I walked up and the guy in the office pointed me in the right direction. I couldn't find it, so I came back to ask, and the other driver had walked off. I asked the guy what the drivers problem was, and he said that he didn't have a pick-up number and so they didn't know what he was picking up. I had a pick-up number so I have no idea why this driver didn't have a pick-up number. And I have no idea why he was being such an ass about it. Of course his phone was glued to his ear so he was probably dealing with his FM, but with his attitude, he wasn't getting very far with either his FM or the shipping office.
Finally at around 1730 local, 1930 our time, our load finally arrives. And lucky for us because the shipper closes at 1800 local. They take all the product off the arriving truck and put it straight into ours and we are ready to go. Hook up and we are off. The funny thing is that the guy causing a scene was still sitting there and didn't get his load. Either because he didn't get the pick-up number or because his product wasn't across the border. I just thought it was funny that he was going to be stuck overnight after causing such a scene. I am sure that he wasn't happy about that. I wonder if his FM is giving him layover pay like we got. I doubt it the way he was acting.
At any rate, we got loaded, headed to the Pilot to scale, found out we were legal and set out. It was nearly 2100 our time and we had been up all day. I hit the sack and J took off driving to get us to a little rest area just at the AZ/NM border. Having gotten to be so late, I got up at 0500 and headed out. By 1500 hours, I had made it to Clines Corners,NM where we had our traditional lunch that we always have when we pass through there. From there J took over and got us to Chandler,OK. That is where I took over this morning at 0300. I made it to Troy,IL where we just stopped for a much needed shower! I did send a message to our weekend dispatcher asking what it was looking like for a load tomorrow since it is a holiday. We will deliver around 0300 tomorrow (Monday morning) and wasn't sure if we would get a load out of there. He sent back that they pre-planned us on one but it doesn't pick up till 2130 tomorrow night. So we will have about 18 hours to kill. We are delivering in Romulus,MI so does anyone have any good ideas of what to do on a holiday in the Detroit,MI area?
That is it for us. I tried loading pics but was having issues so I will try again tomorrow while we are sitting around killing time.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Nogales,AZ
Last night J got us to Winslow as we were on our way to Phoenix,AZ to drop off this hazmat load. He got me up and I took off at 04k30 with 207 miles to go. I made it in with plenty of time to spare. The place was not a large place and there were quite a few of their box trucks getting loaded for the day to make their local deliveries. As soon as they headed out for their day I was able to get the truck turned around and backed up to a doc. About an hour and a half later I was unloaded and ready for our next load. I sent our depart and didn't get anything right away so I took off and headed to the Pilot on the other side of town. I figured if I didn't get a load by the time I got there that I would head in and grab a shower. Of course as soon as I get there and am putting Smokey's harness on to take him outside, the qualcomm beeps. I go ahead and take hime out and come back to check messages. They have us heading to Nogales,AZ to pick up a load of tomatoes going to Romulus,MI. The name of that town makes me think of Star Trek. Anyway, I go ahead and fuel up there and then go next door to Danny's to get the truck and trailer washed. By this time it is 1400 and we are off. It is about 180 miles to the shipper. I stop at a rest area about 50 miles out and J wakes up and decided to take over since it was already 1500. Off we go again. As we are coming into Nogales we get a message from dispatch. There is another team already at the shippers and their load hasn't made it across the border so they gave them our load. Not a big deal since the message also says that if their load, that we are now picking up, doesn't make it across the border tonight from Mexico, that they would give us $450 in layover pay. Sweet. So we head on in to the shipper to find out the load is NOT there and they are closing shortly so it will be in the morning. J talks the guy into letting us drop the trailer there since it is a secure facility and we are off. First stop is Soto's Outback for some great mexican food. Next stop is Motel 6. Arizona is 2 hours behind us since they don't do daylight savings time. And the shipper doesn't open until 1000 hrs in the morning and that is 1200 our time. Since we checked in at around 1900 we figured it was worth it to get a room since we have such a long layover. It is ok to be in the truck that long when it is moving, but if we are stopped, Smokey gets to where he wants out. So that is what we did today and now we are just chilling in the hotel watching a little of the boob tube. I got the pictures downloaded so I am going to put them in another post!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
It was bound to happen....
....and it finaly did. I am minding my own business cruising westbound along I-40 in New Mexico enjoying the scenery, thankful to have just gotten out of the road construction. About 31 miles up ahead I was planning on stopping so that J could have his turn at driving for the day. From our planned stop there in Santa Rosa we were going to stop in Clines Corners at the restaurant to grab some lunch. All of a sudden my sight seeing was ruined when I hear a POP then a flop flop flop flop. J who was sitting in the front seat hollers "Pull over, you blew a tire!" at the same time it registers with me what just happened. On go the hazzards and off to the shoulder I go. Best I can figure I picked up something through the construction zone. I am just thankful that it didn't blow IN the construction zone where I would have been screwed. I get parked and we stopped about 50 yards from a mile marker which was really nice. While J got out and checked the other tires I sent in a message to road assist so that they could get someone out here to get it fixed. During our training we had been told what to expect with a blown steer tire. They said that it would pull, which is to be expected, but in my head I was thinking that it would be REALLY bad. I was surprised that it didn't pull more than it did. If J hadn't said it was a steer tire, I honestly wouldn't have know which tire it was right off because it just didn't pull. Granted I was going uphill, only about 50 mph, so I'm sure that had an effect. If I was going faster it probably would have been worse. And if I had been going around a corner, that could have been really bad. I don't know what it is with me and my luck sometimes. I have the blown steer tire, I have hit a deer and everytime we have had to chain, I have been the one driving! I just thank God that I have J here to calm me down when stuff like this happens. I wasn't even nervous when it happened, I stayed calm and got her to the side of the road. But the second I hit those brakes, I realized I was shaking a little. LOL! I just consider myself lucky and that someone is watching over me.
When we get back on the road, we will be delivering in Phoenix in the morning. I hope they can find us something out of there or close so we don't have to deadhead to Los Angeles. Because we need as much profit as we can get now that we are going to have to pay for this tire and service call.
I was going to download all of the pictures from our camera and post some, but I can't find the damn cord for the camera. I know it is in here somewhere, I just don't know where and I don't feel like tearing the truck apart at the moment and looking for it.
OH! This morning I stopped in Oklahoma City at the Pilot to run into the restroom. When I was walking out there was a Schneider truck parked next to me in the fuel aisle (we had pulled up). I looked over and this chick was waving at me. Then it dawned on me that it was a couple that we had met in Fontana when they were going through training. So I jumped out and talked to them for a few minutes since there was no one behind us. They are still having problems with their DBL and aren't making a lot of money. I gave them my Prime spiel since we are making a lot more money now, but who knows. I know driving wasn't their long term plan, but if they want to look at options, they need to know there are other companies out there. Schneider was great for us when we were training, and I feel they have a great training program. But long term, we were able to find something that suited us better in Prime.
I guess that is about all for today. I wish the guy would get here to replace our tire so that we can make it to Clines Corners because I want that green chili cheese burger! Minus half the bun and only a few fries. We are still dieting, but this is our one place that we allow a cheat meal while driving. If we are on I-40 in New Mexico, and they are open, we always stop.
When we get back on the road, we will be delivering in Phoenix in the morning. I hope they can find us something out of there or close so we don't have to deadhead to Los Angeles. Because we need as much profit as we can get now that we are going to have to pay for this tire and service call.
I was going to download all of the pictures from our camera and post some, but I can't find the damn cord for the camera. I know it is in here somewhere, I just don't know where and I don't feel like tearing the truck apart at the moment and looking for it.
OH! This morning I stopped in Oklahoma City at the Pilot to run into the restroom. When I was walking out there was a Schneider truck parked next to me in the fuel aisle (we had pulled up). I looked over and this chick was waving at me. Then it dawned on me that it was a couple that we had met in Fontana when they were going through training. So I jumped out and talked to them for a few minutes since there was no one behind us. They are still having problems with their DBL and aren't making a lot of money. I gave them my Prime spiel since we are making a lot more money now, but who knows. I know driving wasn't their long term plan, but if they want to look at options, they need to know there are other companies out there. Schneider was great for us when we were training, and I feel they have a great training program. But long term, we were able to find something that suited us better in Prime.
I guess that is about all for today. I wish the guy would get here to replace our tire so that we can make it to Clines Corners because I want that green chili cheese burger! Minus half the bun and only a few fries. We are still dieting, but this is our one place that we allow a cheat meal while driving. If we are on I-40 in New Mexico, and they are open, we always stop.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Updates!
Ok, we have been really busy this past week with Justin's graduation and I just haven't had time to get on here and let you all know what has been happening. But we are on the road now and I am back!
First off, we are the proud parents of a graduate of Navy Boot Camp! I guess his title at this point is Seaman Recruit. He is starting Pre-BUDs this Wednesday and when he completes that he will go to Coronado,CA for SEAL training. It is amazing what a difference two months away from home can do. He is turning into quite the young man and we are so very proud of him.
We got a load into Geneva,IL and it delivered last Tuesday. We were able to spend the night at the receivers (we got in around 2200) and then got up the next morning and did some running around. Went to eat, went to Walmart, took Smokey to the vet to have a bump under his chin looked at and decided to go ahead and have him snipped while we were there. We figured that was a good time since we would be out of the truck a few days and he would have time to heal that wasn't in this bumpy truck. Then we checked into the hotel a day early. Luckily they weren't booked up. The hotel was on the same road as the Naval Training Academy so it was a straight shot back and forth.
Thursday morning we got up and got ready and had to head to the airport to pick up Stephanie, Justin's girlfriend and we had to pick up the rental car. We took a cab to the airport because we weren't sure of the clearances and didn't want to take the chance bobtailing down there. Come to find out, there weren't any issues with clearances and we could have taken the truck. I wish we had because the damn cab ride cost us $80 and the guy almost fell asleep on the way. J had to holler at him and wake him up. It wasn't a pleasant ride at all! Ok, we have her take a shuttle to the car rental and meet us there and we are off. First stop is at DD Dive shop in Glenview,IL so I could pick up a book we need for our Open Water scuba certification. Decided to buy a wetsuit also. Next stop was McDonald's (totally fell off the diet while we were there but we are back on it now) and as we were headed back to the hotel we get a call from Jessica stating that they were at their hotel and to come save her from her mom and step-dad and brother. LOL So off we go to pick her up. Meet with her mom and step-dad in the hotel lobby and make plans for them to meet us at our hotel the next morning. They drove up from Texas in an extended cab Chevy and they only issue one gate pass for the graduation per family. That is why I rented a minivan so we could all fit. Well, it fits 7 and with Justin that made 8 but Joanie (the kids mom) said she didn't have a problem sitting on the floor by the door so we were good to go.
Next stop is a tattoo place because Jessica was wanting an industrial piercing in her ear and you can't really get those at Claire's at the mall. We lucked out and there was a place across the street and a block down from the hotel. We go in to get that done and of course J and I decided we wanted another one. Then Stephanie decided she wanted one. I get mine done, Jessica gets her ear done, Stephanie gets hers done and by this point it is 2200. We have to wait until tomorrow for J to get his because we gotta get up early the next day. (I will post pics of them when I get a chance.)
Got up at 0500 Friday morning to get ready for graduation. They met us at the hotel at 0630 and off we go to the base. The line was LONG to get in because they were checking vehicles (government property, homeland security stuff). We get all the way up and are about to turn in the gate and the girls said they didn't bring their ID's with them. AiYiYi!! So I boot J, Mark, Joanie and Derrick (little brother) out and head back to the hotel with the girls to get their ID's. Turn around and head back and wait in line yet again to get in the gate. FINALLY make it onto property, find J who is waiting on us and we head to the hall where they are having the graduation. It was a very nice ceremony, although a little long. They had 730 recruits graduating, all signed up for different jobs. When is was over we were finally able to see Justin! We grabbed him as fast as we could and headed off base. Per Justin we were to go straight to get REAL food. He wanted a steak but Outback was closed until 1600 so we settled for Golden Corral. After eating we headed back to our hotel and sat in the lobby and divided up pictures that he had taken between the families. Then we all piled into the minivan and went and found a beach because that is what Justin was wanting to do. I got my feet weat and was surprised that the water was actually fairly warm. From there we went back to the hotel and Mark, Joanie and Derrick headed back to their hotel. We drove by the tattoo place and the guy was able to get J right in so we dropped him off and me, Justin, Stephanie and Jessica headed back to the hotel to chill for a bit before we had to take Justin back. We later headed to McDonald's to feed Justin, dropped him back off at 2030 hours and then picked J up and headed back to the hotel. It was a really long day.
Saturday morning we wake up around 0830, picked Justing up first thing, back to the hotel to get rounded up, grab donuts for breakfast, get my nails done, then head to Mark and Joanie's hotel to pick them up and we are off for a day of sight seeing! We went to the Navy Pier and to Shedd Aquarium. It was a lot of fun but another long day. OH! When we got to the aquarium there was a hotdog vendor selling authentic Chicago hotdogs so we had to have lunch there! Later after all of that we finally found an Outback and Justin was able to get his steak. We had to wait forever on our food and I know that J broke several traffic laws getting Justin back on time, but we don't want him to be the one to get everyone in trouble! Back to the hotel and crash. This vacation stuff is tiring!
Sunday is checkout day at the hotel and Justin isn't allowed off base until noon because he has watch. The plan was for me to take the rental back and for J to take Stephanie with him in the truck and pick Justin up and meet me at the airport. Truck started about 1000 hrs but when he started it about 1150 it wouldn't start. Sheesh! Ok, plan B and time to haul ass so the rental isn't late. Throw Stephanie's stuff in the car, drive like a maniac to pick Justin up (Thank God he was ready and waiting at the curb) and then break additional traffic laws to get the rental car back on time. I pulled into the lot at exactly 1300 hrs which is when it was due. Although there is an additional charge on my receipt for $40 stating 1 hour. I say that if the lady would have been getting to the cars faster to check me in then it would have shown I was on time. Oh well, pick your battles. The 3 of us wait for J to get there because Stephanie is flying out and she was just going to take the shuttle to the terminal from the car return so Justin and Stephanie had to say goodbye there. It was sad! I about started crying. J called and said he was pulling up so I had to drag them apart. Ahhh young love.....
Now J, Justin and myself are cruising around in the big truck. Justin wanted to go see a movie so that is what we did. We went and saw Death Race. I wanted to see Wanted, but it wasn't showing. It was a decent movie if you like the shoot 'em up blood and gore movies. When that was done we headed to a grocery store to replenish our supplies and it was time to take Justin back to the base for the last time. His Liberty was up and he had to go back. It was hard saying bye to him, but it makes it easier since we are on the road and have to tell the kids bye each time we head out. I think it was just the fact that he isn't at home anymore and is an adult with his own life. And that we are just so damn proud. But I think I have mentioned that already huh? :)
Next stop we head to Jimmy's Charhouse to meet Buckshot and his lovely wife. We had a wonderful time there and definitely want to meet up with them again whenever possible. They are making the leap to become OTR drivers and I know they will do just fine!
After that we decided we would just spend the night in that parking lot since we were just bobtailing. They left about 2230 and I laid down about 2300. Well, about 2330 the Qualcomm goes off and they have a load for us. WTF! We figured we wouldn't get a load until 0700-0800 when our FM came in. Our own fault for not getting to bed sooner. We told them we weren't available until 0300 and they said fine, pick the load up then. So I got 3 hours sleep, got up and picked that load up and headed out. By 0900 I had to have J take over because I just couldn't handle any more. J gets that load dropped (only about 100 miles left, it was a short load) and then he gets the next one picked up. A hazmat load going to Phoenix,AZ. We go scale it, get fuel, slide the tandems, re-scale it and then park for the night. It was about 1700 by this time. We had plenty of time to deliver so we stopped for the night and I took off this morning. We don't have to deliver until Thursday morning so we are in good shape.
And that my friends is what has been going on with us. I will get the pictures loaded when I get a chance and get them on here!
First off, we are the proud parents of a graduate of Navy Boot Camp! I guess his title at this point is Seaman Recruit. He is starting Pre-BUDs this Wednesday and when he completes that he will go to Coronado,CA for SEAL training. It is amazing what a difference two months away from home can do. He is turning into quite the young man and we are so very proud of him.
We got a load into Geneva,IL and it delivered last Tuesday. We were able to spend the night at the receivers (we got in around 2200) and then got up the next morning and did some running around. Went to eat, went to Walmart, took Smokey to the vet to have a bump under his chin looked at and decided to go ahead and have him snipped while we were there. We figured that was a good time since we would be out of the truck a few days and he would have time to heal that wasn't in this bumpy truck. Then we checked into the hotel a day early. Luckily they weren't booked up. The hotel was on the same road as the Naval Training Academy so it was a straight shot back and forth.
Thursday morning we got up and got ready and had to head to the airport to pick up Stephanie, Justin's girlfriend and we had to pick up the rental car. We took a cab to the airport because we weren't sure of the clearances and didn't want to take the chance bobtailing down there. Come to find out, there weren't any issues with clearances and we could have taken the truck. I wish we had because the damn cab ride cost us $80 and the guy almost fell asleep on the way. J had to holler at him and wake him up. It wasn't a pleasant ride at all! Ok, we have her take a shuttle to the car rental and meet us there and we are off. First stop is at DD Dive shop in Glenview,IL so I could pick up a book we need for our Open Water scuba certification. Decided to buy a wetsuit also. Next stop was McDonald's (totally fell off the diet while we were there but we are back on it now) and as we were headed back to the hotel we get a call from Jessica stating that they were at their hotel and to come save her from her mom and step-dad and brother. LOL So off we go to pick her up. Meet with her mom and step-dad in the hotel lobby and make plans for them to meet us at our hotel the next morning. They drove up from Texas in an extended cab Chevy and they only issue one gate pass for the graduation per family. That is why I rented a minivan so we could all fit. Well, it fits 7 and with Justin that made 8 but Joanie (the kids mom) said she didn't have a problem sitting on the floor by the door so we were good to go.
Next stop is a tattoo place because Jessica was wanting an industrial piercing in her ear and you can't really get those at Claire's at the mall. We lucked out and there was a place across the street and a block down from the hotel. We go in to get that done and of course J and I decided we wanted another one. Then Stephanie decided she wanted one. I get mine done, Jessica gets her ear done, Stephanie gets hers done and by this point it is 2200. We have to wait until tomorrow for J to get his because we gotta get up early the next day. (I will post pics of them when I get a chance.)
Got up at 0500 Friday morning to get ready for graduation. They met us at the hotel at 0630 and off we go to the base. The line was LONG to get in because they were checking vehicles (government property, homeland security stuff). We get all the way up and are about to turn in the gate and the girls said they didn't bring their ID's with them. AiYiYi!! So I boot J, Mark, Joanie and Derrick (little brother) out and head back to the hotel with the girls to get their ID's. Turn around and head back and wait in line yet again to get in the gate. FINALLY make it onto property, find J who is waiting on us and we head to the hall where they are having the graduation. It was a very nice ceremony, although a little long. They had 730 recruits graduating, all signed up for different jobs. When is was over we were finally able to see Justin! We grabbed him as fast as we could and headed off base. Per Justin we were to go straight to get REAL food. He wanted a steak but Outback was closed until 1600 so we settled for Golden Corral. After eating we headed back to our hotel and sat in the lobby and divided up pictures that he had taken between the families. Then we all piled into the minivan and went and found a beach because that is what Justin was wanting to do. I got my feet weat and was surprised that the water was actually fairly warm. From there we went back to the hotel and Mark, Joanie and Derrick headed back to their hotel. We drove by the tattoo place and the guy was able to get J right in so we dropped him off and me, Justin, Stephanie and Jessica headed back to the hotel to chill for a bit before we had to take Justin back. We later headed to McDonald's to feed Justin, dropped him back off at 2030 hours and then picked J up and headed back to the hotel. It was a really long day.
Saturday morning we wake up around 0830, picked Justing up first thing, back to the hotel to get rounded up, grab donuts for breakfast, get my nails done, then head to Mark and Joanie's hotel to pick them up and we are off for a day of sight seeing! We went to the Navy Pier and to Shedd Aquarium. It was a lot of fun but another long day. OH! When we got to the aquarium there was a hotdog vendor selling authentic Chicago hotdogs so we had to have lunch there! Later after all of that we finally found an Outback and Justin was able to get his steak. We had to wait forever on our food and I know that J broke several traffic laws getting Justin back on time, but we don't want him to be the one to get everyone in trouble! Back to the hotel and crash. This vacation stuff is tiring!
Sunday is checkout day at the hotel and Justin isn't allowed off base until noon because he has watch. The plan was for me to take the rental back and for J to take Stephanie with him in the truck and pick Justin up and meet me at the airport. Truck started about 1000 hrs but when he started it about 1150 it wouldn't start. Sheesh! Ok, plan B and time to haul ass so the rental isn't late. Throw Stephanie's stuff in the car, drive like a maniac to pick Justin up (Thank God he was ready and waiting at the curb) and then break additional traffic laws to get the rental car back on time. I pulled into the lot at exactly 1300 hrs which is when it was due. Although there is an additional charge on my receipt for $40 stating 1 hour. I say that if the lady would have been getting to the cars faster to check me in then it would have shown I was on time. Oh well, pick your battles. The 3 of us wait for J to get there because Stephanie is flying out and she was just going to take the shuttle to the terminal from the car return so Justin and Stephanie had to say goodbye there. It was sad! I about started crying. J called and said he was pulling up so I had to drag them apart. Ahhh young love.....
Now J, Justin and myself are cruising around in the big truck. Justin wanted to go see a movie so that is what we did. We went and saw Death Race. I wanted to see Wanted, but it wasn't showing. It was a decent movie if you like the shoot 'em up blood and gore movies. When that was done we headed to a grocery store to replenish our supplies and it was time to take Justin back to the base for the last time. His Liberty was up and he had to go back. It was hard saying bye to him, but it makes it easier since we are on the road and have to tell the kids bye each time we head out. I think it was just the fact that he isn't at home anymore and is an adult with his own life. And that we are just so damn proud. But I think I have mentioned that already huh? :)
Next stop we head to Jimmy's Charhouse to meet Buckshot and his lovely wife. We had a wonderful time there and definitely want to meet up with them again whenever possible. They are making the leap to become OTR drivers and I know they will do just fine!
After that we decided we would just spend the night in that parking lot since we were just bobtailing. They left about 2230 and I laid down about 2300. Well, about 2330 the Qualcomm goes off and they have a load for us. WTF! We figured we wouldn't get a load until 0700-0800 when our FM came in. Our own fault for not getting to bed sooner. We told them we weren't available until 0300 and they said fine, pick the load up then. So I got 3 hours sleep, got up and picked that load up and headed out. By 0900 I had to have J take over because I just couldn't handle any more. J gets that load dropped (only about 100 miles left, it was a short load) and then he gets the next one picked up. A hazmat load going to Phoenix,AZ. We go scale it, get fuel, slide the tandems, re-scale it and then park for the night. It was about 1700 by this time. We had plenty of time to deliver so we stopped for the night and I took off this morning. We don't have to deliver until Thursday morning so we are in good shape.
And that my friends is what has been going on with us. I will get the pictures loaded when I get a chance and get them on here!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Attn Buckshot! And other updates...
I guess you didn't check my blog Tuesday or Wednesday! We got into town Wednesday morning and wanted to do dinner Wednesday night but we didn't hear from you. E-mail me your number, tnetherton@hotmail.com and we will set something up for Sunday night if that works for you. We will be busy with Justin over the weekend, but he has to be back on base Sunday afternoon sometime and we would love to have dinner when he heads back. Looking forward to hearing from you!
We ended up stuck in Springfield for a day. We finally got the truck taken care of at Freightliner and then got the PM done at the yard. When I picked it up it would start but wouldn't stay running. Come to find out, one of the updates they did on the computer was to the idling system. It was set to shut off after 5 seconds because that is what the factory had set. Once they figured it out, they went in and changed it to 5 minutes. Not really a problem since we have the APU and don't really idle but it was good to figure out what the problem was.
Later Monday evening we got a load. Picking up in Joplin,MO and delivering in Geneva,IL. We didn't have much choice but to get a load straight to Chicago after we had the work done on the truck because we wouldn't have had time to get a load somewhere else and then get back to Chicago. We ended up here a day early. Got to Geneva Tuesday night, dropped that trailer and then spent the night in their parking lot and headed out the next morning. We did some running around and checked into the hotel a day early.
Yesterday we also took Smokey to the Vet to have them look at a bump under his chin. I was worried because we had a Rottweiller (Harley) die from cancer so I was concerned. While we were at the Vets, and because we will be here for a few days, we went ahead and left him there so they could take away his manhood today. It felt really wierd not having him with us last night. Today we have to pick Justin's girlfriend up from the airport and then we should be able to pick Smokey up from the Vet on our way back. He is going to be all drugged up and probably not happy. Poor thing. But hopefully this will tame him down a little bit. It needed to be done, but I just hate to put him through that!
More to come later!!
We ended up stuck in Springfield for a day. We finally got the truck taken care of at Freightliner and then got the PM done at the yard. When I picked it up it would start but wouldn't stay running. Come to find out, one of the updates they did on the computer was to the idling system. It was set to shut off after 5 seconds because that is what the factory had set. Once they figured it out, they went in and changed it to 5 minutes. Not really a problem since we have the APU and don't really idle but it was good to figure out what the problem was.
Later Monday evening we got a load. Picking up in Joplin,MO and delivering in Geneva,IL. We didn't have much choice but to get a load straight to Chicago after we had the work done on the truck because we wouldn't have had time to get a load somewhere else and then get back to Chicago. We ended up here a day early. Got to Geneva Tuesday night, dropped that trailer and then spent the night in their parking lot and headed out the next morning. We did some running around and checked into the hotel a day early.
Yesterday we also took Smokey to the Vet to have them look at a bump under his chin. I was worried because we had a Rottweiller (Harley) die from cancer so I was concerned. While we were at the Vets, and because we will be here for a few days, we went ahead and left him there so they could take away his manhood today. It felt really wierd not having him with us last night. Today we have to pick Justin's girlfriend up from the airport and then we should be able to pick Smokey up from the Vet on our way back. He is going to be all drugged up and probably not happy. Poor thing. But hopefully this will tame him down a little bit. It needed to be done, but I just hate to put him through that!
More to come later!!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Ontario,CA
We made it to our drop this morning in Los Angeles but not without problems. Coming across CA last night, J got the dreaded "Check Engine" "Engine Shutdown" warnings. The truck shut down on him as he was pulling into a rest area. He checked the coolant and it was low again so we figured that was the problem. Drove the last 30 miles of the night to the TA in Barstow and called it a night till I had to get up and drive the last 113 miles to the receiver this morning. I woke up and got ready and when I started the truck, the "Check Engine" light was still on. Hmmm Not getting anything else so we head to the receiver and had plans to get a PM done when we finished and figured they could take a look at it then. Sent our FM a message to that effect and he calls us and asks if we can pick up a load first and then get the PM because freight was slow and he wants to get us a load so we aren't stuck for the weekend. Sure, no problem. As I am getting unloaded at the receiver he calls back and has a good paying load that is High Value. He says that he can get us a PM in Springfield but he doesn't want us stopping anywhere else for that since it is a High Value load. No problem but he says to check with Road Assist first about the warning lights. I call them and she has me give her the codes it is showing. She sends back to me that I need a Freightliner dealer because it is EGR and Regen codes and suggests that it would be fine to get back to Springfield for that, because of course as I was talking to her the warning lights went away, but she didn't want us on a High Value load in case something happened. OK, get back with our FM and tell him we can't take the load he wanted us to take and that sucks because it paid good. Now we are stuck here in Ontario,CA waiting for 1500 local time to roll around so we can pick up another load going to Elkhart,IN that is not High Value. He said we could route through Springfield and get the PM done there and have them check the codes so that is the plan. Really screwed us up beause we were wanting to get to the east coast for a Monday delivery then find something to Chicago to drop on Wednesday so we could take those couple of days off to see Justin graduate. Looks like we will drop this in Indiana and then get something really short to Chicago and be off an extra day or two. Not really wanting to do that because I don't want to come out in the hole, but we aren't missing his graduation. Hotel and car are already reserved. We have the money in the bank so it won't hurt us coming out in the hole, I just don't like working to catch up on the truck payment.
That is where things stand right now. Just hanging out till it is time to go pick up the next one!
That is where things stand right now. Just hanging out till it is time to go pick up the next one!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Knoxville,TN
Last I checked in I was sitting at the little truck stop in Gordonsville,VA waiting on a load. Around 1100 I finally get a load. I have to be 171 miles to Martinsburg,WV in 3 hours for a 1400 (1500 local time) appointment. They said it was only 117 miles, but I don't know what map or roads they were taking. And I wasn't about to take some of those back roads in VA after every other road having a sign that says trucks over 30ft not advised. So I haul ass and write everything down, walk Smokey and we are off. Had to make one pit stop along the way. I was in and out of that rest area in about 3 minutes flat. Back on the road and I pull up to the place and send our arrive message at 1358 hrs. WHEW! Granted I was going 65 the whole way if not faster down the hills. But I was empty so my fuel mileage was still over 7.5 mpg which is good.
I get loaded and by this time it is 1500 my time. J wakes up, after only about 6 hours sleep, and I head around to get the paperwork and we are off. First thing is to hit a scale. Paperwork says 41K but it doesn't feel that heavy. I head south on I-81 and cross back over to VA and hit the first exit which is 323 because there is a Flying J there. Scale and I am 31,500 on the drives and 32,540 on the trailer. Cool. I am legal. This load is going to CA and we have till Friday to get there so we just decide to park at the J for the night and I will head out first thing in the morning. We go grab a bite to eat and then head back to the truck to watch the show. We got there at a really good time and I found a great parking spot that I could straight line back into. By the time we came out from eating it was a frenzy of truckers trying to find a place to park for the night. There is not a lot of space to maneuver in the aisles when trying to back so it was a cluster. I kept waiting to see someone wreck but no suck luck. I was in the mood to see a good fight, but it didn't happen. So I gave up and went to bed.
I roll out of bed around 0330 this morning and J and I head in to take a shower. He took a nap earlier that evening, but stayed up to stay on his schedule. So he woke me up and we went inside. Came back out and hit the road. The day before I had talked to TruckingTiger and they were on their way our direction. We made plans to meet up for lunch and as it happens, I picked the perfect spot. He pulled into the TA that I picked about 3-4 minutes before I did. Great timing! So we had lunch with him and his girfriend. She is riding with him for now and will be soon starting training and then they will team. It was really nice to finally meet her! Hopefully we will be able to catch up with them again soon and have lunch again. I will admit that I cheated on the diet today and had a burger, but that is the only thing I have cheated on in two weeks, so not bad.
After having lunch we headed out and I finished driving us into Knoxville. I stopped at the TA to fuel and was going to keep going but J was awake and decided to go ahead and take over. We ended up having to stop at the next TA which is 6 miles down the road so I could scan something in for payroll that didn't get in with the other stuff I scanned earlier. The first TA had the scanning stuff but the printer was out so it couldn't print a receipt. I want a receipt showing it was sent in so we went to the next one.
Funny Smokey story. Today I stopped at a rest area and took him to go to the bathroom. He still squats to pee unless it is a tree or a bush then he will raise his leg. So he squats 3 times on the grass (he really had to go) pee'd on 2 trees then he went poop. When he went poop, he was backed up against the tree and was pooping on the tree. And his ass was so close to the tree that it was smushing the poop into cow pies when it was coming out instead of dropping on the ground. When I noticed, because you don't want to stare when they are taking care of their business, I cracked up and then tugged him away from the tree so he would have some room. Of course that gave him stage fright and we had to walk around 5 more minutes for him to find a suitable place to finish. It was quite amusing at the time.
That is what our day has been like. I still wonder what happened to the guy with the load of cantelopes that fell. Guess I will just have to wonder....
I get loaded and by this time it is 1500 my time. J wakes up, after only about 6 hours sleep, and I head around to get the paperwork and we are off. First thing is to hit a scale. Paperwork says 41K but it doesn't feel that heavy. I head south on I-81 and cross back over to VA and hit the first exit which is 323 because there is a Flying J there. Scale and I am 31,500 on the drives and 32,540 on the trailer. Cool. I am legal. This load is going to CA and we have till Friday to get there so we just decide to park at the J for the night and I will head out first thing in the morning. We go grab a bite to eat and then head back to the truck to watch the show. We got there at a really good time and I found a great parking spot that I could straight line back into. By the time we came out from eating it was a frenzy of truckers trying to find a place to park for the night. There is not a lot of space to maneuver in the aisles when trying to back so it was a cluster. I kept waiting to see someone wreck but no suck luck. I was in the mood to see a good fight, but it didn't happen. So I gave up and went to bed.
I roll out of bed around 0330 this morning and J and I head in to take a shower. He took a nap earlier that evening, but stayed up to stay on his schedule. So he woke me up and we went inside. Came back out and hit the road. The day before I had talked to TruckingTiger and they were on their way our direction. We made plans to meet up for lunch and as it happens, I picked the perfect spot. He pulled into the TA that I picked about 3-4 minutes before I did. Great timing! So we had lunch with him and his girfriend. She is riding with him for now and will be soon starting training and then they will team. It was really nice to finally meet her! Hopefully we will be able to catch up with them again soon and have lunch again. I will admit that I cheated on the diet today and had a burger, but that is the only thing I have cheated on in two weeks, so not bad.
After having lunch we headed out and I finished driving us into Knoxville. I stopped at the TA to fuel and was going to keep going but J was awake and decided to go ahead and take over. We ended up having to stop at the next TA which is 6 miles down the road so I could scan something in for payroll that didn't get in with the other stuff I scanned earlier. The first TA had the scanning stuff but the printer was out so it couldn't print a receipt. I want a receipt showing it was sent in so we went to the next one.
Funny Smokey story. Today I stopped at a rest area and took him to go to the bathroom. He still squats to pee unless it is a tree or a bush then he will raise his leg. So he squats 3 times on the grass (he really had to go) pee'd on 2 trees then he went poop. When he went poop, he was backed up against the tree and was pooping on the tree. And his ass was so close to the tree that it was smushing the poop into cow pies when it was coming out instead of dropping on the ground. When I noticed, because you don't want to stare when they are taking care of their business, I cracked up and then tugged him away from the tree so he would have some room. Of course that gave him stage fright and we had to walk around 5 more minutes for him to find a suitable place to finish. It was quite amusing at the time.
That is what our day has been like. I still wonder what happened to the guy with the load of cantelopes that fell. Guess I will just have to wonder....
Monday, August 11, 2008
Gordonsville,VA
Sorry I haven't updated in a few days but it has been a nice lazy trip across the country this time. We picked up there in Salinas after finally getting loaded and hitting the road around 2200. J drove us to Barstow and I took over around 0500 in the morning. I got to see one of the most beautiful sunrises I have seen so far. I was trying to find a place to pull over and get a picture, but of course by the time that I found a place, it was already too high to get a good picture. Anyway, we were able to take our time with this load. We picked up Thursday and had until Monday to get to Gordonsville which is only 2700 miles. Piece of cake. J drove some Thursday night and that meant we only had to do about 400 miles each per day and still have extra time so it was nice not to be rushed. Ended up getting 7.25 mpg for our cross country trek. I am happy about that!
Yesterday afternoon I stopped in Baileyton,TN. From there we only had 321 miles to go but we can't arrive at Walmart no more than an hour early. There is a truck stop right here at the exit for Walmart in Gordonsville,VA, but if J had started driving he would have gotten here around 2200 and we figured this little truck stop would be packed. So we stopped there and J took off around 2100. He was still ahead of schedule so he stopped at a rest area, where he had to make his own parking space, and then drove the rest of the way after about a 2 hour break. Got in and got unloaded with no problems and now I am at the little truck stop at that exit waiting on our next load. There are about 5 other Prime trucks here so I don't know how long we will be waiting.
Now to tell you what I saw yesterday afternoon when I parked at that TA in Baileyton,TN. I had just got parked and got Smokey out to take a walk. As we were walking I saw a Prime truck in the Maintenance bay and figured he was getting a PM or something done. So Smokey and I walk around a few and I turn around and see that the Prime truck has his back door open. I look it and there were boxes of cantelopes EVERYWHERE with the product all out of the boxes. OH NO!! I walk over and tell him I drive for Prime too and ask what happened. He said he had THREE load bars in there. In so good that you could stand on them, and they all three had come down. He said he talked to his dispatcher and they said try to fix it and box it back up if you can and if not, go on to the receiver and see what they can salvage. He is delivering to a Walmart DC also, just not the one we were going to. He was just staring at the load in disbelief and said it was just too much for one person to try to fix. I mean it was a mess! I offered to help him try to box it up but he elected to go on to the receiver and see what they could do. I felt bad for him. I asked what route he took and he said he came across I-40 and I told him it was probably those sucky ass roads in Oklahoma or the terrible bridges in Arkansas that jolted them loose. After I walked off I made sure to check my load again since I came across the same roads. But I knew they were fine because I check it everytime I stop, unless it came loose during the last few hours. Luckily our load was fine.
Now NutriSystem news! I think I mentioned before that I didn't get to weigh before we started. I know what I weighed when I did my medical at Prime the first of April though. And I probably gained a few more since then since I love to eat and tend to pig out sometimes. When we stopped at the TA in Barstow,CA on our way out here, they have a scale in the womens bathroom that you put a quarter in and you get your weight and lucky lotto numbers. I got on the scale and guess what??? I am down 8 lbs! WOOOHOOO!!! That makes me super happy. That would explain why I can't keep my pants up. LOL!! So now I am even more motivated to keep this up. The last few days I have gotten the little stair climber out that we have and have been doing that before my shift and at the end of the shift. Momma is on a roll so watch out! I am going to be looking DAMN good before too long!! LOL!!!!!
Yesterday afternoon I stopped in Baileyton,TN. From there we only had 321 miles to go but we can't arrive at Walmart no more than an hour early. There is a truck stop right here at the exit for Walmart in Gordonsville,VA, but if J had started driving he would have gotten here around 2200 and we figured this little truck stop would be packed. So we stopped there and J took off around 2100. He was still ahead of schedule so he stopped at a rest area, where he had to make his own parking space, and then drove the rest of the way after about a 2 hour break. Got in and got unloaded with no problems and now I am at the little truck stop at that exit waiting on our next load. There are about 5 other Prime trucks here so I don't know how long we will be waiting.
Now to tell you what I saw yesterday afternoon when I parked at that TA in Baileyton,TN. I had just got parked and got Smokey out to take a walk. As we were walking I saw a Prime truck in the Maintenance bay and figured he was getting a PM or something done. So Smokey and I walk around a few and I turn around and see that the Prime truck has his back door open. I look it and there were boxes of cantelopes EVERYWHERE with the product all out of the boxes. OH NO!! I walk over and tell him I drive for Prime too and ask what happened. He said he had THREE load bars in there. In so good that you could stand on them, and they all three had come down. He said he talked to his dispatcher and they said try to fix it and box it back up if you can and if not, go on to the receiver and see what they can salvage. He is delivering to a Walmart DC also, just not the one we were going to. He was just staring at the load in disbelief and said it was just too much for one person to try to fix. I mean it was a mess! I offered to help him try to box it up but he elected to go on to the receiver and see what they could do. I felt bad for him. I asked what route he took and he said he came across I-40 and I told him it was probably those sucky ass roads in Oklahoma or the terrible bridges in Arkansas that jolted them loose. After I walked off I made sure to check my load again since I came across the same roads. But I knew they were fine because I check it everytime I stop, unless it came loose during the last few hours. Luckily our load was fine.
Now NutriSystem news! I think I mentioned before that I didn't get to weigh before we started. I know what I weighed when I did my medical at Prime the first of April though. And I probably gained a few more since then since I love to eat and tend to pig out sometimes. When we stopped at the TA in Barstow,CA on our way out here, they have a scale in the womens bathroom that you put a quarter in and you get your weight and lucky lotto numbers. I got on the scale and guess what??? I am down 8 lbs! WOOOHOOO!!! That makes me super happy. That would explain why I can't keep my pants up. LOL!! So now I am even more motivated to keep this up. The last few days I have gotten the little stair climber out that we have and have been doing that before my shift and at the end of the shift. Momma is on a roll so watch out! I am going to be looking DAMN good before too long!! LOL!!!!!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Salinas,CA
You know when you have one of those days when you want to sleep in, but you can't. So you get up and get going only to find out later on that you could have slept in? This is one of those days. Yesterday morning I woke up and drove us to our drop location in McCarran,NV. Dropped at Walmart. Got to the gate on time, but by the time we got to the receiving window, after dropping our trailer in a door and parking like they told us to, they marked us as being 3 minutes late. WTF? So we lost our appointment time and had to be worked in. Can you believe that shit? All because of 3 minutes? Thoroughly pissed me off. I had gone to the bathroom and J told me. He then went to the bathroom and I proceeded to tell the lady that was crap only to have J come out of the bathroom and tell me he had already told them what he thought of that. I felt bad for the poor lady checking us in. I wouldn't have said anything if I had known that J had already done it.
So three hours later we are unloaded and send our departure. Get the next load right away. Drive a little over 300 miles to pick up a load of produce in Salinas,CA going to Gordonsville,VA. There is no set appointment time and they don't open until 0800. There is not much truck parking between the two places so we decide to spend the night at the Petro in Sparks,NV and I will get up and drive us in. This morning 0400 rolls around and I get my lazy rear out of bed, get fuel and head out around 0500. I make it in around 1200, counting the time I stopped to get the trailer washed out. So it is only 1000 hrs CA time. Cool. Pull up and there is 1 truck in the dock and only 2 trucks waiting. Sweet. They have 10 docks so I am fully expecting to get right in, get loaded and take off. No such luck. I go check in and here is where my luck changes. This is the moment when I knew I could have slept in. We are picking up a Walmart load. Walmart insists on having the current days produce loaded, not what was left over from the day before. That means only half of my load is here. The other part, the cauliflower, or however you spell it, isn't in and he said that is usually the last thing they get in during the day, usually around 1600 hrs (4pm). THEN, they can't load it until it is properly cooled to the right temp and he said that takes 4 hours for that particular produce. This means I am looking at getting loaded at 2000 hrs (8pm) at the earliest. Unless I am lucky and they get it in earlier than usual. So, this is when I knew that I could have slept in. After the Walmart fiasco in McCarran yesterday, and being on the west coast and the time difference, I didn't get to bed till around 2200 my time because it was still freaking light outside and I didn't realize exactly how late it was. My fault of course, but that means that I only got about 6 hours of sleep. AND I had to drive down Donner, 40 freaking miles of downgrades, in the dark. It wasn't that bad, and I was empty, but I prefer doing passes during the day.
So now here I sit for the next 8-10 hours or so killing time. Figured I would catch up my blog, watch a movie or two, maybe reserve us a rental car for when we are in Chicago the end of the month and then who knows what else I will do. I am thinking a nap, but if I do that, then I won't sleep till late again tonight. Not that it really matters because we have plenty of time on this load. At the moment I am going to go walk Smokey because he is whining at me. That is my signal that it is time to go out!
So three hours later we are unloaded and send our departure. Get the next load right away. Drive a little over 300 miles to pick up a load of produce in Salinas,CA going to Gordonsville,VA. There is no set appointment time and they don't open until 0800. There is not much truck parking between the two places so we decide to spend the night at the Petro in Sparks,NV and I will get up and drive us in. This morning 0400 rolls around and I get my lazy rear out of bed, get fuel and head out around 0500. I make it in around 1200, counting the time I stopped to get the trailer washed out. So it is only 1000 hrs CA time. Cool. Pull up and there is 1 truck in the dock and only 2 trucks waiting. Sweet. They have 10 docks so I am fully expecting to get right in, get loaded and take off. No such luck. I go check in and here is where my luck changes. This is the moment when I knew I could have slept in. We are picking up a Walmart load. Walmart insists on having the current days produce loaded, not what was left over from the day before. That means only half of my load is here. The other part, the cauliflower, or however you spell it, isn't in and he said that is usually the last thing they get in during the day, usually around 1600 hrs (4pm). THEN, they can't load it until it is properly cooled to the right temp and he said that takes 4 hours for that particular produce. This means I am looking at getting loaded at 2000 hrs (8pm) at the earliest. Unless I am lucky and they get it in earlier than usual. So, this is when I knew that I could have slept in. After the Walmart fiasco in McCarran yesterday, and being on the west coast and the time difference, I didn't get to bed till around 2200 my time because it was still freaking light outside and I didn't realize exactly how late it was. My fault of course, but that means that I only got about 6 hours of sleep. AND I had to drive down Donner, 40 freaking miles of downgrades, in the dark. It wasn't that bad, and I was empty, but I prefer doing passes during the day.
So now here I sit for the next 8-10 hours or so killing time. Figured I would catch up my blog, watch a movie or two, maybe reserve us a rental car for when we are in Chicago the end of the month and then who knows what else I will do. I am thinking a nap, but if I do that, then I won't sleep till late again tonight. Not that it really matters because we have plenty of time on this load. At the moment I am going to go walk Smokey because he is whining at me. That is my signal that it is time to go out!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Wyoming!
Currently we are cruising across Wyoming on our way to McCarran,NV which is just outside of Reno. We really haven't had much going on lately to post about. Although I did see the coolest freaking car today and I was going to get a picture of it at a rest area and post it on here, but he took off before I could get over to him with the camera. Maybe I will see him again somewhere.
Ok, so I left off in Clinton,SC. From there we took that load up to Bentonville,AR to the Walmart. Dropped that there and got our next load but it didn't pick up till the next morning which was Monday morning. So we tried getting ahold of a friend of ours but he was out of town working. His wife was at home though so we met her for dinner there. After dinner we headed down I-540 to a little truck stop where we spent the night. I got up the next morning (Monday) and drove the last 50 miles to our pick up there in Fort Smith,AR. It was a live load at 0700 and by the time we got loaded, scaled, moved our tandems, scaled again and I ate breakfast, it was around 0945 or so. I headed out and made it across OK and up I-35 almost to the KS border and that is where J took over. I stayed up and he drove on up to Salina,KS where we stopped at the Bossleman's Pilot and got a shower and ate dinner. We at at the restaurant, which is awesome, but we are on our diet and we did really well. Both got steaks, a salad and veggies. No baked potatoes for us, but I was craving a steak, so we can eat out, we just have to watch what we eat. The restaurant there is Grandma Max's and they make delicious steaks. Great seasonings and cooked right. And good cuts of meat, not steaks with all that grissel in them. Good quality steaks.
Anyway, J drove some more and stopped for the night at aroudm mm 73 on I-70 in KS. He has a disc out in his back and it is really hurting him so he was done for the day. I got up at 0600 and headed out from there and made it through Denver, up to Cheyenne and stopped at the rest area just east of Elk City,WY. Only about 830 more miles to go and we have an appt tomorrow at 1415 in McCarran,NV so we should make that with no problems.
As far as the Nutri System is going, I think we are doing really well. Unfortunately, we weren't able to weigh before we left and I can't find a damn scale out here on the road, but I know we are doing good. We are really sticking with it and trying to get in excercise and walking when we can. It isn't a lot, but we do what time allows. And just eating healthier is bound to make a difference.
I talked to a friend of mine last night and we are going to try to hook up before we go on the cruise so her husband can get me open water certified to scuba dive while we are in Cozumel on the cruise. Hopefully we can hook that up in September at Blue Hole in Santa Rosa,NM. A crash certification will take about 2.5 days so we are going to try to do that before the cruise. Maybe around the 12-14th of September. We have Justin's Graduation from boot camp Aug 22-24th then the cruise Oct 3-8th and then J is going hunting Nov 15 for a week so we have something each month that we are doing. Luckily graduation and dive certification are only 3 days each, so we aren't losing much money. Maybe 1 run each week. The long one will be the cruise and J is just going to take it off and spend it with his daughter. Then the hunting one will be long but I an thinking about running solo that week but having my Dad go with me. It would be great to have him go with me. I don't get to see him that much and I like spending time with him so this will give us a chance to do that. We went on a road trip about 5 years ago and it was a lot of fun so I really want him to go with me so we can see the country together for a week or so. I am excited and I hope he can work things out on his end so he can go with me. It would mean alot to me. And to him to I think also.
So that is what is going on here. I really hope we get a chance to do laundry after we drop this in McCarran. We am running out of clothes and no one wants to see us driving down the road nekked! :)
Ok, so I left off in Clinton,SC. From there we took that load up to Bentonville,AR to the Walmart. Dropped that there and got our next load but it didn't pick up till the next morning which was Monday morning. So we tried getting ahold of a friend of ours but he was out of town working. His wife was at home though so we met her for dinner there. After dinner we headed down I-540 to a little truck stop where we spent the night. I got up the next morning (Monday) and drove the last 50 miles to our pick up there in Fort Smith,AR. It was a live load at 0700 and by the time we got loaded, scaled, moved our tandems, scaled again and I ate breakfast, it was around 0945 or so. I headed out and made it across OK and up I-35 almost to the KS border and that is where J took over. I stayed up and he drove on up to Salina,KS where we stopped at the Bossleman's Pilot and got a shower and ate dinner. We at at the restaurant, which is awesome, but we are on our diet and we did really well. Both got steaks, a salad and veggies. No baked potatoes for us, but I was craving a steak, so we can eat out, we just have to watch what we eat. The restaurant there is Grandma Max's and they make delicious steaks. Great seasonings and cooked right. And good cuts of meat, not steaks with all that grissel in them. Good quality steaks.
Anyway, J drove some more and stopped for the night at aroudm mm 73 on I-70 in KS. He has a disc out in his back and it is really hurting him so he was done for the day. I got up at 0600 and headed out from there and made it through Denver, up to Cheyenne and stopped at the rest area just east of Elk City,WY. Only about 830 more miles to go and we have an appt tomorrow at 1415 in McCarran,NV so we should make that with no problems.
As far as the Nutri System is going, I think we are doing really well. Unfortunately, we weren't able to weigh before we left and I can't find a damn scale out here on the road, but I know we are doing good. We are really sticking with it and trying to get in excercise and walking when we can. It isn't a lot, but we do what time allows. And just eating healthier is bound to make a difference.
I talked to a friend of mine last night and we are going to try to hook up before we go on the cruise so her husband can get me open water certified to scuba dive while we are in Cozumel on the cruise. Hopefully we can hook that up in September at Blue Hole in Santa Rosa,NM. A crash certification will take about 2.5 days so we are going to try to do that before the cruise. Maybe around the 12-14th of September. We have Justin's Graduation from boot camp Aug 22-24th then the cruise Oct 3-8th and then J is going hunting Nov 15 for a week so we have something each month that we are doing. Luckily graduation and dive certification are only 3 days each, so we aren't losing much money. Maybe 1 run each week. The long one will be the cruise and J is just going to take it off and spend it with his daughter. Then the hunting one will be long but I an thinking about running solo that week but having my Dad go with me. It would be great to have him go with me. I don't get to see him that much and I like spending time with him so this will give us a chance to do that. We went on a road trip about 5 years ago and it was a lot of fun so I really want him to go with me so we can see the country together for a week or so. I am excited and I hope he can work things out on his end so he can go with me. It would mean alot to me. And to him to I think also.
So that is what is going on here. I really hope we get a chance to do laundry after we drop this in McCarran. We am running out of clothes and no one wants to see us driving down the road nekked! :)
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Clinton,SC
Yesterday I got us to Clifton,NJ to pick up our top secret load of toothpaste (yes, it was high-value and it was toothpaste) and now I am in Clinton,SC. I actually dropped the toothpaste off about 30 miles away from where I am now. After I got unloaded, which took an amazing 20 minutes, (I was truly impressed) I headed to a Pilot about 19 miles away to grab a shower and wait on our next load. The way our FM was talking yesterday I wasn't sure how soon we would get our next load. Hold on, let me back up a little and explain that. Yesterday morning I dropped in South Jersey. From there we headed north to Clifton,NJ with info that we were to pick up a load headed to Fresno,CA. When we were about 2 miles from our pick-up they sent us a message saying that load was cancelled and to go to shipper we are just going to a different destination. Come to find out when I got there, there were a total of 4 Prime trucks. One of the trucks said they were going to Fresno, but they got the load that morning. So I don't know if there was a mix up and they double dispatched that load, or if there were two loads going there and they just took one away from us to give to another team or what. OK, that being said, when our FM gave us the new load going to SC, a whopping 754 miles, he said he was working on getting us something for today since we would deliver on the weekend and freight is scarce on the weekends. SO, that is why he wasn't sure how long we would have to wait today for a load. OK, back to today. So, I head to the Pilot to get a shower and we get our next load. It is 1130 local time and our next load has a 1500 appointment 25 miles away. Sweet. So I grab a shower, eat some lunch, do some paperwork, head out and get to this shipper a whopping 5 minutes early. Right on time I would say. So now we are sitting here getting loaded and it is 1515 hrs. That means my shift is over and it is J's turn to drive. From here we are headed to Bentonville,AR to the Walmart DC. I don't particularly like dealing with Walmarts, BUT, this load is only 9288 lbs. Should get outstanding gas mileage. We deliver this tomorrow afternoon, anytime, and then I am hoping we can get another short run that we can deliver before payroll cutoff on Tuesday. Then I am hoping they will get us to the east, or preferably, west coast so we can get back in the groove of coast to coast runs. It always throws us off coming out of the house since we live in Dallas,Tx.
Got that stuff out of the way so now to Day 4 of the diet. Had an apple granola bar for breakfast. An apple for snack about 2 hours later. Lunch was pasta with brocolli & parmesean and a salad. Snack was blueberries (fresh) grapes and milk and again I am not sure what I am going to eat for dinner. I find that I am still hungry at points during they day because eating every few hours gets your metabolism going and that is what it is supposed to do. But if I am driving and can't stop, my metabolism is going crazy and I can't feed it anything so I get really hungry. Better planning on my part is what I need to do. Make sure I get enough food out. Also, Iam finding that it is sometimes hard to eat ALL that they say. Like for dinner. Have an entree, a salad, veggies or fruit and a fat serving (dressing for the salad). But that is a lot of food and I find that I don't eat the veggies. It is easier to eat the entree and the salad. I wonder if that is good or bad? I mean, I'm not over eating. I am eating less than what they say to eat. Besides, I figure I am bound to lose weight just from eating the food they are sending, even if I don't eat it all, because I am cutting out ALL fried food and sodas (except we can have diet) and pretty much everything breaded. Being from the south, these are STAPLE foods to me people!! But I am proud of us and I think we are doing really well. Four days down and not one single slip. Well, J did say he had one extra handful of peanuts, but I think I can let him slide on that. After all, he actually threw away his Skittles stash, and I threw away two Snickers bars out of the fridge. And when we were at home, we took ALL of our food out and gave it to our friend Michelle so we can't be tempted!!
I guess that is all for now. OH! I have a really close friend that had a co-worker pass away this week. I don't have any details but I know she was only 22. If you pray, send some prayers to them and their families. Thx! :)
Got that stuff out of the way so now to Day 4 of the diet. Had an apple granola bar for breakfast. An apple for snack about 2 hours later. Lunch was pasta with brocolli & parmesean and a salad. Snack was blueberries (fresh) grapes and milk and again I am not sure what I am going to eat for dinner. I find that I am still hungry at points during they day because eating every few hours gets your metabolism going and that is what it is supposed to do. But if I am driving and can't stop, my metabolism is going crazy and I can't feed it anything so I get really hungry. Better planning on my part is what I need to do. Make sure I get enough food out. Also, Iam finding that it is sometimes hard to eat ALL that they say. Like for dinner. Have an entree, a salad, veggies or fruit and a fat serving (dressing for the salad). But that is a lot of food and I find that I don't eat the veggies. It is easier to eat the entree and the salad. I wonder if that is good or bad? I mean, I'm not over eating. I am eating less than what they say to eat. Besides, I figure I am bound to lose weight just from eating the food they are sending, even if I don't eat it all, because I am cutting out ALL fried food and sodas (except we can have diet) and pretty much everything breaded. Being from the south, these are STAPLE foods to me people!! But I am proud of us and I think we are doing really well. Four days down and not one single slip. Well, J did say he had one extra handful of peanuts, but I think I can let him slide on that. After all, he actually threw away his Skittles stash, and I threw away two Snickers bars out of the fridge. And when we were at home, we took ALL of our food out and gave it to our friend Michelle so we can't be tempted!!
I guess that is all for now. OH! I have a really close friend that had a co-worker pass away this week. I don't have any details but I know she was only 22. If you pray, send some prayers to them and their families. Thx! :)
Friday, August 1, 2008
My FAVORITE State
NOT!! Well, we managed to deliver to Cranbury,NJ this morning. It was easy to find, and I like that. But of course after I got unloaded we got another load out of the same state, jsut further north, up north of Newark. Another top secret load so I can't tell you where we picked up or where we are delivering, but I CAN tell you again how much I really really dislike driving in this state! I could lament on this forever unfortunately it will not change the fact that the people up here drive like freaking idiots and that the roads completely suck. Yeah, that about sums it up.
Did really good on the load we dropped on our fuel mileage. We ended up with 7.1 mpg and we had 41K in the box. Not bad at all. I am very happy with that.
Finished day two on the diet and now it is day 3. Today I had a cranberry granola bar and a banana for breakfast. At lunch I had vegetable beef soup, salad and an apple. Not sure what I am going to have for dinner yet though. The granola bar was good and I really liked the soup. It had really good flavor. What is funny about this stuff is that you see the little bowls they come in and think there is no way that is going to fill you up. Then you eat a salad and have one of the lunches or dinners and you are actually full. Makes me realize how bad we all actually over eat. I am completely guilty of it. I pile it on when I am cooking at home or when we are at a buffet. And why not super size it, right? Yep, I do that too. But not any longer! I am going to keep this up and see what happens. Now I have to motivate myself to get on the little stair climber we have in the truck. I just have to think of my bikini that my fat ass won't fit in. Definitely motivation for me!
Did really good on the load we dropped on our fuel mileage. We ended up with 7.1 mpg and we had 41K in the box. Not bad at all. I am very happy with that.
Finished day two on the diet and now it is day 3. Today I had a cranberry granola bar and a banana for breakfast. At lunch I had vegetable beef soup, salad and an apple. Not sure what I am going to have for dinner yet though. The granola bar was good and I really liked the soup. It had really good flavor. What is funny about this stuff is that you see the little bowls they come in and think there is no way that is going to fill you up. Then you eat a salad and have one of the lunches or dinners and you are actually full. Makes me realize how bad we all actually over eat. I am completely guilty of it. I pile it on when I am cooking at home or when we are at a buffet. And why not super size it, right? Yep, I do that too. But not any longer! I am going to keep this up and see what happens. Now I have to motivate myself to get on the little stair climber we have in the truck. I just have to think of my bikini that my fat ass won't fit in. Definitely motivation for me!
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