Henderson,NC

Boy, I have been several places since I posted last. I got stuck on a night schedule and that has me all messed up. When I have parked at night, all I have wanted to do is sleep!

Let's see, I got up the next morning in Saginaw,MI and headed up to deliver in Alpena. I got there about an hour and a half early and they were able to get right to me. By my actual apointment time of 0800 I was unloaded and waiting on my next load.

Finally around 1000 hrs, I got my next dispatch. I was to head over to Reed City,MI to pick up a load of Yoplait yogurt and take it to Murfreesboro,TN. This was on Tuesday. I headed over to Reed City and got there about 1400 hours for a 2100 appt time. I had to get there early because my 14 hour clock was going to run out before the appointment. I told them just to come wake me up when it was time and they said no problem. Then the guy said if I wanted I could just drop the trailer in their empty lot and go to the truck stop to get my break in and they would have it loaded and ready when my break was over. Sweet! So I dropped the trailer and headed over to the Marathon to grab some zzz's.

With my break being over, I woke up around 2200 and headed over there. My trailer was loaded and ready to go. I hooked up and headed back to the Marathon to get some fuel. It isn't a normal stop for us so I had to get authorization for a Comcheck. But my fuel light was on and we have very few fuel stops in Michigan. After getting the fuel and cleaning my windows, I was headed out to Murfreesboro.

I had 641 miles to do and I knew I was going to be close on time. I was having to gain hours back at midnight to be able to run legally. I was able to make it to Smith's Grove,KY before running out of hours. From there I only had 109 miles to go. Before I headed to bed, I ran across the street to Donita's Diner. Pretty darn good food and yet another place with wonderful red beans and cornbread. With a full belly, I headed off to sleep.

At midnight I was back on the road to make my last 109 miles. I barely managed to make it. I pulled in at 0157 for a 0200 appt. Nothing like calling it close! This location was a drop and hook so I dropped my loaded trailer and went in search of an empty. I found the only one that was empty and hooked up to it. While doing my pre-trip inspection I found a flat tire on the left inside rear axle. I sent a message to road assist to have someone come fix it and they told me they showed over 20 trailers there. I checked the list they gave me and sure enough, all those trailers were there. But they were still loaded! I guess they were running a little behind! They give me another location to check and it had a trailer but the gates were locked.

By only other option was to go to Cleveland,TN which was about 50 miles round trip out of the way. I decided to check back at Americold and see if they by any chance had gotten another trailer unloaded. It was my lucky day because there was now one more trailer that was there empty. So I hooked up to it!

I had gotten a preplan and was to head to Rockmart,GA to pick up a load delivering in Henderson,TN. I had a 1000 hrs appointment and didn't leave out of Murfreesboro until 0600 thanks to the trailer search. I had 200 miles to go and knew it would be close. I managed to make it there about 10 milutes late, but I notified my FM that was the case.

When I managed to make it there, I checked in and found out that this was also a drop and hook. They were loading my trailer so all I had to do was drop my empty and hook up to the one they were loading. I got hooked up and ran inside to use the restroom. As soon as I got back in the truck, the were telling me to pull out and that I was done. I pulled up and one of the guys sealed it for me. After running in to grab the paperwork I was ready to roll again.

Because I had been running such wierd hours, I couldn't work past 1500 yesterday and my appointment up here in Henderson,NC was at 1515 hours. I knew I was going to have to plan my break accordingly and leave just in time to drive the 463 miles and arrive for the appointment. That would leave enough time on my 14 for them to unload me and give me time to find a place to park for my next required 10 hour break. I figured I didn't need to leave until 0300 so that meant I could take my break there in Atlanta. That meant I got to see J!!

I was so excited to see him! It is hard for us being apart. We are just the type that really like each other and we don't get sick of each other. We actually want to be together all the time. I called him and told him the good news so he headed down to meet me at the Petro. We got to spend some time together and went to a Five Guy's and had a burger and fries for lunch. I had been up since 2300 the night before and finally at 1600 hours, I had to make him leave, even though I didn't want him to, because I had to get some sleep. I was exhausted!

I got a really good nights sleep last night, thanks to getting to see J, and I was up and on the road this morning at 0300 to get up here to Henderson. I made it here about an hour and 45 minutes before my appointment. I had to sit outside along side the road with quite a few other trucks to wait to get in. Walmart will not let you in any earlier than an hour before your appointment. After killing 30 minutes talking to J on the phone, I noticed trucks were starting to pull into the gate. I guess all of us had the same appointment time!

So here I sit inside the Walmart DC in the bobtail parking while I wait for them to get me unloaded. From here I plan on heading down to Chex Truck Stop up at X220 on I-85 and taking my break. I will get some hours back at midnight so depending on when I get out of here, that will determine when I can start driving again. I will probably have to get a 34 hour restart over the weekend at some point, but I am hoping I can squeeze one more short run in before I am forced to do that.