It has certainly been an adventure so far, that is for sure!! When I stopped last night, I was exhausted. This running solo is actual work! I liked it better when J was with me and all I had to worry about was driving the big truck. LOL
I set my alarm to get up at 0300 this morning so I could be on the road by around 0330. It was still raining when I got up and headed out. I managed to make it a whopping 3 miles down the road before the bottom completely fell out. The wind was howling, rain was horizontal and the lightening show was unbelievable. It wasn't an occasional lightening strike, it was a continuous light show. I was half afraid the lightening was going to cause me to go into a seizure! Not that I suffer from seizures mind you, but they say blinking lights can cause an epileptic to go into a seizure. Or maybe that is an old wives tale. At any rate, I was worried about it. I had slowed down to about 20 mph with my hazards on and only a few trucks passed me. The majority of them were staying in line with me. They figured it was bad also. I was just at the point of trying to find a place to pull over when I finally punched out of that storm cell. Boy was I a happy girl!
I continued along only making two quick stops, one for me and one for Smokey, and I managed to pull into the gate and check in with the guard at exactly 0930 which is when my appointment was. I was able to get right to a dock and by 1030 I was finished. I sent a message to my FM asking if he had any idea which direction I should head, but he didn't, so I just took off. Of course, leave it to me to pull out from the receiver the wrong direction! Thankfully I found a Walmart a few miles down that I could turn around at.
Once I got turned around, my Qualcomm started beeping. Sweet! Less than 30 minutes and I had a load! I had to backtrack to Arkansas and go pick up in Jonesboro. It said the appointment was at 1230 and I told my FM I couldn't get there in time. It was 128 miles to the shipper and it was 1130. I can't do that in an hour. He sent a message back stating it was a preloaded trailer and I could get there anytime. That worked out good because I needed to stop in W. Memphis,AR and get a trailer washout.
I made it to the shipper there in Jonesboro around 1400 and by 1430 I was headed back out the gate. The nice lady at the guard shack gave me directions to the closest scale and after checking my weight, I was off! Two loads in two days. This running solo just may work out. :)
This load delivers in Gaffney,SC and has a drop time of 0100 on the 8th. Which is basically tomorrow night. My FM said I could drop any time since this was a drop and hook location. I decided I would drive to Mason,TN tonight and that would leave me just 540 miles tomorrow. I plan on getting my 10 hour break in and then leaving at around 0400 in the morning. That should put me there around 1700 local time and still leave me time on my clock to get to a truck stop for the night. Maybe tomorrow I will get some laundry done.
Anyway, it has been interesting to say the least. I don't like all this thinking and planning I am having to do!! LOL It is definitely much easier running team with J. And I miss him like crazy. But I think we have talked at least 5-6 times each day along with texting all day. Thank goodness we have unlimited texts!!
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3 comments:
It is so much easier running team and not worrying about having enough hours! I am not so sure I could run solo as are so entrenched in what he does and what I do that we just do not cross over. Keep up the good work it is awesome and I am in awe.
T-Net, you are one amazing lady!
Thank you to both of you! I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little apprehensive being out here by myself. I have never done anything like this alone. Heck, J and I have been together every single day pretty much since he got out of the police academy up in Colorado in '97 with the exception of when the girls and I went on the cruise last October. I kind of feel like I am missing a limb when he isn't with me. But with a truck payment every week, this is just something that we had to do if we wanted to get work done on the boat. I have to keep at it so we can at least break even and if I make a profit, then that is even better! :) But I am doing OK as a solo I think. It is lonely though. I can certainly now understand why solo drivers will talk your ear off at a truck stop. LOL Anyway, I guess when I set my mind to do something, I just dive in and do it. But thank you again for the compliments. It means alot. J said he is really proud of me also. And that means the world to me coming from him.
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