Winslow,AZ

We managed to get out of Springfield and had a load that we brought to Riverside to deliver. After playing tag with another couple that drives for Prime, we realized that we weren't going to get to meet up. They were several hours behind us headed to the Los Angeles area also. We tried but there is always next time.

We managed to make it into Ontario,CA around 1300 local on Thursday and our appt was at 2130 so we had some time to kill. Took a shower and a nap, or at least tried, but then our FM called and needed a "favor". You never know if that will work in your favor or if you will get screwed. LOL Turns out it wasn't a big deal. There was a truck that was broke down and they needed to get the load delivered because it was a FedEx load. Our FM had a guy that could go get it, because he was a day and a half early for his appt and was just sitting there in Ontario. (Or somewhere close.) Problem was his load delivered Friday morning so he wanted us to deliver our load Thursday evening then go pick his load up from the drop lot in Ontario and deliver it to Irvine at 0600 Friday morning. He said that sales promises we would get a good load out on Friday morning after we deliver. We figured that we would be sitting overnight and not be loaded till the next morning anyway, so being a good ole gal, I decide we will help him out.

So Thursday evening we head over to our drop and once we are docked I hit the sack. It was already around 2230 our time and we got there an hour early. We got unloaded pretty darn fast, but it took almost 3 hours for them to count it and get or paperwork. Finally I feel J pull out and off we go to the Ontario drop lot.

Now if you remember, I have posted about this lot before. It is situated right between two feed lots. And it smells like shit. And I mean like actual cow patties. I was asleep but I knew the minute we pulled in because the smell woke me up. The only thing about a bad smell is that if you smell it long enough, you don't notice it. Anyway, that place was packed so J had to unhook out trailer, hook up to the one we were picking up and move it out, unhook and hook back up to the empty we brought in, back that in the spot that he just moved the loaded trailer out of, unhook and finally hook up to our new load for good, the one going to Irvine. We knew that it would be all but impossible to find a spot at either TA at that time of night, so he just stayed parked there until I had to get up around 0400 local.

0400 rolls around and I groggily get out of bed, hit the port-a-potty, which I must say that considering where it is, it is one of the cleanest I have ever been in, and then I am off. Thank goodness the appt was at 0600 and I didn't have to fight rush hour traffic. We find the place and J hits the sack. He had taken a small nap, but got back up with me to make sure I found the place. I check in at 0530 and a little after 0600 they start unloading me. Again, they were don unloading by 0645 but I didn't have my paperwork until 1000 hrs. It is irritating when you are unloaded that quick but they can't seem to count that fast. And the whole load was roasted peanuts. It was all the SAME! Sheesh!

After I get the paperwork I head around the the staging area to send in my depart and walk Smokey. This is the point where I am sending good vibes towards our sales department so that we get a good load out of there. Just as I get in the truck and am reaching for a breakfast bar, BEEP! I have a load! And it is going to NC! Yay! And it pays good. It didn't load until 1500 so I head back over to the TA to kill a few hours.

Upon getting to the TA I decide I am hungry and I start considering how hungry I am. I mean, do I really want to walk all the way up to the main building? Or should I take a chance and check the parking up front, just in case. Things were going my way because I got the third spot from the front! I saw it and said out loud, "Hell Yeah!" I threw my 4-ways on and backed in. I made it in without a pull-up, but a lot of people were watching me. Now I am worried that I parked in a handicapped spot or something. I am slightly crooked, so I get out and walk back behind the tractor and am looking at the ground to check for handicapped markings. NOPE! Ok, get in, so a small pull-up, back in straight and set the brakes. I am feeling pretty good at this point. Yep, I guess I will treat myself to Burger King.

I tell Smokey to be good and that I will bring him some french fries, (he loves those) and I head in. People are still staring at me. Ok, maybe I am self conscious. Or maybe they just haven't seen a small woman with blonde hair, tank top, capri pants and flip flops that has the backing skills I do. LOL!! Or maybe they were staring at my tattoos? Who knows? It was kinda wierd though.

Back to the french fries. I save half of them for Smokey and am walking back out to the truck. As soon as I get to the door, I am reaching for my key and I driver stops me. He was a Covenant driver that was parked next to me. He was asking a ton of questions about Prime. I bet we talked for almost an hour. He actually said he was on the phone with a recruiter when I came walking back out and told her he was going to talk to me and that he would call back. He seemed to like what I had to say because when we left a short time later, he was on the phone. Maybe I will get a referral out of it!

Ok, I killed enough time so off we go to pick up our load over in Colton,CA. After deciding the directions are screwy, we find the place, check in and get a dock and then it is bed time for me. I only had abut 4-5 the night before so I was worn out. Our appt was at 1500. At 2000 hrs we are pulling into the TA to scale. It took quite a while there. Yet again, we were loaded fairly quickly, but the paperwork took forever. What it is with the paperwork lately?? Well, this load didn't have an appointment set yet and J wasn't feeling really well because of the tacos and hot sauce he ate, so we decided to stay there for the night and I would head out this morning. J sent in a message to sales and told our night FM that I would start driving in the morning because he wasn't feeling well so they needed to set our appt for Monday after 1600 hrs to give us time to get there.

0400 again and I am up and at it. This morning as I was driving I get a message with an appointment time of Monday at 0615. Now I am wondering what part of the message that we wouldn't be in until 1600 they didn't understand, or if they didn't get the message. I message back that we won't be there by then and I get a message back that they only accept produce in the morning. Okay... regardless, I still won't be there by then so they may need to set up the appt for the next morning. Then my FM sends a message saying he is showing that we have 2117 miles to go and what is the soonest we can be to the receiver. Ummm, 1600 local time. Is anyone here seeing a pattern of them either not understanding my us of military time (which they use) or are they not reading my messages? At this point, I haven't gotten any other messages from them. So, we will be in around 1600 on Monday, LOL, and I don't know where we will go from there.

I am bummed about this weather situation though. I was wearing a tank top for crying out loud, and now I am going to have to go back to my winter coat and boots! :(