Well, I finally got back to an Internet connection! Since my last post I have been to Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and back to Ohio en route to Seattle Wa.

I won't be completing this run, but I will grab as much of the 2800 miles from it as I can. I have been joking with my dispatch planner that I always get these fantastic loads a few days before I'm supposed to go home...crazy. I wish I could get a run like this when I first leave the house for my 3 week run. The good news is however far west I get it delivered, I need to drive the same distance to get home. More miles= more money!

My New York stop was interesting. I got to the stop on time at 9am expecting a 1 hour unload. nine hours later, I was done and underway. This poor place had two guys working at it, and no loading dock. They had to unload each truck by hand, and I was fourth in line.

I get extra pay for stops like this, called detention pay, but it still is frustrating to walk into a deal like this. Oh well, it's not just a job, it's an adventure!

East Bound and Down

Here it is, 6am in Fond Du Lac Wisconsin, 5am local time when one considers the time change. I keep myself on east coast time all the time, I find it makes keeping track of time more sane. On my way to Ohio with a 44,000 lbs load of paper. I like paper loads, they are heavy, and I always stop at a truck stop and put the truck on the scales to make sure I’m legal, better to spend $8.50 at a truck stop than a lot more to the DOT! But I have run enough of these loads now where I can set it up legally without checking and feel comfortable if I wanted to. I can’t start driving until about 8am to make my delivery window on time, so I figured I would write a few words now, then copy and paste into the blog when I stop for fuel in Gary, IN. Today’s drive is around 530 miles, so I have to be efficient with my time.

FYI, with this kind of load, I am almost 80,000 lbs when you include the tractor and trailer, that’s about 35 times heavier than the average sedan on the road. Think about that the next time you cut in front of an 18 wheeler!

It’s been really foggy here, and surprisingly warm in the high 40’s during the day. Wisconsin in January should be a little colder than that, and the cold weather is on it’s way back, but the fog has held the heat in for a few days and I’m not complaining! I ran pretty hard last week and was really short on hours that I could legally run this weekend, so I took advantage of a couple of short work days and caught up on some much needed sleep.

I also got a chance to see some of the HBO miniseries “From the Earth to the Moon”. It’s a story of the US space race in the 60’s. I got the DVD set for Christmas. I have always wanted to see this miniseries. I watched three hours of it yesterday and it is fantastic. It’s amazing what can be done with enough brain power, ambition, and money! It’s a four disc, twelve part series, so I will be watching this for a while. Highly recommended.

This run takes me off the interstate system quite a bit. US 41 in WI is a fantastic road, and I will run US 30 through Indiana and Ohio. US 30 runs parallel to I-80 but without having to pay the tolls, which I think are about $60-70.00 for a semi. I really enjoy US 30, especially the Ohio end. If you ever want to avoid the I-80 toll, or are just looking for a change of scenery, give US 30 a try!

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

Time for the brain dump on the goings on of the last few days, but first, I need to do a little shout out.

You're gonna be home when??!

My family seems to have the gift of prose, my dad has written me letters that will bring tears to your eyes. My mom will send very heartfelt thank you notes at the drop of a hat, and I'm convinced that my sister should be writing books for a living.

Forgive me if I try to wax a little poetic for a few minutes, I'll get to the good stuff, I promise!

My job keeps me away from home for weeks at a time, and when I do get home, it is only for a few days before I hit the road again. This is a little hard on my fiance', Linda. I really didn't have much of a time at home this Christmas. I made it for the 25th and I had the 27th off, but ended up working Christmas eve, and running an "emergency" load on the 26th. I was tired, and probably not the type of home body Linda was expecting.

Samantha was home from California for the holidays, so we had a house full for a while, but time moves on, and now Linda has the house to herself again, and I think that the transition from lots of people to an empty house has been a little hard. I had a tough time getting back in the truck myself this time. It was great to see everyone, but it seemed way to short, as it usually does, but it is hard to leave knowing that the tree is still up for someone else to have to deal with.

Linda has been very supportive of my career decision, and she deserves to be recognised as one of those behind the scenes rocks that I lean on all the time. We find a way to talk every night, which if you know me and the way I ignore the telephone, is a major operation!

Way to go honey! Thanks for all you do. I love you, I miss you, and hope to see you soon!

OK OK OK Time for NEWS!

I'm one of those guys who had a car before I had my license, I passed my commercial drivers license at 19, and have been driving all sorts of cars and trucks through every type of weather imaginable. I'm not a pro at OTR driving yet, but I do have a point of reference about driving.

I left Carlisle PA heading for Nitro W VA at 2am heading for I-68 west. Driving through Maryland was fine, and I was making great time, as one can do in the wee hours of the morning. As I got closer to West Virginia, the winds picked up and the temperature, went down.

Obviously I was driving towards some really nasty weather while driving on a mountain highway. Needless to say, I was concerned. Then the snow started falling...HARD. Maryland had plow trucks out, salt and sand were being spread, and things were under control. I was still at about 35 mph being very careful, but the wheels were rolling, and that is always a good thing.

Then I crossed into West Virginia...

No plowing done, no salt and sand on the roads, I was passing cars off in the ditch, you know the drill. I was beyond concerned at this point, so I did what anyone would do at this point.

Found a rest area and took a five hour nap!

Not quite heaven...West Virginia

For me, taking a nap half way through the day is not a good idea, I'm a little groggy for the rest of the day. I pushed on for a few hundred more miles and shut down for the day. My delivery had been rescheduled for the following morning, so the pressure was off. I had to come up on a tanker rollover which had the whole highway shut down. I must admit I have encountered more traffic tie ups this time of the year than any other. Looks like all the stats are right about holiday travelling and bad weather. Be safe out there!

Imagine that...Stuck in traffic in West Virginia!

Hoping for no snow in West VA

All is well in the world of Edison, N.J. They have a shiny new trailer load of toilet paper courtesy of me. Afterwards, I had to go to one of my least favorite drop lots, South Kearny N.J. which is a little north of Newark. As usual traffic was horrible, and the roads will pound you to a pulp, but I had to get an empty trailer to take to another company in North Brunswick N.J. so I could get my next load, which is going to West Virginia.

Half the work of this job is the logistics of getting trailers where the stuff is that needs to be loaded in them, and then doing the deliveries. It's all extra miles for me, and that helps fatten the paycheck. It did take most of the day to get three trailers moved, so I am back in Carlisle for the night. I will get up tomorrow morning around 2am to make my delivery time in W VA. Driving in Jersey is not as bad as NYC, but it still takes a lot out of me. Best if I wait till the morning to hit the road again!

Can you believe it? Stuck in stopped traffic on the Jersey Turnpike...

Round Robin

I'm back in Carlisle, PA. The same place I was two days ago when I last posted. I have come back from Kentucky where I dropped off a load of lawn tools, and picked up a load of toilet paper headed for New Jersey. I know there is a really funny joke about t.p. going to Jersey, but I'll leave that for you.

I have been trying to dodge the bad weather again. This is a constant battle. The more time I can spend moving, be it day or night, surely beats sitting out a storm somewhere. It looks like I will get to Jersey on time for my delivery. Maybe it is more important for the people living there? I'm just saying...

Anyhoo, had some blue sky on I-64 in southern Indiana. I was bobtailing from Louisville to my pickup location, and decided to find a truck stop and grab some lunch. I have a small book I keep near me showing all the truck stops in the country my state and interstate exit number, very handy seeing as though parking one of these things at your local McDonalds will usually clog up the whole lot.

I find a stop in my book at the exit I'm getting off at, so all looks good, my book tells me that it is an AMBEST (Americas Best for short) which is a chain store like a Pilot or Travel Centers of America, so I'm expecting a "reputable establishment".

When I pull off the interstate, all I find is a big deserted parking lot with a porn store and a topless restaurant. Now, I have nothing against this, 1st amendment and all that, but one cannot look discrete driving an 13 foot tall orange Freightliner, and all I wanted was a place to park.

I found another place to park...

One thing I've learned this year, even the best information can be incorrect. My truck stop guide is only a year old, but this is the third truck stop that has been out of business when I got there. I did have to turn around in their lot to get going in the right direction. This was when the midget with the crutches came out and tried to flag me down, seriously. I couldn't shift fast enough to get out of there! Maybe after drinking a case of beer or something, this place might be entertaining?

I thought they put these things FAR AWAY from the highway!