On The Road Again...

I'm Baaaaccckkk! Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' Keepin' these wheels rollin'!

Well I actually started back on the road yesterday. Went from West Orlando down to Auburndale to pick up a load and then brought it up to Hampton, GA. I unloaded this morning in Hampton, then up to Cartersville, GA to pick up my next load. Now I am in Florence, SC waiting to unload in the morning. But that's about all I want to say about trucking right now.

What I'd really like to do is to leave you with some photos I took while on vacation last week. My wife and I spent 2 nights in Daytona Beach, FL and then down to the Florida Keys. So here's a few pictures instead.

See ya tomorrow for more trucking stuff.

Last Post Before Vacation

A poor day! Literally! I was planning on working through this weekend and taking my vacation Monday through Monday. However, I woke up here in Tampa this morning. Waited and waited, finally getting a load assigned to me around 10:00 AM. I drove 43 miles to Auburndale, FL picked up a load of bleach and left there at 1PM. I then drove it 11 miles to the Publix DC in Lakeland. They would not accept it early and my appointment time was for 4PM.

I drove 2 blocks over to an old truck stop. The truck stop itself is closed now, but the parking is still available. I really wanted to get a shower and do laundry but that will have to wait still longer. There was a small restaurant that recently opened there so at least I got something to eat!

Finally around 3:30 I drive back over to Publix. It's now 5:30 and they're STILL unloading the trailer!

After several conversations today with my dispatcher, they don't want to send me very far away from home since I want to get home Monday. Hence the short trips. Thinking about the 54 miles today (earned $20, which I ate half of that for lunch), and tomorrows load probably being Lakeland to Gainesville with a late night delivery ($40-$45) I decided that just going home would be better! So I'll be taking off for 10 days instead of 7. As soon as they ever get me unloaded that is...

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and following along. If you've browsed and never left a comment, please click the comments button below and at least say hi. I'd love to know who's following along. See you back on the 29th. That's when I'll be returning.

Getting Closer to Home and Vacation Time!

Woke up this morning sitting in our drop yard in Atlanta, GA around 7:00 AM. I had a great nights sleep. The temperature was in the mid-60's so I slept with the truck off most of the time. Although I did wake up twice; at 1:30 AM and at 4:30 AM with messages being sent to me over the Qualcomm about my load for today. I hate when they do that! But I was able to fall right back to sleep.

After phoning home this morning, I bobtailed down the road to Hardee's. They have THE best sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits anywhere! Then back to the drop yard.

The other driver arrived with my load about 10:15 AM, just AFTER it started to downpour! It's always fun getting out into the rain to hook up to a trailer. :( By 10:45 though I am on the road heading southbound! I jump on the I-675 to I-75 and don't stop until Florida.

Finally around 4:30 PM I stopped at a Pilot Travel Center in Ocala, FL. I wasn't really in the mood for a burger and that Pilot had an Arby's. I was thinking an Arby's chicken sandwich sounded pretty good. But then their sweet tea isn't as good as McDonald's. As it turns out, this exit had a McDonald's right next door also! I parked the truck and was headed over to McD's. The plan was to get the sweet tea first, then go over to the Arby's for the chicken sandwich. Once I was in McDonald's though I just settled for the McD's chicken club. Oh well...

Now back on the road and continuing south on I-75 into Tampa. Just as I entered the city I exit the highway and in just a half mile or so I'm at the Con-Way Freight terminal making my delivery. I checked in, dropped the trailer and hooked up to an empty. Now I wait.

I had asked several times today to see if I could get a pre-assigned load so that I would know where I'm going next. If my next load picked up tomorrow anywhere near the direction of Orlando, I would have gone tonight and slept at home! But not knowing in which direction I'm heading to next I have to stay here in Tampa.

What I don't want to do is go home now to start my vacation. Not until next week anyway. So I'm hoping for the next few days they'll have me running around FL-GA for some short runs. At least I'll get some miles and maybe end with a decent pay check. We shall see right?

Anyway, that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

From Paducah, KY to Atlanta, GA

Another day has come and I'm closer to home. Albeit too early, but closer none the less.

I started out the day in Paducah, KY at a truck stop along I-24 right on the Kentucky-Illinois border. I awoke around 6:00 AM and by 6:30 I was on the road. I finally stopped at a Love's Travel Center in Plainview, TN around 9:15 to have breakfast at a McDonald's. You guessed it, a #2 sausage, egg, & cheese McMuffin with an orange juice and sweet tea! The breakfast of champions... right? OK, maybe not but it's good!

Following I-24 eastbound to Chattanooga where I turn south onto I-75. In Georgia I stop at the Pilot Travel Center in Carbondale for fuel at 1:00 PM. A quick stop and go and I'm on my way again. After taking the I-285 loop around Atlanta to the west, I jump onto I-20 to GA70. I arrived at M & W Distributors at 3:00 to deliver the 43,000 lbs of carrot cake and brownie mix I've been hauling. As it turns out, my appointment wasn't until 7PM so it's just a matter of sitting and waiting.

So at 6:30 they finally get me unloaded. I circled the I-285 loop to the southeast corner. There is the Con-Way drop yard where I will be relaying with another driver in the morning. So here is where I'll stay tonight.

That was my day today. Thanks for stopping by.

A Midnight Drive, Sleep, Then Drive Again

These kinda days just wear me out. I don't think I got much of a nap last evening. Maybe a light dozing off and on. I had my alarm set for 10:30 PM and I think I just started going into a deep sleep around 10:15! Figures :(

So I get up and go check in with Sears again and they have my trailer ready. I hook up and go around 11:30 PM. Fortunately from Romeoville, IL to my delivery in Bloomington, IL is about 106 miles! I get to the other Sears warehouse at 1:30 AM. I think it was around 3AM when he finished unloading me, so I pull over to the end of the building out of the way, crawl into bed and crash. I had my next load assignment already, but I didn't have to pick it up until 2PM.

I think I awoke again about 7AM. Drove a couple of miles to a Pilot Travel Center and got a shower. Boy that was much needed and felt good! Then across the street to the T/A for some breakfast. Three eggs over easy, bacon, hash browns, wheat toast, orange juice, and sweet tea.

At 9:45, I'm back in my truck and headed down the highway to St. Elmo, IL. I arrived there at 12:30 PM and by 2:00 I'm loaded and rolling again. My first stop is just a few miles down the road in Effingham. That's the nearest truck stop with a CAT Scale. I have 43,000 of carrot cake and brownie mix and need to make sure I have the trailer balanced out correctly.

Continuing south, I make a stop in Ina, IL to have dinner at a McDonald's. Finally, I come to a stop at 6:15 PM in Paducah, KY. I'm tired. And from here to my delivery in Atlanta is only 398 miles. That should give me plenty of time to get a good nights rest tonight and make my 4PM delivery time. That should also get my body clock back on track again!

That's it for now. See ya tomorrow.

A Walk in the Wetlands

Hello again. Not much happening today. If you remember from yesterday, I had a hard time finding the Caterpiller plant. As it turned out, this morning when I woke up, I drove over there to make my delivery. They sent me back over to the warehouse in which I spent the night to unload. OK, not a problem.

After unloading, I waited for my next load assignment which came after about an hour. A Sears load picking up at midnight 136 miles away with a 4AM delivery. Great that means a night time drive with little sleep. Fortunately it's a short run!

So about 10:00 AM I leave Lafayette, IN and head over to Romeoville, IL, which is just south west of Chicago. I arrived at the Sears DC at 1:45 PM and drop my empty trailer. They have parking available there so that is where I'll hang out.

Now comes the hard part. I had a great nights sleep last night. But I have to drive after midnight tonight. That means that somehow I have to figure out how to take a nap this evening! Also, the nearest truck stop with a shower is nearly 20 miles away so I can't just hop on my bike and sweat off some energy.

I look up some Geocaches and discover that there is a federal wetlands preserve running along the back of the warehouses here. And that there is a paved trail with 2 geocaches along it. OK, so I go off and find those fairly quick. Now what?

Around 4PM, I bobtail down the street to Popeye's for some chicken. They say poultry makes you drowsy also.

After dinner I decide to go back to the wetlands trail with my camera and walk almost the entire length which is probably about 2 miles round trip. I've posted some of the photos below. It was a pleasant walk. Lot's of different kinds of birds and wildflowers. Took my 300mm lens this time. Wished I had something better to capture the big white egrets (i think?) across the water. The last photo is a tiny little turtle trying to cross the walkway. I almost stepped on the little guy. I put a quarter down next to him for size reference.

Now, it's time for a nap. Tomorrow I'll let you know if it worked. See ya then.

A Day Off in West Memphis Then to Indiana

Saturday I spent the day at our terminal in West Memphis, AR. Didn't do much. The highlight of the day was going to lunch at Margarita's Mexican restaurant. The beef burrito special! A beef burrito covered in red sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream. Then I followed that up with their excellent dessert of fried cheese cake and vanilla ice cream. MmmMmm Good!

The rest of the time I spent looking up geocaches for my vacation next week. I didn't get my load assignment until after lunch and it was just a short 500 mile run up to Indiana due Monday. So I waited there at the terminal and reset my work clocks.

Sunday morning I bobtailed over to McDonald's for breakfast getting my usual sausage egg and cheese McMuffin, orange juice, and sweet tea. Then back to the terminal to pick up my loaded trailer. I have a load of Caterpiller parts going to Lafayette, Indiana. By 9:00 AM, I'm headed north on I-55 then north on I-57.

At 2:15 PM, I was getting kinda hungry so I pulled over at a truck stop in Effingham, IL. A good choice because right across the street was a Friday's restaurant! So much better than truck stop food. Lunch took just over an hour because they ended up giving my ribs to another customer. But I did receive a coupon for a free dessert and an additional $5 off my meal. I can deal with that. Plus it was a good thing I wasn't in a hurry!

Now heading east on I-74, I stop for fuel at a Pilot in Covington, IN. Continued east on I-74 to US231 north.

I arrived in Lafayette, IN around 7:00 PM. My instructions had me going to two different locations about a mile apart as if I was making two different deliveries. And to make matters worse, the directions for my first stop went to two different areas. So I went for the first location but couldn't find the Caterpiller plant. Then I proceeded to find my 2nd stop which was fairly easy. It was a Caterpiller warehouse which was closed. BUT they had parking!

After sitting there a few minutes, I decided to drop my trailer there and bobtail around to try and find the other location. It makes it much easier to get around when you're not sure where you're going when you don't have a 53' trailer following along behind you! So using Google Earth and my GPS, I eventually found the main plant. Cool! Now I know where I'm going in the morning.

Now I'm sitting at the quiet warehouse and the weather is cool so I can get some sleep with the truck turned off. That's it for now. See ya next time.

From Baton Rouge to West Memphis

Welcome to my little blog about a day in the life of a truck driver. Today I awoke at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, LA around 6:00 AM. Heading out about 6:30, I arrived in Baton Rouge at my next pickup location at 7:00. After checking in, I was told that they get started about 8:00 which was my appointment time.

Sitting in my truck until around 8:20 though and still nobody coming out to get me, I decided to see what I can find out. I walk back to the office and there's nobody around. After about 5 minutes I decided to go back and wait in the truck again. About 8:45 I decided to give it another try. Finally I found somebody who looks like they may know what's going on. Well I was wrong. I asked him what time do they start loading here. He said 8:00. So I look at my watch and then back at him. He then proceeds to tell me that the person in charge of shipping goes over to the main office at 8:00 to get paperwork and usually gets back around 8:30. I look at my watch again, 8:45. He says What time is it?" as he turns to look at his clock on the wall. I said 8:45. Then he again proceeds to say, "well he's usually back by now. It may be closer to 9:00." By the time everything was done, loaded, and paperwork signed it was 10:40!

Finally I'm on my way! South on I-110 to I-10 to east on I-12. I quick stop at the Pilot in Denham Springs at exit 10 to weigh out. The 45,000 pounds of plastic beads balanced out perfect and I'm on my way again.

Continuing east on I-12 to I-55 northbound, I make a quick stop in Mississippi at a McDonald's. Just a quarter pounder and a sweet tea.

Next it's non-stop to West Memphis, Arkansas. This load is actually going up into Ontario Canada, but I don't go to Canada so I'm dropping it off at one of our terminals. From there someone else will take it all the way up into Canada.

After checking in with Dispatch, I bobtailed on over to my favorite Mexican restaurant. Margarita's here in West Memphis has got to be THE BEST Mexican restaurant in the country! I love coming here. Tonight I choose the Enchiladas Supremos. It contains one each of beef, chicken, bean, and cheese enchiladas topped with a sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and cheese. It was too good and filling that I passed up on my usual Fried Cheesecake dessert.

Anyway, back to our terminal and that's where I now sit. Probably won't get a load out of here until tomorrow. Until then, see you on the highways...

From Northern Alabama to Southern Louisiana

Oops! I missed a day yesterday. Sorry about that. So here's a quick update on yesterday. It started out in Hoover, AL at 5:00 AM. I was on a Michael's Arts & Crafts run with 4 stores. The first in Hoover, 2 in Birmingham, and the last one up in Huntsville. Each of the unloads took approximately 1 hour and while they unloaded I managed to find 6 geocaches at the various shopping centers.

After the last store unloaded there in Huntsville, I left the truck at the dock and walked around to Logan's Roadhouse to finally get a bite to eat for what turned out to be my ONLY meal of the day. But it was a good one! Baby back ribs, sweet potato, and a salad.

Then I drove back down to the southern side of Birmingham to be ready for my next load this morning.

Today was another 5:00 AM start. It was a Con-Way Freight load going to Laredo, TX. However the Freight loads typically must keep moving. So I was only taking it to Sulphur, LA where I would swap trailers with another driver who would continue it further. After a quick stop for breakfast at a Hardee's along I-59 southbound, then west on I-10, I arrived in Sulphur at 2:00 PM. I swapped trailers with the other driver, taking his empty.

I already had my next load assignment and had some time to spare so of course I looked up some geocaches. There was one less than 500' from where I parked so I grabbed the GPSr and found it.

My next pickup is back in Baton Rouge in the morning. It's about 135 miles east along I-10, so I wanted get closer to there tonight. I also wanted to find a shower and dinner. I then head back east and stopped in Beaux Bridge, LA at a Pilot Travel Center. There I quickly fueled up and showered. 30 minutes later and I'm off again.

Just a little further east on I-10 is the Tiger Truck Stop. It gets its name because they have had a tiger in a cage at the east end of the parking lot for over 20 years. The current tiger "Tony" was born there at the truck stop in 2000. Anyway, I stopped here because they have a great restaurant. And this is where I sleep tonight.

Tomorrow I pick up a load in Baton Rouge and head to West Memphis, AR. Until then, thanks for stopping by. See you on the road...

Cool Again From Jacksonville to Hoover

Praise the Lord! My a/c is fixed and quicker than I had expected! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Happy Tuesday to you! I woke up this morning at 5:30 AM in a nice cool hotel room. Checked out at 6:00 and walked back over to the warehouse. They finally showed up at 8:00 and it took them 1 1/2 hours to unload. I must have gotten the slow one, because 4 other truck who docked after me unloaded before me. Oh well, what can you do.

Anyway, once empty I drove 14 miles down the road to the Michael's Distribution Center for my next load. After checking in and dropping off my empty trailer, I bobtailed back a mile to the Kenworth dealer to get my a/c fixed. By now it's about 10:30 and I'm getting hungry. The service advisor told me about the lunch buffet at the nearby Holiday Inn. It was about a mile walk, which was no big deal for me. So I walked on over there.

I had to wait 5 minutes because their lunch buffet doesn't open until 11:00 AM. Well it was definitely worth the walk! I had fried catfish, green beans, mac & cheese, and stuffed cabbage for lunch. They also had some great looking fried chicken, pork chops and more which I was about to get. But after my first plate, I was already eyeing dessert! I tried 2 of the 6 different desserts offered and they were great. Everything was GREAT! So if you're ever in Jacksonville, FL the Holiday Inn on I-295 x 22 has a breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet.

Once I got back to the truck at 11:45, they had already pulled it into the shop. I figured maybe not until 1PM or so. This was good to see. But then I talked to the service advisor again and after thanking him for the great lunch advise, he told me the issues on the truck. The a/c was a leaking condenser and would take 2 hours and then there was some sort of recall which would take an additional 3 hours. Therefore I was looking at around 5-6PM for completion. That means I wouldn't get to my delivery until around 2 AM! YIKES!!

Then surprisingly around 2PM, the mechanic came in to the driver lounge and said I was ready to go! The parts required for the recall were not in stock and had to be ordered. WOHOO!! Now I won't have a late night of driving.

So I headed back over to Michael's, grabbed my loaded trailer and I was on the road. Westbound on I-10 for 2 1/2 hours, I stopped in Marianna, FL for some fuel. Then non-stop north on US231 to I-65 north all the way to Hoover, Alabama. I arrived there about 10:15 PM and I'm tired. I have a 5:00 AM delivery time in the morning so not much time for sleep. But I'm thinking of my readers here too and wanted to write today's blog first.

But now it's time for bed. Thanks for stopping by and we'll see you down the road.

A Great Weekend Followed By Heat

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. I know I did. It started last Friday when I got a load assigned for Jacksonville, FL. Arriving at the Florida Welcome Center on I-95 that night, my wife drove up from Orlando to meet me. Because it was late by then, we stayed there in the truck. On Saturday morning, she followed me down to the Pilot Travel Center on the south side of Jacksonville. There we left the truck and drove on home to Orlando.

After a couple of days home with family and friends its back to work. After my wife got off work today, we drove back up here to Jacksonville. She dropped me off at the truck and returned home. I started up the truck and started putting away my laundry and everything.

But inside the truck wasn't cooling down. The a/c was blowing but it wasn't cold. Not a good thing! I drove up 35 miles to the north side of Jacksonville to the consignee where I deliver in the morning. It still wasn't cold. After about an hour, I couldn't take it anymore. It was over 90 degrees inside. So I called Con-Way and requested a hotel for the night. Kenworth was closed due to the holiday. They agreed so that's where I'm at now. I've already got my next load assignment, so after I unload first thing in the morning and pickup my next load soon there after, then I'll head over to Kenworth to get it fixed.

That's it for now. Time for bed. See you tomorrow.

Arriving in Florida Once Again!

Today turned out to be the start of a GREAT weekend! I'm headed home again for the 2nd weekend in a row!! WOW!!

I got my load assignment about 7:00 AM and by 7:30 I left Newport News, VA and headed 80 miles over to Richmond. There I picked up 32,000 lbs of those cup-a-soup packages. About 2 hours to load and then head south on I-95 at 11:30. After about an hour, I stopped for lunch at McDonalds in a little town called Skippers, VA.

Back on the road non-stop all the way down to the Florida Welcome Center. That's about as far as I could get before my clocks ran out so I had to park it there. My wife did drive up from Orlando to meet me here. We'll stay here overnight in the truck. Then in the morning I'll drive down into Jacksonville and leave the truck there. I can't deliver the load until Tuesday morning because of the holiday weekend, so I'll ride home with the wife. Then she'll bring me back Monday night.

So that's it for now. I probably won't have another update until either Monday night or Tuesday. Until then, have a GREAT weekend!

A Little Driving, Caching, and a LOT of Traffic

Well today started out pretty good. Woke up to another cool morning of 51 degrees in Sugar Notch, PA. Finally received my next load assignment around 9:00 AM and was off and rolling by 9:30. A short run for today.

I headed south on I-81 to Hagerstown, MD right below the Mason-Dixon Line which separates Maryland and Pennsylvania. There I picked up a pre-loaded trailer of misc items for the Sam's Club store down in Newport News, VA. By 1:00PM I was ready to go, but I still had 8 hours to go only 245 miles. Plenty of time! So I looked up some Geocaches and there were 4 less than a mile away to the north. The first in Maryland, 2 right on the state line, and the other up in Pennsylvania.

So I programmed them into my GPSr and went for a walk. A short 1/4 mile to the first one at a small cemetery there. Found the little nano container quickly on the gated entrance. Then moved on up the hill to the "State Line Park" so aptly named because it lies on the state line. I reached the location of the next cache, but there was a work van parked nearby with the driver taking a lunch break. I was in plain view so I couldn't look too hard. So after a few minutes I decided to just leave that one for another day. In the same park was the 3rd cache, which I found rather quickly. Afterwards I decided to skip the last one and head back.

By 2:30 PM I am on my way down to Virginia. As I approached Washington D.C., traffic slowed to a crawl. Around the I-295 bypass and south on I-95 and still crawling down into Virginia. I think it took about 2 hours to go a mere 40 miles before it started to pickup speed again.

A quick stop for fuel at a Pilot in Peterson's Corner, VA and I'm on my way again.

I arrived in Newport News at 8:15 PM with only 45 minutes to spare and by now I am starving! Fortunately when delivering to a Sam's Club store there are usually good restaurants around from which to choose. I choose to eat at a Golden Corral buffet. They have a wide variety of food and it's quick.

I made it back to the Sam's store at 9:00 PM and the perfect time when the opened their receiving door. So almost a full 12 hour day to go a mere 421 miles. Hopefully tomorrow we'll get a nice long run going out west. That's what I requested anyway. So we'll see.

Until then, I'll see you out on the road...

A Smooth Drive to Pennsylvania

Good day everyone! Woke up this morning after a great nights sleep. The temperature was in the upper 50's in North Carolina, so I went to sleep with the truck off. No need to keep the a/c running which also meant no shaky idling, no rattles, and just quiet!

I awoke around 7AM. Wasn't really hungry this morning, so after a short conversation with my wife on the phone I just browsed the internet for a little while. My required 10 hour break wasn't over until 8:00 so I couldn't actually start driving until 8:15 after a 15 minute pre-trip truck/trailer inspection. Then I drove north on I-77 until Noon when I stopped at a truck stop in Wilda, VA and ate lunch at Arby's.

My next stop was along I-81 northbound at the West Virginia welcome center near Bunker Hill. There I found the two Geocaches which were hidden among the trees along the perimeter.

I then continued on north along I-81. Around 5PM, I stopped at a Pilot in Linglestown, PA. There I grabbed a quick shower. For food that Pilot had a Pizza Hut which had just taken out about a half dozen personal pan pizzas which smelt really good! So I bought a meat lovers pizza and ate it for dinner.

Another hour and a half later, at 7PM, I arrived in Sugar Notch, PA just south of Wilkes-Barre. There I dropped off my trailer loaded with 285 lawnmowers to the Sears distribution center. Just in time for the Fall/Winter mowing season right? Anyway, I dropped the loaded trailer and hooked up to an empty. Across the street was a dirt lot where a few other trucks were also parked. So I joined them also and that's where I now sit waiting for my next assignment. Which I probably won't get until morning but that fine.

Not to bad a day today. Thanks for dropping by.

From Georgia to North Carolina

Since I didn't really do a whole lot yesterday, today felt more like a Monday than a Tuesday. Woke up this morning around 7:00 AM at the Petro truck stop in Atlanta. I went inside to the restaurant there for breakfast. Skipping the buffet, I ordered 3 eggs over easy, bacon, hash browns, and wheat toast along with sweet tea AND and orange juice. I gotta have something healthy every now and then.

After breakfast I drove on down the road just 5 miles away to the Keystone Automotive warehouse where they unloaded 80 cartons of bumpers that where in the trailer. By 10:45 AM I'm heading down to McRae, GA 160 miles away to pickup my next load. I take the I-285 Atlanta bypass loop south to I-75 south to Macon, then I-16 east.

Since I have plenty of time to make my appointment, I did stop at one rest area along I-16 to grab a Geocache. Then I turn south onto US319 in Dublin to get to McRae. I arrive there at 2:15 PM and by 3:00 PM I'm loaded and headed back north towards Pennsylvania. A quick stop again in Dublin for fuel and McDonald's.

Then it's non-stop east on I-16 to US1 north to I-20 east to I-77 north. Passing through South Carolina, I come to a stop in Troutman, North Carolina at the Hess Travel Center. That's a 535 mile day for today which leaves me 545 miles for tomorrow to my destination.

But now... I'm tired! See ya tomorrow.