My Third Day in Texas and Still No BBQ!

Well I'm still here in Texas. Woke up at the Flying J in Waco this morning. It was still wet and cloudy. A few lite sprinkles here and there with the temps around 60. My pickup time at the Tractor Supply DC was at noon, but you never know when they may actually have you ready.

They were just 2 miles down the road, so I went over there about 7:30 AM to check in. Nope, not ready. But I did drop my trailer there none the less. There were a few geocaches within a half mile, but the gloomy overcast weather dis-swayed me from finding them. So I bobtailed down to the Pilot Travel Center just another 2 miles down I-35.

There I waited for a while contemplating McDonald's breakfast next door, but decided on the Little Debbie Nutty Butty bars I had in the truck. The gloomy weather really can have an adverse affect on you sometimes!

Finally around 10:00, I went and topped off my fuel tanks before heading back over to Tractor Supply. But still they did not have my load ready. I talked to a few other drivers who were coming and going. One was surprised about my load considering his was ready but wasn't due until 6PM. Sure rub it in!

But it didn't bother me so much because I couldn't deliver until 7AM tomorrow and it was only 300 miles away. No problem! Well they finally got me done right at 12:00 O'clock. I hooked up and I was on my way.

Instead of taking I-35 south to San Antonio, then I-37 over to Corpus Christi, I decided to take a slower but more direct route. It was about 20 miles shorter down US77, but time wise longer due to the small towns along the way. But it was a new route and I had plenty of time to spare.

Another reason to take this new route was to find some geocaches. I pretty much already got those on I-35 having been that way many times. I managed to find 4 today at each of the old picnic areas in which I was able to get the big truck into.

I was also hoping to find a BBQ place to eat at today. My third day in Texas and I still had not yet had any BBQ beef brisket and sausage! THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT! Where I passed the BBQ restaurants that had truck parking available, it was still breakfast time. During lunch or dinner there were none to be found. Plenty of BBQ places, but nowhere could I park 70' of truck and trailer!

Finally, hunger won me over and I pulled into a Mexican restaurant around 5:30 in Refugio, TX. I should have just made a sandwich instead and saved a few dollars. I ordered the beef enchiladas which were OK, but nothing to brag about.

After eating, I continued south on US77 to Corpus Christi, then west on Hwy 141 to Alice, TX. That's where I sit tonight, behind the Tractor Supply store there for my 7AM deliver. They'll get half the load and then I'll drive down about 40 miles to Kingsville where they'll get the other half. But that's tomorrow and I'm getting ahead of myself.

That's my day today. Thanks for dropping in and keeping me company. Use the comment link below to say hi every once in a while. Till 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 Texas to Illinois With a GREAT Lunch

Woke up this morning in a little Texas town called Henderson around 6:30. I still had about an hour to go before my mandatory 10 hour break was over, so as the sun woke up I walked a 1/2 mile down the road to grab a geocache outside a local radio station office.

When I returned I went inside the little truck stop to grab a couple of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies for breakfast since there weren't any restaurants around. Plus I didn't want to eat too much because I'll be passing through West Memphis today and that meant some good food for lunch!

So, continuing up US259, east on I-20, to US59 north, to I-30 east, to I-40 east. I drove non-stop until 2:30 that afternoon all the way to West Memphis, Arkansas. I pulled into the Con-Way terminal, dropped the trailer, and bobtailed down to the end of the road to Margaritas. In my opinion, Margaritas is probably THE best Mexican restaurant in the country. So far, I've never eaten anything there that I haven't liked. And save room for dessert because their fried cheesecake with vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup is OH SO GOOD!

Anyway, after lunch I bobtailed back to the terminal, hooked up to the trailer and off I went. From West Memphis, north on I-55 into Missouri, then to I-57 north crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois. Then I arrive in Mt Vernon, IL at 7:30 PM where I pull into a Pilot truck stop for the night. Today's trip was 659 miles long.

As the sun was setting here, I look online and spotted a geocache just a 1/4 mile away so I walked down to grab it too. I hit the showers upon returning, and now it's time for bed.

Thanks for stopping by and we'll see you again tomorrow.