Geocaching In Suffolk, VA Day #1

Brrrr!! It's cold out there!! Hello everyone. Didn't do much work today. I woke up this morning in Pleasant Hill, NC about 6AM and was assigned a load around 8AM. After mapping out my route, I hit the road.

Just across the Virginia state line to US58 eastbound all the way into Suffolk, VA. I parked the truck at the Hess truck stop along US13 on the south side of town.

That's it! That was my work day. Done by 11AM. I don't pick up my load until Monday morning.

So, I called Enterprise Rent-A-Car and they came and picked me up. I rented a Chevy HHR for the weekend to go sight seeing and Geocaching. Hey if I gotta sit here all weekend I might as well enjoy it!

Too bad it's so cold out. The high for the day was 32 degrees, but with a strong wind it felt more like 20!

By the time I looked up all the Geocaches in town and programmed the GPS'r, it was 2:30 pm. I did the outskirts first, seeing the rural areas. I drove 49 miles and found 13 caches. Took lots of pictures too! Then it got dark and I came back to the truck.

Tomorrow I plan to cache more in town and visit the historical sites. For now, here's the photos. Enjoy!

Grabbing a cache on the guardrail on my left.
That's rental waiting to go winding around the curves!



Remnants of an old mill that used to be there.





Another guardrail cache on the bridge.

From Central Florida to North Carolina - 662 Miles

Having these past 6 days off made it really tough to get out of bed this morning. Especially since I had the alarm set for 5am! But I had a full days drive and I wanted to beat the other 3 Con-Way drivers whom I knew had the same load as I. One of which had an hour head start on me. The other two loaded after me. But I didn't go far last night.

Anyway, by the time I rolled out of bed and got ready to go, it was about 6:15 AM. I left the Pilot truck stop in Wildwood, FL and jumped onto I-75 northbound. Turned off into Ocala and over to US301 northbound all the way to I-10. Then I-10 east to Jacksonville, I-295 north loop to I-95 northbound.

At 9:15 AM, I stopped at the Flying J Travel Center in Brunswick, GA for their breakfast buffet. Took my time and relaxed a bit too, talking with a couple of others drivers too. At 10:15, it was back on the highway.

Through South Carolina and then stopping in Dunn, NC at 3:45 for fuel at the Pilot Travel Center.

I arrived at the Lowe's DC in Garysburg, NC at 5:45 pm. Turns out that I was the 1st of the Con-Way drivers to make it here. Not sure what happened to the others. Maybe they'll arrive here at the truck stop which I'm parked at tonight and I'll see them in the morning.

Anyway, a quick drop of the loaded trailer and hooking to an empty. Then I drive 4 miles north on I-95 to the Pilot truck stop here in Pheasant Hill, NC, just a couple miles south of the Virginia state line. Dinner at the Subway and that about does it for me.

Thanks for stopping by. See ya tomorrow.

Finally Going Home for Christmas!

Well I woke up this morning at 6:30 AM hoping for the best. I left the little truck stop and drove back over to Con-Way Freight to see if my load was going to be early. But it wasn't. They only had 40% of it there. The rest didn't show up until about 10:30.

So I drove back over to the truck stop and did my laundry to help pass the time. About 9AM after laundry was completed and put away, I walked next door to the Denny's for breakfast.

Then back over to Con-Way at 10:00 and waited.

Finally on my way home at 11:30 AM. South on I-77 into South Carolina, east on I-26, and then south on I-95 into Georgia. I stopped in Savanna, GA for fuel and lunch at a Pilot/McD's. Then off again south down I-95 into Florida. I took the I-295 loop around Jacksonville, FL to I-10 westbound.

About 15 miles west, I turned south onto US301 through the small towns in North Florida. Once I hit Ocala, I jumped over onto I-75 south into Tampa. I arrived in Tampa about 10PM at the Con-Way Freight yard and dropped my trailer there. Hooked up to an empty and headed on up I-4 towards home.

Finally, I arrived at home just about midnight on Christmas Eve. Gee, me and my grey hair driving a big red truck you'd think I was Santa! So now I'm off for a few days. See ya back in time for the new year. Merry Christmas everyone!

Still In North Carolina

So I get up this morning around 6AM, grabbed a shower inside the Pilot truck stop, looked at the McDonald's menu but then decided I really didn't want McD's again. Back to the truck, but before I hit the road I grabbed the GPS'r and went hunting for a Geocache. It wasn't far. Just around the front in the McD's parking lot.

By 7:30 AM, I'm driving south on I-85 headed to Charlotte, NC.

I arrive at Con-Way Freight at 9:45, dropped my empty trailer, and checked in to see if I can get loaded and out today. NOPE, gotta wait until tomorrow morning. That means I won't get home in time for a Christmas Eve gathering with family at my mother's house. That's not what I wanted to hear.

While I was sitting here depressed in my truck, another CFI driver pulls up and parks along side me. We got to talking and he lives in South Florida. His load was leaving this evening at 9PM. We figured that since my load was going to Tampa (closer to his Ft Myers) and his to Jacksonville (on my way to Orlando), it would be better to switch loads. I could get home in the morning of Christmas Eve and he would be able to get home that night.

But the dispatchers didn't see it that way because it would add an additional 40 miles to the routes. We didn't see it, but that's what their computer calculations showed it to be. After continuing discussions with the other driver, we decided to just accept what we had. Which was OK, because neither one of us was too thrilled about driving the 9PM until morning shift anyway. He was actually better prepared for it having known ahead of time and had purposefully not gotten much sleep last night so he could sleep this afternoon.

Anyway, so I left there around 1 PM, still not having eaten yet. I drove about 2 miles down the road to another Pilot. There was a BBQ place next door and thought I'd try it out. It was OK, nothing special to even mention the name.

I was also hoping to be able to do laundry since I was to be sitting here all day. But this particular Pilot didn't have a laundry room so that was out. There were 2 Geocaches just down the street so I went and found both of them.

After leaving there, I came back over to near the Con-Way Freight. Right off the exit was another small Shell truck stop. I checked inside and there was a laundry room, but both washers were in use. So I decided to wait. They also had a Geocache in the parking lot and I grabbed it too.

While waiting, I managed to talk to an old friend whom I hadn't seen in probably close to 20 years who also lives here in Charlotte. We agreed to meet and have dinner. And as it was getting closer to the time, the other driver finally finished his laundry and therefore I didn't have time to start mine before having to leave.

My friend Jim came by around 7PM with his wife and daughter, picked me up and we all went out to eat. I had a really good time catching up and meeting his family. That's one of the great things about being a truck driver traveling around is having these kinds of opportunities.

So after a disappointing start, the day ended well. Hopefully tomorrow will start out great and I get loaded up and going early.

Thanks for dropping by. That's a truckers day. See ya tomorrow.

From New Jersey to North Carolina - 548 Miles

Chickens and Chickens everywhere, but not an egg to count! What am I talking about? Just wait and see...

Now back to this morning. Woke up along the Jersey Pike at a service plaza. My 10 hour break wasn't complete until 8AM, so I went inside to see what there was to eat. I guess because I was in the mood for bacon and eggs, the Cinnabon cinnamon roll just wasn't all that great. I don't know.

Anyway, I drove south non-stop through Baltimore, and then I hit the breaks in Washington DC. On the east side of the I-495 Beltway, they had lanes blocked due to snow removal. Southbound wasn't too bad, maybe 5 miles or so long. But I felt bad for the northbound side. I'd say it was a good 25-30 miles of stop and go traffic. Yikes! But I got through that and a couple of other short traffic jambs down through Virginia.

I arrived in Lewiston, NC at the Perdue Farms chicken processing center around 4PM. Once I got there, I discovered what I was hauling. No not chickens, but those yellow Styrofoam trays that the packaged chicken comes in.

As for the chickens, there were about 12-15 semi-trailers with 100's of trays each full of chickens sitting there waiting to be processed. I'd have to say there were about 5,000-10,000 chickens on each trailer! Hot wings anyone? By the time I thought to take a picture, it was already too dark.

So I'm there for 2 HOURS and they finally get me unloaded. At 6PM, I hit the road. US258 west to US64 west to I-440 around Raleigh to I-40 westbound. At 8:30 PM, I finally pulled into a Pilot truck stop near the town of Hawfields to park for the night and grab a bite to eat.

I'm on my way to Charlotte, NC. My next load takes me home to Florida. However it isn't scheduled to ship until 11:00 AM on 12/24. I'm hoping they'll be able to load me early on tomorrow. There's still a chance I may get home for a family gathering on Christmas Eve. It's cutting it way to close!

Thanks for stopping by. Find out tomorrow night if I'm still sitting in Charlotte or on my way home.

Just When You're About To Have A Good Day...

...something happens to change all that!

I woke up early this morning, about 6:30 AM, because I wanted to get to my stop early in the afternoon. I had barely over 400 miles to drive, so I was expecting maybe around 2PM. I was headed to Kings Bay, GA which is right on the southeast corner along Florida and the Atlantic Ocean. This would have been plenty of time to go for a nice bike ride.

So I headed out of Kenly, NC at 7:15 this morning. Drove for about an hour and a half before making a quick McDonald's stop for breakfast.

Continuing south on I-95 about halfway through South Carolina, another trucker calls me on the CB and tells me that one of my brake chambers is hanging down. A couple miles later, I pull into a rest area to check it out. ARRGGG!! Yep, the mounting studs broke off and it's hanging on by the air lines and the main shaft. Just swell!

I look up in my truck stop guide to see where the nearest T/A to get it fixed. Well I can back track north 20 miles or go south 100 miles. Better play it safe, so I back track to Manning, SC. I pulled into the T/A and see that there is only one other truck in the shop. Great! I can get in and out quickly! NOT!!

The one mechanic there does tires and other lite mechanical stuff. I have to wait for the other mechanic who's out on a road service call. FOUR HOURS LATER, I'm finally done and out of there.

By the time I arrive in Kings Bay, GA, it's 7PM, the sun is setting, and no time to ride my bike and explore the nearby islands. Oh well, it just wasn't meant to be.

After I parked, I go inside the truck stop and had Church's Fried Chicken for dinner. So much for a good afternoon planned.

That's it for today. Tomorrow morning at 6AM, the Naval Sub Base for my delivery! See you back again.

Rain Rain Go Away!

It's been raining almost the entire day today. I started out this morning at the T/A in Harrisburg, PA. After getting up and in between showers, I decided to go inside and have breakfast there. The buffet wasn't too bad, so that's what I choose.

I still had a few hours yet and the rain has gone yet again. There were two Geocaches in the parking lot so I thought I'd go for them. Couldn't find the first one, but found the second one. On the way back to the truck I noticed a Perkins Restaurant across the street. Arrgggg! I suffered through the T/A restaurant when I could have had better. Oh well.

Got back to the truck and drove 17 miles over to New Cumberland, PA where I'm to pickup at noon. There's a tiny truck stop for me to wait at. It's still just 10:45 AM, so I again look up some caches there. Turns out there were 3 just within 1/4 mile and again a break between showers. So I went for a walk and found all three. YEA!

Finally at 11:45, I drive over to the shipper to get my load and checked in a few minutes later. It still wasn't ready yet, but by 1:00 PM I was loaded and rolling. I-76 west to US15 southbound.

US15 was a new route for me and when I crossed over from Pennsylvania into Maryland there was a welcome center there. The rain had let up again, so I pulled in to look up Geocaches. I was in luck, there were two.

The first was a micro just 400' from where I parked. Just as I found it, the rains came back! I stood under the tree for a minute and then walked about 100' to the nearest picnic table with a roof. OK, so now I'm wet. I then decide to just go for the other one since I'm already wet. I walked to the back of the rest area and found the 2nd cache. Then back to the truck. NOW I'M SOAKED!! So I dry off and change into some dry clothes and once again get rolling.

US15 south to I-270 east towards Washington DC. I take the I-495 beltway south to I-95 south. A quick stop at the Pilot in Richmond, VA for fuel and continue on.

Another hour later and I stop at the McDonald's for dinner in Skipper, VA. Again another hour later and it's parking time in Kenly, NC at 9PM. Sitting here at another T/A and I'm done for the night.

Off and on rain all day, some flooded sections of highway causing traffic delays, but I still managed to find 6 caches! So not all was bad!

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

You're Sending Me The Wrong Way!!!

What a day! Sometimes you just gotta wonder what some people are thinking.

I woke to the alarm this morning at 4:30 AM. The Michael's store crew was in and began unloading at 5AM and finishing up around 7:30.

Now I'm sitting there in Raleigh, North Carolina and have already requested to go home for the weekend in Central Florida. At 9AM I get my next load assignment... GOING TO PENNSYLVANIA!! That's 400 miles in the wrong direction! You just have to wonder what the so-called "Planners" are thinking sometimes.

I called my fleet manager, but she wasn't much help. Didn't hear any concern in her voice over the phone like she'd be finding out anything from the planners, so I just let it go and accepted the load. That puts the chances of getting home this weekend VERY SLIM!

So I drove for an hour over to Rocky Mount, NC at the QVC warehouse. My trailer was supposed to be ready, but it wasn't. Two hours later, I'm finally hooked up and rolling.

North on I-95 non-stop all the way to Horsham, PA which is just to the north of Philadelphia. I arrived at the UPS distribution center at 8PM due to the rush hour traffic around DC, Baltimore, and Philly! I dropped the loaded trailer and picked up an empty.

After programming my next pickup location in the GPS, I was rolling westbound by 8:45 PM. I arrived in Topton, PA at 10PM where my next load picks up in the morning. It delivers down in Winston-Salem, NC on Monday. So much for my weekend at home.

See ya next time.

From Florida to North Carolina

Last night when I posted my daily blog, I was still in Gainesville waiting to unload at the Sam's store. Well after unloading I decided to go ahead and make the drive to Jacksonville to get ready for my pickup this morning. I still had 2 hours of available driving time and it was only 72 miles away.

So I left Gainesville at 9:30 PM and took SR24 east to US301 north into Baldwin. There I turned east on I-10 into Jacksonville, arriving at the Michael's Distribution Center. They have 2 DC's there in Jacksonville and this was the first time at this particular location. I've been to the other many times.

So as usual upon arriving to a new place, I look up Geocaches. There were several within this office/warehouse complex, but I only program the 2 closest ones within a 1/4 mile. And yep, I'm walking around there at midnight, 54 degrees, wearing shorts and a tshirt, looking for Geocaches! I found the small one, but not the micro. The flashlight just wasn't good enough to find the micro.

After that I get some sleep.

About 6AM, the security guard comes knocking on my door to wake me up. After getting up and checking in, I find out that my loads not ready. Oh well. I dropped my empty and waited just a little while.

It wasn't too much longer and now I'm hooking up to a loaded trailer. Get all my paperwork ready, my GPS up and going, and now I'm rolling northbound on I-95.

I stopped once in Port Wentworth, GA (near Savanna) for fuel and breakfast. Then it's nonstop all the way to Raleigh, NC, arriving about 4:30PM.

A quick check on Geocaches again and I go for another walk. And again I only find 1 of the two I had looked for. But I walked about 3 miles.

Now I sit and wait behind the Michael's store for a 5AM delivery time in the morning.

That's it for now. See you again tomorrow.

Running On Fumes!

What a long day! Not only was I running on fumes by tonight, but so was the truck earlier today!

It all started back in Shelby, NC where I was parked at the consignee for an 8:00 AM delivery. Well they are a first come first serve unload and it was a good thing I backed into the ONLY dock door yesterday afternoon when I arrived. By 6AM there must have been 8-9 trucks lined up to be unloaded! I knew that because I was awakened at 3AM!

I'm not sure what time the actually started working, but around 3:00 was when I kept hearing things tossed into the nearby dumpster. Then the forklift going around me and across the parking lot. By 4:00 AM, I gave up trying to fall back asleep!

They started unloading my trailer around 6:30. I went ahead and sent in my empty message over the Qualcomm and was surprised to have been assigned a load BEFORE I was actually emptied. I quickly checked and the pickup time was at noon and the shipper was only 60 miles away. That's good, I still had a little while for them to finish!

I mapped out the trip into my laptop while I waited. By 8:00 I was rolling and on my way. While I was planning my route, I checked fuel and it showed I had 1/4 tanks. That should get me at LEAST 200 miles. Now I could have gone east over to Charlotte and fueled up before going to the shipper. That would have taken me the long way and about 20 miles out of route.

Or I could go ahead and pickup the load and continue north on I-77 into Virginia and fueled at out next approved stop there. It was about 180 miles away. Now on full tanks you can go anywhere from 800 to 1200 miles depending upon weight and terrain. So I figured 180 miles on 1/4 tanks no problem right?

Well I start heading north towards the shipper and about halfway there I glance down and notice my fuel now says 1/8! Now if I head back down to Charlotte, I'm making a BIG out of route circle! After the shipper, I get only 100 miles into the run and I am flat on fumes now! So I have to pull into a non-approved fuel stop and pay cash just to get me to our regular fuel stop. Yes, I get reimbursed for it, but the fuel dept REALLY DOESN'T LIKE THAT!

So I stopped in Jonesville, NC and get $40.00 worth of fuel. That's about 16 gallons. Not too bad for a car, but when these trucks usually hold between 180 and 200 gallons of fuel, the cashier tends to look at you funny when you ask for $40! But that's what I put in.

By now it's almost noon too so I eat at the Backyard Burger's that's there too. I think that's the first time eating at one of those. Not too bad actually.

Back on the road for an hour to stop once again for fuel at a Love's Travel Center in Locust Hill, VA.

Now it's north on I-77 for 3 1/2 hours through West Virginia and into Ohio. I stopped at the Ohio Welcome Center in Marietta. There were 2 Geocaches there at opposite ends of the rest area. So by the time I walked to find one and then the other, I walked just over a half mile. Not far but there were some good hills there top climb over too so that made for a nice bit of 30 minute exercise.

Continuing onward up I-77, I arrived in Solon, OH, just east of Cleveland, at 9:00 PM. This time I have a 7 AM appt time so we'll see what time they actually wake me up!

That's it for now. I'm tired and I'm going to bed. See ya tomorrow.

A Short Relaxing Drive to North Carolina

Welcome back to A Trucker's Day, a blog about my life trying to make a buck hauling things back and forth around the country.

This morning started out in Bowman, SC, waking up around 7:00 AM I think. Wasn't much in a hurry as I only had to drive 180 miles and the load doesn't deliver until tomorrow morning. So I did a little reading in my bible before getting up. This was what stuck out the most this morning:

"The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. The LORD is near to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him, and hear their cry and save them. The LORD preserves all those who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, and bless His holy name forever and ever." Psalm 145: 17-21

Once I got up and about, I went inside to the McDonald's and got my usual breakfast. Finally around 9:00 AM I continued up I-26 westbound. Just a few miles up the road, I stopped at the first rest area to find a Geocache.

When I reached I-77, I headed north. Along I-77 I stopped at another rest area for another Geocache hunt. Looped around the west side of Charlotte, NC to I-85, then US74 westbound. Around 1:15 PM I arrived at the consignee, which happened to be closed today. That's OK though, their gate is open and I was able to park here tonight. In the morning I'll be unloading the 11 giant rolls of paper weighing in at 41,000 lbs!

The rest of day the day was just browsing the internet, chatting on Facebook, and listening to a Stephen King audio book. See ya back again tomorrow.

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.