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!

Halloween in South Carolina

Another day, another drive. I started out this morning around 7AM. Woke up at sunrise down in Jacksonville, FL. There were two Geocaches there at the small truck stop, so I found those before taking off.

At 8:00 I hit the road northbound. About an hour later, I had to stop at a T/A in Brunswick, GA to have a D.O.T. Inspection performed on the trailer. Today was the last day for it to be legal. It only took them about 30 minutes and while they were doing that, I went next to the Waffle House for breakfast.

By 10:00 I'm again rolling northbound on I-95.

I stopped at a Pilot in Bowman, SC along I-26 for fuel. After that I turned north on I-77 and arrived in Rock Hill, SC at 3:30 PM. There I parked behind the Michael's craft store where I'll make my delivery at 5:00 AM on Monday.

This afternoon I looked up some Geocaches in the area and found 4 of them. The rest of the time I just played on the Internet and listened to old thriller and suspense shows on the XM Satellite Radio Classics channel.

That's about it for today. See you again tomorrow.

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.

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.

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.

From Georgia to South Carolina via Florida!

What? From Georgia to South Carolina via Florida? What kind of driving is that you say?

Well that pretty much sums it up! I was in North Georgia too! I started out in Patillo, which is about halfway between Atlanta and Macon, around 7AM. Drove for an hour before stopping in Vienna, GA at a truck stop with a McDonald's. You know McDonald's has their Monopoly game going on right now and I had won a FREE breakfast sandwich. WOHOO!! So I used that this morning.

Continuing south on I-75 into Florida, east on I-10 all the way to Jacksonville. I dropped my loaded trailer with the appliances at the Sears warehouse and picked up an empty at 1PM. I quickly received my next load info and after inputting the addresses into my Streets & Trips, I was on the way.

Just 30 miles northeast of Jacksonville, I picked up 11 GIANT rolls of paper weighing in at 41,000 lbs in Fernandina Beach, FL. Now I'm heading north on I-95 back up into Georgia. At 4:30, I stop in Woodbine, GA and make a quick ham & cheese sandwich. While at the truck stop, I weigh the truck on the CAT Scales to make sure I'm balanced OK being that heavy.

Now it's non-stop continuing north on I-95 into South Carolina where I turn west onto I-26. I drove as far as Bowman, when I pulled into a Pilot for the night. It's only 180 miles to my final stop in North Carolina and it doesn't deliver until Monday morning. So I have plenty of time.

A pretty good week this past week. I was dispatched on almost 3200 miles! With the economy the way it is, I haven't seen a 3000+ week in several months.

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

From South Carolina to Mississippi

What a long day! I woke up this morning in Florence, SC and waited about 2 hours for the receiver to start unloading my trailer. After that I quickly received my next load assignment and by 9:00 AM, I'm heading south on I-95.

I get down to US301 westbound over to I-26 west to Orangeburg, SC to pick up my next load. I get there at 10:45 and at 11:30 I'm back heading up I-26 to I-20 westbound. I got me a decent long run this time all the way to Dallas.

At 1:00 PM, I make a quick stop in Augusta, GA for fuel and lunch. I'm trying to eat in a little more, so it's just a ham and cheese sandwich today. By 1:45 it's back on the I-20 heading west. Then it's NON-STOP ALL THE WAY to Independence, MS. I arrived here at a rest area at 9:45, just as my clock expired. And I'm tired!

A good day today, right at about 700 miles. Tomorrow I only have 432 to go to the consignee.

That's it for now. Good night!

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.