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...

A Rainy Day In Texas

Welcome back to another one of my tales of a day in the life of a trucker. This trucker in particular.

Today began early. I'm not quite sure what time it was because I had been sleeping. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning it began to rain and that woke me. Fortunately I was able to fall back into sleep.

The next time my alarm awoke me at 6:00 AM. And it was STILL raining! It didn't take long though and I on the road just a couple of miles to the next exit at the Lowe's DC in Mt. Vernon, TX. Dropped the empty, hooked up to the loaded trailer, and I'm heading south by 7:30.

A quick 5 minute stop at 8:30 for a McDonald's sausage egg and cheese McMuffin and sweet tea in Caddo Mills and I'm back on I-30.

At 10:00, I pull into our terminal again in Lancaster for fuel and am now heading south on I-35. From there I continue south to US-190 west and then US-281 south, arriving in Marble Falls, TX at 1:30 PM.

The drop was a Lowe's store. They had three dock doors, but for whatever reason we had to drop our trailer in the middle door. But first, I had to drop my loaded trailer in the parking lot, hook up to the empty and move it out. Then hook back up to the loaded trailer and back it into the middle dock. Unhook again and back to the empty. Finally, I'm done!

On the way down, I had already received my next load assignment for Monday. Therefore, I headed back in the direction of the shipper in Waco, TX. Since I had plenty of time, I made it more enjoyable.

Coming south on US-281, I had noticed quite a few roadside picnic areas. (the old rest stops without facilities) So upon returning northbound, I stopped at 3 of the 4 in which I was able to park the truck at. One was just WAY too small for me to be able to get into it! And of course the reason for stopping at these was to find the Geocaches located there, which I quickly did. Yeah!

By 6:15 PM I'm back up to Waco, TX and parked at the Flying J for the night. The rain has stopped now, but it was a wet day for the most of it. Fortunately it had stopped too while I was caching.

That's it for now. See you on the highways!

A Little Bicycling, A Little Caching, and A Little Driving

Today was an easy day. I started out at our terminal in Lancaster, TX, just southeast of Dallas. While waiting for a load assignment, I decided to go out on the bicycle for some Geocaching. It was just a short trip this time. I only went 9.1 miles today and found 5 caches.

I posted some photos below. This first was a rather large house which was way out of place for the street which it was on. The neighbors houses looked more like the shed off to the right in the photo.

The next set of pics are of the Wheatland Methodist Church built in 1959. The steeple and stained glass windows were added in 1912. The church is still in use to this day, every Sunday.

About the last half mile it began a lite rain so I was peddling fast so not to get the camera wet! I made it just in time.

Before I got even back, I had received my next load assignment so I jumped into the showers real quick. Made a sandwich for lunch while I mapped out my trip info. (More like dinner actually! That was the only thing I ate today come to think of it.)

By 6:00 PM I was on my way. A short drive this evening over to Mt Vernon, TX, about 112 miles away. That is where I'm at now. I have a 7:00 AM pickup tomorrow morning.

So I leave you now with my photos from today. Enjoy and I'll see ya tomorrow.

A Visit With An Old Friend

Welcome back friends. And speaking of friends, one of the advantages of being a truck driver is having an occasion to visit with friends who may have moved on to other parts of the country. Today was one of those occasions.

I woke this morning in Independence, MS, which is about 30 miles east of Jackson. I drove the short distance to Jackson and parked over at the Pilot Travel Center about 7:30 where I was finally able to get a shower. I was hoping to get here last night but my clock ran out.

After my shower I drove across the highway to the Flying J for some breakfast. There I was to meet an old friend whom I hadn't seen in 17-18 years. She showed up around 10:00 and we chatted over coffee and sweet tea. I had the sweet tea of course. It was good catching up, but we both had to get back to work. We said our goodbye's around 11:30 and I continued on I-20 westbound.

A quick stop in Shady Grove, TX at a Pilot with a McDonald's around 4:30 so I can get a sweet tea to go. My intentions were to go back to the truck and make a sandwich, but I couldn't resist the aroma of a burger so I got one of their 1/3 pounder Angus burgers too.

Then by 6:45 I am in downtown Dallas at the Sear's Distribution Center dropping my trailer. Picked up an empty and proceeded down I-35E south 11 miles to Lancaster where we have a terminal. That is where I sit now and will probably be until tomorrow.

So until then, thanks for stopping by and I'll see you out on the highways.

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!

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.