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.

Ohio to Florida via New Jersey?

What a day! First I get stuck in the snow. Then I need to get home to Florida from Ohio and they send me to New Jersey. What's up with that?

OK, back to the beginning. I woke up this morning about 7AM to 28 degrees and about an inch of new snow overnight. That doesn't seem like much to me. Look at the photo. Not a lot of snow right? But it doesn't take much to loose traction. I could not budge the truck an inch! The wheels just spun in their place.



So I walked down to the receiving office, checked in, and then told them I was stuck. They told me where to get some rock salt from the shed on the side of the building. So I carried a 50 lb bag of salt 200' up to the truck and spread a little around the drive tires. That did the trick! Pulled out onto the pavement and then carried the salt back.

They got me unloaded around 9:30 AM and I left there and headed a few blocks down the road to a McDonald's which had truck parking behind it. Around 10 AM, they sent me my next load info. Actually they sent me my next few loads which get me down to Florida and home for Christmas. Not quite what I wanted though. Looks like I might be arriving on Christmas day!! NOT GOOD!!

But let's just see how it works out. Let get rolling.

After mapping out the first load, I run inside McD's to grab a quick bite to eat. By 11:00, I'm on I-80 heading eastbound.

A short 30 minutes later, I'm in Lordstown, OH at Con-Way Freight picking up my next load. Non-stop eastbound on I-80 and 4 1/2 hours later I arrive in Hazelton, PA where I relay that trailer with another drive who will take it the rest of the way to Rhode Island. As for me, I hook to his empty and head to New Jersey. But first I fuel up at the Pilot Travel Center there at that exit.

I get to Somerville, NJ at 7:30 PM, check in, drop my empty trailer, hook to loaded, and by 8:30 I'm back on the road. Taking US22 to I-295 to the Jersey Turnpike (I-95) southbound. At 10:00, I pull into the Walt Whitman Service Plaza located on the Jersey side of Philadelphia. That's where I'll be parking for the night.

This load goes down to Lewiston, NC. The delivery time is set for 12/23. Hopefully I can deliver it tomorrow. My next load going to Florida is supposed to pickup on 12/24 in Charlotte, NC. Hopefully it will be ready early too.

Will I make it home for Christmas? Stay tuned...

OH, and that loud squealing noise I was hearing yesterday... Nice and quiet today!! Good News!!

See ya tomorrow.

From Carson, KY to Streetsboro, OH - 323 Miles

Woke up this morning at the Love's Travel Center in Carson, KY around 6AM under a thin layer of snow. Fortunately I was inside the truck where it was warm! Outside it was 29 degrees.

Anyway, after getting dressed with a shirt, sweater, AND jacket, I ventured out into the cold to go inside to the McDonald's. I sat down with a sausage egg and cheese McMuffin and sweet tea at a table. They had Fox News on the large flat screen TV, so I took my time eating.

I got underway at 8 AM, driving north on I-71 through Cincinnati and Columbus. I stopped once at a rest area near Congress, Ohio for a quick walk in the snow for a Geocache. Hey, I was getting bored. By then it was up to 35 degrees, but I wanted a break. Found the Geocache quickly and back to the truck to thaw out!

About 30 miles south of Cleveland, the truck started making a loud squealing sound like a belt noise. Checking the gauges, I knew the belt was still intact. Also the noise seemed to only be above 1100 RPM. So I kept it around 55 MPH or if going down hill, I let it coast faster in neutral so that the RPM's stay low.

I turned east on I-270 and then north on I-77. When I reached the I-80 Turnpike, I was supposed to turn east again. But because I was half focused on the truck problems, I went west instead. I hate when that happens! Especially on a toll road because there are even fewer exits and opportunities for a u-turn. I had to go about 8 miles down, take the exit, go through the toll plaza, make a u-turn, back through a toll plaza again, and then head east now!

Finally I reach the Streetsboro, OH exit. Just a few miles later I reach my destination around 2:30 PM. The place is closed today, but they have overnight parking. So I'll hang out here until morning.

Microwave oriental noodles followed by popcorn for dinner. At least I have some leftover sweet tea. Hmmm, I think it's time to re-stock my groceries!

OH, I checked the engine out and couldn't find any loose pulleys or anything. Couldn't get the noise to re-occur either. Hopefully, it won't hinder me from getting home in time for Christmas!

Stay tuned...

From Arkansas to Kentucky - 633 Miles

I'm Back!! Well after a month without posting, I decided to start up again. I'll try it daily, but I may miss one here or there.

Today I started out in Lake Village, AR. It's a small town in Southeast Arkansas along the Mississippi River. Just a few miles north of Louisiana and west of Mississippi. There was a small truck stop there and that's where I finished up last night with a load coming up from Houston, TX.

A nice cold morning at 34 degrees, but clear skies. The sun was just starting to rise up from beyond the horizon when I crossed the US82 bridge over the muddy river.

Just a few miles into Mississippi, I turned north onto US61 all the way into Memphis, TN. Instead of heading east at Memphis towards Ohio, I crossed the river back into West Memphis, AR. I wanted to stop in to our terminal there and talk to the dispatcher.

I was thinking of swapping this load with another who may be needing to get to Ohio and I would take theirs south towards Florida. Just wanting to make sure that I get home for Christmas! After a brief discussion, she concluded that I shouldn't have a problem getting home in time. We'll see next week!

Back across the Mighty Muddy River into Tennessee and headed east on I-40. I stopped at exit 85 in Jackson, TN to grab a geocache, fuel, and lunch at Denny's. By 2PM, I'm back on the highway.

East on I-40 into Nashville, then north on I-65 to Louisville, KY, and then east on I-71. I finally decided to pull over into a Love's Travel Center near Carson, KY for the night around 8PM.

While the day started out clear and cold, it ended WET and cold! Chance of snow tomorrow in Ohio. YUK! Hopefully it will have passed by the time I get there.

That's it for now. See ya again next time.

Coming Back Soon

OK OK OK, I'll be back soon with updates once again. Sorry for my absence.

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.

Back To Work Again

I'm Back! Hello again everyone. I had a wonderful couple of days off and now sadly it's back to work. I'm already homesick!

Well this is going to be brief today. I drove down to the truck, signed in ready to go back to work this morning at 7AM, and drove back home. The truck is parked about 2 miles from home which is really nice.

I drove the kids to school and made breakfast for my wife and I upon returning. Then we ran out and did a few errands. By the time we finished, we picked up my sons again from school and returned home.

Throughout this whole time I kept checking in either by phone or via the internet to see if I had been assigned a load. It wasn't until about 3PM before I was assigned a load picking up in Jacksonville tonight.

Finally I decided to head out and my wife drove me down to the truck around 5PM. After the pretrip check and all, I was rolling by 6PM and arrived in Jacksonville at 8:45.

I hooked up to the loaded trailer and went just down the street to a small truck stop. The load doesn't deliver in SC until Monday morning, so I got plenty of time to get there!

That's it for now. See ya tomorrow.