It feels so good to be back it Florida! Not so much the heat and humidity, but the fact that I'm just that much closer to being home!
Anyway, I had an early wake up this morning. My load was to be ready by 5:00 AM, so I set my alarm for 4:00. I got up and going, checked in, signed the paperwork, hook up to the trailer, and was driving down the road by 5:00. Now 368 miles later, driving straight through without stopping, I arrived in Marianna, FL at 11:00 AM.
After relaying the load with another driver who will be finishing the run, I walk across the street from the truck stop and had lunch at Sonny's BBQ. It's good to have a choice of a decent restaurant once in a while.
While in route driving down here, I received my preplanned load information that will get me the rest of the way home. My next load WAS to be at midnight tonight down in Panama City and bringing it back here to Marianna. But I knew that trying to find a parking spot at a truck stop around midnight is nearly impossible! So I decided to drive down there after lunch instead. This particular shipper is first come first serve, so I can load at any time. So I was able to load and get back in time to grab a parking space.
This load will also be relayed with another driver. The delivery location is Indiana which is the wrong direction for me trying to get to Orlando! Now, I'm waiting to find out when the other driver will be getting here. Probably just after I fall asleep, he'll show up.
The load I'm waiting for is coming here Friday afternoon via another driver. I'll be taking it the rest of the way to Orlando.
So that was it for today. See you down the highways.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Memphis South to Mississippi
Woke up this morning after a great nights sleep. I was so tired by the time I was able to lay down. I stayed overnight at one of our company terminals in West Memphis. Before leaving this morning to cross the Mississippi River and deliver my load to the receiver, I checked in with the local dispatch to try and get an idea what was next for me. I still had a couple of hours before my delivery was due.
Anyway, because I am highlighted to go home this weekend she looked up the available loads headed to Florida. After I unload this morning in Memphis, TN, I go just a few miles away to pickup my next load at 3:00 PM. It's a short 212 mile run down to Jackson, MS. After that she sets me up with another pre-planned load going from Jackson to Marianna, FL. WOHOO! Closer to home! Normally I wouldn't be too happy with the back to back short trips (remember I get paid by the mile), but when I'm trying to get home it's to be expected.
So I leave the terminal and head out. I stop at the McDonald's there in West Memphis for you guessed it; a # 2 combo sausage egg and cheese McMuffin with a large sweet tea! Then I crossed the river, looped around the I-240 south and deliver my load. Here I was able to drop my loaded trailer and hook up to an empty. This is always a lot quicker. I send in my empty message over the Qualcomm (kinda like an onboard computer that most trucks have) and get back the info for my next load. I program the addresses into my laptop, send a copy of the map to my lovely wife via email, and drive the couple of miles around the corner to the next shipper.
While waiting there for a few hours, I look up some geocaches but there's nothing close. The nearest was 2.7 miles away and that's in a straight line! Using the roads, probably more like 3.5-4 miles away. I didn't want to ride my bike this time because it may be tomorrow before I get to a shower again. But at that shipper, I was able to drop my trailer upon arrival. So I checked the satellite image and it looks as though there could be parking nearby. So I bobtailed over there and found the cache. Hmmm. I didn't know there was a government earthquake research center in Tennessee. But that's where this cache was hidden. That's one of the things that make geocaching fun, finding interesting places. Anyway, back to the shipper.
They get my load ready at 3:00 PM. I hook up to the new trailer and head south on I-55. A straight shot on down to Jackson, MS 212 miles away. I arrived here about 6:30 PM. I dropped the trailer and went inside to turn in the paperwork. I'll be picking up my next load here also at 5:00 AM tomorrow so this is where I'll be sleeping.
First I go about a mile back up the road where there was a Flying J Travel Center. Order me an ice cream sundae to eat and drive back after I finish. That's about it for me today. See ya tomorrow over in Florida!
Anyway, because I am highlighted to go home this weekend she looked up the available loads headed to Florida. After I unload this morning in Memphis, TN, I go just a few miles away to pickup my next load at 3:00 PM. It's a short 212 mile run down to Jackson, MS. After that she sets me up with another pre-planned load going from Jackson to Marianna, FL. WOHOO! Closer to home! Normally I wouldn't be too happy with the back to back short trips (remember I get paid by the mile), but when I'm trying to get home it's to be expected.
So I leave the terminal and head out. I stop at the McDonald's there in West Memphis for you guessed it; a # 2 combo sausage egg and cheese McMuffin with a large sweet tea! Then I crossed the river, looped around the I-240 south and deliver my load. Here I was able to drop my loaded trailer and hook up to an empty. This is always a lot quicker. I send in my empty message over the Qualcomm (kinda like an onboard computer that most trucks have) and get back the info for my next load. I program the addresses into my laptop, send a copy of the map to my lovely wife via email, and drive the couple of miles around the corner to the next shipper.
While waiting there for a few hours, I look up some geocaches but there's nothing close. The nearest was 2.7 miles away and that's in a straight line! Using the roads, probably more like 3.5-4 miles away. I didn't want to ride my bike this time because it may be tomorrow before I get to a shower again. But at that shipper, I was able to drop my trailer upon arrival. So I checked the satellite image and it looks as though there could be parking nearby. So I bobtailed over there and found the cache. Hmmm. I didn't know there was a government earthquake research center in Tennessee. But that's where this cache was hidden. That's one of the things that make geocaching fun, finding interesting places. Anyway, back to the shipper.
They get my load ready at 3:00 PM. I hook up to the new trailer and head south on I-55. A straight shot on down to Jackson, MS 212 miles away. I arrived here about 6:30 PM. I dropped the trailer and went inside to turn in the paperwork. I'll be picking up my next load here also at 5:00 AM tomorrow so this is where I'll be sleeping.
First I go about a mile back up the road where there was a Flying J Travel Center. Order me an ice cream sundae to eat and drive back after I finish. That's about it for me today. See ya tomorrow over in Florida!
Made it to Memphis
Well I finally finished my Tuesday on Wednesday. As you can see by the date of this post, it is real early on Wednesday morning. Another looooong day for me.
It started out pretty good. I had plenty of time to make my pickup at the shipper and plenty of time to make the delivery. When I woke up it was a cool morning, around 72 degrees. I didn't have to pick up my load at the shipper until 5:00 PM. So I got the bike down to go for a ride along the Mississippi River walk here in Muscatine, IA and do some geocaching. Kind of a gloomy morning actually. Low overcast clouds, I thought it might rain on me. So I left my camera behind just in case. The round trip was 11.8 miles and I found 9 caches.
After getting back to the truck and hanging the bike up it was almost noon. So I went inside to Blimpies and ate a Philly cheesesteak sub.
Started driving down to the shipper about 12:30, just in case they may have it ready early. Just as I was pulling into the city of Burlington, about 3 miles from the shipper, I get a message that the load has been unassigned and I'm given a new load. So I find a place to pull over and see what was going on. Further messages now have me going 40 miles further to Keokuk, IA with a pickup time of 3:00 PM. And it delivers in Memphis on Wednesday morning instead of Thursday. OK. So I program my GPS for Keokuk and keep heading south on US61 to the southeast tip where Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois all come together.
The shipper finished loading around 5:00 PM and I continue south. I'm still on US61, so I occassionally hit some towns and stop lights. Normally I don't mind except when I'm heavy. And this load is heavy! I've got 44,000 lbs of some kind of food product used in processed foods. Not exactly sure what it is. Probably all those ingredients on the label that you really don't know what they are. Not until I reach St Louis where I get on I-55 do I not have to worry about stop lights.
A quick stop in Pevely, MO for a McD's burger and sweet tea to go around 8PM and I'm again on my way. I also encountered some serious rain, lightning, wind, and a little hail for about 50 miles in the southern part of Missouri. Watching the lightning from a distance was pretty cool. I used to enjoy that as a boy growing up in Florida. But once I got into the middle of the storm, the lightning was striking all around me. A couple of times hitting lights posts on the overpasses within a hundred yards from me. The flashes were so bright at times, it was light driving at night with a bright strobe light mounted on your hood causing brief moments of blindness.
But just before I hit the Arkansas state line, the rain cleared up and was all in my rearview mirrors. Now just 70 miles to West Memphis were I'll be parking for the night. I pulled into our terminal here about 12:30 central time. Went inside for a shower and now I'm writing this to you. Time for bed.
Good night and see ya tomorrow.
It started out pretty good. I had plenty of time to make my pickup at the shipper and plenty of time to make the delivery. When I woke up it was a cool morning, around 72 degrees. I didn't have to pick up my load at the shipper until 5:00 PM. So I got the bike down to go for a ride along the Mississippi River walk here in Muscatine, IA and do some geocaching. Kind of a gloomy morning actually. Low overcast clouds, I thought it might rain on me. So I left my camera behind just in case. The round trip was 11.8 miles and I found 9 caches.
After getting back to the truck and hanging the bike up it was almost noon. So I went inside to Blimpies and ate a Philly cheesesteak sub.
Started driving down to the shipper about 12:30, just in case they may have it ready early. Just as I was pulling into the city of Burlington, about 3 miles from the shipper, I get a message that the load has been unassigned and I'm given a new load. So I find a place to pull over and see what was going on. Further messages now have me going 40 miles further to Keokuk, IA with a pickup time of 3:00 PM. And it delivers in Memphis on Wednesday morning instead of Thursday. OK. So I program my GPS for Keokuk and keep heading south on US61 to the southeast tip where Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois all come together.
The shipper finished loading around 5:00 PM and I continue south. I'm still on US61, so I occassionally hit some towns and stop lights. Normally I don't mind except when I'm heavy. And this load is heavy! I've got 44,000 lbs of some kind of food product used in processed foods. Not exactly sure what it is. Probably all those ingredients on the label that you really don't know what they are. Not until I reach St Louis where I get on I-55 do I not have to worry about stop lights.
A quick stop in Pevely, MO for a McD's burger and sweet tea to go around 8PM and I'm again on my way. I also encountered some serious rain, lightning, wind, and a little hail for about 50 miles in the southern part of Missouri. Watching the lightning from a distance was pretty cool. I used to enjoy that as a boy growing up in Florida. But once I got into the middle of the storm, the lightning was striking all around me. A couple of times hitting lights posts on the overpasses within a hundred yards from me. The flashes were so bright at times, it was light driving at night with a bright strobe light mounted on your hood causing brief moments of blindness.
But just before I hit the Arkansas state line, the rain cleared up and was all in my rearview mirrors. Now just 70 miles to West Memphis were I'll be parking for the night. I pulled into our terminal here about 12:30 central time. Went inside for a shower and now I'm writing this to you. Time for bed.
Good night and see ya tomorrow.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Still Stuck in Iowa
Well I didn't get very far. Unloaded this morning along with another CFI/Con-Way driver. After about an hour of waiting for my next load assignment, I went for a bike ride to grab some geocaches. There were 4 along the bike trail which ran along side where I was parked. The total round trip ride was only about 7 miles this time out. But I was able to snag all 4 finds. One of which posed to be very difficult, but I was able to find it at the last moment.
By the time I got back to the truck about noon, I was hot, sweaty, and hungry! I still had not yet received a load assignment yet. I saw one of the warehouse workers sitting outside reading a magazine so I stopped to talk to him for a while. I first asked him about a good place to eat in the area. Then we got talking about politics and the health care issue. We also discussed the fact that their warehouse/factory was down from 300 to 100 employees. Most of their manufacturing has been shipped to Mexico. But his day is spent unloading a few trucks once in a while, but mostly they sit around reading magazines and try to keep from falling asleep. Then I found out they are a union shop and what they get paid. $20 per hour for unloading trucks and $13 an hour for doing nothing. And they can't understand why their jobs are being shipped to Mexico!
Anyway, if I stay on that subject I'll never stop.
By the time we finished talking, it was about 1:00 and I'm STILL hungry. And I received a load assignment. I went to the truck to check my messages. They gave me a load to NORTH DAKOTA!!! So I replied back wondering why if I'm supposed to be going home to FLORIDA! Wrong direction. After a few minutes, they unassigned the load from me.
Then another 30 minutes later I received another load assignment going to Mississippi. However it doesn't pickup from the shipper until tomorrow afternoon down in Burlington, IA. So I have a day and a half to drive 150 miles. So I map out the route and write down all the info.
Now it's about 2:15 and I still haven't gotten anything to eat. I ride my bike a block down the road the suggested tavern for a burger. The bar tender tells me the kitchen closed at 2:00 and won't be open again until 5:00. Great, the only thing I've eaten all day was a donut at 7:30 AM the warehouse had.
So, I hang the bike up and head on down the road. About 30 miles later, I see a McDonald's with truck parking. I get the Angus bacon cheeseburger, fries and a LARGE sweet tea!
Then it was about another 30 miles down the road, I come across a Flying J truck stop. There I was finally able to get a shower. But wait.... there's 4 geocaches within a half mile from the truck stop! I can't let them just sit there without trying. So before I get the shower, I program them into the GPSr and go for a walk. I find 3 of the 4 caches. I found the location for the 4th one, but it just wasn't there. Another MIA cache. Now, off to the showers!
I stopped for the night here in Muscatine, IA at a small truck stop. Only about 30 miles left to go tomorrow to the shipper. Hmmm maybe there's some caches in this town I can get in the morning.
Until then, see you on down the road.
By the time I got back to the truck about noon, I was hot, sweaty, and hungry! I still had not yet received a load assignment yet. I saw one of the warehouse workers sitting outside reading a magazine so I stopped to talk to him for a while. I first asked him about a good place to eat in the area. Then we got talking about politics and the health care issue. We also discussed the fact that their warehouse/factory was down from 300 to 100 employees. Most of their manufacturing has been shipped to Mexico. But his day is spent unloading a few trucks once in a while, but mostly they sit around reading magazines and try to keep from falling asleep. Then I found out they are a union shop and what they get paid. $20 per hour for unloading trucks and $13 an hour for doing nothing. And they can't understand why their jobs are being shipped to Mexico!
Anyway, if I stay on that subject I'll never stop.
By the time we finished talking, it was about 1:00 and I'm STILL hungry. And I received a load assignment. I went to the truck to check my messages. They gave me a load to NORTH DAKOTA!!! So I replied back wondering why if I'm supposed to be going home to FLORIDA! Wrong direction. After a few minutes, they unassigned the load from me.
Then another 30 minutes later I received another load assignment going to Mississippi. However it doesn't pickup from the shipper until tomorrow afternoon down in Burlington, IA. So I have a day and a half to drive 150 miles. So I map out the route and write down all the info.
Now it's about 2:15 and I still haven't gotten anything to eat. I ride my bike a block down the road the suggested tavern for a burger. The bar tender tells me the kitchen closed at 2:00 and won't be open again until 5:00. Great, the only thing I've eaten all day was a donut at 7:30 AM the warehouse had.
So, I hang the bike up and head on down the road. About 30 miles later, I see a McDonald's with truck parking. I get the Angus bacon cheeseburger, fries and a LARGE sweet tea!
Then it was about another 30 miles down the road, I come across a Flying J truck stop. There I was finally able to get a shower. But wait.... there's 4 geocaches within a half mile from the truck stop! I can't let them just sit there without trying. So before I get the shower, I program them into the GPSr and go for a walk. I find 3 of the 4 caches. I found the location for the 4th one, but it just wasn't there. Another MIA cache. Now, off to the showers!
I stopped for the night here in Muscatine, IA at a small truck stop. Only about 30 miles left to go tomorrow to the shipper. Hmmm maybe there's some caches in this town I can get in the morning.
Until then, see you on down the road.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Going to Iowa
Woke up this morning in Kansas City, KS to a cool clear 62 degrees. So much for global warming. It felt great! If this is global warming, let's keep it going.
Received my next load assignment around 8:00 AM. The pick up location was just across the river in Kansas City, MO at one of our drop yards. The destination is in Dubuque, IA about 398 miles away and doesn't have to be there until 10:00 AM on tomorrow. So I got plenty of time.
Looked up some geocaches along the route and then headed out to the drop yard about 10:30. Hooked up to the loaded trailer and was on the road northbound by 11:00. I drove straight through Missouri. Stopped at 2 different rest areas along I-35 in Iowa to grab the hidden geocaches there. Finally about 3:00 PM, I stopped at a Pilot truck stop in Des Moines, IA for a shower and a bite to eat. Since I had not eaten breakfast or lunch yet, the buffet looked pretty darn good! I think I ate enough for today and tomorrow!
I hit the road again about 4:30 PM and stopped at the next rest area along I-80 eastbound. I picked up the 2 geocaches that were hidden there and met another cacher along with his 2 sons. They were heading back to Michigan. We talked for a few minutes and then kept going.
Two more rest stops and two more caches. I reached my location in Dubuque, IA about 7:00 PM. The place was closed but they doo have plenty of overnight parking available so this is where I'm at. Looked up another cache about a half mile away, but by the time I walked down there it was just a little too dark to find it. If I have time in the morning, I just might give it another try.
Anyway, that's it for now. Sorry no photos today. See you again tomorrow. Hopefully headed in a direction towards Florida. I'd like to get home this weekend.
Received my next load assignment around 8:00 AM. The pick up location was just across the river in Kansas City, MO at one of our drop yards. The destination is in Dubuque, IA about 398 miles away and doesn't have to be there until 10:00 AM on tomorrow. So I got plenty of time.
Looked up some geocaches along the route and then headed out to the drop yard about 10:30. Hooked up to the loaded trailer and was on the road northbound by 11:00. I drove straight through Missouri. Stopped at 2 different rest areas along I-35 in Iowa to grab the hidden geocaches there. Finally about 3:00 PM, I stopped at a Pilot truck stop in Des Moines, IA for a shower and a bite to eat. Since I had not eaten breakfast or lunch yet, the buffet looked pretty darn good! I think I ate enough for today and tomorrow!
I hit the road again about 4:30 PM and stopped at the next rest area along I-80 eastbound. I picked up the 2 geocaches that were hidden there and met another cacher along with his 2 sons. They were heading back to Michigan. We talked for a few minutes and then kept going.
Two more rest stops and two more caches. I reached my location in Dubuque, IA about 7:00 PM. The place was closed but they doo have plenty of overnight parking available so this is where I'm at. Looked up another cache about a half mile away, but by the time I walked down there it was just a little too dark to find it. If I have time in the morning, I just might give it another try.
Anyway, that's it for now. Sorry no photos today. See you again tomorrow. Hopefully headed in a direction towards Florida. I'd like to get home this weekend.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Taking My Time and Seeing Some Sights
Well today was a more relaxed day. My load today was ready a bit earlier than expected at 8:00 AM instead of 10:00 AM. It was only a 478 mile trip from Plainfield, IN to Kansas City, KS and I had two days to get it there. Although I still wanted to deliver it today which wasn't a problem. This just meant I can take my time and do some sight seeing and geocaching along the way.
So I jumped onto I-70 and headed westbound. After about an hour I came upon a Pilot Truck stop with a McDonald's so I pulled in for my usual McD's #2 breakfast consisting of a sausage McMuffin meal with a large sweet tea. Sometimes I'll add and orange juice for something healthy, but not today.
Continuing down the highway, today I finally had a chance to pull off the highway and visit a sight which I have passed by many times before. The giant Cross in Effingham, IL at the junctions of I-70 and I-57. Completed in July of 2001, this giant cross stands 198 feet into the air. Around the base of the cross are 10 monuments dedicated to each of the 10 commandments which also include a short audio message. There's also a chapel on site nearby. I'm glad I finally got a chance to visit this inspiration site.
I caught a little rain shower around St. Louis, MO, but it wasn't much for this Florida native.
About 4:30 PM I stopped at a T/A in Concordia, MO for dinner (spaghetti and meatballs). After dinner, I drove down a few more miles to a Pilot truck stop where I fueled up. Then it was only about an hour before reaching my destination in Kansas City, KS.
Between the two Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO, the Kansas and Missouri Rivers converge into the Missouri River. This was also a campsite for the Louis and Clark Expedition in 1804. So after I dropped my trailer at the destination, I bobtailed down to the campsite area which sites behind some warehouses. Kinda unusual having this historical park in an industrial area. There wasn't much "industry" going on this Saturday afternoon, but there were a few people fishing, some families having a cookout, and some boaters out on the river. There's also a few geocaches here which is how I found it to begin with, and that's what I'm after!
Anyway, now I'm back at the Con-Way Freight yard which was my destination. There are 17 Con-Way Truckload drivers available for loads right now in the Kansas City area so I'll probably be sitting here until sometime Sunday. Hopefully NOT until Monday! I'll let you know tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by.
So I jumped onto I-70 and headed westbound. After about an hour I came upon a Pilot Truck stop with a McDonald's so I pulled in for my usual McD's #2 breakfast consisting of a sausage McMuffin meal with a large sweet tea. Sometimes I'll add and orange juice for something healthy, but not today.
Continuing down the highway, today I finally had a chance to pull off the highway and visit a sight which I have passed by many times before. The giant Cross in Effingham, IL at the junctions of I-70 and I-57. Completed in July of 2001, this giant cross stands 198 feet into the air. Around the base of the cross are 10 monuments dedicated to each of the 10 commandments which also include a short audio message. There's also a chapel on site nearby. I'm glad I finally got a chance to visit this inspiration site.
I caught a little rain shower around St. Louis, MO, but it wasn't much for this Florida native.
About 4:30 PM I stopped at a T/A in Concordia, MO for dinner (spaghetti and meatballs). After dinner, I drove down a few more miles to a Pilot truck stop where I fueled up. Then it was only about an hour before reaching my destination in Kansas City, KS.
Between the two Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO, the Kansas and Missouri Rivers converge into the Missouri River. This was also a campsite for the Louis and Clark Expedition in 1804. So after I dropped my trailer at the destination, I bobtailed down to the campsite area which sites behind some warehouses. Kinda unusual having this historical park in an industrial area. There wasn't much "industry" going on this Saturday afternoon, but there were a few people fishing, some families having a cookout, and some boaters out on the river. There's also a few geocaches here which is how I found it to begin with, and that's what I'm after!Anyway, now I'm back at the Con-Way Freight yard which was my destination. There are 17 Con-Way Truckload drivers available for loads right now in the Kansas City area so I'll probably be sitting here until sometime Sunday. Hopefully NOT until Monday! I'll let you know tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Back in Indiana Again
Woke up to a cool low 60's morning at a rest area near Highland, IL which is just east of St. Louis about 0700. Took my time getting ready, had an always wonderful chat on the phone with my lovely wife, and then drove about an hour to Effingham, IL. There I stopped at a T/A Travel Center for 3 eggs, bacon, hash, wheat toast, and of course sweet tea!
I needed to get some laundry done too, but I didn't feel like it yet. Plus I wanted to hurry and deliver this load even though it wasn't due back until 6 PM. But the sooner I get back, the sooner I can get another load. As I said before, I only get paid for driving not sitting around waiting.
After breakfast, I continued east towards my destination. While in route I received a pre-assigned load message. I check the message and it picks up just a few blocks from my delivery point and it doesn't pick up until tomorrow morning! So now I have no need to hurry anymore.
About another 2 hours down the road, I stop in Clayton, IN at another T/A truck stop to have a slow leak fixed on one of the trailers tires. They were able to get me in and out in about 10 minutes so it still wasn't long enough to get laundry done also. Therefore I just continued on another 30 minutes to my destination.
I dropped the loaded trailer and picked up an empty. Then I headed a few blocks over to tomorrows pickup location and dropped the empty there. Now I can bobtail around much easier. That's driving the truck without a trailer hooked to it.
Looking on Googles maps, I found a laundry mat about a mile away. Once laundry was done, it's now dinner time. And I like eating while bobtailing because I have a better selection of restaurants to choose from! Tonight it was the buffet at a Golden Corral! So much better than most truck stops.
After that, back to the shipper where I'll be sleeping there overnight in their parking lot. I was going to go for a geocaching / bike ride but now I'm too full! My load won't be ready until 10:00 AM, so maybe in the morning. Plus it will be cooler and afterwards I can hook up to my trailer stopping at the first truck stop for a shower!
In tomorrows post I should have some cool pics to show you. There's a place I've always wanted to stop at along I-70 but never had the time. But on this next trip I got the time.
See ya on the highways and byways.
I needed to get some laundry done too, but I didn't feel like it yet. Plus I wanted to hurry and deliver this load even though it wasn't due back until 6 PM. But the sooner I get back, the sooner I can get another load. As I said before, I only get paid for driving not sitting around waiting.
After breakfast, I continued east towards my destination. While in route I received a pre-assigned load message. I check the message and it picks up just a few blocks from my delivery point and it doesn't pick up until tomorrow morning! So now I have no need to hurry anymore.
About another 2 hours down the road, I stop in Clayton, IN at another T/A truck stop to have a slow leak fixed on one of the trailers tires. They were able to get me in and out in about 10 minutes so it still wasn't long enough to get laundry done also. Therefore I just continued on another 30 minutes to my destination.
I dropped the loaded trailer and picked up an empty. Then I headed a few blocks over to tomorrows pickup location and dropped the empty there. Now I can bobtail around much easier. That's driving the truck without a trailer hooked to it.
Looking on Googles maps, I found a laundry mat about a mile away. Once laundry was done, it's now dinner time. And I like eating while bobtailing because I have a better selection of restaurants to choose from! Tonight it was the buffet at a Golden Corral! So much better than most truck stops.
After that, back to the shipper where I'll be sleeping there overnight in their parking lot. I was going to go for a geocaching / bike ride but now I'm too full! My load won't be ready until 10:00 AM, so maybe in the morning. Plus it will be cooler and afterwards I can hook up to my trailer stopping at the first truck stop for a shower!
In tomorrows post I should have some cool pics to show you. There's a place I've always wanted to stop at along I-70 but never had the time. But on this next trip I got the time.
See ya on the highways and byways.
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