A Little Driving, Caching, and a LOT of Traffic

Well today started out pretty good. Woke up to another cool morning of 51 degrees in Sugar Notch, PA. Finally received my next load assignment around 9:00 AM and was off and rolling by 9:30. A short run for today.

I headed south on I-81 to Hagerstown, MD right below the Mason-Dixon Line which separates Maryland and Pennsylvania. There I picked up a pre-loaded trailer of misc items for the Sam's Club store down in Newport News, VA. By 1:00PM I was ready to go, but I still had 8 hours to go only 245 miles. Plenty of time! So I looked up some Geocaches and there were 4 less than a mile away to the north. The first in Maryland, 2 right on the state line, and the other up in Pennsylvania.

So I programmed them into my GPSr and went for a walk. A short 1/4 mile to the first one at a small cemetery there. Found the little nano container quickly on the gated entrance. Then moved on up the hill to the "State Line Park" so aptly named because it lies on the state line. I reached the location of the next cache, but there was a work van parked nearby with the driver taking a lunch break. I was in plain view so I couldn't look too hard. So after a few minutes I decided to just leave that one for another day. In the same park was the 3rd cache, which I found rather quickly. Afterwards I decided to skip the last one and head back.

By 2:30 PM I am on my way down to Virginia. As I approached Washington D.C., traffic slowed to a crawl. Around the I-295 bypass and south on I-95 and still crawling down into Virginia. I think it took about 2 hours to go a mere 40 miles before it started to pickup speed again.

A quick stop for fuel at a Pilot in Peterson's Corner, VA and I'm on my way again.

I arrived in Newport News at 8:15 PM with only 45 minutes to spare and by now I am starving! Fortunately when delivering to a Sam's Club store there are usually good restaurants around from which to choose. I choose to eat at a Golden Corral buffet. They have a wide variety of food and it's quick.

I made it back to the Sam's store at 9:00 PM and the perfect time when the opened their receiving door. So almost a full 12 hour day to go a mere 421 miles. Hopefully tomorrow we'll get a nice long run going out west. That's what I requested anyway. So we'll see.

Until then, I'll see you out on the road...

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.

Hanging Around North Georgia

Welcome to all who visit me here. Woke up this morning still in Norcross, Georgia at the same warehouse I stayed at a few weeks ago. It was nice and quiet here. I returned the rental car back to Enterprise Rent-A-Car at 7:30 AM.

My delivery appointment time was at Noon, so there was still plenty of time to get it there. Gainesville, GA was only 40 miles north on I-85 to I-985. I still got there early at around 10:00 AM. I waited and waited and they FINALLY got me unloaded at 3:00 PM, 5 HOURS LATER!! I should get detention pay from Noon to 3PM though. So not a complete waste of time. There was a geocache about a 1/2 mile away, but there was also a light rain off and on throughout the day so I didn't go after it.

After they unloaded me, I drove south on US129 back over to I-85 in Jeffersonville. About 14 miles away, that was the nearest truck stop. I waited there for my next load assignment. Around 4PM, I went next and ate a Whopper at Burger King. When I got back to the truck, they had me a load assigned. 55 miles back to Atlanta to the CFI drop yard. The pickup time wasn't until tomorrow morning and it delivers on the other side of Atlanta at 10:00 AM. So not far at all to go.

There was a break in the lite showers and there was a geocache just a mile away and being that I had plenty of time I walked down to look for it. The total walk round trip was 2 miles.

Once back to the truck, I drove down to the drop yard. My loaded trailer was already there. Earlier today a trucker friend of mine called me who was also in Atlanta on the west side at a truck stop. We took the CDL truck driving class together. Anyway he had read yesterdays post and saw that I was in the area too. So after I hooked up to my trailer I drover around the I-285 bypass loop over to the Petro truck stop where he was. We met up in the restaurant and chatted over dessert. In the 2 1/2 years since the driving school, this has been only the 2nd time our paths have crossed.

That was it for today. Tomorrow we'll empty this load in the morning and then pick up another headed for Pennsylvania. Until then, I'll see ya on the road.

A GREAT Surprise Weekend!

Hello everyone. Sorry I missed a post for yesterday. I started out Saturday morning in Murfreesboro, TN and drove non-stop to Norcross, GA, just outside of Atlanta. My delivery wasn't due until Monday and instead of sitting here over the weekend again, I rented a car from Enterprise and drove down to Orlando to surprise my wife. Boy was she happy to see me.

I arrived at home around 7:00 PM that evening. After church on Sunday morning we went out to lunch with some friends. Back home to change and then by 3:30 PM its back to Georgia. I arrived back in Norcross, GA around 9:30 PM.

A really great weekend off that totally surprised my wife. See you back here tomorrow.

From Iowa to Tenneessee

Today was pretty much an uneventful day. Woke up this morning around 6:00 AM and drove around to the side of the Wapsie Valley Creamery in Independence, IA. Shortly after I backed into the loading dock, someone came out to say they were going to start loading. It didn't take too long, about 30 minutes, and I was inside the office signing the paperwork.

A short way down the road and I saw a small truck stop with a McDonald's where I just had to pull over for my usual breakfast and sweet tea.

About 6 more hours, I stop for fuel at a Pilot in Okawville, IL. Next door to the Pilot was a family restaurant called The Hen House. So I decided to go ahead and have some lunch too. Fried catfish, coleslaw, fries, and a salad. Wasn't too bad. I'll have to stop there again next time through.

Then it was non-stop all the way to Murfreesboro, TN and another Pilot truck stop. Here is where I'm staying for the night. That's about it for today. Like I said it was pretty uneventful. See you back again tomorrow.

Finally Fixed and On The Road

Well when I left you last night, I was still waiting to get the truck into the shop. Shorty after I wrote last nights blog, I decided to just go ahead and get to sleep. That was about 11:00 PM. I'm not quite sure but I think it was around 2:00 AM when they came knocking on my door and told me they were ready. I pulled the truck into the shop and tried to lay down again, but it was just too noisy inside there to sleep. They finished up around 4:00 AM, replacing the windshield, brakes on the front drive axles, and a few other minor things.

After pulling the truck out I walked over to the dispatch window to tell them my truck was out of the shop and to put me in line for a load. I was expecting to be put in line and I'd be going back to sleep for a few more hours. But instead, there wasn't a line, I was now first, and there was a load that needed to get to NE Iowa by 4:00 PM. Okey Dokey!

I grab the paperwork and headed for the truck. When I got to the truck, I put the paperwork in and grabbed my shower bag and some clean clothes. After a shower to help wake me up, I hooked up to the loaded trailer, went to fuel up, and headed north on US71. About 45 minutes later, I saw a McDonald's at a truck stop. Grabbed a #2 meal (sausage egg cheese muffin) with an orange juice, AND a large sweet tea.

Then 7 1/2 hours straight through to Ridgeway, Iowa where I unloaded at 3:15 PM! I had 45 minutes to spare! I asked the guy who unloaded if there were any restaurants in this little town; and I mean little! He says nope but go on down the road further about 10 miles to the next and there's Sue Z Q's Family Restaurant and they have enough room around back to park the truck. So I drove on over to Sue Z Q's and ordered a bacon cheeseburger with everything on it, fries, and a sweet tea. I should have known right then I was in trouble when she asked if I wanted my tea warm or iced. I said iced and she brought me back the worst sweet tea ever. It tasted like unsweetened instant tea, not brewed sweet tea. I even added 6 packs of sugar and it was still nasty! Atleast the burger and fries were good.

When I finished I had my next load assignment waiting in the truck on the Quallcom. I map it out real quick and head down south 76 miles to Independence, IA. Here's where I now sit until the morning waiting to load at 7:00 AM. This load will be going all the way down to Georgia.

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