End of the Road

We're hanging up the reins, so to speak.

Lori has turned in the truck back in Springfield today and is on her way home. I drove back from Denver last Monday while Lori waited for the truck to get fixed (a job that wasn't completed until Friday, a full week after we dropped it off.) She then picked up a load of beef from Fort Morgan, CO and drove the trailer to Springfield for someone else to pick up.

While it was great being able to see so much of the country, I underestimated how much I would miss being at home. I knew that being away for weeks at a time was part of the deal but I didn't think it would be that big of a deal; it was. It's rather humbling to realize I didn't know myself any better than that.

In addition to not being at the house on a regular basis, I struggled with the feeling that I was never "off duty." Even when we were between assignments, we always had to be ready to head out at a moments notice. That made it hard for me to "unwind" and really relax.

Even so, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. We went places and saw things we probably never would have otherwise. And there are lots of great memories of life on the road.

Not sure what we'll do next. Local driving jobs are an option and I'm looking into part-time or contract work back in local government public affairs. Whatever happens, we know God is in charge and is putting us exactly where He wants us to be.

Thank you all for following our adventures, for sharing your thoughts, and for providing the encouragement to keep this blog going.

Take care and God bless!

REALLY holed up in Denver

We're still in Denver. That's because the repair shop has discovered the need to bore the engine core - and the guy that does that isn't in until Monday.

So, we're here until at least late Monday, if not Tuesday. We'll make the best of it.

Holed up in Denver

More truck troubles have us overnighting in Denver. After making our delivery this morning (NOTE - Arizona Ice Tea is NOT from Arizona; this batch came from Sacramento CA!), we decided to take the truck into the shop to have the latest coolant leak checked. (As you may recall, we had a new water pump installed three weeks ago.)

The good news is it isn't the water pump. The bad news is it's a blown head gasket - and that means an overnight stay.

In keeping with our philosophy of being 40 Ton Tourists, we decided to get a room at the Hyatt Regency across from the Denver Convention Center (site of this year's "DenverCrat" Convention, but we won't hold that against the hotel.)

The outdoor 16th St Mall is just a few blocks away so we did some quick window shopping, got some dinner, and high-tailed it back to the hotel. We did NOT bring warm enough clothes for walking at night.

The technician says the truck should be ready tomorrow. We'll see...

Thanksgiving dinner with a slice of “American Pie”

We were fortunate enough to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in a part of America that continues to honor the “old fashioned” values of family, hard work, and tradition. How do we know that? It was pretty obvious just from observing the different groups that were there with us enjoying a nice holiday meal.

The restaurant at the Little America travel center in western Wyoming had put together a special holiday menu. Obviously the word had gotten out because, despite there being no “city” in the immediate area, there were lots of folks on hand. Much of the crowd was comprised of extended families of 10-15 people, ranging from great-grandparents to several newborns. It seemed that for many of them, this was where they always spend their Thanksgiving.

In recognition of the special-ness of the day, most everyone was in their “nice” clothes though several of the outfits reflected the ranching character of the community; cowboy hats, boots, big belt buckles, and wool-lined leather jackets. There were also several Native American families, including one gentleman who was wearing his Cherokee Tribal Council jacket.

The hardworking nature of the residents was also apparent from looking at the weathered faces and scraped knuckles. These are people who obviously spend a lot of time working outside.

One family in particular caught our attention because they exemplified each of those three values. It included a mom and dad, a teenage son and daughter, and a grandfather. One look at them and you knew they were ranchers, a tradition that spanned at least the three generations at the table – if not more. They also knew Whom to thank as they prayed almost as soon as they gave their order to the waiter. Mom also looked like she could handle a horse and a rope, and we imagined the daughter would probably marry into another ranching family. Of course, any boy wanting to date her will have to pass Dad’s scrutiny and face his wrath should he mistreat her.

Obviously, this kind of lifestyle is not for everyone. But it’s comforting to know there are people who continue to embrace this way of life, despite the growing pressures from “modern society” to take the easier route – at the expense of many of the values that have made this country what it is.

To Colorado

It's back over the Sierras for us.

We're picking up our next load in West Sacramento first thing tomorrow morning and heading for Englewood, Colorado for a Friday morning delivery. It will probably be slow going since the load assignment lists the weight as nearly 45,000 pounds and there will be lots of hills and mountains to get over. Luckily, we have plenty of time to get there.

We'll be on the road for Thanksgiving. With any luck, we'll be able to find a turkey dinner somewhere.

Lori and I want to say how thankful we are for all the blessings our Creator has provided for us, especially family and friends. If we don't get a chance to talk to you personally, please accept our warmest wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving.

He said, she said

What a ruckus over 20 bottles of fat free ranch dressing.

During the course of our four deliveries today (one of which was at a location that was NOT designed for semi-trucks!), one of the customers found out they had reeived five boxes of ranch dressing they hadn't ordered. Okay, fair enough. We call our claims department to find out what to do. Claims calls the shipper who says "Our records show they ordered them, they have to take them." The receiver first says okay then says "My broker says I don't have to take them and I want them back on your truck."

After some more phone calls and some very clear direction from our folks to leave the dressing and go to our next delivery, we hit the road - half expecting the bottles of dressing to be thrown off the dock and into our trailer as we pulled away.

Now we can understand why the receiver wouldn't want to take something he didn't order, as well as why the shipper wouldn't want the hassle of taking back something they shipped (though it is more likely we would have "disposed" of the dressing in one way or another). But really, all of this drama over 20 containers of salad dressing? We would think some sort of arrangement could have been worked out. Instead, there ended up being bad blood on both sides and probably the loss of a customer for the company providing the dressing.

Milk run

We're back at it with an assignment that feels more like a delivery route than cross-country truck driving.

After picking up at a warehouse in Ontario, CA it's off to the San Francisco Bay area for four different deliveries - one in Union City, the next in South San Franciso, inland to Stockton, and then finally back to Union City. And they're all due tomorrow.

The only way we're going to make all the deliveries on time is if we get in and out quickly at each stop. That's a big "if" given the speed at which we are usually unloaded.

Chicago to Sacramento

At least we're coming to California.

It would have been nice to get a load going directly to Southern California but this assignment will get us into the state by late Wednesday. This is another "go dog go" load as it MUST deliver 40 hours after we leave Chicago. It's do-able if we average 50 mph all the way across, which could be a challenge given some of the terrain, particularly Donner Pass over the Sierras.

The weather forecast looks good for the entire route so that shouldn't present any problems. Given the driving schedule we probably won't have any more posts until we've delivered this load.

Hi in the middle and round on both ends

Yes, we're in the great state of Ohio (or as truck drivers calll it, "slow-hio," given the 55 mph speed limit for trucks).

We were supposed to be making a delivery of hams from Nebraska right about now but, just as we were stopping to take a short sleep break last night, we got a call from our relief dispatcher asking if we could "repower" a load from another driver and take to the Harry & David facility in Hebron, OH about 50 miles away. Sure, no problem. So we swapped trailers at the local truck stop and headed down the road.

It was an easy delivery since it was a drop and hook (leave the loaded trailer there and go hook up to an empty one). After that, it was over to a truck stop to get some sleep and wait for our next assignment.

We're scheduled to be home this Friday so we're thinking/hoping our next load will take us right to California.

Justice, mercy and grace

It’s human nature to want to see justice done, especially if you’re the victim of some wrongdoing. “I hope they get what they deserve” is a common sentiment we use when discussing criminals standing trial.

Of course, justice can be a bitter pill when it’s you who has to face the consequences of your actions. Those are the times when compassion and mercy – not getting what we deserve – are what we’d really rather see.

We were the recipients of a good dose of mercy yesterday. Just outside of Flagstaff, one of “Arizona’s finest” pulled Lori over while she was driving and I was in the passenger seat. He claimed Lori wasn’t wearing her seat belt, so he decided to do a “Level 3” inspection, which includes going over all of our permits, load paperwork, and driving logs.

We figured we were both in for a ticket; Lori for the seatbelt and me for being in the passenger seat when my log said I was in the sleeper berth. After about 20 minutes, the officer came back and let us off with what amounted to a written warning about not having a copy of the trailer’s registration with us and my log discrepancy. His decision to be merciful was much appreciated.

Had the officer decided to not to note those two things on his inspection report, we would have been eligible for a cash bonus from Prime for passing a safety inspection. That would have been an example of the other end of the spectrum; grace, or getting good things we don’t deserve.

Fortunately, we are the recipients of mercy and grace every day. Instead of giving us what we deserve, God shows His mercy by giving all of us the opportunity to avoid the very real eternal consequences of disobeying His rules. But more than that, He gives us grace by allowing us to spend eternity with Him, something we certainly do not deserve. You, too, can enjoy His grace and mercy. Click here to find out how.

Fix it

We've spent most of the past two days getting work done on the truck.

It was time to have our 22,000-mile routine maintenance done, so we scheduled an appointment at the truck stop in Ontario to have it done. While we were waiting, we noticed a nice leak out of the back of our water pump. We figured they could fix that along with doing our maintenance.

No such luck. Since the truck is under warranty, we had to go to a Freightliner dealer to have the water pump fixed. By the time we finished with the maitenance work and drove over to the dealer in Ontario, it was 4:15 - which meant having to wait until the next morning to get the work done. So, we spent the night in the dealer parking lot.

They started working on the truck about 6:30 a.m. but it took until after 3:00 to finish! However, the waiting wasn't all that bad. Since we were the first ones in the customer lounge, Lori got to pick the TV channel. It was quite amusing seeing a room full of truck drivers watching Regis & Kelly and The View.

We're now waiting at a cold storage facility in Riverside to pick up a load of produce going to a Wal-Mart distribution center just south of Kansas City. It doesn't deliver until Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. so we can actually take our time getting there. It would be nice to stop at a grocery store along the way so we can restock the pantry and cooler.

Looking forward to being home next weekend for our annual Family Reunion picnic.

Election observations

We have purposely avoided discussing the election the past several months, not because we didn’t have any opinions about the issues and persons on the ballot but because the focus for this blog is to share experiences from our life on the road.

Now that the election is over, however, we would like to share a few of our observations about the results. While are disappointed in the results, we are more disappointed in what appears to have motivated so many of the voters. From what we’ve seen and heard, far too many of them based their votes on emotion and the promise of “change,” even though very few of them could express exactly what the change would be or exactly how it would come about.

Also disappointing is the fact such large number of voters can be swayed by superficial promises. More often than not, the candidates are promising exactly the same sorts of things. What they don’t tell us – and what most voters don’t take the time to understand – are the fundamental philosophical differences that shape how they plan to deliver on those promises.

We would hope that more voters would do some serious self-examination about what they believe is the proper role of government in the lives of its citizens. Not until they have a clear understanding of what they want and expect from their government can they be sure they’re voting for a politician that shares those same views.

White out!

Well, we thought we had headed far enough south to avoid the snow - we were wrong.

I took over driving in Tucumcari about midnight. The sky was clear, though it was definitely cold. Everything was going along fine until BAM! Just outside of Grants, New Mexico the windshield was suddenly filled with big white, wet snowflakes and I couldn't see a thing. Lori woke up when a loud expletive lept out of my mouth. She plopped down in the passenger seat to help give directions since my windshield had instantly iced up and the wiper wasn't clearing it away.

The defroster eventually heated up the windshield enough to melt the ice and I could sorta, kinda see where I was going. I managed to follow the tracks of the truck in front of me and not go off the road. Being the middle of New Mexico there were no off ramps to safely get off the highway.

Fortunately, it only lasted about 20 minutes followed about 15 minutes later by another lighter snowfall. By sunrise, the sky had cleared though the ground was covered with about 2-3 inches of snow. Not something you see very often in the Arizona desert. It had also snowed quite a bit in Flagstaff so the pine trees were full of snow. A nice winter scene - two weeks before Thanksgiving!

Now that I've had my "first time" maybe I won't yell and wake up Lori next time it happens.

West again

We're heading back to Southern California with a load of tomatoes for Trader Joe's, right from the same place where we dropped off our peppers. Prime's"recommended" route takes us through Iowa and Nebraska and then across the Rockies to Utah; we will NOT be going that way as the weather for the next two days calls for snow and ice. We'll be heading south through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas, eventually hooking up with I-40 through New Mexico and Arizona. It's only about 85 miles longer and much better weather-wise.

Our preferred route will be taking us past one of our favorite restaurants in a town called Pocahantas, IL. Keeping with the obvious Native American theme of the town, the restaurant is called the Powhatan. Great food and too-large portions; but that means leftovers to take on the truck.
The town has another claim to fame. It's the hometown of country music star Gretchen Wilson, who recorded "Red Neck Woman." The restaurant has named a breakfast menu item after her, Gretchen's Favorite.

Middle men

Sorry for not posting for a few days. I've either been driving or we've been in poor reception areas.

Many of the items we haul seem to be going to or from some sort of middle man. From what we've seen, very few products go directly from the producer to a direct retailer. More often than not we're picking up at a processor and taking it to a distributor. With as many hands that "touch" or handle a product it's little wonder things cost so much.

The load we have now takes the concept of middle man to the extreme. We have a load of red bell peppers that are being hauled all the way across the United States but were not grown by or will they be consumed by Americans. The peppers were grown, picked, and packaged in Mexico and then taken to a warehouse in Chula Vista, CA where we picked them up. We are now hauling them to a warehouse in Romulus, Michigan where they will be picked up by a Canadian trucking company and taken to Ontario, Canada for ultimate consumption.

For those folks who are worried that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will result in foreign trucks driving all over America it obviously doesn't affect ALL items.

Home time

We made it home late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. It wasn't as warm as we'd hoped (and it was raining) but it's always nice to come home.

We spent Sunday with the grandkids, went to church, and helped out our son, Jason, who broke his foot earlier in the week. On Monday, we made our delivery to the local Costco distribution center and then headed back to Jason's again.

We had asked our FM, Cheryl, if we could stay through Tuesday so I could vote. Lori had mailed in her absentee ballot during our last trip home but I hadn't sent away for a mail-in ballot soon enough. I was grateful to have the opportunity to vote in this election given that I believe there are some very important issues to address this time (particularly Prop 4 and Prop 8) in addition to selecting our next president.

Haven't heard where we're headed to next or when we're going but will update you all when we do.

Go west

We got our wish; we're heading home.

This load is going from southern New Jersey to Mira Loma, just up the street from the house. It doesn't deliver until Monday morning but we should be there by Saturday so we're hoping to leave the trailer in Prime's yard in Ontario and spend the rest of the weekend at home.

We won't mind being in warmer weather, either.

October surprise

What a difference six weeks makes!

We stopped last night at a rest area in the Poconos that we had stopped at back in September. Here's the photo I took back then.

We woke up this morning to find the ground covered with 2 inches of snow.

Fortunately, we missed the worst of the storm, which had closed highways in Pennsylvania and New Jersey yesterday. By the time we got down into the city, there was no more snow on the ground, though we did get a few flurries while we waited to get unloaded.

We hope this isn't an indication of the kind of winter we're going to have this year.

We're waiting at a service plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike for our next load assignment. Would love to go somewhere out west or south where it's warm.

Back to Jersey

We spent most of the day Monday having our QualComm messaging system fixed. It wasn’t a total loss, however, as we got to enjoy lunch at an authentic Chicago hot dog stand across the street from the repair shop.

We were hoping we’d be done in time to pickup a load going to Fresno but no such luck. Instead we were assigned a load of beef going from Forest Park, IL (more about this city in the following post) to Woodbridge, NJ (just south of NYC).

The weather turned very cold and windy. We even saw a few snow flurries in Chicago and as we drove across Indiana today. We’re hoping the bad weather in New Jersey clears up before we get there tomorrow morning.

Our route took us by Grandpa’s Cheese Barn in Ohio so I got to experience the aisles of cheese, meats, canned veggies and relishes, and candy for myself. We picked up a variety of cheese and meats for dinner along with a jar of peaches and some sweets, including chocolate-covered Fritos, which are surprisingly good! We would have bought more but our refrigerator isn’t big enough to hold everything we wanted to get.

The old neighborhood

Our pickup this morning was in Forest Park, IL just on the edge of downtown Chicago. We arrived at night so we couldn’t really see what the neighborhood around Weinstein Wholesale Meats was like. In the morning, we realized this was just the right place for a business named Weinstein.

Apparently, Forest Park has been the Jewish center of Chicago for a number of years. Leaving the shipper, we drove past a row of Jewish cemeteries, several dating from the mid-1800’s. Many of the area businesses also had Jewish names. Growing up in the suburbs, we never experienced the type of ethnic neighborhoods that were – and remain – an integral part of many urban areas.

The scene changed quite suddenly as we crossed into Oak Park, IL. This was a community of quaint older homes, one of which was the home and original studio of the great architect Frank Lloyd Wright around the turn of the century. The community embraces its favorite son with street signs and banners reflecting Wright’s distinctive style.

(PERSONAL SIDE NOTE - Mike’s daughters are related to Wright on their mom’s side of the family, the Lloyd-Joneses. The extended family meets for periodic reunions near Wright’s Taliesin property in Wisconsin.)

We’re sure that many of the dynamics that created these ethnic neighborhoods in the 1800’s are also at work in creating the Hispanic, Vietnamese, and Korean neighborhoods that have sprung up in many suburbs today. Our hope is that these new communities will evolve in the same way as their predecessors, eventually assimilating their culture into the overall fabric of America.

This little piggie went to Chic-hog-o

We're on our way to Carpentersville, IL just northwest of Chicago with a load of hams. Obviously, they are going to be processed further as they are literally just piled into giant cardboard bins (much like the ones you're seeing at the grocery stores right now filled with pumpkins) that are lined and covered with plastic.

We picked them up in Smithfield, which is famous for its country hams (along with lots of other pork products). Unlike "city hams" which still have the water in them, country hams are cured and then air dried. They have a very rich, intense taste; I had some for breakfast yesterday.

Anyway, this load is due for delivery on Monday morning at 9:30 so we can take our time, which is good since we're having to lug our way over the Smokey Mountains past lots of coal-mining towns. Not surprisingly, we've seen lots of billboards touting coal as a viable source of alternative energy.

Better days

There’s a lot of talk about the demise of “mom and pop” and “family-owned” business these days. Usually, Wal-Mart and other big corporations get the blame. While that may be true in some instances, Lori and I have come to the conclusion that another big reason is the dwindling sense of family tradition and pride.

We’ve seen that theory in action over the past few days. Since there were no large chain truck stops near Suffolk, we waited for our next load assignment at Big Charlie’s Travel Plaza. It had the appearance of having once been a first-class operation but it has now become a bit ragged around the edges. Another trucker, who obviously saw our hesitation as we inspected the showers, said “Charlie’s used to be one of the best truck stops in the country. Then Big Charlie died and his kids took over. It wasn’t too long before they sold it to these people and it became like this.” We can only assume “these people” had no knowledge or appreciation of what Charlie’s used to be.

Last night we witnessed an example of how good an independently-owned business can be. White’s Truck Stop in Raphine, Virginia is owned by Dick White. There’s no doubt this is his place. Though he’s getting on in years, he’s there every day talking to the customers and overseeing the operation. The walls are lined with his gun and knife collection, photos and newspaper clippings reflecting his love of motorcycles, and his personal collection of antique and vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles in a small glass garage by the front door.

There’s an obvious sense of pride about the place, and it flows from the top down. The question is, what will happen when Mr. White is no longer able to watch over the place. We’re not sure if any of his children are involved in the operation or if there is another “heir apparent” that will carry on the tradition of the place. We can only hope so because we’ve seen what can happen to a place that loses the sense of pride that comes with tradition.

Land of the moose

I think we've now been as far away from home as possible while still being in the continental United States. (It actually made Lori a little homesick.)

Maine is beautiful but very remote.; thick pine forests and rolling hills. We literally drove for hours without seeing a building. There were also lots of signs warning about moose on the roadway. Unfortunately, we never saw one (though we did stop to have lunch at the Blue Moose Restaurant). The high temperature was somewhere in the low 40s after dropping into the 20s the night before; a brisk autumn day.

The load we picked up was frozen french fries, though this plant makes fries and Tater Tots for a variety of companies (including McDonald's and Ore-Ida; maybe they should change the name of their company to Ore-Ida-Ma).

Fortunately, the load was going to a warmer location; Suffolk, Virginia. We're sitting at the loading dock now waiting to get unloaded.

Our route took us over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel, a 20-mile structure crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Here are some photos of the bridge and the tunnel (though the tunnel picture looks a bit surrealistic).

We may not get another assignment for awhile since our QualComm message device isn't working properly.

Switcheroo

We never made it to Pottsville with our Sara Lee frozen pies. That's because we got a call from headquarters asking us to swap trailers with another driver who didn't have enough driving hours left to make his delivery. So he took our trailer to Pottsville and we took his trailer full of Yoplait yogurt to Haverhill, Massachusetts (just outside of Boston).

Even before we got there we had a pre-planned assignment going from Leominster, Massachusetts to Easton, Maine. Which brings us to today's geography question; where the heck is Easton, Maine? It wasn't listed in our atlas so we had to ask headquarters where it is. Turns out it's on the border of Maine and New Brunswick.

I have decided that 53-foot tractor trailers do not belong in New England. Since many of these towns were originally laid out in the 1700's, (the city limit sign on one town we went through - Lancaster, MA - said it was established in 1683), they didn't leave a lot of room on the roads for trucks this size. Give me the wide open spaces of the west any day!

Lori and I were wondering what the heck we would be taking to Maine and what (if anything) gets shipped out of there. Answer: We're bringing empty cardboard boxes to hold frozen french fries and we're taking out filled boxes of frozen food. It should be a quick turn around; drop the trailer of boxes, pick up the pre-loaded trailer of frozen food, and then hit the road for Suffolk, VA.

Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee

Yep, we've got a load of Sara Lee products going from one Sara Lee plant in Traverse City, Michigan (just across the lake from Michigan's Upper Penisula) to another Sara Lee plant in Pottsville, PA (near Allentown).

It's a fairly short run with lots of time so it should be a bit more relaxed than last trip (crossing fingers).

Go, Dog, Go!

What promised to be a lovely trip from the California coast through the Rockies to Detroit turned into a bit like the title of the Dr. Suess book featuring driving dogs.

The delivery instructions were very explicit on this load - do not be late as it needs to arrive between 3 and 5 a.m. to meet the production schedule at the receiver's location (Fresh Pak salad in Detroit). That wouldn't have been a problem except for a four-hour delay leaving Santa Barbara. Add to that the fact that the speed/rpm governor setting on our truck meant that the uphill sections of Utah and the Rockies were spent going about 35 mph and you end up with a trip during which we barely had time to "heed nature's call" if we were going to make the appointment.

With a little luck and putting the accelator to the floor, we managed to arrive at 4:45 a.m. - and then proceeded to wait for 4 1/2 hours! Needless to say, we let our fleet manager know. We'll see if anything comes of it.

We understand why Prime wants to limit the speed on it's company trucks (fuel mileage) and we really don't have a problem running at slower speeds since higher fuel mileage means pay bonuses for us. However, we are going to ask Cheryl, our fleet manager, if we can have the speed on our truck turned up (which Prime will do on your fleet manager's approval) - not because we want to go tearing across the flat lands but because we really need to be able to go faster than 35 mph uphill. Not only do we think it's a problem when it comes to being on time, it can also create a safety hazard as cars and trucks approach us from the rear.

Motor City salad

You've heard of America's breadbasket. Well, today we're in America's lettuce bowl - California's Central Coast and Central Valley.

First, we're picking up lettuce in Lompoc, CA, which is on the coast just north of Santa Barbara and west of Santa Ynez, CA. You may know the area as the location of President Reagan's ranch and the Danish town of Solvang.

Driving through the area we've seen fields of lettuce, peppers, and artichokes. The fields sit on a large flat plain between the ocean and the coastal hills.

After we pick up the lettuce, we're going to Arvin (just south of Bakersfield) to pick up fresh carrots. From there, it's onto Detroit by early Monday morning.

Apologies

My apologies to blog reader and Seguin resident, Tron, for my repeated misspellings of his hometown. He, the residents of Seguin, and the town's namesake, Juan Seguin - a hero of Texas' struggle for independence - deserve better.

Deja vu all over again

We're back in Seguin, TX, sitting at the Tyson plant, waiting for a load of fresh chicken headed to - you guessed it - Walnut, CA and Oxnard, CA. Seems like these two Sysco Food Services centers have a standing weekly order for chicken.

This trip isn't exactly the same as last time, however. This morning we had to swing by Big Rig Truck Accessories in New Braunfels, TX and pick up a new cover and latch kit for our APU generator compartment. It seems we "lost" the old ones somewhere between Deming, NM and San Antonio last week.

I thought it would be a fairly straightforward process to put on the new latches (and being a good "company man" I figured we could save Prime the cost of an installation), so we just picked up the new items and headed for Seguin where I proceeded to undertake the installation while Lori did a load of laundry at the local laundramat.

I don't think my hands will ever be clean again. What I thought would be a relatively quick and simple job ended up requiring my crawling around under the truck to remove the bottom cover of the APU compartment and then squeezing my fingers into two little openings to loosen and re-attach some screws, a process that took a good hour to complete. I'm still on the lookout for a bar of Lava soap to get the grease out from under my fingernails.

Anyway, we're hoping to be back at home again Thursday afternoon/evening.

Texas history

We made it to San Antonio on Sunday afternoon and spent the rest of the day watching football and the Dodgers' playoff game (since the Angels are already out of the playoffs).

With all day Monday open (since our delivery wasn't scheduled until 8:00 p.m.), we called for a taxi and headed downtown to the Alamo. Being from Southern California, we related to the building's history and architecture as a mission. But after hearing the story of the battle of the Alamo, it become clear why Texans have such pride in their heritage. To those of us not from Texas, "Remember the Alamo" is just a phrase we learned in American history class. From what we can tell, many Texans continue to take it to heart. However, I like the phrase attributed to Davy Crockett (and embroidered, printed, and silk screened on all sorts of souvenirs), "You may all got to hell, and I will go to Texas."

Here are some photos I took while we were there...

The iconic front facade (which is actually the church that was located at the rear of the compound). The characteristic "hump" in the top center of the front was added many years after the battle by the U.S. Army.

A well outside the "Long Barracks" which originally housed the priests during the mission period. This section of the compound eventually became part of a large grocery store operation. Over the years, it was forgotten until the grocery store was scheduled to be demolished. That's when a local woman bought the site and led an effort to have the barracks restored.

The Alamo is just a short walk away from the River Walk, a series of restaurants, shops, hotels, and other businesses located along the river that runs through downtown. Actually, river level is about 20 feet lower than street level, which makes it easy to forget you're in the middle of a major metropolitan downtown.

We walked along some of it and then took a 30-minute guided tour boat ride. Here are some photos of that...

All in all, it was a fun and informative day.

Not sure where we're going next but we'll find out soon enough!

Back to Texas

We did have an opportunity to spend some time at home yesterday, taking care of a few chores around the house, doing the laundry, and sleeping in our own bed (if only for a few hours).

We've just finished unloading the second part of our load of Tyson chicken here in Oxnard and are preparing to head over to our next pickup, which is only about 1 mile away. It's a load of frozen bread going to the HEB Grocery distribution center in San Antonio, TX. The delivery appointment isn't until Monday evening so we're thinking we'll arrive Sunday and be able to spend some time along San Antonio's Riverwalk. I'll be sure to post some photos if we do.

Dinner break

We've just had a nice dinner with our son and daughter, Brent and Christina, in Phoenix. The load from Texas was ready soon enough that we were able to spend a few hours with them and still be able to make our delivery in Walnut, CA tomorrow morning.

Brent has joined with with several other mortgage industry folks to start up a new mortgage company, Lendability. (You can check out their website a www.lendability.com.) They are getting a lot of traffic and inquiries, even with the slow state of the industry. We are confident in both Brent's abilities and the future of the economy, so we are hopeful their business will soon be booming.

We think, however, the heat has affected their senses. Here it is the first week in October and the temperature gauges we saw today were reading well over 100 degrees. When we commented about the heat to Brent and Christina, they said no, the weather was beautiful today. Well, at least it's a "dry heat."

We're hoping to spend a little time at home tomorrow as our first delivery is scheduled for tomorrow at 8 a.m., with the second part of the load not due for delivery until Friday morning at 11:30. We'll have to wait and see, though, as schedules could still change.

Quickie

We're sitting in a dock at a receiver in Austin, Texas.

This is our second delivery of the day after picking up an already loaded trailer at Prime's drop yard in Justin, TX (a small town between Dallas and Fort Worth where they make Justin boots) and making a delivery near downtown Dallas. While it wasn't a particularly heavy load, it was a bit challenging to haul as it was drums of semi-conducter polish.

We have our next assignment; a trip from Saguin, TX (just east of San Antonio) to Walnut, CA. With any luck we'll be able to spend some time at home after making the delivery.

OBSERVATION - People in Texas are REALLY proud of Texas. We have never seen so many state flags anywhere else. And these are BIG flags. Everybody also seems to have a rusted metal Texas Ranger-style star (also big) somewhere on their property

Today, tomorrow, or the day after

Days of the week have become irrelevant.

It really doesn't matter to us if it's Monday, Tuesday, or any other day. The main focus for us has become what are we doing today, where we have to be tomorrow, or if we're on a long run, where we need to be the day after that.

More than once, we've caught ourselves not having any idea what day it was. The only practical reason we even need to remember the day is so we know which radio shows are on Sirius that day. It's also nice to know if it's a Friday afternoon when approaching a big city. Other than that, we've found it doesn't really matter.

When it absolutely, positively has been there over night, Part II

Well, here's another reason that big overnight carrier always manages to get their packages delivered on time; they use Prime to help deliver them!

We're headed for Newark International Airport tomorrow morning to pick up a trailer full of FedEx packages headed for Dallas/Fort Worth airport and we'll only have 33.5 hours to deliver them once we leave the gate.

Needless to say, it will be a straight-through drive.

Talk to you on the other side...

Waiting

We're sitting at a TA Travel Center between Baltimore and Wilmington, Delaware waiting for our next assignment; we're keeping our fingers crossed that we get something out of here before the weekend.

We've been on two loads since we left Springfield. As soon as I finished up at the DMV on Wednesday, they had has take over a load headed for Yorktown, Indiana (just north of Indianapolis), which delivered at midnight that night.

No sooner did we drop that load off that they gave us another assignment; a high value, "top secret" load going from Plainfield, IN to New Castle, Delaware which is why we couldn't say anything about it until now.

We drove through West Virginia, southern Pennsylanvia, and Maryland. It was interesting to see the "hollers" of Appalachia in person. The landscape changed dramatically around Zanesville, Ohio continuing through Wheeling, West Virginia, going from relatively flat farmland to lots of little hills and valleys filled with small houses perched along the hillsides and winding down into the river valleys.

Driving across south central Pennsylvania, we think we came across the residents that Barack had characterized as "clinging to their guns and religions." Not sure if all the McCain signs went up before or after Barack's comment, but they're certainly out there now! We even drove by a small country gas station/market with a sign outside announcing "VP debate viewing party. Free eats." These folks are obviously engaged in the election.

We'll let everybody know where we're heading next as soon as we know!

I passed!

Whew, I'm glad that's over.

I passed all three portions of my commercial driver license testing today; backing, pre-trip inspection, and on-street driving. I didn't get "perfect" scores on any of the tests, though I did miss only 2 of the 105 pre-trip inspection items (one of which Lori didn't even know was on the test!).

We're still in Springfield until tomorrow afternoon as the testing took MUCH longer than we had anticipated.That meant I didn't have a chance to go to the Missouri DMV to get my new license or go through all of the Prime employee paperwork process. The main reason for the delay was the fact that more people than usual wanted to take the test today since entirely new testing procedures and standards go into effect tomorrow.

We also had appointments at 4:00 and 4:30 to go through the enrollment process for our Transportation Worker Identification Certification (TWIC). This card is being required by Homeland Security for persons wanting access to ports. Once we pass the background search, we'll each get a card that has "biometric information" (our fingerprint) encoded electronically on the card. Very high tech...

Though it's nice to be off the road, we're both chomping at the bit to get moving again. Now that I'm fully licensed, we'll be able to keep the truck moving 24 hours a day, if necessary to make the delivery appointments. That might take a little get to used to, at least for me since Lori already has some experience with that from her training time with Tamara.

It'll probably be longer than usual until we get home again (we shooting for the weekend before Thanksgiving) because we want to accumulate enough vacation days to spend a good 7-8 days at home over Christmas.

We'll try to post once we get going again. I hope the new driving schedule leaves enough time for regular posting.

Ballet of the titans

I've been spending the past few days on the practice pad getting ready for my backing test. And I haven't been alone. It's a little like a ballet (with elephants ala Disney's Fantasia) when there are four or five trucks on the pad doing different manuevers. Here's a photo I took while waiting my turn for the "blind side" parallel parking manuever.

Home away from home

While being at the terminal isn't really home, it's always nice to have a familiar place to stop, relax, and unwind. Prime does a good job of making you feel welcome back at the terminal, and it starts right at the entrace as these photos show.

SALT LAKE CITY

SPRINGFIELD (Don't ask me how the sign knows when we're driving in!)

They also have a nice parting comment for us on the way out!

Cramming

We’re back at the “mother ship” in Springfield so I can take my commercial driver license test Monday morning. That gives me all weekend to “cram” for 3 different tests; a pre-trip inspection of the truck, backing (straight back, parallel parking to the left and right side, and dock parking) and driving. We also need to get more work done on the truck (preventative maintenance), watch some training videos, and apply for a TWIC card (a Homeland Security document that will allow us access to ports and other shippers).

P.S. - Another sign that autumn is in the air; there are fewer bugs on our windshield.

Back at it

What a great time at home! We spent five days at home relaxing and spending time with family, including a somewhat belated birthday party for Lori and her twin sister. Everybody was over to the house on Saturday for smoked ribs, chicken, hot links, corn bread, cole slaw, "armadillo eggs," peanut butter pie, and peach cobbler. Of course, we made enough to have left overs on the truck.

We got back to it Monday morning with a pickup of Rival home appliances in Fontana. But that wasn't until after headquarters managed to track down the driver who had left his locks on the empty trailer we were trying to pick up at the drop yard in Ontario. We had already called the local truck service facility to send somebody over to cut off the locks but got to call him off in the nick of time. Needless to say, we were not pleased about the delay. There was really NO reason for this driver to lock up an EMPTY trailer (other than he wanted to make sure it was still there when HE was ready to get back on the road; just plain rude.)

From Fontana it was straight through to Grantsville, UT (just outside of Salt Lake) for the delivery at a Wal-mart distribution center. Actually, we just dropped the loaded trailer and picked up another empty one. After a LONG day, we headed over to the Prime yard in Salt Lake to spend the night. We're waiting in line at the inspection bay to get one of our trailer tires looked at; it appears to have a leak.

We do have a load assignment for pickup later this evening. It's headed for Tennessee but our plan is to take it to headquarters in Springfield so I can take my license test.

When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight

Not to sound conspiratorial or cynical, but we think one of the reasons the packages of a particular delivery company are always on time is that they have some kind of pact with the Department of Transportation and law enforcement agencies across the country.

In our travels along the highways, we’ve send plenty of the trailers from this company. However, we have never seen them go through a scale house or pulled over to the side of the road by a state trooper. And they are always flying past us. Coincidence…?

Tucumcari Tonite!

In honor of those iconic billboards along I-40/Route 66, we’re spending tonight in Tucumcari, NM. (Actually, it’s just a coincidence but I’ve always liked those billboards ever since I first saw them as a kid during family vacations to Missouri.)

We left Dodge City, KS early this afternoon with a load headed to the L.A. area. Tomorrow will be a FULL day of driving so we can get as close to L.A. as possible tomorrow night to give us plenty of time to make our 6 p.m. delivery appointment on Tuesday.

There was a bit of excitement in the truck stop parking lot as we were arriving. As I was trying to back into our parking space for the night (with directional assistance from Lori) she witnessed another truck backing right into the front end of another truck. Unfortunately, the driver of the parked truck was standing up inside his cab and was thrown into the cabinet, which hurt his neck severely enough that they had to call an ambulance to take him.

This same driver almost backed right into us as well while we were coming into the parking lot. Luckily, I got passed him before he got the parked truck. It is very true that most truck accidents occur in truck stops.

Change of plans

We're still going to Kansas, but not with the load we picked up in Idaho.

Cheryl, our dispatcher, told us she has another load for us that will get us home to California late Tuesday so we brought our trailer full of frozen McDonalds french fries to the yard in Denver for someone else to pick up and take the rest of the way.

We have picked up a new empty trailer and will be heading to southwestern Kansas later this morning to pick up a load headed back to Southern California.

We had the chance to have dinner with Lori's brother, Curtis, and his wife, Candy in Sinclair, Wyoming yesterday. They have a load going from the docks in New Jersey to Vancouver, British Columbia. Since we were passing each other on I-80, we figured out about where our paths would cross and then picked a spot to catch a meal and spend some time together.

It's obvious that summer is coming to a close. It got down to 39 degrees in Idaho where we spent the night, we had to put on jackets at the rest area in Wyoming yesterday, and the Rockies outside of Denver are covered with snow this morning after a storm yesterday. We're hoping to avoid most of the bad weather from Hurricane Ike as it moves further north across Texas and into Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri but we may catch the edge of it.

Western headquarters

We’re sitting at Prime’s Salt Lake City terminal after arriving last night about 10 p.m. local time. We made our delivery of frozen pizzas (Tony’s and Red Baron) to a cold storage facility in Clearfield, Utah and then headed down the freeway to spend the night at the terminal.

The trip out from Kentucky (just across the state border from Cincinnati, OH) was fairly uneventful, though we did get within shouting distance of my hometown of Smithville, MO (it was too early to stop by for a visit) and did have my first opportunity to drive across Wyoming, parts of which we have now dubbed “Moon Base Alpha” because of the starkness of the landscape.

There were some attractive parts of Wyoming, too, as you can see. However, the clouds in the photos eventually developed into rain storms so we got a little wet.

I needed some more work on my backing skills, so we spent a couple of hours driving in reverse. We then swung by the maintenance shop to pick up some spare bulbs, windshield wipers, and air vent filters, put those on, and then settled in for a lunch break before heading out on our next trip which starts up the road a bit in Idaho. It will take us back across much of where we just were; Interstate 80 across Wyoming and Nebraska, and then down Interstate 29 to a city just outside of Kansas City.

We’re scheduled to be home starting next Thursday, staying through the weekend. Hope to see many of you then.

Weekend in Nashville

We made it into Nashville to take our 34-hour break, and not a minute too soon.

The truck stop is located near downtown right across the street from LP Field where Tennessee State and the Tennessee Titans football teams play. They both had home games this weekend, Tennessee State on Saturday night and the Titans on Sunday afternoon, which meant traffic is a nightmare before and after each game and parking is at a premium since the truck stop sells parking spaces for each game.

We managed to find a spot to park for the weekend and then hit the showers. Lower Broadway, THE place for nightlife in Nashville, was just a short walk away so off we went to check it out. Among the highlights were visits to the Charlie Daniels store and museum (he recorded the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"), Robert's Western World to hear a great band, Ernest Tubb's Record Store (an iconic location in country music history), and Rippy's Restaurant for some barbecue and more music. Here are some photos of the area.

Nashville has an attractive skyline, located on the bank of the Cumberland River and highlighted by the AT&T building with its two spires. It has a “Gotham City” sort of look, especially at night.

LP Field is just across the river from downtown. On our walk to Lower Broadway Saturday night, we noticed you could see right into the stadium from the Woodland bridge so we decided after church at the truck stop we’d take a walk over on Sunday during the Titans game. The parking lot started filling with tailgaters at about 8 a.m. for the noon kickoff time. We were impressed at the amount of effort some of these folks put into tailgating, especially this customized delivery truck.

As we got closer to the stadium, we had to run the gauntlet of folks trying to buy and sell tickets. We were approached by two young couples asking if we were looking for tickets and we said no, we were just taking in the atmosphere. Then they said, “Well, we’ve got two extra tickets that we really don’t need and if you want them, they’re yours – for free.” We said sure, what the heck and in we went.Martina McBride sang the National Anthem, a field-sized flag was unfurled, and four “Warthog” attack planes did a fly over before the game. We never actually made it to our seats but wandered around the stadium, taking in the action from several shaded standing areas (it was too hot and sticky to stay in the sun), watched the Marine Silent Drill Team platoon at half-time, and then headed back to the truck ahead of the crowd. (NOTE: The Titans won the game, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 17-10).

We’ll spend one more night here before heading off to our next load assignment; a long-haul from Kentucky to Utah.

Number 3 on the way

Great news from Hawaii; grandbaby number three is on the way!

Elizabeth and Kim just learned that they're pregnant. Liz took her first trip to the doctor this week and everything is on track. Her due date is April 27, 2009.

You can follow the adventures of Baby Hamilton at his/her blog: http://babyhamilton09.blogspot.com

Mmm, mmm good

There's nothing like a bowl of hot soup during a rain storm. However, we didn't think even a truck load of Campbell's Chicken Noodle, Chunky New England Clam Chowder, and Spaghetti O's would be enough to ward off the effects of Hurricane Hannah so we bugged out from Maxton, North Carolina to Scottsville, Tennessee just ahead of the storm. We could tell it was coming as the sky was starting to fill with dark clouds and the humidity went sky high.

Our route took us over the Appalachians and the Great Smoky Mountains in Kentucky. For such small mountains (the high point of the trip, the Eastern Continental Divide, was just over 2,100 feet of elevation) it was slow going with steep grades and winding roads.

We're sitting now at the Dollar General warehouse waiting for a dock to unload the soup. Since we're just about at our 70-hour driving limit, we'll be taking the rest of today and tomorrow off. We're thinking about heading into Nashville for the evening. We'll see...

Home fries

Well, we didn’t go to Louisiana. Instead, we picked up a trailer full of “home fries” fixin’s; potatoes and onions headed for North Carolina. The load was on a tight schedule so we had to drive pretty hard all night.

As we were driving through tobacco country around Winston-Salem this morning, we were struck by the schizophrenic nature of that industry. Here is an entire area whose economy is largely based on an activity that much of society is trying to abolish, though we didn’t see any outward signs of a weakening economy.

My turn

Yesterday it was MY turn to drive through New York City. We went back down the Connecticut shore, back across the George Washington Bridge, and then down the Jersey turnpike to Bayonne, NJ to pick up a load of Tropicanna orange juice. (OJ from Jersey? Go figure...) We could see the top half of the Statue of Liberty from the warehouse.

Man, oh man! The traffic was out in full force. We started at 4:00 a.m. to make the delivery in Norwich, CT and by 6:00 p.m. last night we had only made it to the Jersey/Pennsylvania border. That was exhausting.

We managed to do some laundry and hit the showers before zoning out for the night. Then it was up and at 'em for the trip to Syracuse (our current location). We think we're taking a load down to Louisianna but won't know for sure until a little later.

Labor Day in the City

You certainly can see a lot when driving in and around New York City.

Our day started at a rest area in the Pocono Mountains (see photo), a “mountain” resort area in eastern Pennsylvania, though it certainly doesn’t qualify as mountains for those of us who are used to the Sierra Nevadas and the Rockies.

From there we drove through New Jersey into New York City over the George Washington Bridge, which took us across upper Manhattan and the Bronx. We could see the New York skyline from the bridge but it wasn’t worth a photo.

Driving through L.A. isn’t so bad after trying to get through New York; narrow lanes, lots of curves, and lots of cars (despite it being a holiday). Sorry, we just don’t see the attraction of living here. We saw it at its best and couldn’t get over the dinginess. We can only imagine what it looks like covered with dirty, melting snow.

Then it was along the Connecticut shoreline. Saw the General Dynamics submarine yard in New London and Mystic Seaport with its tall ships and quaint harbor. A quick jaunt through Rhode Island (it doesn’t take long to get anywhere in Rhode Island) and we were into Massachusetts and our first stop. Our early arrival and empty parking lot gave me a chance to practice my backing. The big moves are coming easy. It’s the small adjustments at the end that need some more work.

We’re now sitting in Norwich, CT unloading the rest of our load of beef from Fort Morgan, CO. Not sure where we’re headed next but we’ll let you know.

Catching up

Sorry we haven’t been able to post lately. This current trip hasn’t left much time for writing as we’ve been driving 12-14 hours each day, taking 10 hours off, and then hitting the road again.

We left Fort Morgan, CO around 4:30 Friday afternoon. We "bobtailed" (drove without the trailer) into downtown Fort Morgan Friday morning, did some window shopping, and enjoyed a nice lunch "al fresco."

The weather has been great, a perfect Labor Day weekend. I never realized how rural northern Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio are. Despite there being big cities like Chicago, Toledo, and Cleveland along our route, we’ve seen as many corn and soy bean fields in those states as we did in Nebraska and Iowa.

We also saw a perfect Labor Day weekend portrait at a farm house near the highway; a big family gathering complete with badminton, picnic tables, lots of folks sitting on lawn chairs, and the grill smoking away. We hope all of you had a great “last weekend of summer.”

We did get a chance to stop by Iowa 80, “The World’s Largest Truckstop.” It’s got to be big to hold two semi-truck tractors and a full length cab and trailer! Enjoy the photos.

A bad streak

A new day is dawning - and we’re still sitting in Fort Morgan.

We arrived at about noon yesterday after dropping a trailer full of canned Arizona tea in Longmont, CO and spending the night at a local truck stop. We had spent most of the day at Prime's yard in Denver since we couldn't drop the tea until midnight. I practiced backing up the trailer for about two hours, developing a blister on the right palm from spinning the steering wheel back and forth. I only "spilled orange blood" (ran over an orange practice cone) once.

The instructions for this current load said get the trailer to Cargill Meat in Fort Morgan ASAP, so we did. And then the waiting began. Lori tells me there usually isn’t this much waiting around so I must be having beginner’s luck (all bad!) this week when it comes to getting in and out of shippers and receivers.

Once this load is ready (which they tell us will be 4:00 p.m. today), we’ll have 3 to 4 days of driving as we’re heading to Assonet, MA and Norwich, CT by Tuesday morning. We’re planning a stop at the world’s biggest truck stop, Iowa 80 in Walcott, IA, since it’s along the way. Our route also includes a trip over the George Washington Bridge into New York City and the Bronx. Lori says I get to be a “tourist” since this will be my first trip through “the City.” After that, no more excuses; I’ll have to drive.

Despite having to wait, this is actually a pretty good load since it will be next to impossible to get a new load over this weekend because of the Labor Day holiday. By the time we’re ready to get another assignment it’ll be Tuesday afternoon and everyone will be back to work.

I’m going to take a look at the Internet and see what there is to do here in Fort Morgan, CO. We really don’t want to hang out at Wal-Mart like we did yesterday. There’s a tour of the meat packing plant here at 10 this morning but I think we’re going to pass. It’s depressing enough seeing all the trailers full of steers going in one end of the plant and then coming out empty at the other. But hey, if you want steaks…

A wierd bit of heaven

I never thought that taking a shower would strike me as a little bit of heaven.

It’s amazing how quickly the things we used to take for granted take on a new importance now that we’re “on the road.” This morning’s shower was a perfect example. I was amazed how much I enjoyed simply standing in a hot shower, something I haven’t had the chance to do since Sunday morning (even though sponge baths are an everyday occurrence). It was also a perfect “pick me up” after spending the night in a loading dock sleeping with one ear open for a call over the CB telling us that our trailer was loaded and ready to go (which happened at 4:30 in the morning).

I did all the driving today, some 530 miles to Colby, KS. I’m looking forward to another new bit of heaven I’ve discovered; a full night of uninterrupted sleep!

"Two Forks" up

There are lots of ways to indicate the quality of a restaurant but we saw what had to be the highest recommendation we can think of; a string of NASCAR car haulers sitting in the parking lot outside a restaurant off I-40 in Henryetta, Oklahoma.

We had seen a steady stream of NASCAR haulers heading westbound on I-40 all morning long as they made their way from yesterday’s race in Bristol, TN to this weekend’s race in Fontana, CA. A couple of billboards for the Pig Out Palace restaurant had also caught our attention, so we were on the lookout for it wondering how a place with a name like that would look. We weren’t disappointed.

There it sat, right off the highway with a low-slung roof, giant sign, gravel parking lot and a long row of car haulers. If there’s anybody that knows good food it has got to be truck drivers who work in the stock car industry. We made a note in our list of truck stops so we can be sure and stop by next time we’re coming through here (it’s open 24 hours!).

See for yourself what they have to offer by visiting their website here.

P.S. - We're currently sitting at a shipper in Fort Gibson, OK waiting to get called to the loading dock. I'll be driving for a couple of hours after we get finished here.

First day of driving

I have now driven officially for Prime, Inc.

We picked up a loaded trailer at Prime’s yard with heading for Oklahoma City. It’s a short trip scheduled for delivery at 11:00 o’clock tonight. Short and sweet; a good first trip for me.

While we were checking out, two more of my classmates were picking up bus tickets home. I estimate that about half of my class did not make it out onto the road with an instructor.

I drove for 3½ hours and then swapped seats with Lori (after a nice in-truck dinner of salad) so she could take the load the rest of the way in. I got a little taste of various driving situations; merging, up and down hills, changing highways, and even some “big city” freeway driving through Tulsa. I didn’t hit anything, so I count it a success!

We’re pre-planned to pickup another load in Fort Gibson, OK tomorrow evening that’s due for delivery in Longmont, CO (just north of Denver) late Wednesday. I think we jinxed ourselves by saying we hoped we wouldn’t have to drive through Denver this week since the Democratic Convention is there. Oh, well. With any luck we’ll be able to skirt around any congestion.

Classmates

I’ve had a chance to observe and get to know a number of my classmates this week. Here are a few observations.

The effect of the slowdown in the economy is apparent here. On the one hand, Prime is bringing on a lot of new drivers; 400 so far this year with plans to bring on another 400 by the end of the year. As smaller, less efficient trucking companies are closing their doors, Prime is picking up the slack.

On the other hand, many of the trainees are here because they’ve lost their job and haven’t been able to find a new one – many for a number of months. Prime’s training program is a great opportunity for folks as it includes free transportation to the training facility, free room and board during the week-long orientation, a $240 per week advance while you work towards your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), and then a $600 per week minimum pay check while you finish up your 80,000 miles of training. From what I’ve heard, there’s not a better training program out there, especially when many private truck driving schools charge $4,000 to $6,000 to get a CDL.

I wish only the best for all of my classmates but I believe (and statistics prove it) that a lot of them will not make it through the training phase; some because they can’t pass the written learner’s permit test, others because they’re just not cut out for this lifestyle, and still others because they don’t have the right attitude to prosper under Prime’s performance/incentive-based pay system.

I’ve also had the chance to meet folks from all over the country and all types of backgrounds. In a class of 31 students, there were people from Florida to Minnesota ranging in age from 23 to 60 (I was afraid I’d be the oldest person in class; I’m only the fourth oldest!)

I’m looking forward to seeing how everybody does in the trucks. I hope it doesn’t turn into a bumper car ride!

Catching our breath

Whew, this week has been a whirlwind. We arrived in Springfield Sunday evening to a nice surprise; Prime would supply us with a room in their motel facility while we were both in training this week. That sure beats the heck out of sleeping in the truck or getting a “bunk room” at the main terminal.

Our classes started Tuesday morning so we spent all day Monday getting the truck looked after. The shop at the terminal was able to replace the 12-volt power outlets and install an additional side view mirror but couldn’t get the auxiliary power unit repaired (despite a couple hours of effort). We had an appointment for a front-end alignment, so the shop delayed the APU repair work and we headed over to a nearby truck tire shop. In the meantime, Prime’s repair folks made an appointment for us at another repair shop that could fix the APU (which they did while we enjoyed a movie at the theatre in the terminal building).

By that time it was back to the motel to get some sleep before our 5:45 a.m. wake-up call. Over the next three days, it was in and out of various classes for both of us. Bottom line – Mike has his Commercial Vehicle Learner’s Permit and Lori is all set to teach him how to get his Commercial Driver’s License.

A few more classes on Friday morning and then all the newbies get to drive around the practice pad and meet their instructors. I’ve got a bit of a leg up on the rest of the class since I’ve been driving around the practice pad (forward and backward) on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. Most of the trainees will head out with their instructors on their first load assignment late Friday or early Saturday. Lori and I have decided to stay until at least Sunday afternoon so we can go to church here in Springfield at our “home church away from home.”

A BIG thank you

A big thank you to all our friends and family who helped us celebrate Mike’s retirement and our transition into this new phase of life. Your love and support mean so much to us.

REALLY real

There’s no doubt about it now. Mike is typing this in the passenger seat of the truck as he and Lori drive down US-54 hauling 43,637 pounds of chuck rounds, chuck steak, shoulder clods and chuck roast.

Mike’s also decided that he’s going to switch from “third person” to “first person” in writing this log. (Now that I’m just a truck driver, it takes too much brain power to write like I’m talking about somebody else.)

It’s been a whirlwind since I walked out of Yorba Linda City Hall for the last time as an employee on Friday afternoon. Lori and I did some last minute packing, our son Jason drove us up to the TA truck stop in Barstow to meet Curtis and Candy as they came across from Bakersfield with a trailer full of ground almonds headed for the Mars candy factory in Pennsylvania.

Lori and I throw all of our stuff up into the cab and settled into our places for the ride to Denver. With four people in the truck, switching places was a bit like a Chinese fire drill: one person in the driver’s seat, one in the passenger’s seat, one in the lower bunk, the other in the upper bunk, and Percy the pub laying on the floor or up on the lower bunk.

In the course of 20 hours on the road, we went from 100-degree heat in Las Vegas, to rain/snow in the Rockies, to a downpour and overflowing creek beds in Denver (which made for a damp transfer of clothes and supplies from one truck to the other).

No more riding for Lori; it was time for her to drive – 10 hours to Dodge City to pick up the beef load. About 4:30 a.m., we parked at the Flying J truck stop across from the National Beef processing plant and FINALLY got in our own bed/bunk.

This morning, we had a nice sit-down breakfast (using our Flying J gift card, a present from Shannon, Chris, & Allie) before hitting the road for Prime’s “world headquarters” in Springfield, MO. Our ETA is 9:00 p.m. tonight.

Party's over

Mike received great send-offs from his friends and family at lunch AND dinner celebrations today. His work "family" took him to lunch at one of his favorite bar-b-que restaurants, Lucille's, while it was dinner with his relatives at Macaroni Grill. Besides being stuffed with food, he got his fill of gifts, fun, and warm wishes.

Tomorrow it's into the City to fill out some last minute paperwork, provide some instruction to those that will be taking over his tasks, turning in his keys, and cleaning a few more things out of the office. After a quick followup at the oral surgeon, son Jason will take Mike and Lori up to the TA truck stop in Ontario where they'll pile into Curtis and Candy's truck for the straight-through trip to the Prime yard in Denver by noon Saturday.

It's been an exciting and challenging 26 years for Mike in local government. While it's had its up and downs, the good memories will certainly outweigh the bad.

Reality setting in

Today was the first day Mike felt the reality of his upcoming career change. It's always been something that was going to happen in the future but with only two days left in his "local government" career, it finally felt real to him.

That could be because all of the loose ends that needed to be addressed at work and at home have been taken care of. Tonight's final service as part of Calvary Chapel East Anaheim's worship team also made an impact. Music is a big part of Mike's life and it's always been bittersweet to leave each of the musical groups in which he has played over the years.

A number of folks have asked him over the past few weeks how he felt about the prospect of not being able to play regularly. That's when he realized that this time around he doesn't have the same sense of "leaving something behind" as he has previously. In the past, he felt like he might never have the opportunity to be a part of a musical group ever again. This time, however, he realized that if God wants him to serve in that way sometime in the future, then it will happen. And if that's not part of His plan, that's okay too. There are more than enough other opportunities to serve Him if that's what He wants.

On her way

Lori is now on-board her brother's truck headed for California. He and his wife have a load that delivers in Fontana, CA so they will drop Lori off Thursday afternoon in time for Mike's "retirement" dinner with his family.

The return phase of the trip remains as previously planned. Let's hope it doesn't change!

Plan B

You get these kind of streaks in the trucking business sometimes. Unfortunately, it's happening to Lori and Mike THIS week. Lori was scheduled to be home by late Wednesday so she could be on hand for Mike's retirement lunch and dinner on Thursday. Now it's looking like she'll be home Thursday afternoon - and not even on her own truck.

The load she is picking up in Napoleon, Ohio was delayed while the warehouse waited for another truck to arrive with part of Lori's load. So, instead of leaving Monday morning for Denver she didn't leave until after midnight. That will put her in Denver Wednesday morning, which is still two full driving days away from home. Of course, that's if she had enough available driving hours left in her 70-hour/8-day limit.

So... The plan is for Lori's brother and his wife (Curtis and Candy) to swing by Denver to pick her up in their truck Wednesday and take her (and their load) to Southern California by Thursday afternoon. Then, Curtis and Candy will pick Lori AND Mike up on Friday evening and take them back to Denver, where Lori and Mike will get on Lori's truck, head to Kansas to pick up a load of fresh beef, and get it to the Prime facility in Springfield by late Monday. Another truck will take the beef to its destination and Mike and Lori will begin their training on Tuesday. Whew!

Everybody is keeping their fingers crossed...

Not California but at least it's the right direction

Once again, the best laid "pre-plans" did not work out as expected. Instead of getting a load directly out of the facility in Streetsboro going to Ontario, CA, Lori was given a load assignment going from Napoleon, OH to Denver, CO. It is schedued for delivery on Wednesday but Lori is hoping she can drop it at Prime's terminal in Denver Tuesday evening and then pickup a load from there headed to California.

Incommunicado

incommunicado \in-kuh-myoo-nih-KAH-doh\, adverb or adjective: Without the means or right to communicate.

Well, Lori wasn't completely without the ability to communicate (her CB and Qualcomm were still working) but her cell phone was "dead" most of the day Sunday. That's because her portable 12-volt cooler short-circuited the fuses to the various power outlets inside the truck, leaving her without the ability to recharge her cell phone battery.

After a series of messages back and forth to Prime's "Road Assist" staff, she was able to isolate the problem and get some new fuses installed. She also found out (from her trainer, Tamara) that she'll need to have a heavy-duty 12-volt power outlet installed for the cooler. Otherwise, the outlet will continue to get too hot and "melt" the cooler's power plug, which caused the short circuit. One more thing to add to the "fix it" list when Mike and Lori are at Prime's headquarters next week for training.

Hole in his head

Mike's recovering at home today after having a wisdom tooth removed, his "50-year-old molar" as he likes to call it. He figured he should get it taken care of before he goes on the road with Lori next Friday.

Speaking of Lori on the road, she's on her way to Streetsboro, Ohio (just outside of Akron) with a load of frozen pizza from Springville, Utah. Her route will take her along a road that she's gotten to know pretty well this summer - Interstate 80 through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The load is due on Sunday. After that, she should have a load heading back to California as she is scheduled to be back home on Wednesday.

Farr, far away

Lori's on her way to West Farr, Utah after making her delivery this morning in Commerce; a load of Yoplait "Go-Gurt."

Two of the cases weren't accepted because they were damaged - which left some Go-Gurt on the floor and walls of the trailer. And that meant a trip to the truck wash before picking up the load headed for Utah at Unilever in Rialto, CA.

This load is packages of Knorr sauce and gravy mixes. It isn't scheduled to be delivered until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday but Lori should be there by Wednesday evening. Not wanting to sit around waiting for 24 hours, she's going to ask Cheryl if she can drop the trailer early and pickup another load.

Surprise - Part II

While it wasn't as much of a surprise as last time, but Lori got to spend Monday night at home, too.

The load she picked up at Inland Cold Storage in Riverside on Sunday didn't get loaded until early Monday morning. The late start meant she couldn't get it to its destination in Illinois on time Wednesday morning. So, she met up with a team in Las Vegas and swapped trailers; they took her load going to Illinois and she took their trailer headed for the 99 Cents Only Stores distribution center in Commerce, CA.

Since it doesn't deliver until Tuesday morning, Lori parked the trailer at Prime's "drop yard" in Ontario and Mike picked her up on his way home from work. He'll drop her off in the morning on his way into work and she'll finish up the trip to Commerce.

Not sure where she's going next but her "home counter" is set so that she'll be back in So Cal by next Wednesday so she can celebrate Mike's "retirement" from local government on Thursday. On Friday, they'll both be on the truck and on their way to Prime's headquarters in Springfield, MO so Mike can start his truck driving career.

Surprise!

Mike had a surprise visitor over the weekend - Lori!

She made her delivery in Phoenix Saturday morning and then had breakfast with her son and daughter-in-law. (She also had the chance to have dinner with her sister Friday night.)

Anyway, she called Mike to say that she was leaving Phoenix to make her next pickup at the Dole plant in Yuma, AZ headed for Sterling, IL. Mike said "great" and then went to his nephew's birthday party for the day. Mike figured something was up, however, when he called Lori on his way home from the birthday party and she was still driving.

When he got home, Lori called to ask if Mike wanted to come meet her. Mike was all set to drive to Yuma when Lori said "I'm at the drop yard in Ontario! Come get me because my next load picks up in Riverside on Sunday night." So, Lori got to spend a night at home, go to church, and have lunch her some of her "Southern California" kids.

Hot potatoes

Lori's headed to Phoenix (forecast high temperature - 110 degrees) with a load of Idaho potatoes.

The route will take her through one of Mike and Lori's favorite landscapes - the canyons and deserts of southern Utah and Northern Arizona. The colors, rock formations, and starkness of the desert have a unique beauty that you can't find in many other places. She'll also be driving past the Glen Canyon Dam that forms Lake Powell in Page, AZ (on the bridge in the photo to the right.)

The load delivers Saturday morning but Lori plans should arrive Friday evening so she is hoping to spend some time with her son and daughter-in-law and her sister who live in the Phoenix area.

Uneventful

Ho, hum... Lori's trip from Arkansas to Utah has been pretty boring for the past two days, which is OK with her. Oh, she did see Toby Keith's concert tour convoy yesterday (complete with three semi-trucks and a tour bus) going towards its next stop in St. Louis.

She's arriving early enough today that she'll have an opportunity to swing by Prime's facility in Salt Lake City to do some laundry and hit the showers before she tackles the final 60 miles to the Wal-Mart distribution center in Corinne, Utah for her 7:00 p.m. delivery.

Fowl up

Well, Lori is FINALLY on her way to Corinne, UT after spending nearly 48 hours waiting on her load from Tyson in Rogers, Arkansas.

Tyson is now on Mike and Lori's list of "pain in the a**" shippers. After repeatedly being told that her trailer wasn't loaded yet ("the last shift didn't get to it, "the overnight crew didn't have time to load it", etc.) come to find out the trailer she was supposed to take "mysteriously" disappeared, even though Lori had seen it in a loading dock on Saturday night. Prime is blaming Tyson for moving the trailer somewhere while Tyson says another Prime driver came and picked it up, though why a Prime driver would drive off with an empty trailer doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Not sure who to blame for the mix up but that's not Lori's problem. Tyson quickly loaded another trailer and sent her on her way. When Lori's Fleet Manager, Cheryl, returns from a short vacation on Wednesday, Lori is going to talk to her about getting some sort of reimbursement for sitting around for two whole days. As a company driver, if you're not driving you're not making any money.

Even with all the delay, Lori should still be able to make the scheduled delivery appointment of 7:00 p.m. Wednesday.

Best laid plans

Well, so much for that pre-plan. Lori wasn't assigned a load directly out of Wal-mart but that's okay. It gave her a chance to head over to a local truck stop for a relaxing shower and then across the street to Cracker Barrel for a nice dinner.

She does have a load, however - from Tyson chicken in Rogers, Arkansas headed for Corinne, Utah. It just won't be ready to be picked up until sometime between noon and 6:00 p.m. But that's okay, too. There's a Calvary Chapel just down the street so Lori is going to go to their 10 o'clock service before heading over to Tyson.

The chicken is due in Utah Wednesday evening.