I cannot believe it has been three weeks since I wrote anything on
here. We are doing great. We are currently sitting at a truck stop in Laredo
Texas. The weather is perfect and it is about 75 degrees at 10:30 in the
evening. It is Sunday night so this normally crazy busy place is very quiet. A
very nice evening. So, since my last update……
We got a load from Jacksonville FL to Norfolk VA. Anne drove the
first part of the run and I took over just before the South Carolina – North
Carolina Line. This was Sunday night and the load was not scheduled to deliver
until Wednesday so I call our weekend night fleet manager who is honestly just
a pain in the ass. She always acts like we are an interruption in her busy
schedule. We do not like her and Anne refuses to even deal with her. I ask what
we are supposed to do and she says “you should have asked when you picked
it up” LOL. So I pulled into a rest area to wait for her to figure it out.
It takes an hour and she calls and tells me to take the load to our Lexington
NC terminal and drop it. We then spent a very frustrating day basically trying
to get an empty trailer. Total pain. Finally get one in the afternoon and head
to the Walmart Distribution Center in Concord NC and run to the Walmart DC in
Searcy Arkansas. We ran back empty to our terminal in Olive Branch MS with
plans to head out on the town in Memphis. We ended up getting lazy and ordering
chinese delivered to the terminal. Picked up at Fedex in the early AM and
headed to Hermiston Oregon then back to Nampa Idaho to pick up a load of bulk
sugar headed to Chambersburg PA. Then I got a call asking us to coordinate the
paperwork for a convoy of 13 USX trucks running loaded trailers for FEMA from
Lakehurst Naval Air Station back to the FEMA warehouse in Frederick MD. First
time we have hung out with a bunch of solo drivers and I have to say, I think
they are lonely. Nothing but yack, yack, yack on the CB. Kind of drove us
crazy.
Headed up to Scranton to pick up a load of CD’s heading to Chicago
and then ran over to E. Moline IL to pick up a Fedex load heading to Kent WA.
Drop in Kent and they have us run up to Seattle to get loaded and then take the
trailer to the Kent drop yard. (I hate those) Live load so I call the receiver
and they say I can park in their yard (it was 4 AM) for our 10 AM pick up. We
then drop the trailer, pick up an empty and head to Auburn to pick up a load of
Motorola Cable boxes headed to Mexico. So here we are in Laredo with a drop at
the forwarder in the morning. I am posting a bunch of pictures. This run to
Laredo was AWESOME. We were routed down through Southeast Utah which includes
Moab and right between Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. It
was so beautiful.
So that was the itinerary but what I really want to say is that we are having a freaking blast together. This job would be miserable without my wife with me. We drive between 5000 and 6300 miles a week and although it would be nice to have a regular life sometimes, the life we have is pretty good. One of the great perks is we get to go anywhere we want for time off and they pay us to go there. We are heading to Seattle next weekend to spend time with my family. It is going to be great.
Anne & Craigs Great Adventure 
Hey Anne and Craig,
First of all I’d like to thank you for sharing your experiences with your us prospective drivers out there. My wife stumbled across your blog a few months back and we’ve been following your progress. I actually had a question for you about your pets, however and I guess this is as good a place as any to ask it. We’ve been looking at USX as a potential employer, but we ran into a bit of a conundrum when the recruiter said we could only bring one of our two cats with us. Did you negotiate a contract adjustment for your pets or has the policy changed since you started driving? Thanks, again for helping us get a peek at what’s still to come.
-D
Anyone NOT already in this business undoubtedly will read this and think, “Holy crap!” hahaha
Hey Craig and Anne, this is Phil and Ginger, we haven’t talked with you for awhile. Phil has finished his 3 week training, had a great trainer. Has to go on Wednesday and take his first test to upgrade to his own truck. He averaged 3,000 miles a week for the 3 weeks he trained. He loves it…I can’t wait to join him and be part of the US Xpress Family. Oh by the way, Phil and I got married today!!!!! We are very happy. We can’t wait to start our new life on the road. Hopefully we will meet you guys soon.
Hi People! Great pics, thank you. I used to think I was a traveler. My 40K per year looks pretty limp. I envy you. There is something great about having a job where every day is different then the one before. That’s one of reasons I love my life.
Looking forward to getting together this week. Love you characters. Dad
Congratulations!!! I wish you nothing but happiness and joy on your new adventure.
Sounds like some awesome runs!! Those views in the pictures are why I started driving. Can’t get that experience on the couch at home! BTW, I guarantee you that those solo drivers ARE lonely. It gets old sometimes because you miss home/kids. That is why teams are so much more reliable, carrying your family with you. 😉