They Finally Caught Me!

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Craig

So, about the first of the year, USX announced that they were changing the idle parameters of the trucks.  We were not happy about this.  What they did was when you brought the truck in for service, they changed the computer so that the truck would not idle for more than five minutes unless the outside temperature was below 28 degrees or above 70.  This is to save fuel and with over 6000 trucks, it was kind of a big deal financially.  The problem is that you really have to have the truck idling to use the coffee maker or the microwave.  It also means that if it is 68 degrees outside and you are sitting all day you do not have air conditioning and in the sunshine, it can get very hot in the truck.  It is really not that big a deal and we could solve it by buying our own truck and paying for our own fuel to idle.  (we may do just that).  To avoid this, however, I have religiously avoided any of our terminals when we had maintenance due or needed any work done on the truck.  USX does not have any Terminals with shops in the Western US so I have made sure we were in California or Seattle when we needed work done……….until today.  We are in Georgia and more than  5000 miles overdue on our Periodic Maintenance (oil change and lube)  So here we sit at our Austell GA terminal.  I brought the truck here because I have heard glowing reports from other drivers that they are very quick and very good here.  Walked into the shop at 06:00 and they pulled the truck in by 06:30.  We need the PM done and we also need all four batteries on the truck replaced. (that was really what got us stuck, we could not shut the truck off for fear it would not start again)  They are telling us we will be done by about Noon.  This would be awesome since we have had to turn down load after load this morning.  Killing me.  Now that we are actually IN shop status the load offers have stopped coming but there is obviously a ton of freight that needs to move from here.  We need to get moving after being off for eight days last week.

We thought this was all going to be avoided since they told us to come to the Tunnel Hill GA Terminal and pick up our new truck.  The entire reefer fleet is getting new trucks with stairs and catwalks across the back so we can legally do a pretrip and perform maintenance on the refrigerator units on the trailers.  Twelve hours later we got a message that they were out of the new trucks until next week and to head to Atlanta.  So here we sit……..

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Fun at Home

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Craig

So, we had a great drive down the California Coast on the 101.  Made me realize how much we need some beach time.  We made it to Baltimore and had extra time until our delivery so Anne’s great friend Katie from boarding school came and picked us up and we went to one of my favorite seafood places (Nick’s Fish House in Baltimore) where Anne finally got her crab feast.  Beautiful day on the bay and a great time.  I had somehow got bitten on the finger by what we strongly suspect was a brown recluse spider so we decided I needed to see a doctor.  On our way to California we finally found an urgent care center in Joplin Missouri where we could park nearby.  It was very painful and the doctor said that if I had waited another day, I may have lost the finger.  A tetnus shot, two shots in the rear and two different oral antibiotics and we were on our way.  We got to our terminal in Colton CA and had all day to wait for our delivery so I went to another doctor to check and he said that the first doctor had done the right thing and I was good to go.  Got the truck washed and made our delivery and it was time to head for home with a delivery at the Walmart DC in Loveland.  As usual, we got home right on time.  This is not usual in trucking, our Fleet Manager works very hard to make this happen.

We are having such a great time at home.  We are spending time with the kids and with friends.  Kathi and Ken, a couple we met a bit over a year ago while waiting for a load at the Edwardsville KS FedEx, broke down in Cheyenne and so we invited them down to spend the day with us in Fort Collins.  We had a blast and they came back on the Fourth to have a picnic and watch the fireworks with us.  We also took our two youngest out for an awesome seafood dinner.  My son went to town, he ate his whole lobster, one of my king crab legs, one of Anne’s king crab legs and half of Shelby’s scallops.  Needless to say, no leftovers.  Gotta love a hungry football player.  We also headed up to storage and got our old home movies at CJ’s request and had an awesome dinner cooked by Lizzy, his girlfriend while we watched CJ’s greatest hits as a little boy.  A lot of fun.

We have been stuck an extra day as there was not a load to get us out of here yesterday so we sure got a ton done.  It was a great week off and we are completly recharged and ready to roll.

Here are a few pictures from this week.

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Homeward Bound!!

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Craig

Well, we have had a good but frustrating week.  Our load to Monroe GA took forever to get loaded and was scheduled for a Tuesday delivery.  There was no time set however and we were going to be there by Monday afternoon.  Around 23;00 Sunday I sent a message asking for a Monday evening delivery.  I was told that Walmart only does AM deliveries so it would have to be Tuesday and someone would get it set up on Monday afternoon.  We got to Atlanta and called Anne’s awesome friend Katie and she picked us up at the Petro and we went out to dinner.  I got a message that the delivery would be between 03:30 and 07:00 in the morning so I took a nap and got up at 01:00  to drive the 65 miles to Monroe.  Got there and still no appointment so I sent another message and waited……and waited.  at 09:00 we got a message that our delivery was set for WEDNESDAY morning at 03:15.  There was nothing around here so we were just stuck at this crappy little truck stop.  Katie, being Katie came out and took us to lunch at a cool little italian place in downtown Monroe.  Neat little town.  Anne and Katie then went to a movie while I slept since I would be driving overnight.

Checked in at the Walmart DC at 02:30, dropped our trailer at the loading dock and waited…..and waited.  Four and a half hours later they were finally done.  We then drove empty all the way  to Memphis TN where we swapped trailers with a local driver who had done our live load at GlaxoSmithKlien (very nice deal for us) and we were off to Fresno.  We just got unloaded and we are heading over to our Stockton yard to drop our reefer trailer and get a dry van trailer, we are then off to Walmart in Loveland Colorado (Home).

I am looking forward to getting very acquainted with a new grill in the backyard and it is going to be a great week with our two youngest kids.

It is party time, battalion style.

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Loving life

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Anne Leonard

We are sitting at a dock being loaded and then we are off to Monroe, Ga. Where ever that is. Think it is a little town northwest of Atlanta and yes I will consult a map to make sure. We have had a nice day off. Not really a day off but we got to go out for sushi and run errands and just relax. To me that is a day off.

Craig’s finger is still sore. Really want it to get better NOW. I have to say it looks pretty bad and you know if I’m saying that.  I may have to post a picture. Then again maybe not. I wish they would hurry up and get us loaded. We are running a Walmart load and have no idea what we are carrying. Not that it makes a difference. Miles are miles.

Can’t wait for next week to be home and sleep in my own bed. Love running the miles we are running but can’t wait to hug my baby girl and enjoy some cocktails. Craig will be cooking his ribs and looking forward to a picnic on the fourth. Also going to have my tattoo fixed. I will definitely post pictures of that once it is done!!

Anyway hope everyone is having a great day!!

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God knows better….

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Anne Leonard

I lost my voice for almost five days. Hopefully I never go through that again LOL. No talking really, really sucked.

I was talking with my girlfriend about a problem I was having. I wasn’t sure how to handle it and low and behold I lose my voice. She then pointed out since I lost my voice I wasn’t able to respond. HMMMMM  God knows what he is doing. It made me smile and laugh. Yup, he definitely knows what he is doing. I decided there are some things that just aren’t worth getting upset over. Life is just too short to sweat the small stuff.

This has been a rough week. Being sick in a truck isn’t much fun. Especially when you have miles to run. We have been running super well for the past couple weeks. Really nice since we have been broken down so much this year. Love when everything just goes smoothly.

Craig ended up going to urgent care yesterday outside Joplin, MO. First place we could find. He had been bitten on his ring finger on his right hand.(or cut it, we don’t really know what happened)  Didn’t think much of it till a couple days later. His finger looks like a sausage and is all red. Luckily we got him in. He had a bunch of shots and filled a prescription. Now we just have to make sure it stops swelling or he has to go directly to the ER. Praying that doesn’t happen since they would have to fillet his finger open to fix it. So please keep him in your prayers that the antibiotics kick in.

I wish there was a list of all urgent cares that were on or near the freeways. It is such a pain to try to find one when you really need one. Yelp definitely helps but sucks that when you need to find help quickly., you don’t always find what you are looking for. It’s the parking of the trailer and rig. People don’t realize how big trucks are and think we can get around poles into a parking lot LOL Anyway it all worked out but I am now going to write down when I see either urgent cares or vets that have easy access for future use.

We will be going home for the fourth. I can’t wait. We haven’t been HOME in ages. Since we take home time all over the country. I am looking forward to the down time and seeing our two youngest kids.

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Crabby Girl!

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Craig

Well, Anne finally got her crab lunch.  On the deck at Nick’s Fish House in Baltimore with Katie, Anne’s great friend from school.

We just picked up a FedEx load in Middletown PA heading to Phoenix AZ.

And the adventure continues.

At Nick’s Fish House, Baltimore Maryland

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The Miles Are Piling Up

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Craig

What a great week after a full week that was part time off with family and planned and then a few days in the shop to get the air conditioning fixed….again.  But Anne already talked about that.

We came back out on Sunday, June 3rd and this has been our loads.

drove empty from Snohomish WA to Salinas CA to pick up a load of Romaine Lettuce headed to Annapolis Junction MD.
We then ran empty to FedEx in Middletown PA and took that load to Phoenix AZ.
Picked up at Amazon.com in Phoenix and delivered in Hazleton PA.
Picked up at Amazon.com in Hazleton PA and delivered in Coffeyville KS
Ran empty to Edwardsville KS and picked up a UPS load that we dropped at our Kansas City drop yard and then headed to Fedex in Edwardsville and picked up a load that we delivered last night in West Sacramento CA.

We are sitting at the 49er Truckstop in Sacramento and will be heading out in the early AM to Santa Maria CA to pick up a load going to Annapolis Junction MD again.  I have been sick for a few days and now Anne is sick.  It hit her harder than me and she has completely lost her voice.  I mean she can barely whisper.  I have had a very good time teasing her that now my life is now perfect and all of my prayers have been answered, I have a beautiful wife who cannot speak!

It is serriously killing her though, she is about the most social person I have ever met and spends all day talking to friends on the phone while she drives.  I think she is a bit paniced about how she is going to get through the next couple of days.  She is trying to decide what book she is going to listen to that will get her through this.

One sucky thing this week, our stupidly expensive Rand McNally Truckers GPS died.  We paid $500 for it last October and it is under warranty but Rand McNally wants us to mail it to them and they will mail us a new one.  That is always the issue out here, how do we deal with simple little things like this.  There are some really nice features of this GPS that have totally spoiled us.  It avoids roads that are illegal for us to drive on, it very quickly finds us a place to park or eat and really helps us manage our time.  So I just went in and bought another one!  The good news is the price has dropped to “only” $400.  I am mailing the old one to RM and they will mail me a new one to the house.  When we get home I will put it up for sale on ebay.  It is just a pain.  We have had the same issues with broken cell phones and anything else we need out here on the road.

I am already looking forward to spending time with our two youngest kids for the 4th of July in Colorado.  I have always been a lover of good beer but this job has raised the bar with the anticipation.  That reminds me, I need to call Shelby and have her put some pint glasses in the refrigerator, only two weeks until we get home 🙂

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I have a very happy husband.

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Anne Leonard

Not for any reasons you are thinking about. I completely lost my voice. I can only whisper. Craig has had a cold and guess what. Yup he gave it to me. We thought he was going to lose his voice but did that happen NO. I get the dang cold and a day later NO VOICE. I never realize how difficult it is to not be able to talk. Those of you who know me personally know I’m a talker. Not for the next couple days I can tell you. I have some cough drops and lozengers. The weird part is I have no voice but my throat isn’t sore??

We have had a really hectic week. We have run awesome miles and are sitting in Sacramento hoping to get a reset. We are in desperate need of one. We have a load heading back to Maryland. Maybe this trip I will get some crabs!!!!

Today is going to be a long freaking day. Craig is sleeping and I have nothing to do and no one to talk to, let me rephrase that. I can’t talk to anyone!!!!! UGH!!!!!

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My husband told me to stop whining. WTH. I still love him.

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Anne Leonard

Actually I was venting with a girlfriend and Craig overheard. I am allowed to b*tch on occasion. I am one of the most positive people I know but there are those times you just need to vent and poof you feel better. I am not sure men understand that. All my women friends totally get it.

The first day out in the truck after being home is hard. You have to get back in the groove and sometimes you want to act like a three year old. It wasn’t a huge issue. Just dealing with load assignments that had us sitting for a day and a half. That gets frustrating when you have been on hometime and then 3 extra days of breakdown. You just want to run. Then when you call you get the FM that is just an idiot. I am sorry to say but there are those FM’s that you wonder if they have a brain.

So here we sit in Salinas California waiting to be loaded and then we get to run to Annapolis MD. 2800 on top of the 867 we got for running down here from Washington. It will be a great paycheck in a couple weeks. Next week is going to be painful. No miles and 3 days of breakdown. We are planning to stay out till July 4 so hopefully we can get in a good routine and get some good miles!!!

It is a gorgeous day in Cali, we have air conditioning and my best friend is with me. Life is looking pretty darn good.

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Good and the bad.

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Anne Leonard

We have spent a wonderful few days in Snohomish with Craig’s family and friends. Went to a Mariners game (unfortunately they lost), birthday dinner with Craig’s best friend Scott and his family, lots of eating out. We found Craig’s new favorite ice cream in the world. Salted Caramel. Little place on First street. Coolest area. Looks like any little town in the country and it is bustling. Snohomish is known for antiques. The one thing I’m not into LOL.

We finally got permission from breakdown to get our truck in for the AC repairs. Thought we were out today but they just found another leak and the part won’t be in till tomorrow. Really frustrating because if they had given permission the first day we would be out and running. BUT at least it is getting fixed and now we just have to change some plans we had.

The other good part of the delay was my phone. My phone was damaged and they sent me a new one. That one didn’t work so they were suppose to overnight me a new one. They didn’t and after spending some time with customer service my husband got them to agree to let me pick one up in the store. Love my new phone. 4G and all the bells and whistles.

Now we just sit and wait for the truck to be ready. We are both a little antsy but things could be a whole lot worse. I’ll just be happy when we are back running hard. I miss being on the road. As much fun as it is to be home. After a few days you want to get moving.

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