Anne & Craigs Great Adventure

So, we delivered our load in Columbus OH and drove North to Toledo and picked up a very cool load of air freight heading to Atlanta.  They had us drive right out onto the tarmac next to all the cargo planes to get loaded.

We got to the Tunnel Hill Georgia terminal at 4:30 in the morning to refuel (sucked to go through Chattanooga without seeing the kids) and got a message that a driver in Atlanta had a Fedex load going to Norfolk Virginia and was out of hours.  I sent a message that we would be happy to grab the load but please make sure they turned us around quickly heading West for our home time.  So we delivered our load in Atlanta and headed to a truck stop in NE Atlanta to get his trailer.  It was already late so we ran hard to Norfolk and got there at 11:58 PM on a Sunday night.  A bit nerve wracking when I got a message on the computer to make sure we did not go over a certain bridge near the airport that was weight restricted.  If you get caught, fines are in excess of $20,000, but the route we took avoided it.  Let me tell you though, you read road signs VERY carefully.

Felt sorry for the Fedex crew as they had to wait for us to get there to unload the trailer by hand.  We did find out how fast it is POSSIBLE to unload 1600 packages when the motivation is right.  Turns out it is really fast. 🙂  We were out of there in less than 45 minutes.  Our next load was for a 4:00 PM pickup in Lynchburg VA, 200 miles West and heading for Salt Lake City.  I was still on the clock so I drove West towards Richmond for about an hour and we pulled into an awesome rest area to sleep…..together……in a non-moving truck……for like SIX straight hours!  It is funny how this has become such a special event.  After a pretty stressful day, this was very much appreciated.  We woke up to a beautiful morning,  I made coffee,  caught up on some emails and Max went out for a walk.  After a lazy morning Anne jumped in the drivers seat and got us over to Lynchburg where we again got a message about avoiding a couple of roads with massive fines.  We wandered lost around Lynchburg trying to find the J Crew Distribution facility.  Silly me, I assumed somebody in the shipping department might know where they worked so I called and got the crazy gate guard woman who after five rambling minutes (punctuated with many “wait, I should know this” comments) began to give us a set of completely worthless directions to somewhere…. but definitely not J Crew.  We had all kinds of time so we finally made it and parked in a holding lot.  It was about 83 degrees with a nice breeze so it was picnic time.
We got our load at 16:00 on Monday evening and headed West for home.  I was driving and we hit a massive storm in the mountains of West Virginia which made the evening very interesting.  Our route was Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado.  Jonathan, our Fleet Manager set us up for a re-power at a truck stop East of Denver so we met the other driver at 23:15 on Tuesday night and swapped trailers.  We dropped the new load about 15 miles away and went home!

We are now in Crested Butte Colorado with the kids for our belated Christmas.  This is going to be a great few days.

We have had a fabulous few days or weeks. Spent some time in Calif with family and good friends. I unfortunately didn’t get to see my son but next time. We then headed to Everett WA (Craig and I need to stop next time and pick up our wedding certificate) where we had breakfast with Craig’s parents and brother Darin.  I can’t get over how much fun we are having. There are definitely days I DO NOT want to be on this truck. Especially since it is very hard to slam a curtain. But truthfully we look at each other and comment on what a ball we are having. One day we stopped and had a picnic. The sunrises and sunsets we have seen are beautiful and just seeing the country has been an experience.

I did have one issue since I last wrote. We were in CA and our pickup from Fed Ex was 3am. Why they do that I don’t know. So 1:30 the alarm goes off and we head to Whittier to pick up our load. This was the load heading to Everett. I drop the trailer. Get the new trailer and head off. I had attached the lines, put up the landing gear, done a pre trip and headed on our way. 5am I am getting off the grapevine for our fuel stop and BANG!!! Scared the SH*T out of me and I knocked Craig out of bed and stuff all over. I couldn’t figure out what had happened. Nothing was in front of me and my loving husband thought I’d hit a car. I actually knew it wasn’t a car but couldn’t figure out what it was. We, okay Craig got out with a flashlight and couldn’t see anything. While fueling Craig says I know what happened. My tandems weren’t locked and slid when I came off the freeway and stopped. Truly we were lucky all it was was a bang. It could have been so much worse. I can say that it will never happen again. LOL

We are in Montana heading to Ohio and I just took a shower and Craig is in there now. We have a high value load which means one of us has to be with the truck at all times. I was excited to finally see North Dakota during the day but once again it will be dark when we drive through. Max is doing AWESOME! He is truly a trucking dog.

Breakfast at Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls with My parents and Dionne (a great friend)  This was for Anne’s birthday.  Then we have a few pictures from a Southern Idaho Sunrise and driving through Southern Utah.  Next is a picture of John and Mary Vande Bossche’s motor home when they came by the Colton California terminal and we went out for a Thai dinner.  It was so awesome to see them (for the 3rd time in a year and a half) and we want to make it a habit.  And the last pictures are one with my Mom’s car beside our truck and a family photo taken on Anne’s birthday at a truck stop in North Bend Washington.

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We ran from Wisconsin through the UP of Michigan.  it was so beautiful and we stopped in a tiny little rest area that was in the middle of the woods, snow softly falling with a creek.  We are so used to truck stops it was actually too quiet and Anne took a while to fall asleep.  We ran down to East Tawas on Lake Huron.  Pretty place and nasty people.  We are not impressed with the people of Michigan.  Anne was a little shocked after all the nice people we have met in the midwest.  After we arrived at 8:00 AM to deliver (we had an open delivery, no set time) the guys in receiving told us to back into the open door.  We did and a few minutes later felt the forklift start to unload the truck.  Then it got quiet for about 15 minutes and this very unhappy woman comes storming out and starts to yell at Anne.  Demanding to know why we were at the dock?  When Anne said the guys inside had told us to back in the woman said “They don’t know sh*t”  (I guess we were supposed to know this)  She told us to pull back out and back onto the street and she would get to us when she was ready but it would be hours from now.  We pulled out and parked.  A couple of hours went but and a guy came out and told us to back in again.  We did and then sat waiting until about 1:30 when we finally felt a forklift starting to unload us again.  A few more pallets were pulled off and then it got quiet again.  I went in to go to the bathroom and was told that they were sorry, but I would need to pull out of the dock because they had another truck that had to be unloaded right away.  So I pulled out again and sent a message to our Fleet Manager explaining what was going on.  He responded and said he would talk to customer service. I am not sure what happened but somebody got their ass chewed.  Fifteen minutes later they came out and were all very apologetic and would we please back into the dock again.  30 minutes later we were empty and out of there.  We were to run empty to our Chicago Terminal and then pick up a Fedex load in Chicago in the morning going to Henderson Colorado (home).  We took our time and stopped at a Home Depot and finally bought our refrigerator.  So nice to have that done.  We picked up the Fedex load in the morning.  Got the load and drove through Nebraska with no problems and finally, on our third attempt, we actually got to deliver a Fedex load!  We delivered about midnight and we were then to run to Kansas City empty to pick up a Fedex load going to Boise Idaho.  We had a day and a half before pickup so we went home and slept in our bed.  I had an awesome breakfast with my daughter and Anne went and spent some girlie time with her daughter.  We did some laundry and headed out about 13:00 for Kansas City.

We grabbed the load in KCI and headed North back through Nebraska.  Talk about tempting fate but we made it again.  We are now batting .500 on Fedex loads through Nebraska.  We delivered on time even though Fedex was a couple of hours late on the pickup.  We had a few hours break while we waited for a load so Anne finally got her Crab Leg dinner for her birthday at a Joes Crab Shack.  We then got a load assignment to haul 34,000 pounds of bulk sugar from Twin Falls Idaho to Walnut California (SoCal)  We had a great, kinda lazy trip through Utah and Nevada and we are now camped out at the Colton CA terminal for our delivery on Monday Morning.   Laundry and showers are done and Anne is cleaning the truck while I type this.  We are going to grab the company van and run out for shopping and then have dinner with two of my best friends (married to each other) from High School whom we have not seen since our wedding.

I also want to say publicly that I am loving having Max in the truck.  He is doing great and besides, he makes my wife happy.

And when Momma’s happy……………

One of the pitfalls of living on a truck. I spilled my coffee on the bed. Totally sucked that I couldn’t wash them for two days. We are in Colton, Ca waiting to deliver our load which isn’t due till 7 am tomorrow morning and we now have clean sheets and did the laundry we did have. Another pitfall of truck life was somehow ended up with grease on some of the clothes and the sheets. Not much I can do about it but totally sucks.

We have been running pretty consistent so it is nice to have a day to reorganize the truck, do laundry and did I say reorganize. Living in a space that is about 40ish square feet is a learning experience. Trying to figure out where to put stuff and not have to dig through other stuff to find it. We hung a tension bar on the upper bunk and unfortunately it is not liking being up there. When we go over x amount of bumps and train tracks it decides to fall down. It has been awesome having a fridge!!!

We are still really having a good time on this adventure. There has definitely been issues that I didn’t for see and a lot of trying times for both Craig and I but it is a learning experience and in the end the experiences we are having together are priceless!!! Everyone thought we should have a webcam in the truck and on one side I think it might be awesome. Then we can rewind and show each other what we just said or did. On the bad side we can rewind and show each other what we just said and did.

There are so many things about this job that I love!!! I am really shocked at how much fun we are having. There are definitely days that I want to get out at a rest stop and stay out but for the most part that is short lived. We have met so many different people and have made some really special friends!! Some of the sunrises and sunsets have been truly spectacular! Having coffee and seeing the views out our window are fabulous.

Love being back in California HA HA HA. Came in last night through the Cajon Pass and couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Now we are sitting at the terminal and I was envisioning beautiful sunny warm skies while we (did I say We lol) clean out the truck and reorganize (that dreaded word). Nope that isn’t what I have. It is definitely warmer than it has been but it is cloudy, dreary and drizzling. Waiting for the showers to be cleaned so I can go take a shower which I am very excited about. We are hoping to see a couple friends while here but not sure that will work out. My mother has wanted us to visit and the one time we have time and nothing to do. She is out of town. LOL.

Well Craig is waiting for the computer. The really sucky thing about my computer being dead is sharing a computer. Hopefully I will be getting a new one soon!!!

Off to reorganize….

This trip has been really neat since I am seeing a couple states I’ve never been to. Now I just need to get to New Hampshire, Vermont and Alaska. I am looking forward to some warmer weather! Seattle was a blast and had a fabulous birthday! We are in Wisconsin heading to Michegan for our drop tomorrow. Had dinner with an old family friend of Craigs family, Sylvia, and it was a wonderful detour. I tried fried cheese curds which were sort of yummy. Weather is not the best. Lot of hail on the ground and have to be watchful for deer since we are on a smaller roads. Max is sleeping on my lap and has some prime rib tidbits once we stop. Little treat for him! We are truly enjoying our new adventures!!

Sitting at a very full truck stop in North Bend Washington.  We ran hard to get here by tonight so we can have a nice breakfast tomorrow morning for my birthday girl.  I am taking her to the Salish Lodge and my parents and my friend (family really) Dionne is joining us also.  We only have a couple of hours but this place is going to blow Anne away.  Where else can you pay $10 for a bowl of oatmeal?  (seriously)

I killed a deer last night.  In 34 years of driving it is the first large animal I have hit.  Actually, the deer needed to die and I suspect it was a deer suicide.  Cracked the front corner of the bumper and broke a fairing below the sleeper.  Company was great about it and they will fix it next time we get to a shop.  Here is a picture of the fairing damage.  Notice the little tuft of fur on the right side.

We deliver to Costco in Sumner at 1:00 PM on Friday and then pick up our next load in South Seattle (Tukwila) and head for Michigan.  Weather is clear and it is good to be getting miles.

I wish I had something really great to say. What I can say is I HATE THIS STATE. Now rationally I realize that is an unfair statement. I just can’t believe that in two weeks, we break down in the same place with the same load. Maybe I should hate fedex but no it’s not their fault. It’s not Nebraska’s fault either but it’s easier being mad at the place LOL

I hate the truck shop our truck is in. They are so not helpful and wish there was somewhere else we could have gone. I sound like a three year old having a tantrum but to be honest I wish I could throw myself on the floor and scream. We finally are moving forward and something happens and it makes me mad. We just want to work and make some money and our lovely truck is not complying with us.  I know we will look back at this and say remember when but that day seems FAR FAR AWAY at the moment. Hopefully my mood will improve when we find out some info on the truck at noon.