Busy Week...Thankfully

Well, for a short week, it sure ended up being busy! We picked up in Indiana Wednesday morning and made it to Augusta, MI before the close of business and were able to get unloaded. We headed out to get some dinner but got a load offer going to Tennessee. We needed to get our new truck registration from our owners and they live in Tennessee but we knew Mary was at the post office trying to overnight the paperwork to us in Michigan at that moment! After several phone calls, she was able to retrieve the envelope from the post office so we headed out to pick up our load.


We picked up around 8 am in Holland, MI and delivered east of Nashville by 8 am the next morning. We took a nap, got a shower and something to eat and headed over to see Robert and Mary. They are super nice people and its always great to see them. We not only got our new registration and sticker, but also our DOT truck inspection and Robert got our AC checked out as it hadn't been working too well.


About and hour after leaving, we got a load offer picking up that night in Huntsville, AL and going to Traverse City, MI. We went to the International Big Bore plant and picked up a 13 liter diesel engine. It sure was pretty!! And huge. 3000 pounds of engine! We headed north and arrived at the truck shop around 2 Friday afternoon. It was pretty cool....everybody that worked in the shop came out to see it and ooh and aahh. LOL It was fun seeing all these guys all excited about an engine.


So, lunch at Applebees, play with the dogs and head closer to Lansing, hoping to be able to stop and sleep for the night. But, as I've always been told, there's no rest for the wicked, and sure enough we got a load offer picking up Friday night and delivering Saturday afternoon in North Carolina. So, off we went again.


Dana drove the first shift while I slept and I took over about 20 miles north of Marietta, OH. About 2 hours later, I noticed the voltage had dropped from about 13.8 to 12.0. I unplugged the Sirius radio, hoping it would help. It didn't. We drove from WV to NC, using no radio, AC, turning off the fridge, etc. We called our owner and let him know we would probably need a new alternator but were hoping to get this load finished (or we would lose $$). As soon as we unloaded and left the shipper, almost as if she knew, the truck's voltage dropped to 10, then 9....we stopped for fuel and our owner called with a repair shop about 8 miles from us that was expecting us. We limped the truck there, only able to drive about 45 mph (electronic transmission shifting) and she pretty much died in their lot. We got her in the garage and couldn't even put her in neutral, so we just shut her down.


We had already received a load offer for a mini for 0430 Monday morning. ( A mini is less than 100 miles) so we were glad to already be in a shop. About 2 hours later, we left with a new alternator and everything working again. We headed to the nearest Walmart lot, parked the truck, got dinner across the street and crashed. We were soooooooooo tired. We're about 100 miles from Myrtle Beach and seriously tempted to go there for the day, but we need to sit and let our clocks reset.


Thanks for checking in and thanks for leaving comments!! Stay tuned!!

The Lost Art of Communication

So, as it often is when there is a Monday holiday, today felt like a Monday. Back at work after a short time at home to mow the lawn and do the laundry, we headed to northwestern Ohio last night to get an oil change and get the truck washed before we picked up our load this morning.

Upon arriving, we wondered if something was wrong as the shipper's location appeared to be a recycling center, meaning they probably receive loads, not ship them out. Finally, they figured out they did have something going to an orthopedic office in Dayton. They loaded us up and we headed out.

Upon arrival, we could tell there would be a problem....no loading dock, no forklifts in sight and our load was 2500 pounds! The guy needing the parts came out and couldn't believe the load on the truck. The picture shows what he ACTUALLY WANTED:

We spent the next 2 1/2 hours waiting for the customer and dispatch to figure out what to do with the stuff on the truck! Finally we were notified to deliver it to another address down the street. This poor guy wasn't sure what he was going to do with it or if he could even get it off the truck!! At least he had a dock and a pallet jack. He and Dana finally wrestled both pieces off the truck and decided they would make great hammock stands. These wouldn't fall over!!

We've moved on to Indiana and are visiting a Walmart where we woke up to 8 inches of snow earlier this winter and had our hot wings delivered to the front door of the store because they wouldn't deliver to the truck. Tomorrow we pick up and head to Michigan.

Stay tuned!!

Southern Comfort

We sure do love the South!! We delivered our load to Fort Walton Beach with no ease. The load was marked deliver direct with a delivery time of no later than 0200. We arrived at 0031 to find NO ONE. Well, no one in shipping/receiving. That part of the plant isn't open 24 hours.

We called the contact number and left a voicemail, called dispatch looking for assistance (waste of time) and then Dana took a walk around the property. On the opposite side of the building the second shift was just leaving and he found a supervisor willing to help us out. He made several phone calls and got another supervisor to show up. Between the two of them with security on the cell phone, they were able to gain access to the building and unload our truck so we wouldn't have to sit there until receiving opened at 0700 (and they wouldn't have to pay detention pay). We moved to Walmart and parked for some sleep. The next morning we got a load offer but it wouldn't be leaving until the following day but it was from the same area we were already in. We accepted and then, knowing we were off work for 24 hours moved out to find some lunch.

After some great authentic Mexican, we located a public parking area for beach access at Navarre Beach. There happened to be a restaurant/bar with outside seating overlooking the beach, so we decided this would be a great place to spend the day.

We made some new friends....Bob and Jordan. Bob reminded us of Bill Engvall and Jordan's mom worked there. She came in for something to eat after school.

We headed out to the beach for a walk. Neither of us wanted lots of sun that day; we were still browning from the weekend in Lakeland! LOL

Wednesday we picked up our load and headed for Anniston, AL. We stopped for a shower along the way and then spent the night in secure hold. After delivery Thursday morning, we had breakfast and parked at a nearby mall. I haven't been to a mall in forever! I got my haircut, renewed my supply of Bath & Body Works lotion and shower gel and restocked the candy at the dollar store. We decided to see a movie and were at the last few minutes of Wolverine when we got a call and had to leave immediately for Marietta GA! GRRRRR!!! Oh well. We'll just have to watch it again!

After loading in Georgia, we headed for Tyndall AFB near Panama City, FL. We unloaded there this morning and are waiting because they told us they had a load going out today. We gave Panther the heads up and were promised the load, so hopefully it will pan out.

Stay tuned!!!

Wonderful Mother's Day

I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day! We were able to deliver our second stop on Thursday afternoon instead of Friday morning and we headed to Mom and Dad's house. It was so great to see them; it's been over a year since our last visit.

Brody and Sosa got along better this time than before...still not perfect but easier to manage. Brody and Zeke, on the other hand, became buddies! In fact, Brody decided Zeke was HIS dog!!



We went to Abuelo's for dinner Friday. It was FABULOUS!! We also had the sweetest server..Rosie. She was just so friendly and we really enjoyed meeting her. The meal was soooo delicious. Mom tried a new drink..Tijuana Tea. It's similar to Long Island Tea but made with tequila. I believe she really enjoyed it!


Mom and I tried to sneak in a swim before the pool closed at dusk and got thrown out by the park manager. Apparently our definition of dusk didn't agree with his. Party pooper!!!


We had to hit the flea market Saturday for watermelons and tomatoes. I finally got a wooden back scratcher without paying truck stop stop price for it. We saw alligators there...gee what a surprise...gators at a Florida flea market! LOL


Dana got to play in concrete..one of his favorite pastimes I think. The base of Mom's clothes line mysteriously got loosened so it kept falling over so Dana poured a new base. Dad grilled pork chops for dinner and we played Tuck, a board/card game. Once you get the hang of it, it's fun!


Sunday was pool day...morning swim, rest, afternoon swim, then out to dinner. By tomorrow Dana and I should be nice and brown. This was my first Mother's Day away from both of my kids and I missed them terribly. Alex, thanks for the phone call, it meant the world!


Meantime, Brody started getting possessive of Zeke and didn't want anyone else to play with him. He would sit in the middle of the back yard and bark at Zeke as he zipped by him doing figure eights. They also played tug of war with Elmo.



Unfortunately, all things must come to an end and we needed to return to work today. We loaded the truck and hit Walmart for restocking and got a job this afternoon, picking up in Orlando and going to Ft. Walton Beach.


We had a wonderful time, Mom and Dad, and can't wait to return. Love you lots!!

Heading back east

So I spoke too soon....our Texas odyssey is over for now. We picked up our load at Fort Sill, OK and headed south to Temple, TX. It was a decent drive, only a little stormy along the way. If you ever wonder where we are, just watch the national weather and where it's bad...we've either just been there, are on the way there or are there! We now refer to ourselves as Chaos and Mayhem! We were in most all the bad winter weather, so I don't know why we thought summer would be any different!! LOL

Anyway, we delivered our load and headed to Texarkana to meet another truck the next morning. We escorted that truck to Oklahoma on Tuesday. Along the way, we stopped for a bathroom break and it started raining cats, dogs and small ponies. I got soaked to the skin getting back across the lot from the bathroom to the truck and had to change clothes completely before driving again! I told you we attract extreme weather!!

Dana commented the other day that we needed a load to Georgia; we hadn't been there in awhile. I replied that we needed one to Florida because I hadn't seen my parents in over a year. We got just that...both! A load offer came through while driving to Oklahoma asking if we would drive back to Fort Worth to load and go to Marietta, GA. We said yes immediately. Then a message came across that if it was ok with us, they wanted to add another stop after Marietta and it was in Florida. Hell yess!!! So, we are on the road to Georgia, scheduled to deliver on Thursday morning and then on to Florida to deliver Friday morning.

We made a stop after crossing the Mississippi River to change drivers and the rest area/welcome center had such a beautiful view I had to share:




See you in a couple days, Mom and Dad!!

Establishing residency

Just kidding, but we do seem to be spending some significant time in Texas. Mind you, we are NOT complaining!! We like Texas. We headed out last Wednesday after a few days at home doing yardwork. We picked up a load in Columbus and headed to Kentucky. Nice short run to get back in the groove. The next morning we picked up a load in Elizabethtown, KY and headed south to Arlington, TX, which is a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth. It was a pretty easy drive getting warmer and more humid as we moved south.

We were scheduled to deliver at 9 am but arrived and delivered about 4 am, and found ourselves a spot at the closest truck stop so we could get some sleep. (I think we took the last open spot!) About 7:30 we got a call to go to Shreveport, LA to recover a load and bring it back to Arlington, so...off we went.

Getting the load picked up wasn't too bad....getting it delivered was MISERABLE. Apparently the company has moved but it's vendors keep shipping loads to the old address. It took 2 1/2 hours of multiple phone calls to get it straightened out and get us a few miles away to the right address. Talk about two unhappy drivers!! Anyway, we headed towards a truck stop but stopped at a WalMart with a Chili's next door. We had a good dinner, cold refreshments and retired to the truck to sleep well. We had already accepted a new load for pickup on Monday in Oklahoma, so we knew the weekend was ours.

Today we watched intense weather come in and experienced our first hail storm in the truck. What a trip!!! LOL It was so freaking loud!! At least it has cooled off and we can have the windows open for awhile instead of having to run the air.

Dana took some pictures after one round of storms....