After busting my tail to make it to Green Bay on time Friday morning, I arrived right at 8:30 am (30 minutes early). It was a very windy day with gusts over 50mph. For this reason they had to shut down the crane as they aren't allowed to operate if the winds go above 50mph.
After sitting for 6 hours waiting to see if they were going to be able to unload the huge, 41,900lbs crane counter weight I was carrying, they finally made the decision that it would have to wait until Saturday morning. *sigh* sometimes it just goes like that.
I made my way to the truckstop, had a meal, and after asking around discovered there was a bar about 3 miles away. I walked down there and had a few beers. It was a pretty lively place and I had a pretty good time. A couple of girls there were passing out Mardi Gras style beads (and kisses to go with them) and I wound up with a few strings around my neck before the night was over.
When it was time to return to the truck a couple of the young ladies gave me a ride back to the truckstop to save me the walk. Very nice of them. Wisconsin folks can be a very friendly bunch.
I made it back to the site this morning (Saturday) at 7:00am and the crane was ready to go. They unloaded the weight and I took off for our terminal about 2 hours South. I talked with my dispatcher who said he had a great paying oversized load for me but that it couldn't load until 7:30am Monday. I objected a little to the long layover and he sweetened the deal by offering to get me a hotel room for the weekend.
I agreed to the room on the condition that I pick the hotel as I didn't want to stay in a flea bag place with no internet service. Ya have to have standards you know. I went to the bank and cashed my paycheck and then checked in to the nicest hotel in town.
So now I am settled in to my room for the weekend. I have internet service, a comfy bed, and an Appleby's right next door to satisfy my food and drink requirements.
Monday I'll head an hour North of here to pick up the oversize generator and start heading for Winston Salem, NC to deliver it on Thursday monring. Normally this would be way too much time for a trip to NC, but being as it's an oversized load I will only be able to run between sun up and sun down. I definately won't be lacking for sleep on this trip.