After a relaxing weekend at the hotel I got up bright and early this morning at 4:45am to go up to Sheboygan to pick up the oversized load I am taking to WInston Salem, NC. Everything went well. I arrived a little early and sat and talked with another of our drivers who is picking up a similar load (exactly the same actually) going to the same place.
We both got our load picked up, tarped, and secured. We called in to report that we were loaded and to ask about the required oversize load permits we would need for each state on our route. That's when thing went a tad hinky. It seems that somehow the folks in the office forgot to order the permits for these two loads.
The two of us road on down to the IL state line as our company has blanket permits for WI. We have been sitting here at the truckstop on the WI/IL line ever since waiting for our permits. Trucking goes that way sometimes.
The other driver is fit to be tied. As we ate our dinner I calmly explained to him that "shit happens", it's not worth getting upset about, and besides Winston Salem is only 13 1/2 hours driving time from here and we don't even need to be there until Thursday morning so it's not like we're in any big hurry. Things can't always go perfectly; that would get pretty damned boring if you ask me.
I admit it would be nice if there was something more to do here as there really isn't anything entertaining around this truckstop. No bars, no theaters, pretty much nothing. At least I have my computer and WiFi service, the other driver is computer illiterate and doesn't even have that.
I killed a few hours with him just shooting the bull to keep him entertained for a while but finally had to retire to my truck and relax for a while. Hopefully he has a TV or a good book or something.
I'm sure we'll get our permits tomorrow morning and then we can start down towards NC. I'm just hoping we're routed in a sensible way. When hauling a permitted load each state has a say regarding what routes you take through their state. Sometimes they can put you on some really lousy roads. And of course you can only run during daylight hours which normally means you have to run steady between dawn and dusk but we have more than enough time on this run to stop and eat along the way if we choose, assuming we get our permits early tomorrow.
In a way it's kinda nice to have someone to run with and in a way it's not. I enjoy the conversation and all that, but I am accustomed to running alone and thus I decide when and where I stop and for how long. When running with someone else it's a discussion and debate as to when and where to stop along the way. I've already established that if we're going to run together I'm pretty much calling the shots on the stops although I am willing to discuss it.
Tonight we rest and relax for tomorrow we drive. (I hope)