Today went fairly well as days go. I was up before the sun, had my coffee, caught up my log book, made sure my oversized load signs and red warning flags were still intact (amazingly enough they do get stolen over night sometimes), switched on my amber beacons and all my lights, and headed South.
The last weigh station in IL stopped me and checked my permit, which is a bit unusual for IL (they're a lazy bunch), but other than that I wasn't hassled at all today. Some scale masters, in some states, seem to derive pleasure from hassling drivers pulling oversized loads. They'll check the permit, measure the load to make sure it isn't a half an inch taller or wider than the permit states, and check your logbook with a microscope. Not today though.
I ran all day to make use of the available daylight, stopping only once to use the restroom and grab a gatorade. Just about sundown I pulled into this little shithole truckstop off I-55 in MO. The nights are long and the days are short now. I'll be stuck here for about 12 hours before I can start rolling again, and not a bar in sight. Damn the luck! The place across the street sells beer but it's no fun sitting alone in the truck. Most of the fun of going to a bar isn't drinking beer, it's the conversation. Ah well, maybe some time this weekend.
I still have the rest of MO, some of AR, and TN to get through before entering MS and making my way down to the Naval Air Station in Meridian. It's about 7.5 to 8 hours from here depending on traffic and how many weigh stations feel like screwing with me. TN and AR can be real pricks at times. While everything is perfectly ok on my load and paperwork, it still costs me precious daylight time. I am hoping to make the delivery at the base tomorrow afternoon.
It's still pretty cool here but not nearly as cold as it was in WI. By the time I reach MS it should be nice and comfortable. I really do hate the cold weather and it seems the steel pins in pelvis/hip do as well. It gets pretty stiff in the cold.
Ah well, another night in a truckstop watching DVDs. I just have to decide what I want to watch. I've seen all of them several times now, I guess it's time to start buying some new ones again. Maybe I should pick up a TV tuner card for my laptop.