I finally put off my last two deliveries this morning. One was generator in Titusville where I had an 8:00am crane appointment. It was going to a medical center. I got there at 7:30. It went pretty quickly and I was off to Merritt Island, some 30 miles south of there.

That one was... interesting. Merritt Island is a very narrow strip of land. The east side of the narrow road is all homes, mostly very expensive, and the west side is water. The road is barely wide enough for two cars to pass, but not really wide enough for a big rig. The close in palms and other trees made it even worse, and a couple of times I was sure I had either knocked off a mirror or bent an exhaust stack on a tree limb, but I made it without damage.

The generator was going to some rich guy's house and he was anxiously waiting, standing in the road watching for my rig. Oh boy. He turned out to be a nice enough old fellow, and had the forklift crew there and ready for me. They unloaded it quickly and then I had another challenge, how to get out of there again.

It was obvious that turning around was out of the question. I consulted my map which showed the road crossed a bridge and went onto a much larger island (Satellite Island) where the roads were larger. The one hitch was that the road made a 90 degree left turn right at the bridge. The challenge would be making the turn onto the bridge.

I finally made it down to the brudge and was in luck. There was a wide spot on the right where people could park their vehicles to fish and such. It wasn't much compared to a rig, but it was just enough for me to swing just wide enough to make the turn onto the bridge without taking out any bridge railes or anything. Once across the bridge I was home free.

I then made my way up to Winter Garden to an auction yard to pick up soime equipment going to WI. I needed to load a trailered generator, a large lull (construction forklift), a large scissor lift, and a bobcat skid loader. naturally it started pouring down rain about the time I got there, just to add to the fun.

Auction yards suck. No other word for them, they just plain suck. After you check in with them, giving them the buyer number and the lot numbers of the items you need to pick up, it's pretty much up to you to go find the damn stuff and get it loaded. If there is something they need to (reluctantly) help with, such as it needs to be loaded with a forklift, it's also up to you to hunt the guys down and talk them into actually doing it. I hate auctions.

I found the generator right off, no problem. It would have to be set on my top deck with a forklift. I moved on to the lull. I found the spot where that lot number was supposed to be sitting but instead of a lull I found an empty spot. Wonderful, for everything to fit it was really the first thing I needed to load.

I looked around a bit and noticed that one of the guys working the yard was driving the exact same brand and model I was looking for. I headed to where he was sitting and just before I got there he climbed down and went into the porta-potty. I checked the unit and sure enough, it had the lot number on it I was looking for. Seeing as the guy was occupied in the johnny house I just hopped on and drove it over and onto my trailer. I'm sure he was a bit confused when he came out of the crapper LOL.

I then went in search of the second item I needed to load, the scissor lift. After a while I found it. I got it started up, climbed up onto the platform, and started it for the trailer. Those things aren't exactly fast, and it took me a while to get to the loading ramp. They are also quite tall and not the easiest things to drive around. I admit that I was quit nervous driving it onto the trailer, going very slowly and stopping often to walk around the platform to check where the wheels were in relation to the trailer. I finally got it loaded.

When I found the bobcat I saw that some idiot had left the key on and the battery was dead. Great, now I would have to get one of the yard guys to jump it for me. I found the yard boss and told him that I needed it jumped as well as the generator loaded, and gave him the lot numbers.

Two hours later they finally jumped the bobcat. Now that I was running I found that it wouldn't move. The bucket arms wouldn't even lift. Either it was out of hydraulic fluid or the pump was fried. Either way I wasn't driving it anywhere. Back to the yard boss to tell him what was up and that it would have to be set on the trailer with a lull.

An hour later one of the guys finally came by to "check it out". He remembered the unit when it had come in, and told me they'd had to push it in place with a lull because they couldn't move it either. He said he'd go get a lull to move it. He came back about an hour later.

All in  all, loading that should have taken about 30 minutes wound up costing me about 5 1/2 hours of my life. And of course I was also soaked to the skin to boot. I also hadn't eaten a bite all day. I wasn't a happy camper.

Once I got the crap chained down I headed out with only one thought on my mind...food! I made it to Wildwood, pulled into the truck stop, and headed straight for the BBQ place. I had a very good brisket sandwich, cole slaw, and baked beans. I washed it all down with a nice lemonade. I felt better.

I then bought a six pack and checked into the motel next door, where I now sit. A hot shower and some cold brews and I'll be as good as new again. While I was in the store getting my six pack, I was standing in line to pay for it, and just about when it was my turn at the register two guys walked in together and started to just cut right in front of me. Oh hell no. I just kept moving forward and "accidentally" slammed my shoulder into the guy closest to me, knocking him into his buddy, and they both almost hit the floor. I said "Oh excuse me, I wasn't expecting someone to cut in line in front of me like that" but my tone was not at all apologetic. They got the point and walked to the end of the line, some five or six people back. The guy behind me just grinned.

It's been one of those days.