Today I picked up a machine in Charlotte, NC heading for Milwaukee, WI. They had said the machine would be ready to pick up after noon today so I rolled in there at 1:00PM. It wasn't ready to load until 4:00PM. Well, 4:00PM is after noon.
The thing needed to be tarped and is so big that it took four tarps to cover the damn thing. I'm now quite exhausted and my bum hip is killing me. I won't be able to walk right again for a few days now. Time to break out the handy dandy walking stick for the weekend I suppose. And the Advil.
The cold weather isn't helping the hip any at all. I am not liking the return of Winter with all of it's associated aches and pains. Ugh. But what can ya do but grin and bear it, eh? Bitching about it doesn't help any, it just annoys people.
I was sitting in the tv room of this little truck stop enjoying a pipe and sort of watching whatever show was playing but not really paying all that much attention to it. I had the room to myself and was enjoying just relaxing in the rocking chair and puffing on my pipe. Another driver came in and immediately started jabbering on about this, that, and the other thing to the point that he was really getting on my last nerve.
Between being extremely tired and being in a considerable amount of physical pain I was simply not feeling in a sociable mood and this jabbering fool was really bugging me to no end. As I was to the point of getting very rude with him I decided to just put on my coat and retire to my truck for some peace and quiet. I was just feeling crabby I guess.
Tomorrow I'll head out of here and try to make time and get as many miles up the road as I can. I have to deliver in Milwaukee on Monday morning. That won't be much of a problem as long as I can get in a good 500 miles of driving tomorrow. Normally that isn't an issue at all but with the hip bothering me I am sure I'll need to stop every couple of hours to walk around (hobble around actually) and work the stiffness out of it.
I'll be stopping at a tobacconist shop along the way to pay for the pipe I accidentally pilfered from them when i visited last Sunday. I am now convinced that I didn't actually place that pipe in my pocket but rather it wanted to come with me and leaped into the pocket while I asn't looking. Yes, I am certain that's what really happened.
Wisconsin has a fair amount of snow the other day but it looks like I should have favorable weather for the trip up there. At least that will make the trip go more quickly. This time of year travel conditions can be quite miserable and slow, not to mention outright dangerous. I'll be laying in a supply of extra food and Gatorade this wekend in preparation for foul weather and the possibility of being stuck or broken down somewhere. It's someting I do every Winter and has paid off more than once.
There are few things worse than being snowed in or broken down someplace when the roads are bad and help takes a long time to arrive and also not having anything to eat or drink. I was once stranded in a blizzard for three days and if I had not been well supplied it would have been a very tough three days indeed. I wound up sharing some of my food with a couple of drivers who hadn't the good sense to stock up as I had done.
Ah well, I am rambling now, a sure sign of being tired. I'll turn in for the night and get some much needed rest so that I can make tomorrow's miles safely and quickly.