I arrived at the airport in Niagara Falls on Tuesday evening so that I could deliver the snow removal truck the first thing on Wednesday morning. The factory rep said that he would be there at 7:00 am and the fellow in charge of the maintenance department for the airport had said the same, as well as that their parking lot outside the secure area was always empty and that I was welcome to spend the night there. I had expected to park there for the night and spend my evening just readi...

This evening I walked from the motel into town, a minor hike of about .5 mi. I was wearing khaki trousers, a white shirt with narrow vertical brown stripes, a red bowtie with blue and silver stripes, and my brown Homberg hat. When I walked into the bar I was greeted by a few of the locals. They greeted me friendly enough but I could see the imaginary question marks hanging above their heads. That was ok with me as I like to keep 'em guessing. I had a reasonably good time there. T...

The past week or so has found me hauling a lot of over sized loads.  I hauled a 12 feet wide crane platform from Windsor, WI down to Franklin, WI. On the interstate system a 12' load isn't that bad but due to road construction Indiana routed me on secondary highways. When I left I-70 just west of Indianapolis I headed down route 287 which is a narrow 2 lane lane road that doesn't have any shoulder at all but does have a bunch of mailboxes and utility poles right at the edge of the road. ...

I am currently in North Carolina. Yesterday I delivered a very heavy armored truck (I grossed over 110,000 lbs) to Camp Lejuene and am now waiting for them to find me a load out of here. I walked inside the truck stop for a bit of late breakfast a little while ago. The food was ok. After eating I packed my pipe with tobacco. Due to the fascist smoking ban I didn't light up, intending to do so once I stepped outside. I walked up to the register with my pipe stuck in my kisser as I needed my ha...

This afternoon I checked into a hotel in Champagne, IL. As I pulled in I noticed a Mexican restaurant/bar and grill across the street. While checking in I asked the desk clerk (a guy who looked like he had been wearing eye shadow and didn't do a very good job of cleaning it off...drag queen?) about the place. The desk clerk recommended going about four blocks down the street to the American Legion as it was cheaper. After checking in I walked down there. The place looked to me like it was clo...

Due to getting loaded late on Friday with a heavy load I am stuck waiting for over weight permits to run this heavily armored military truck down to Camp Lejuene, NC. I am checked into a hotel on the WI/IL border and this afternoon I wandered into the hotel lounge. I had some enjoyable conversations with a few locals and hotel guests and was having an enjoyable time until this one lady came in and for some reason took an instant dislike to me. I have no idea what I might have said...

Tonight finds me in a hotel in Beloit, WI. I spent the day at the Oshkosh defense plant picking up an armored truck heading for Camp Lejuene, NC. I got there early this morning but the paperwork was hung up and they weren't ready to load the truck. I spent most of the day at the nearby truck stop smoking my pipes and waiting for the call to go pick it up. I finally got the thing loaded around 4:00 this afternoon. Sometimes it just goes like that. I went back to the truck stop to scale my ...

I am back at the yard tonight and my truck is in the shop so the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) can be repaired...again. I checked into the hotel and went over to Applebee's for dinner and a few beers. As Wisconsin has passed an outlandish smoking ban that includes not only bars but hotel rooms as well (totally fascist!) I took along an e-cigarette as I refuse to be forced to stand outside like a damn dog. As I walked back to the hotel I saw a couple of local police cars, lights and sirens goi...

This evening is a perfect example of why I hate to try and watch a movie in a truck stop TV lounge. I am trying to watch this movie that was playing and this moronic asshole sitting next to me kept making comments, loudly, about every damn scene of the movie. At first I just tried to ignore this ignorant piece of shit but he just kept going and going and I finally got to the point of feeling an irresistible urge to punch his face in. I decided that it was better to just return to my truck ins...

I belong to a great forum for those of us who enjoy pipes and cigars. It's called Smokers Forums. It's a great collection of folks who appreciate the finer aspects of tobacco. I have a thread there, thanks to the suggestion of one member who is a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, where I simply post, well, much the same as I often post here, just a few things about my travels around the country. I named the thread "Where the Pipe Smolders" in keeping with the theme of the forums eve...

I've been holed up in a motel on the South side of Nashville for three nights now. Tomorrow morning I'll head on my way once again. Tonight I wandered over to the Hooters next to the motel for a few beers and something to eat. The inside area was non-smoking so I took over a table out on the patio. I chose one that was under cover as the sun had not yet set and was very hot. My server out there was a young lady who expressed an interest in my pipes, ebook reader, and tablet computer. She s...

I am currently hauling a load from WI down to Florida with some stops in TN and GA.  This evening I stopped in Lebanon, IN where there just happens to be a bar next door to the truck stop. I accidentally walked in the bar and since I found myself there I decided to go ahead and order a beer or three. While I was sitting there conversing with the bartenders who seemed to know me for some odd reason a black fellow sat down next to me. Yes, for the PC crowd who may be shocked by this fact I...

I am hauling an over-sized load, a fire truck, to the port in Baltimore. As PA has a weekend curfew that prohibits over-sized loads from moving between noon on Saturday and sunrise on Monday I pulled into the truck stop just East of Wheeling, WV around 2:00 PM on Saturday. As there is a tavern across the street I have taken my meals there as well as enjoyed a few adult beverages. It's a decent enough place and the food there is pretty good. When I walked across to there this afternoon I co...

I was originally planned to haul an over-sized load out to Washington but the great state of Minnesota threw a wrench in the works and wouldn't issue a permit until Tuesday. So instead dispatch put me on a load going to Vermont. Cool enough as that allowed me time to get a room and even visit the pipe shop in Milwaukee on Saturday to pick up some of my favorite pipe tobacco before heading out. As I was sitting in the Applebee's next to the hotel "R" called me and asked me what I was doing. I ...

I delivered the fire truck to the port in Seattle despite being ill. I made my way to the truck stop and emailed the proof of delivery the customer requires (scanner/copier/printer in the truck) and then collapsed for a while. I was pretty well wiped out. After napping for about four hours I had a bite to eat and made my way down to the local tavern. As I am ill I eschewed alcoholic beverages and just drank ginger ale. Alcohol only serves to dampen the immune system and as I am fighting of...