I finished the hat I was knitting for one of the Applebee's bartenders. She wasn't working when I got there but "C" was working. She's the one who calls me "Sam" as she thinks my voice sounds like Sam Elliott. During our conversation she told me when "M" would be coming to work and after seeing the hat I had made told me she was sure she would love it. I hung around and eventually "M" showed up for work. I called her over and gave her the finished hat. She checked it out and gave me a big ...
I hung around the hotel until check out time this morning. I then went down to the truckstop for brunch. Shortly after eating dispatch called me. He said that he had been running the numbers on a load to get me home. I basically had two choices. I could either take a cheap paying load that only goes within a few hundred miles of home today or hang around until Monday for a good paying one that actually goes to FL. He also said that the boss was willing to pay for the hotel room if I opted...
A real bad day at the office
A real bad day at the office
This guy is amazingly stubborn. Alcohol induced of course, but still...
This guy is amazingly stubborn. Alcohol induced of course, but still...
Despite my best efforts I won't be making it home for Thanksgiving. Things just didn't play out for it to happen. Oh well. I guess It'll be a truckstop Thanksgiving meal this year. Won't be the first time. I am currently sitting in KY waiting to see if dispatch is going to be able to find me something out of here. As many places are closing up shop early today it's highly doubtful they will be able to do so. I am hoping they'll just tell me to dead-head back to the yard in WI. It's rain...
I finally made it to the yard today. My alternator went south on me in SD and I had to rely on my generator to keep my batteries charged from there. I rolled into the yard with the genny running and promptly rolled into the shop. Once they replaced the alternator I went to the hotel and after checking in (my frequent guest card was full so I got $40 off the rate) walked over to Applebee's for dinner and a couple of cold ones. It was an interesting Monday at Applebee's. I received the us...
For reasons I won't go in to I haven't seen or heard from my three sons in over 11 years. Today I received an email from my oldest. It was a very brief message basically asking if I am his father. For reasons I won't go in to I agonized over whether or not to reply to that email. Doing so meant the possibility of opening a can of worms I am not yet in a position to deal with, but not doing so would hurt me in a very personal way. Most fathers would understand the latter if they knew the sp...
Warning signs are good things when one bothers to actually read and heed them. There is a section of I-90 in ID that is typical mountain roadway. It's very curvy and there are signs warning truckers that 45 mph is the maximum safe speed through there. As I came through there yesterday I was running between 40 - 45 mph around those sharp curves. When I rounded one of them I was greeted by the sight of a flatbed on the shoulder with his load leaning way over and just about to fall off the t...
I'm stopped in a small little MT town called Missoula. It has a truckstop, a casino called the Wye West Casino. and a strip club and as far as I can tell that's about it. I spent some time in the casino enjoying a few adult beverages, knitting a bit, and engaging in some conversation. One of the guys with whom I conversed is a brand new owner operator. He's only been driving a truck for a year and bought himself a truck. As is my nature I told him exactly what I thought which is that he's...
I've been checking the WA state DOT site all morning waiting for them to open up the pass so I can get rolling. They finally lifted the restrictions a few minutes ago. Dispatch is working on getting a new oversized permit as mine expired yesterday. As soon as they fax it to the motel I'll be good to go. Today is a sharp contrast to yesterday. The sun is shining and the fierce wind has died down. It's still pretty chilly but the weatherman says it will be in the 50s today. That should be go...
I got up this morning expecting to roll into the Seattle area just about the time the morning rush hour oversized load curfew ended. As I approached the bottom of Snoqualmie Pass the big electronic signs advised that traction tires were advised and oversized vehicles are prohibited. Damn! A quick check of 511 confirmed that it's snowing up there (it's snowing/raining down here too) and that they are prohibiting oversized vehicles until the conditions improve. No idea when that might be.
...
Yuck. That pretty much expresses my opinion regarding the white crap that's currently falling from the sky here. I really do hate Winter. I was sitting here surfing the web and glanced out the window. I could see the snow illuminated by the lights in the parking lot. Not one of my favorite sights. I don't think the ground is yet cold enough for it to stick though, and that's about the only good thing I can think of about it. Yuck.