VEINTE Y UNO DE MAYO (Life Day 21132)
May 21, 2005 on 8:28 pm | In On The Road | No CommentsOn the 19th, I recieved a Pre-Plan about 10:30 AM which picked up at the same Customer in Tolleson where I delivered last night, and delivered in Grand Prairie, TX (0 miles empty and 992 miles loaded). I accepted it and drove the 2 miles back to the Shipper. After successfully negotiating the “S” turns again, I picked up my Bill of Lading in the Shipping Office. After the drop & hook, I drove the 6 miles to our Terminal in Phoenix. I took a break here to weigh my load and fuel. I left at 1:00 PM and drove to Lordsburg, NM. After a long break here, I left at 6:45 PM and drove to our Terminal in El Paso, TX. It took FOREVER to fuel here. The pump which I pulled into had a fuel nozzle that was not working, and the one that was working was pumping at a rate of 5 gallons per minute (instead of the usual 25 GPM). It took almost 20 minutes to fuel 1 tank. After that, I turned on the pump next to the left side of my truck (the non-fueled side) and fueled that tank. Again, it took about 20 minutes. FORTY minutes to take 180 total gallons of fuel. FRUSTRATING. I decided to call it a day. I drove 434 miles in 7.25 hours.
On the 20th, I left El Paso at 10:00 AM. I stopped briefly in Van Horn, TX.
I have always found this sign amusing. It is a defunct Truckstop which is now a tire repair shop. The Pilot truckstop in the background of the full size image opened about 8 years ago and put them out of business. If the sign depicts their cuisine, perhaps the opening of the Pilot wasn’t the only reason for their demise. Want some 10w40 Fries with that chicken?
After leaving Van Horn, I drove to Big Spring, TX and took a dinner break there. I departed Big Spring at 4:45 PM and drove to Grand Prairie. While I was delivering my load, I recieved a Pre-Plan which picked up in Roanoke, TX and delivers in Buffalo NY (26 miles empty and 1365 miles loaded). I accepted it, and after unloading, I drove to a Truckstop in Fort Worth about 5 miles from Roanoke and went to bed. I drove 623 miles in 9.75 hours.
Today, the 21st, I was loaded and enroute by 10:00 AM. My route for today was TX-170 to I-35W north to I-35 north to US-82 east to US-75 north to Us-69 north to I-44 north. Traveling on the US highways is shorter, but it takes about the same time as driving the Freeways. They are 4-lanes, but, slowing down for all of the ’small towns’ adds time. (Does the term “speed-trap” ring a bell)? Still, a lot more scenic than taking I-35 north to Oklahoma City and then I-44 north. I stopped in Chouteau, OK for fuel and a BCC walk, then drove to Strafford MO. I had dinner here. I was planning on driving further this evening, but I changed my mind. First of all, while I was having dinner, a HE/SHE sitting a couple of tables away, broke out IT’S paraphernalia and began “shooting up”. Needless to say, the Police were immediately summoned. When the police arrived, the HE/SHE claimed to be injecting Hormones for the impending “operation”. After interviewing IT for about 10 minutes, they asked IT to move on and escorted IT off of the property. YUK!!! DISGUSTING!!! It ruined my appetite. As I was walking back to my truck, I heard a CRUNCH. I looked up to see that a truck trying to exit the Truckstop had just pulled out directly in front of a car. Fortunately, the Police were still there. It was just a ‘fender-bender’. Nothing except the drivers’ pride was hurt. While I was standing around with all of the other ‘curious’ people from the restaurant, I noticed that it was a Full Moon. It was at that point that I decided to stay EXACTLY where I was. No sense ‘tempting’ fate. I CAN TAKE A HINT!! I drove 429 miles in 7 hours.
DIEZ Y OCHO DE MAYO (Life Day 21129)
May 18, 2005 on 12:23 pm | In On The Road | No CommentsThe 17th, I re-did all of my “work related forms” which I designed myself to ease tedioum of the paperwork associated with my job. I designed 3 forms. The first is a Worksheet on which I enter all of the pertinant information relating to each trip. The second is a form which I use to write down directions to Shippers and/or Consignees. The third is a form which I use to record my stops and the mileage between them. This I do for logging purposes. The reason for the re-do was to get them into Microsoft Word Format. They were in Microsoft Works Format which is not compatable with the computers at KINKO’S where I do all of my Office Related duties. This took most of the day (I’m still an inept typist; acurate and meticulous, but SLOW). After this daunting task, I decided to reward myself with a decent meal. I went to a restaurant called Bahama Breeze. It was EXCELLENT!! I had West Indies Ribs w/ Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Coconut Shrimp. As one might expect from the name, they offer a wide variety of Tropical Beverages. However, I just stayed with my ‘old stand-by’ Iced Tea this time. I’ll try one of the non-alcoholic tropical treats on my next visit. I did use ‘natural’ sugar in leiu of my usual “sweet & low”. One must become a “wild man” on occasion. The cost including the tip was $40.00. The BCC enjoyed the bones immensly.
Today, the 18th, I made myself available at 9:00 AM. The availability of freight in Las Vegas is BLEAK today. I recieved a Pre-Plan on a load which picks up in Henderson, NV and delivers in Tolleson, AZ (12 miles empty and 294 miles loaded) tonight at 10:30. I accepted it because after consulting with my DM, it was as good as anything else available. At 1:30 PM, I left Vegas and drove to the Shipper in Henderson. This is a drop/hook Customer, so all went smoothly. At 2:45 PM, I departed beautiful ‘downtown’ Hernderson and drove to Kingman, AZ. I was a little ahead of schedule, so I had lunch/dinner here. At 7:00 PM, I left Kingman and drove to the Consignee in Tolleson. I arrived at 10:00 PM for my 10:30 appointment. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to discover that, this too, was a drop/hook Customer. From the Dispatch, it appeared to be a ‘live’ unload. Most of the other Consignees from this Shipper are. They are also, usually, obnoxious Jerks, and running behind schedule, but that’s another story. It was CIRCUS. There were a lot of other drivers there either trying to check in or out of the Shipping Office, backing into or pulling out from the dock doors, and trying to “funnel” through the narrow entrance/exit. I think that they had the same guy who designed the Le Mann race course design the entrance/exit to this facility. To begin with, after you turn left off the street into the narrow driveway from the only legal truck route, there’s a Security Gate. There is room for only 1 truck and trailer at a time, but you can’t see that from the street. Consequently, if you just blindly follow another truck into the facility, you’ll be blocking the opposing traffic until the first truck is allowed entry. I was fortunate that this didn’t happen to me, but the possibility is there. After clearing Security, you then have to navigate a series of “S” turns to get to the shipping/recieving area. This is a 2-lane driveway, but the lanes are narrow, so it’s only 2 lanes if one is driving an automobile!! A rudimentary grasp of the turning radii of trucks w/ 53 ft trailers is sufficient to illustrate the vagaries of this design. The “turns” are simply for esthetic reasons. It’s the middle of the Desert for Pete’s sake!! Because of the “S” turns, only 1 truck can proceed through the driveway at a time. This creates a “bottle-neck” at one end or the other (or both). FRUSTRATING. Anyway, I digress. After completing my tasks, I discovered that the Phoenix area was out of freight for the day. I went to the near-by Truckstop and went to bed. I drove 297 miles in 5.25 hours.
DIEZ Y SEIS DE MAYO (Life Day 21127)
May 16, 2005 on 4:06 pm | In On The Road | No CommentsThis is just one of the explanations for our superstition about Friday the 13th.
BACK TO MATTERS AT HAND…
On the 13th, I departed scenic Ehrenburg at 10:30 AM and drove to our Home Terminal in Phoenix. I immediately feuled, then dropped my trailer. After that I went to the ‘Dispatch Window’ to T-Call the load. In exchange, I recieved a load that was in our ‘yard’ and delivered in Buckeye, AZ (0 miles empty and 27 miles loaded) ASAP. It took about an hour to locate the trailer in the vast acerage and do the ubiquitous paperwork. After that, I left for Buckeye. Just after passing exit 124 on westbound I-10, traffic came to a complete STOP. An accident between a 4-wheeler and a ‘belly-dump’ Big Rig (on a bridge so there was no way to go around on the shoulder). After about 20 minutes, traffic began moving slowly. There was just enough room to get through (literally) the wreck. Cars could get through easily enough, but us 18-wheelers had a more difficult time. The car was sideways and to the left, and the ‘belly-dump’ was to the right crunched up to the right guard-rail with his trailer still in the right lane. I had to “inch” my way through an “s” type maneuver to get by when it was my turn. I cleared the car by about an inch, and the ‘belly-dump’ by about 2 inches. After I made it through, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. I’ll bet it was a MESS later on though. When I went through, the Emergency Vehicles weren’t on-scene. Once they arrived, I’m sure they closed the freeway. After another drop/hook in Buckeye, I took the back-roads back to Phoenix. I contacted my DM, and after a 10 minute wait, she delivered some bad news. Phoenix was OUT OF FREIGHT (Deja Vu all over again). She asked if I wanted to Deadhead to El Paso or back to Fontana. Sitting for another day WAS NOT an option!!! After about a nano-second of deliberation, I opted for El Paso. Before I could leave the Terminal, I had a Pre-Plan. It picked up at our terminal in El Paso and delivered in Las Vegas, NV (422 miles empty and 707 miles loaded) on the 16th before 1:00 PM. I left Phoenix at 5:00 PM and drove to Lordsburg, NM. I took a 15 minute BCC break then drove to El Paso. I drove 617 miles in 10.25 hours.
The 14th, after picking up my paperwork and scaling my load to ensure it’s legality (I’ve had trouble with this Terminal in the past re: overweight loads), I decided to take the day off and do some shopping and laundry. I went to Sears and bought 3 shirts and 3 pairs of shorts. After that, I went to Luby’s Cafeteria for dinner. It is a chain, but I’ve only seen them in Texas. It’s Cafeteria style (al a carte), but the food is really good and the portions generous. For $7.99 I got Chicken Alfredo with 2 sides (I chose oven-browned potatoes and broccoli). With the Carrot and Raisen Salad, a Humongoloid-sized Strawberry Short-cake ( a bargin at only $2.50), and Iced Tea I also had, my total was just over $14.00. Not bad considering I had to struggle to finish it all and wound up taking the ENTIRE Strawberry Short-cake with me to enjoy at a subsequent stop. After the meal, I just relaxed until about 10:00 PM and went to bed.
The 15th, I awoke with 1st light and after walking the BCC and showering, I departed at 9:00 AM. This trip was the exact reverse of the last one until I got to Phoenix. After feuling, eating and a BCC break there, I drove to Kingman, AZ where I stopped for the night. I drove 603 miles in 10 hours.
Today, the 16th, I left Kingman at 7:00 AM. I arrived in Las Vegas at 9:30 AM after stopping by our “drop yard” in Henderson to let the BCC run ‘off-leash’ in the desert for a few minutes. They always enjoy these outings. It took FOREVER to get unloaded. 2 hours to get a door, and another 2 hours to be unloaded, but now that I’m finished, the rest of today and tomorrow are MY OWN.
ONCE’ DE MAYO (Life Day 21122)
May 11, 2005 on 1:38 pm | In On The Road | No CommentsOn the 10th, I made myself available at Noon after an enjoyable 2 full days off. The Planner gave me a load that was supposed to pick up in Henderson, NV YESTERDAY and deliver TODAY in Tracy, CA at 7:00 PM (0 miles empty and 521 miles loaded). I originally turned the load down after consulting with my DM, because there was no way to drive to Henderson, pick up the load, and drive to Tracy before 7:00 PM. SOMEONE “blew it” on this load. A few minutes after I had declined the load, the Planner messaged me back saying that the load really needed to get picked up and started ‘rolling’ toward the Consignee, and that he/she would arrange to re-schedule the delivery. After another consultation with my DM, I accepted the load, and drove to Henderson for the pick-up. It is a drop/hook Customer, so it went smoothly. I left Henderson at 2:30 PM and drove to Barstow, CA. I took a 1/2 hour BCC break there. I left at 6:30 PM and drove to Bakersfield (where I mis-spent my youth). I first stopped at the Truckstop to walk the BCC again. The main Truckstop in Bakersfield is a “Den of Iniquity”. I spend as little time there as possible. I then drove downtown and had dinner at Bill Lee’s Bamboo Chopsticks, my favorite Chinese restaurant. After dinner, I left Bakersfield at 10:30 PM and drove to Santa Nella, CA where I stopped for the night. I drove 355 miles in 7.25 hours.
Today, the 11th, the BCC woke me at about 8:00 AM (after arriving here at 1:45 this AM). Still no word on re-scheduling the delivery appointment. I am about 60 miles from Tracy, so I don’t plan to leave here until the appointment is re-scheduled. There is a State Weigh Station about a mile from here, so I won’t leave until I can be legal and have an appointment. If I leave too early, I’ll be wasting hours in my “14 hour” window. I called my DM and told her that the delivery had not yet been re-scheduled, and that if it couldn’t be re-scheduled THIS AFTERNOON, I wanted to T-Call at our Terminal in Lathrop and get another load. At Noon, the CSR messaged me that the load was re-scheduled for 3:00 PM today. Good, now I can ‘plan’ my day. I left about 1:30 PDT to make the delivery. I arrived in Tracy at 2:45 for my 3:00 PM appointment. At 3:15 PM, I got a dock door. At 4:45 PM, I was empty. I parked in the back of the Customer’s lot and waited for my next load. And waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, AND WAITED. At 9:45 PM, the Planner messaged me and asked if I wanted to Deadhead to our terminal in Fontana. I asked him/her what other options there were. He/she replied that they were out of freight and the options were to deadhead or take my chances tomorrow. I opted to wait until tomorrow AM. Had they given me the option to Deadhead soon after I was empty, I might have done it ( it’s about 375 empty miles), but using up 5 hours of my 14 hour driving window, then giving me that option ‘ticked me off’. I left tracy and drove to the Lathrop Terminal to spend the night. Totals for the day: 150 miles in 3 hours.
NUEVE DE MAYO (Life Day 21120)
May 9, 2005 on 12:28 pm | In On The Road | No CommentsOn the 6th, my day began at 3:00 AM. After a 15 minute partial unload, I drove to Sandy, UT for my 2nd stop. I was disappointed to learn that I would have to wait there until my appointment time at 6:30 AM before I could be unloaded. I was hoping to get unloaded earlier, before the “Mormon 500″ (like the Indianapolis 500), and beat the traffic. I was finally finished in Sandy at 7:00 AM and drove to Ogden for my last stop. The traffic wasn’t as bad as I thought. I was leaving the area as everyone else was trying to get to work, so although congested in spots, the commute wasn’t bad. I had to wait about an hour in Ogden to get a door, but with only 10 pallets to unload, it went quickly once I got the door. After I was empty, the planner gave me a load that picked up in Ogden (less than 1 mile from where I emptied out), and would have delivered in Mira Loma, CA on the 9th (0 miles empty and 677 miles loaded). I wanted to do a T-Call at our yard in Henderson, NV and take some long overdue time off. Leave it to the SLC Planners to complicate my life. They insisted upon my T-Calling the load in Salt Lake City, then taking another load to Henderson. Bear in mind that I’m already tired because of the early start to my day and less than 5 hours sleep last night, and just want to get past Salt Lake and take a NAP, then continue my trip after some rest. I could drop the load in Henderson early in the AM and begin my time off immediately. THEY WON. I drove to the Shipper and began my wait. The load was supposed to be Pre loaded at 3:00 PM, but since I was so early, they decided to ‘Live Load’ me. I finally got a door there at 9:45 AM. It took 3 hours to be loaded. After doing the paperwork and scaling the load, I left Ogden at 2:15 PM. I drove the half hour to Salt Lake and T-Called the load. The load which they had selected for me wasn’t due to be loaded until 11:00 PM. It originated in Salt Lake and delivered in Henderson at 7:00 AM on the 7th (0 miles empty and 424 miles loaded), which means that I’d be doing another “all-nighter”. After droping the load from Ogden (which changed the loaded miles to only 32), in went “in search of” an empty trailer. There were none in the Terminal or any of the Customers in the area. At 5:00 PM, I gave up and went to bed. I needed and empty, but I needed a NAP more. I set my alarm for 10:00 PM which, after walking the BCC and doing my ‘toilette’, would leave me half an hour to find an empty trailer. After my NAP, I got lucky. The first place I tried had an empty. After I was hooked-up, I drove to the Shipper. I actually arrived 15 minutes early for my appointment. However, due to a shortage of trailers at their facility for the pre-load, they had to ‘Live Load’ me again.
On the 7th, I finally left Salt Lake at 1:00 AM. This, of course, means that I’ll be late to the Customer in Henderson. These are J.I.T. (just in time) loads. The driver has a specific amount of time (8 hours in this case) to make the delivery. Before I left the Customer, I made him write my Departure Time on the Bill of Lading, so that I wouldn’t be dinged for being late (provided I make it to the Consignee within the 8 hour window). I made 1 stop for a BCC walk at a Rest Area on I-15 between Beaver and Cedar City in Utah at MM 88. They have a fenced in area there for a ‘dog-walk’ so they can go off-leash. After catching up my Log Book, I left there at 5:15 AM and drove to the Customer in Henderson. I arrived at 8:45 AM (just inside the 8 hour window). I immediately got a door and was empty by 9:45 AM. I left there and drove to Las Vegas. HOME AT LAST, HOME AT LAST. Unfortunately, I was too keyed-up to take a nap after the all-nighter, so I was up all day. I didn’t get to bed until about 11:00 PM. By then I was basically a ZOMBIE.
The 8th was Doggie Day. Sometime in the Haze of yesterday, I became conscious enough to call Pet-Smart and make appointments for Grooming and Shots. The Veterinarian at Pet-Smart has a “shot clinic” on Sundays from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. They waive the charge for an Office Visit, which saves me about $50.00. The Groomers are open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. They had an appointment available for 12:30 PM so I took that. I could take the BCC to the Vet after their Grooming and still take advantage of the “shot clinic”. The “plan” was successful. The groomers finished with ‘the guys’ at 3:00 PM, so I took them for a quick walk, then right into the Vet. After the Vet, they enjoyed a “shopping trip” through PetSmart. Below is a “before and after” shot of Walter.
Walter in Myrtle Beach, SC 2 weeks ago ……..Walter taken yesterday after Grooming
Quite a difference, huh.
After finishing with the doggies, I went to a Bavarian Restaurant called The Hofbrau Haus. It was FUN. The atmosphere was authentic German “Bier Garten”. Family style seating at long wooden tables with seating for about a dozen people at each table. I think it’s Octoberfest here EVERY night. The wait-staff wore authentic costumes (regardless of their actual ethnicity). I was seated by an African-American girl about 5ft 2in tall, but she was dressed like “Heidi”. My server was a Nordic Amazon over 6ft tall. She looked like she could carry about 2 dozen steins of beer at once. They even had an Oompah Band. Audience participation was encouraged. Customers could sing along with the band and/or dance. Numerous “toasts” were proferred by the band (in German) to enhance the festive mood. Although I neither drink, nor dance, nor speak German, I found myself caught up in the “atmosphere”. My ‘table mates’ were German, so they “had a clue”. I clapped when they clapped and cheered when they cheered. During one song, they began swaying from side to side, so I joined in (more out of self-defence than anything else).
Today, the 9th, is a “play on the computer, do laundry, and kick-back” day. It’s really windy here today. The temperature is at 79 degrees, but it seems more like 60 degrees with the wind. Dust is everywhere. I’m still “in search of” a GOOD Chinese restaurant. I thought I had a line on one that I could live with. It was supposed to be at the Arizona Charlies Casino on Decatur. The one that I used to frequent was also in a Casino (the Palace Station). I thought that being in a Casino, at least the place would be ‘clean’. ALAS, it has been closed for almost 2 years. Someone needs to UPDATE the Smart Pages on the internet. After driving all that way, I gave up my search for Chinese today and just ate at the Cafe there. It was mediocre.
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