STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

JUNE 16, 2005 (Life Day 21158)

June 17, 2005 on 12:30 am | In On The Road |

The 4th was a day to pay bills, run errands, and work at organizing my storage unit. The weather was conducive to these sorts of tasks. It was warm, but not unbearably hot like it can be this time of year in Vegas. Perhaps 85 degrees. For dinner, I was once again thwarted in my quest (almost obsessive by now) to find a DECENT Chinese Restaurant here in Vegas. I REFUSE to lower my standards. I tried a place called Ping Pang Pong, located in the Gold Coast Casino. It was HORRIBLE. Despite being in a Casino, it didn’t really quite meet my ‘cleanliness’ standards (strike 1). There were no “famile-style” dinners or “combo” plates on the menu (strike 2). I ordered Shrimp and Pork Fried Rice and Wonton Soup. The rice was under-cooked and tasted “a bit off”. I can’t describe exactly what was wrong with it; it just tasted and smelled funny. The soup was no better. It consisted of ‘weak’ beef broth, some chinese cabbage, and the Wontons. The Wontons were ostensibly “home-made”, but the result was 4 glutenous, slimy, globules (strikes 3 & 4). YUK!!! I took a couple of the Wontons with me for the BCC, but they wouldn’t eat them either. Who says dogs are dumb. They also didn’t have Fried Shrimp on the menu (strike 5). I sat at the counter (my usual practice when dining alone). Unfortunately, it over-looked the kitchen. TRUST ME, you don’t want to see your Chinese Food being prepared (at least not HERE). I should have gone across the street to the RIO. Oh well, NEVER SAY DIE. I’ll try again.
On the 5th, I did ALL of my laundry and worked some more in my storage unit. In a moment of serendipity, I found a box containing about 45 CD’s (mostly Classical and Christmas music) that I had given up as lost. For dinner, I just went to KFC. The Colonel did a fine job with his chicken, as usual.
On the 6th, the Planner gave me a load from Las Vegas, NV to Aneheim, CA (12 miles empty and 267 miles loaded). With the short mileage and the delivery time of 11:00 AM on the 7th, I didn’t leave until 6:00 PM. I drove to Aneheim stopping only once at a rest area for a BCC walk, and arrived at 11:30 PM. The Consignee allowed me to sleep on the property. I drove 253 miles in 5 hours.
I awoke on the 7th at about 6:30 AM to the sound of confused voices. A number of Swift drivers with appointments prior to mine were trying to decide what to do. There was no one there to unload the trailers. My appointment being at 11:00, I wasn’t too concerned at this point, but since I was awake, I took the BCC for their morning constitutional. I won’t bore you with all of the different and assinine suggestions being made by those waiting, but at 8:00 AM, I was OUT of Cigarettes, and went “in search of” a C-Store to buy a pack. The first place I tried was a restaurant about a block and a half away named Tiffy’s. Serendipitously, they also had a limited selection of Cigarettes. They didn’t have my Winstons, but they did have Marloboro, so I bought a pack. I, unlike Camel smokers, won’t “walk a mile” for Winstons, nor, unlike Terryton smokers, would I “rather fight than switch”. In a good mood because of my ‘find’, I decided to order breakfast to go. I ordered a ham & cheese omlette w/ hashbrowns and corn bread. It was excellent. After I finished my breakfast, I found that the coufusion was subsiding. Evidently, this was a drop/hook Customer. Unfortunately, there were no empty trailers onto which to hook. In my second moment of serendipity of the day, The Planner gave me a load that was Pre-loaded at a customer across the street from our Terminal in Wilmington, CA and delivered in Warren, OH (28 miles empty and 2394 miles loaded). No empty trailer needed. Naturally, I accepted it and set off for our Terminal in Wilmington for fuel. My load wasn’t ready until 3:00 PM, so after doing the paperwork, I left at 3:30 PM. I drove to the CA/NV border at Primm (Whiskey Pete’s). I took a break for a BCC walk. It’s open desert, so they got to ‘explore’ off-leash. I left Primm at 9:00 PM and drove to Mesquite, NV where I stopped for the night. Having just left Vegas yesterday evening, I didn’t even blink when I drove through. I drove 379 miles in 7.25 hours.
Today, the 8th, I got a late start because I did a few errands, cheif among them being to close out my mail-box here. I left at noon and drove top Parowan, UT for fuel and lunch. From Parowan, I drove to Fruita, CO. Another break here, then off to Edwards, CO where I spent the night. I drove 548 miles in 9 hours.
On the 9th, I left Edwards at 10:00 AM and drove to our Terminal in Denver for fuel. I left Denver at 1:00 PM and drove to Wakeeney, KS. A short BCC break here then off to Salina, KS. About 10 miles out of Wakeeney, I got into some intense thunder storms. You could literally feel the drop in the barometric pressure as you passed through the storm. I was, of course, intently watching for ‘funnel clouds’. It lasted about 20 miles. In Salina, I tried to get on-line to check my e-mail. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my %#@* Computer to start-up. I have no idea what is wrong. It just keeps cycling to an error message that states that Windows failed to start then gives me some options to re-try in “safe mode” or normally. After an hour, I gave up. From Salina, I drove to Topeka, KS where I stopped for the night. I was surprised to discover upon arriving in Topeka that the Truckstop was not only closed, but halfway to becoming yet another ’strip-mall’. Fortunately there was a Wal-Mart just down the street. I drove 619 miles in 10 hours.
Friday, the 10th, I began my driving day from Topeka under unsettled skys at 9:30 AM. I drove to Higginsville, MO. I had breakfast/lunch there and walked the BCC. At 12:30, I departed Higginsville and drove to East St. Louis, IL. I stopped here for logging purposes because of the speed limit difference between Missouri and Illinois. I’m entering the Neo-Socialist Nanny State portion of America. They have slower speed limits for trucks. I’m convinced the main purpose for this is NOT Safety but rather Revenue Generation. Between Higginsville and East St. Louis, I had another bout with thunder storms. Almost, but not quite, as severe as yesterday. From East St. Louis, I drove to Brazil, IN. Again, I stopped here for logging purposes. At 8:oo PM, I left Brazil and drove to Richmond, IN. I stopped here for the night. I drove 594 miles in 10.5 hours.
The 11th, I left Richmond at 9:30 AM and drove to our Terminal in Columbus, OH for fuel and a BCC break. From there, I drove to Warren, OH. This Customer is a drop/hook location, so I was in and out within a half hour. The Planner gave me a load which picked up in Dunkirk, NY and delivered in Greer, SC (131 miles empty and 684 miles loaded). I left Warren and arrived in Dunkirk at 7:30 PM. This too was a drop/hook Customer, but my load wasn’t quite ready. I had to wait for about an hour. I finally left Dunkirk at 9:00 PM and drove to a rest area in West Virginia on I-79 SB at MM 81. I spent the night here. I drove 542 miles in 10 hours.
On the 12th, I began my day at 10:30 AM. I drove to Mount Nebo, WV. I took a short break here, then drove to Greer, SC where I stopped for the night. I drove 537 miles in 9 hours.
On the 13th, my day began at 6:00 AM. I only have 5.5 hours total for today, and 8 hours for tomorrow, so I’m limited in what I can do today and tomorow. After my delivery, (it was a ‘live’ unload), the Planner gave me a load which was basiclly a “local” run. It picked up in Greenwood, SC and was going to Otay Mesa (San Diego), CA, but I was told to T-Call it at our Terminal in Greer. (63 miles empty and 63 miles loaded). It was designated for our I-10/20 fleet. These are Team drivers that just drive cross-country on I-10 and/or I-20. I did the run for them, and after discussing my situation with my DM, decided to take the next day and a half off in order to be able to re-start my 70-hour clock. I got a PM Service done on my truck, then went to a Micro-Tel Inn for the next 2 nights. Maybe I can get ONE of my Computers working. For dinner, I went to Carrabas. Excellent. I had Veal Parmisan with Fetticine Alfredo. I drove 126 miles in 2.5 hours.
On the 14th, I tried in vane to get on-line with my Sony VAIO Desktop, but I couldn’t get my Wireless Adapter to work, so I just kicked back and watched the Food Channel all day. For dinner I went to a restaurant called Prime Sirloin. It’s a Steakhouse/Buffet similar to Western Sizzlin’ or the Ponderosa Chains. It wasn’t bad, considering what it is.
On the 15th, rested and refreshed, I made myself available at 6:00 AM local time (4:00 AM my time). The Planner gave me a load which picked up in Stoneville, NC and delivered in Tahlequah, OK (188 miles empty and 995 miles loaded). I wasn’t scheduled to pick-up until after 12:30 PM. I should have gone back to bed for a nap, but I didn’t. Instead, I decided to run the System Restore recovery discs for my Laptop. I lost most of what I had on the hard-drive, but my pictures are backed up, and I can re-install my games. I lost my music although, I can install it ALL later. I don’t listen to it much anyway. About 8:00 AM (my time), with the computer operating again, I checked out of the Motel and began the Game of trailer, trailer, where the &%#* is the empty trailer. In the interest of brevity, I merely say that I expended about 4 hours and 130 miles (fortunately mostly in the general direction of the Shipper) at 4 different locations before I FINALLY found an empty trailer and was enroute. I arrived at the Shipper at 5:00 PM, did the drop/hook, and was back on the road at 5:30 PM. I drove to Candler, NC. After dinner and a BCC walk, I drove to Knoxville, TN. I stopped here for the night. I drove 516 miles in 9.25 hours.
On the 16th, I left Knoxville at noon and drove to Memphis, TN. I took a 1.5 hour break here, then drove to Ozark, AR where I stopped for the night. I drove 603 miles in 9.75 hours.