STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 22311: Lollygaging in the Land of Lincoln

August 12, 2008 on 9:09 am | In On The Road |

These last few days have been slow, with a lot of waiting around and a couple of short trips. Today is no different. I’m 2 hours away from the consignee in Spring Valley, IL, but I can’t deliver until tomorrow morning. Later today, I’ll drive to the closest truck stop to the consignee, a Flying J in Peru, IL about 10 miles away. I don’t want to wait too long, because it (the Flying J) will fill up fast this afternoon.

Now let me bring you up to speed on how I got here:
I was in Laredo until Saturday about noon, when the Planner finally gave me a “trailer re-location” trip to the terminal in Lancaster, TX, about 400 miles away. I left about 1200 local time. When I arrived in Lancaster about 2000, they immediately took away the empty trailer I had just brought them. I found one of the last parking spots in the crowded terminal and settled in for the night. It was near a nice grassy area for the K9 kids. A little later in the evening, I got a PrePlan to Rogers, AR, which I accepted gleefully just to get the H___ out of Texas. It was Pre-loaded in the yard.
On Sunday, I left Lancaster about 1100 and drove to the Consignee in Rogers. I stopped at the Love’s Travel Center in Atoka, OK for lunch and a good walk for the MMM. I had some left over BBQ and my last 2 ears of Olathe sweet corn. I spent the night outside the consignee. There were already two other trucks there. I received a PrePlan for the trip on which I am currently. It also picked up in Rogers, about 4 miles from where I was.
Yesterday, I delivered the load from Lancaster at about 0630. I took a little over 2 1/2 hours. I then drove to the next shipper and spent another hour there being loaded. After I was loaded, I grabbed a quick bite from a nearby Sonic Drive In. I finally left Rogers about 1030. I drove to Sullivan, MO where I took a quick break for the MMM, and to let the St. Louis “rush hour” subside. I then drove to my current location in Lincoln, IL. I ran out of hours for the day. I had dinner at a Steak & Shake, conveniently located right in Thornton’s Truck Stop where I stopped. They are a pretty good drive in, located mostly in the mid-west and south, and have been in business for over 75 years.
This morning, I called the consignee to see if I could deliver early (like today), but they said NO. My appointment is for 1000 tomorrow, but “they” did say that if I showed up about 0600, they MIGHT be able to unload me then. We’ll see. Right now, I’m going to have lunch, then plod on to Peru so I can get a decent parking spot for the night.