Getting a Thyroidectomy for Christmas

First off, I need to catch up where we have been since my last post. I am terrible about consistently blogging on a regular basis, and I've gotten really behind. Last time I blogged, we were on a load that picked up in Indian Head, Maryland and was delivering in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

After that, it went like this: Tooele, Ut to Barksdale AFB, La
Conway, Ar to Houston, Tx
Del Rio, Tx to Kansas City, Ks
Kansas City, Mo to Forest Park, Ga
Home for a couple of weeks (October 13 to October 26)
Ocala, Fl to Batesville, Ms
Ft. Worth, Tx to Travis AFB, Ca
Madera, Ca to Bridgeview, Il
Grand Rapids, Mi to Brooklyn Park, Mn St. Cloud, Mn to Kansas City, Mo
Kansas City, Mo to Ypsilanti, Mi
Holland, Mi to Canton, Ms then deadheaded home for a LONG Thanksgiving break.

Inside a cave in Kansas City. This is where we delivered.

The coolest thing that happened during those loads was the delivery to Kansas City, Ks. We weren't told ahead of time what kind of locaton we were delivering to. A lot of times I will look at the pickup and delivery addresses on Google Earth when the load offer first comes in just to get an idea of what to expect. This time when I looked at the delivery address it brought u what looked like an empty field area. I wasn't too concerned about it because sometimes places are built after the Google image was taken so it won't show up on the map and I assumed that was probably the case this time.

 We arrived at the location that our gps said was where we should be for the address that we had input and all we saw were cave entrances. I suddenly remembered reading stories that other truckers had posted about delivering inside a cave and it clicked that that was what we were just about to do! It was actually pretty cool. A little unnerving at first to realize that you have to drive your truck inside a cave and not knowing what to expect when you get inside, but they give you a good map and it's not bad at all. It was pretty amazing. According to the security guard there at Subtropolis, as it is called, there is a little over 4 square miles of businesses underground in the caves. There was a variety of businesses that we saw while in there. We delivered to a place that was responsible for distributing sales ads. The ones we brought were for the upcoming Black Friday sales.

A dock inside the cave

Other than that, from what I can remember, everything was pretty routine. We saw our first snow of the year on our trip to Minnesota. One night the temps got down to 14 degrees! I guess winter is coming. Sometimes being in Florida, you tend to forget about things like that.

We've now been at home for about 2 1/2 weeks and it's been beautiful weather. I am sure we are in for a shock to the system when we get back up North.

While home this time, I saw my endocrinologist and got the results of my latest blood work and ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that my thyroid nodules have doubled in size over the last six months, so it is now time to have my thyroid removed. The surgeon is going to remove the left half and if the right half is okay, it will stay, but if it shows problems when he gets in there, it will come out also. Either way, after the surgery, I will be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life which I am not happy about. I am the type of person who hates to take any kind of medication unless I absolutely have to. I take nothing now, no vitamins, no calcium, and ony tylenol when I can't stand the headache pain anymore. Guess those days are over.

The best thing that happened during our time at home this time, other than getting to spend time with our family, was getting permanent eyeliner!! My friend in Indiana had it done and loved it so I got the courage to go in and get it. I love it, and wish I had done it years ago. Which I couldn't have, since I didn't even know you could get it. Driving a truck as a team means not being able to shower every day. While I can live with that, I still want to look decent and eyeliner is something I like to use everyday. Problem solved now!

Bummer...no Bumper

We made it to Joplin today and visited the Chrome Shop Mafia for the first time. They had our bumper waiting on us, we paid for it and they loaded it into our truck. Their shop is closed on the weekends so we were going across the street to the Petro to have it installed.

We had to wait 3 hours to get called into a service bay and I told John that before they removed the old one, hold the new one up in front of it and make sure all the bolt holes lined up. Just as I feared, it wasnt a match. We had to rebox it, and get it back across the street before they closed. Luckily we got there five minutes before closing time and got our money refunded. We were so bummed out. This bumper thing has become like a treasure hunt. We keep following all the clues and thinking we got it, but it always turns out that we dont.

After we left there, I drove 200 miles to Oklahoma City, stopped and fueled up. Grabbed a mini pizza and a boston creme donut at the Loves and then John took over driving. He's planning to drive about 230 miles tonight and stop somewhere in Texas. We will finish our drive to El Paso tomorrow. Delivery isn't until Monday morning. I love these weekend loads where we make good money but have plenty of time to get the load there.

A couple of new things we have discovered recently. Podcasts and audio books. John has been making use of the Podcasts. We both downloaded a Podcast App onto our android phones. I found Motor Trend Podcast for John and loaded up his player. We plug the phone into the truck stereo so the sound comes through the truck speakers. He can listen to that car talk for hours!

 I download library books to my smartphone. I've only done the regular books until this week. I finally got an audiobook downloaded and play it while I'm driving. I didn't think I would be able to focus on it, but suprisingly I can. It's a little strange having someone read you a story, but after awhile, you get used to it. It helps to pass the time while driving. I can only listen for a couple of hours, then I have to switch to Sirius Radio. I have a few channels that I listen to pretty regularly. Road Dawg Trucking, 70,s  Highway Country, Tiffany Granath on Playboy and Howard Stern. Oh yeah and HLN news. Sometimes I don't listen to anything, just enjoy the peace and quiet!

Making Up For Lost Time

We made our delivery in Kansas City, Mo. Picked up in St. Joseph, Mo and delivered next in Adrian, Mi followed by a pickup in Homer, Mi. That load took us south to Tuscaloosa, Al. From there we picked up in Helena, Ar and delivered next to Miami, Fl. I love Florida! The moment you cross the state lines and enter Florida it just feels like you're going on vacation.

I love the palm trees, the sunshine, the sand, the warm weather, everything about the state! We have never regretted moving here from Indiana.

Since our last load took us to Miami, we decided to take the opportunity to make a quick trip home and check the mail and make sure all is good. We won't stay long since we were down so long with the repairs from the deer hit.

But that's okay, because Thanksgiving is coming up and we will back home soon for the holidays!

Truck finally fixed

Being off work for a couple of weeks seems like it would be great, right? Most likely it would be if you could be at home or at a vacation spot of your choice. Being in New York in a cheap motel is not so great. We waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity to get out truck back.

We thought about renting a car and driving to Indiana to visit relatives, but we could never get a definite answer from the dealership on when the truck would be repaired. We decided to stay close so we would be able to get back to work as soon as it was ready. It gets really boring in a motel room after a few days.

We definitely got caught up on our rest. I got our bookkeeping all caught up. We watched seasons worth of Kardashians. We watched a lot of  movies. Unfortunately, due to the location of this motel, going out for walks isn't really a good idea.

But now, all that is behind us. We are back in the truck, and the dealership did a great job with repairs. Insurance covered all but $100 of the damage which totaled almost $5000. Imagine if a small car had hit that deer! I'm very thankful that only the truck was damaged, and no one was injured.

After getting the truck back and moving our stuff back in, we went back in service. We got a load pretty quickly and were dispatched to pick up in St. Mary's, Pa. We delivered that load in Danville, Il and immediately picked up another load in Mundelein, Il. We are now heading to Kansas City, Mo for delivery.

It's still deer season so I know I'm going to be really nervous every time I see a deer. Those deer seem to lose their mind this time of year!

A visit with our son

We did have a few days wait for the next load after the holiday. But it was a pretty good wait. Our son, Johnny who drives for Conway happened to be coming through the area we were in. He had some extra time on his load so he stopped in at the Petro in Oak Grove, Mo where we were and we all went over to the Waffle House and had a meal together. It was so nice to see him. I wish I could see both my boys more often!

He didn't get to stay too long but it was a good visit. He was showing us his new phone. He got a Droid X. He's been trying to talk me into getting a smartphone but I never felt it was worth the extra $30 a month for the data plan. After seeing what all his new phone can do, I am convinced. Me and John are both going to get new phones as soon as we get home again.

Dispatch called while we were there and offered us a load picking up in Richmond, Ky. I said, do you realize we are in Oak Grove, Mo? Thats a ridiculous amount of deadhead. They knew and they were prepared to pay us to drive the deadhead to get the load. We reached an agreement on the load amount and headed out to Richmond.

We got that load picked up and delivered it in Alexandria, Virginia. I was nervous as a cat. We were hauling explosives and that area over in Alexandria gets really hectic with traffic and I didn't want to get caught up in traffic and forced off on a route I wasn't allowed to be on. But, I made it. Just a little stressed.

Our next pickup was in Newton, Pa and takes us home to Florida. The load delivers in Clearwater which is about 90 miles from home.

Time to relax!

First time to Manitoba

We ended up sitting in Kansas City until Tuesday. Almost a full week! That was not a good feeling. We were wondering if we had been forgotten, if we were being punished for something, if the economy had come to a halt. We were being told over and over by dispatch that Easter is always slow. Factories shut down for a long weekend or whatever. All I know is that we sat way too long. After a certain point, boredom sets in and the only thing to do is start picking at each other.

I wonder how team drivers who are unrelated to each other would handle sitting that long? I can't imagine sharing this small space with anyone other than my husband. I don't think I would last long in this job if I had to do that.

It was Tuesday when we finally got a load picking up in Kansas City, Ks. It delivered to Clifton Hill, Mo which was not a great load, but because we were so desparate to get moving again, we took it. Probably a mistake, but again, we're learning.

After that delivery we had to wait a couple more days for the next load. It picked up in St. Louis, Missouri and will once again be taking us back to Canada. This time however, it will be to a province that we haven't been to yet, so that makes it a little better. We will be delivering in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

One year, our son John went on spring break to Florida with some friends and he met a girl whose family was there on vacation. She was from Winnipeg. Other than that, I don't know anything about Manitoba. More paid sight seeing!

Easter in Oak Grove Missouri

Our Canada load saga continues. We left Montreal for a pick up in East Syracuse, NY but the delivery brought us right back to Woodbridge, Ontario. At least the weather is getting nicer.

We decided to hang out in Ontario and see if we could get lucky and get a load picking up in Canada. With our carrier, we get paid extra if we are loaded when we cross the border in either direction. This time it worked and we got a load picking up in Tillsonburg, On. Even better, this load was going to Kansas City, Missouri. An area in the United States that we haven't seen much of.

We made our delivery and then deadheaded to the Petro in Oak Grove, Missouri. It's a really nice truckstop and it has a Dairy Queen inside, so I was a happy camper!  We were ready for a few days rest. It's been a long time since we've been home and the stress of learning this new job is getting to us. I think we've done really well all things considered.

We delivered this load on Wednesday and it is now Sunday and here we sit. We ventured over to a Radio Shack a few miles down the road and bought a device that we can plug into our laptop that will allow it to act like a tv. We are able to pick up a few stations which is nice since we are sitting for an extended period of time.

This truck has a tv and a satellite dish. We activated the dish service, but have had no luck receiving signals. It's such a hassle trying to reposition the satellite each time you move to a new location that the hassle just isn't worth it to us. We'll try the laptop tv and see how that works out for us.

Today is Easter. We don't have any special plans. We'll probably head over to the nearby Walmart and restock the truck. The Petro is having a special buffet today. Looks pretty good! Our dispatchers tell us that freight is usually pretty slow during holidays. We'll see how long it takes to get us rolling again.