One of Our Busiest Weeks

After the last Canadian debacle, we had a nice peaceful Mother's Day off. Time to rest up and get ready for the next adventure.  We didn't have to wait too long. Next up was a pickup in Syracuse, NY. And, true to form, a delivery in Ontario. This time in Ottawa. The capital of Ontario. It was quite a drive, but nothing too exciting. 

After that load was completed, we turned around and went right back to Syracuse for the next pickup but this time we were spared the return trip to Canada and instead we headed for St. Paul, Minnesota. The scenery along the drive was beautiful.

It was a busy week with no breaks. We delivered and immediately went to Eagan, MN for the next pickup to be delivered in Hartland, Wi. This was followed by another immediate pickup in Elkhorn, Wi with a delivery in Fredericktown, Ohio. From there we went to Groveport, Ohio and that one delivered direct to Asheboro, North Carolina. 

What a week! We actually felt like real truck drivers this week with all the nonstop action.  Now that it's Saturday, we'll see if there's any freight for the weekend or if we manage to get a couple of days off.

Happy Endings

We waited a couple of days for our next load. When it came we were happy to see that it was picking up in Laredo. We've heard so much about Laredo that we were excited to finally get to see it firsthand.

What a crazy place that is! It sits right on the border of Mexico and is a go between for freight moving back and forth from the US and Mexico. American drivers take American freight bound for Mexico down to a broker and drop it off. Mexican drivers will pick it up and take it the rest of the way into Mexico. The same works in reverse for the freight coming from Mexico into the US. The only difference is that a lot of the freight coming from Mexico is destined for Canada and American drivers are allowed to deliver the freight all the way into Canada. The only thing we aren't allowed to do is pick up a load in Canada and deliver it to another location inside Canada. We must bring it back to the US.

So far, I like what I see in Texas. It's a large state and it's true that everything is bigger in Texas. Which is great because it makes it truck friendly. We have no problem finding a place to park and we don't get frowned at when we need to stop off at a Walmart for supplies. The Walmart we went to there even had a special parking areas just for big trucks. Wish they were all like that.

The load we were picking up was delivering in Canada. We took off with it and got all the way up to Indiana. I had been trying to get clearance on the load and finally the broker called me and said we weren't going to be allowed to take the load into Canada because we weren't FAST approved, or something like that. I told him we take loads all the time into Canada but he explained that with this load, the customer requires drivers to be FAST approved so that they won't get delayed when they cross the border because they needed the freight asap.

It was okay with us, it just meant a few less miles since we would now be taking the freight to the cross dock in Woodhaven, Mi and someone else would have to finish up the load. From Woodhaven we next picked up in Hayesville, Ohio and right back into Canada we went. This time to Oakville, Ontario.

Being tired from the long drive from Texas up to Michigan followed with the load back to Canada, we decided to just wait at a truck stop in Ontario to see what happened and get soe rest. We ended up being called by dispatch for help on a load picking up at a cross dock in Tonawanda, NY that was coming back into Canada to Weston, Ontario.

We didn't want the load because of the short miles so we turned it down. They kept after us and we kept saying no and they kept raising their offer price. They begged and pleaded and finally wore us down. We headed to Tonawanda to meet the other truck. We got there and discovered the other truck wasn't there yet.

We called dispatch and they said they had lost communication with the other truck but wanted us to sit there and wait. We asked what that meant, lost communication? They told us that the other truck had a team of two guys and apparently they were fighting with each other and the last phone call they had made to dispatch they had said they were going to pull over and one of the drivers was going to leave the truck. After that, they never answered the phone anymore when dispatch called them. The satellite monitoring showed that the truck was still moving towards us so they assumed that the truck would eventually show up.

After waiting about 4 hours, the truck showed up and both drivers were still in it. I didn't ask any questions, just got the freight transferred to our truck and they handed the paperwork over to us. I asked them if they had already faxed in the documentation needed to get clearance to cross the border and they just gave me a blank look. I said never mind, I'll figure it out. I made phone calls and found out that nothing had been done, so we had to get that taken care of. As soon as we were given the clearance, we headed back across the border to make the delivery.

I'm not surprised to see the guys fighting like that. I would assume that in this job it probably happens all the time. They say that carriers prefer husband wife teams or at least same household teams and I can completely understand why. Me and John have our moments out here, but because we are married, we have our battles and then we make up and life goes on. If it was a non relative you were battling with, I doubt that it would have a happy ending!

1st Trip to Texas

Delivery to Gladstone, Va complete. Next up was a pick up in Greensboro, North Carolina with a delivery to Seguin, Texas. Yay for us, we are finally making it to Texas!

This load delivered to a CVS store. An actual store, not a warehouse or distribution center. We didn't think too much about it. We were loaded with store fixtures and shelving and most of it was just placed in the truck, not on pallets or anything. The store we were going to was being remodeled and this was the new stuff they needed to complete the job.

Upon arriving at the CVS we discovered that they have no dock. They are just a store. Their trucks who bring them their daily deliveries are equipped with a ramp and equipment to unload freight and bring it into the store. We didnt have such equipment. To make matters worse, the person who was responsible for taking charge of the freight we brought was a young girl. She couldn't offer any suggestions on how to easily unload us.

John got into the back of the truck and started handing pieces down to me and the girl and we began a very slow process of unloading piece by piece. What a treat in the Texas heat! We are drivers, not dock workers. We should have been told ahead of time if we were going to be responsible for unloading the truck. Oh well, we were there and we wanted the stuff off the truck, so we got it off.

After the delivery was completed, we headed to the nearest truck stop for much needed showers!

Back to work after 1st hometime

The party's over. So sad. After being home for 11 days we decided we better get back at it. I know I like my job because this is the first time I've been on vacation and actually don't mind going back to work. As a matter of fact, I'm looking forward to it. I've definitely never said that with any other job that I've ever had.

This job isn't really just a job. It is a lifestyle. To us, it seems like our truck is our home and our actual home is now like a vacation home. Being away from it just makes it so much nicer when you get to go there. You appreciate being there and don't take your surroundings for granted like you do when you are there every day.

Also, when on the road, I don't have to cook, clean or do any of the normal things you have to do when you're at home every day, so when we do go home those things are actually enjoyable as well.

It's a win win situation if you ask me!

We put ourselves back in service and immediately got dispatched on a load picking up in Orlando Fl. This load will be taking us to Gladstone, Va and has a lot of extra time on it, so we will be taking our time getting there. We will be pampering ourselves along the way!

Heading Home for the First Time

After our delivery to Winnipeg, we deadheaded back down into the states. We delivered on Friday and had to wait until Tuesday for our next load. This one picked up in Mounds View, Mn and was delivering in Wrightstown, Wi.

I enjoyed the drive through Minnesota and Wisconsin. Very pretty scenery. A lot of references to cheese in Wisconsin. It brought back some good memories of a family vacation that we took with my sister and her family a few years back. We all rented a condo in Wisconsin Dells and had a great time. We went in August and it was already chilly outside. We visited an indoor water park, rode the ducks, John, Shelley and Rob got tattoos and Shelley and Johnny did a tandem skycoaster together. Those two are crazy!

From Wrightstown we headed to Portage, Wi for a pickup, Delivered that one to Morenci, Mi. We highlighted for hometime which at our carrier means that they will look for loads for you that get you closer to home. We are so ready for our visit home after being out here on the road since February!

Dispatch came through for us and we next picked up in Wyandotte, Mi and delivered in Opelika, Alabama. This still left us almost 500 miles from home but it was a Saturday and experience has shown that we wouldn't get any other load offers until Monday at the earliest. We decided to deadhead home and get started on our hometime vacation.

We plan to stay home about two weeks. We have a lot of catching up to do there!

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.