Jamestown & Emporium Nightmares

After Jessie's Graduation party, we made our way on down the road to Sydney, Oh to get our load of foam delivered to the good people of Whirpool. I was in the factory and was able to see the end part of the conveyor belt and it is mind boggling to see refrigerators, one after the other constantly rolling by on that belt. Do they really sell that many? I can't imagine it. And that's just one brand. Think of all the others in the world and it's hard to believe that every day there are that many of anything that gets sold.

From there, we came back into Indiana to Fort Wayne and picked up a load heading to Jamestown, Ny. This was a hazmat load but we do a lot of those so it wasn't anything special. The special part was waiting for us when we made the delivery. Once again, our carrier instructed us to be there at a time when the consignee was not even open yet. Luckily there was an empty lot across the street and we parked there and got some good sleep in a non moving truck. The best!

When the warehouse opened, we checked in and got to special part number 2. Their dock was located inside. Uphill. In a tiny narrow space just big enough for us to get in. And we had to block the street while we were backing in. Fun times.

That accomplished, it was time for special part number 3. This was mostly special for John. The place we delivered to was doing experimental research on the new International Windstar trucks. They are beautiful unique looking trucks. Apparently they are having issues with running hot so this place was figuring out a solution to the problem and that is the reason we were there. We brought them 4 55 gallon barrels of coolant. They gave John a tour of a couple of the trucks and he was a happy boy.

The downside to all of this is that we were predispatched on two more loads and due to the delays getting this one delivered, there was no way we were going to make our next pickup on time. I called dispatch and advised them and they said don't worry about it, just get there as quick as you can.

We finished up and headed out to Emporium, Pa. What a freaking nightmare. Up up up into the twisting winding moutain roads. I think our average speed was probably around 45 mph. This isn't good when you are trying to make up for lost time. We did our best and found the place, got loaded and headed out.

We were so far behind schedule now that we knew we definitely couldn't make the next pick up on time either so again I contacted dispatch and relayed the information. Their answer was again, just get there as quick as you can. We were both getting grumpy because this meant no time to stop to eat and bathroom breaks were kept to a minimum and very rushed.

We made it to our delivery in East Syracuse, NY and things went pretty smooth there. We immediately headed out to the next pickup in Albany, NY. This one was a swap with another driver who had a load going to Canada. Only, the driver doesn't go to Canada. So we agreed to take it.

We met the driver at a cross dock and got the freight off their truck onto ours. We headed out then to St. John, NB. Hopefully, all will go well as we haven't been to this part of the country before.

Jessie's Graduation

We are on such a good roll! I am still loving the fact that we got to visit Graceland last week! And now this week has turned out to be special as well.

After deliving the load in Evansville, In we next picked up in Murfreesboro, Tn. That load took us to San Antonio, Texas which was followed by a pickup in Laredo, Tx which had a delivery in Memphis, Tn. Then came the really good part. Our next pickup was in Southhaven, Ms when a delivery in Sidney, Ohio.

However, the Southhaven load picked up on Friday and didn't deliver until Monday and with just a few miles added on, took us right by my parents house in Indiana. It just so happened that my niece was having a graduation party this weekend and this load gave us the opportunity to attend the party.

Topping all that greatness off, our son, Johnny who is driving solo for Conway right now, happened to be in the same area as we were on our way up from Mississippi and we met up at a truckstop in Tennessee and spent the night there while he took his required 10 hour DOT break. He was on a load that was delivering to the same town that my parents live in and his load didn't deliver until Monday either. What are the odds of that? We convoyed up to Mom's house and parked the trucks and had a fantastic weekend visiting a lot of relatives that we wouldn't normally have gotten to see, but because of the graduation party, they were there.

I have to say it again, I LOVE the opportunities that this job is giving us!

Visit to Graceland

After a couple of really busy weeks we have found that in our line of work, weeks with a holiday usually mean that things are going to slowdown if not actually stop. This is okay with us because it gives us an opportunity to do one of the things that attracted us to this job in the first place. Sightsee.

Last week we ended the week in Massachusetts. We got a nice long 4 day weekend and eventually got a load picking up in East Granby, Ct. That load took us to St. Peters Mo and while on our way there we received our next load which was picking up in Washington, Mo with a delivery in Laredo, Tx.

Gates to Graceland

I was happy for a couple of reasons. One was that it was keeping us out of Canada and the Northeast and another is that I like driving in Texas. Little did we know that it was going to lead to something even better to be excited about.

We received a load offer picking up in Laredo right away. It was picking up on Thursday and due to the Memorial Day holiday it wasn't delivering until Tuesday in Evansville, In. We were paid layover pay for the additional days that we would be stuck with the load. We were happy with the deal and after looking at the map to see what our route would be and trying to decide what to do with our extra time, we realized that we would be going thru Memphis.

Elvis' Pink Cadillac

John at Graceland

John and his Mom have always been Elvis fanatics and neither one of us had ever been to visit Graceland. We did some research and found out that they offered truck parking so we made a plan to stop in and take the tour. I wasn't expecting much. I figured it was just a house, what would be so great? But, I have to say, there is something really special about that place and the way they have preserved his memory. You get caught up in the atmosphere and you can easily imagine what it must have been like in his glory days. It was one of the best tourist experiences we have had and well worth the money.

We took a ton of pictures, took our time walking through the  house, the outbuildings, the planes were awesome, we ate at the restaurant and toured all of the cars. It is just really nice what they have done there.

One of Elvis' two planes

I am so happy we have a job that allows us this kind of opportunity!

Another Busy Week...Getting Tired

We thought we would at least get Sunday off, but the freight must be really running strong right now. We managed to get our truck maintenance squeezed in between loads and then it was off to Morganton, NC for a load bound for Louisville, Ky. Some car manufacturing plants are a real pain to deliver parts too. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

Next was a pickup in Cordon, In heading to Lake Orion, Mi followed by a load picking up in Manchester, Mi heading back up north of the border to Ayr, On. We get more and more irritated each time we take a load across the border. It gets old very quickly, all the questions and the being treated like a criminal just because you are doing your job and need to return to your own country. We are seriously reconsidering doing the Canada loads but we're just not sure how  busy we would stay without them. Other drivers say they think we would do better without Canada. We'll have to think it over.

After that, it was East Aurora, NY to Baltimore, Md. Yikes! Talk about traffic. You can't get anywhere fast up in the Northeast. I don't know how those people can stand to drive in that every single day. Then it was a pickup in Norwalk, Ct and a delivery in Weymouth, Ma.

Things died down after that one and we have received a couple of much needed days off. We still lack the stamina to drive miles like seasoned truck drivers do and I know it's because we still haven't learned to sleep in a moving truck. Hopefully soon a switch will flip and it will be easier for us to do.

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!