Slow Week with Repairs

We delivered on Monday to Mississauga, Ontario. Immediately got a load picking up in Buffalo, Ny that was delivering in Queensbury, Ny. We were having some issues with the truck and the owner wanted us to bring it to her mechanic in Pennsylvania for repairs so that wiped out the rest of our week.

We are staying in a motel while repairs are made. Not sure how long that will take.

Labor Day

We made our delivery in Kitchener and headed to a nearby truckstop. We initially thought we might get some time off being in that area, but as usual we were wrong. We had a pick up the next day in Belleville, Ontario. This one went to Plymouth, Michigan. That's all right. We like to get paid extra crossing the border with a load on.

We next had a pickup in Chesterfield, Mi with a delivery in Princeton, In. Back in the Hoosier State! Seems like anytime we get in Indiana we can expect a load offer out of Crane. We were right. Next up was Crane, Indiana going to Norfolk, Va. Wow, that is an awesome navy base in Norfolk. We were shocked at the size of those ships. I don't know the proper names for them so I won't even try, but they are huge!

We next picked up in Richmond, Va and delivered in Grand Rapids, Mi followed up with a pickup in Grand Rapids, Mi. This one delivered in Wayne, Mi and had a pickup in Kenton, Ohio. Lots of little loads, but all picking up and delivering direct so we agreed to them. The Kenton load delivered in Kansas City, Kansas on Saturday.

Labor Day is Monday so we figure another long layover over the holiday.

Northeast but finally Laredo

Yet another weekend off. I could get used to this! We had a pickup in Dahlgren, Va on Monday with a same day delivery in Dover, De. Next up was a pickup in Edison,Nj taking us to Laredo, Tx. Finally! Out of the northeast.

We had a nice drive down to Laredo. Traffic is so much better away from the congestion in the northeast. You really notice it when you get away from there.

We delivered on Wednesday in  Laredo and had a pickup next day nearby. This time we had to go back up to the dreaded Canada. Kitchner, Ontario. At least the weather is nice.

Family Camping Trip

After delivering in Brampton, Ontario we went to a truckstop in Missasauga. How very entertaining! The place doesn't have a lot of room, but it does have a lot of trucks who want to come in and fuel up. They end up stopping out on the road while they're waiting for their turn to come in. Traffic gets backed up and tempers flare. Horns are honking, fingers are waving. Good stuff.

We ended up getting a load picking up nearby and we took it Ithaca, New York. Not sure that I like New York much better than Canada, but at least we can use our phones and internet.

From there, it was a pickup in Archbald, Pa with a delivery in Waterloo, Iowa followed with a pickup in Anoka, Mn and a delivery in Montreal, Quebec. We had a hometime request in for northern Indiana. We have a family camping trip planned so I turned the Quebec load down. Of course, dispatch was desperate for it to be covered so they agreed to pay us for the load and for the deadhead back to Indiana. Grr. Didn't really want to do it. But we did.

Anyway, we are now in Indiana and getting ready to enjoy a much anticipated family vacation! Can't wait because I know we will have a blast. We are taking our truck to the campgrounds and other members of the family will have their campers and tents there.

1st 2 Dod loads

We sat the weekend of the July 4th holiday. Not unexpected with this job. We managed to find someone to come out and replace our windshield.

We also got a call from dispatch with our very first government load offer. We accepted it even though I was a nervous wreck. I just knew that I would screw something up. Fortunately, it all worked out and things went fine.

The load picked up in Graham, Ky and we took it to East Camden, Ar. I won't say a lot about the load for obvious reasons, but I will say it wasn't what I expected.

The next load was also a military load. This time picking up in Mcalestor, Ok and delivering in Richmond, Ky. There is a truckstop down the road from the base in Mcalestor. There is also a casino next door to the truckstop. We didn't go in but we might in the future if we get back there.

After having two military loads under our belt now, I feel much better about things. The stress level has gone down considerably.

Next up was a load picking up in Vonore, Tn and going to our favorite place. Brampton, Ontario. Yippee!

Back to Back Alberta loads

After delivering in New Jersey on a Friday, we sat until Tuesday waiting for the next load. Surprising to sit that long in that area, but okay with us. We needed a break.

Tuesday we headed to Hazelton, Pa for a load going to Auburn, Ga. After that it was a load picking up in Duncan, South Carolina delivering in Columbia, Mo. Pretty routine on all pickups and deliveries.

After that, we again got to go to the dreaded chemical plant in Mt. Vernon, Indiana. It was just as frustrating this time as it was the first time. The load we picked up delivered in Eau Claire, Wi. That made me happy because I love the scenery in that area. As long as it's not winter time anyway.

We made our delivery and found a truck stop to park, shower and eat. After all those things were accomplished, we still didn't have a load so we both laid down to sleep. In the middle of the night, dispatch called with a load offer picking up in Roberts, Wi and delivering in Duffield, Alberta, Canada. Not knowing where that was, I had to pull out the map. I wasn't thrilled with what I saw.

I turned the load down and the negotiations began. Again, another driver had a load going to Canada, but the driver doesn't go there. I really had no interest in going that far out of our freight zone so I kept turning it down and the dispatcher kept after me. Finally, he wore me down and we agreed on an amount. The amount included a return trip to St. Paul, Mn empty. I was shocked that he agreed to it, but apparently the load was paying well enough that they could afford it.

I had to wake John up and tell him where we were going. He was less than thrilled. It was a 1300 mile trip, each way. We got to the swap point and took over the freight. The other driver was in a tractor trailer and the freight was one pallet. What a waste! I guess it's not my problem though. We took off and drove and drove and drove. Made it across the border with no problems. I guess the reason it seemed like such a long trip is that most of it was done in Canada. No cell phone and no internet. Makes for a really boring trip.

We eventually got near our delivery point and I was having trouble figuring out the exact place we needed to go to. I called dispatch and was advised to stop and ask the locals. Great. I went to a truck stop and asked the guy working there and he was no help either. I took back off and drove around in BFE until I spotted the lights of the power plant. I kept working my way closer and closer and we finally got there. Got unloaded and began the long drive back to the US.

We were getting so close to the border and getting excited about being back in the US when dispatch called. Unbelievably they had another load that needed to be picked up from a driver who doesn't do Canada, going back to Alberta. This time the load picked up in Fargo, ND and delivered in Calgary, Alberta. I tried to tell them no, but they kept pressuring me and finally I agreed to do it for the same deal as the first one. The trip had to include return mileage back to St. Paul, Mn. They agreed.

We went to Fargo and stopped off for a shower and a meal before heading over for the swap. We got the freight and once again started the journey. This time was even worse because we were tired and we already knew what the route and all the scenery was going to look like. It was a long boring trip. We got there and it turned out to be a mall that was undergoing renovation so there were no docks and total chaos. Luckily John handled it and got us unloaded. We went to the nearest truckstop and slept for 14 hours straight. After that, we started the drive back to Fargo. We took our time and enjoyed the sights along the way. This time we decided to exit Canada thru Sweetgrass in Montana and then drive across to Fargo. It added some miles to the trip but was worth it to us. On the way down to Sweetgrass we had the Rocky Mountains to our west. This was our first time to ever see them and they were impressive!

Driving through Montana seemed like we had gone back in time to the Old West. I don't think things have changed much there. All in all, it was an enjoyable drive because we took our time and got to see some places that we had only heard about before that.

Hopefully, there are no more Alberta loads waiting on us when we get back!

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!

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.

Getting Tired of Canada

With the  air conditioners off our truck, we had no desire to stay in Canada any longer. The weather was miserable and so were we, so we deadheaded back into the US. We stopped at the first truck stop we came to inside the US border and enjoyed a nice hot meal and  then a nice long sleep.

We were in no hurry for another load which was a good thing because we didn't get one for 3 days. The next load picked up in Aberdeen, South Dakota. South we went and made the pickup We then continued south to Newton, Iowa with some supplies for a wind turbine factory.

A wind turbine on its way to its final destination

Our next load offer came quickly. We picked up in Chicago, Il with a destination of.....once again...back to Canada. Kinsley Falls, Ontario. After delivery, our next load offer took us back into the US. We exited Canada through Vermont on our way to Somersworth, NH. The weather had been nice while in Canada but as soon as I approached the boder snow flakes started flying.

An unwelcome sight!

Continuing on into the states the snow started flying harder and harder. I was driving up into the mountains through a national forest. Eventually the roads were completely snow covered and I had to reduce speed to 30 mph. I was gripping the steering wheel tightly and fighting the nerves. As I started down the mountain on the other side, the lower I got, the less snow there was and eventually I drove completely out of it.

I made it to the factory and found my way to the dock for the pick up. Then for the bad part. The load was going right back up into Quebec. This time to Montreal. I have found that we don't enjoy going to Canada anymore and especially into Quebec. Montreal has some horrible roads and it felt like our truck was going to be ripped apart by the potholes and uneven surfaces of the roads.

Pretty..if you like winter

We may need to reconsider doing Canada loads. We would really like to see more of the western United States.

Air Conditioners in a Blizzard

It's been a pretty busy week. We were waiting on a load in Quebec. The load we got was picking up in Ithaca, NY. So we had to leave Canada empty, pick up in New York and then return to Windsor, Ontario. I had no idea when we agreed to do Canada loads that we would be spending this much time in Canada. I would really love to see more of the United States.

We always feel out of place in Canada. It's definitely not home. I don't have anything against Canada, I would just prefer to be in my own country.

After delivering in Windsor, we again left Canada empty and picked up in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan. Back in the US! This load delivered in Ridgeville Corners, Ohio.  After that, our luck ran out and we were again asked to do a Canada load.

This time the load would be another swap with a driver who had a load going to Saskatchewan. This driver also does not go to Canada. The swap was set up to take place in Lake Station, Indiana at Waffco Towing. We arrived and the other driver was there waiting for us. He was in a tractor trailer. We both backed up to docks and the workers there began taking the pallets off of his truck. He had eight pallets of air conditioners. These were large units that were going to a hotel that was under construction. When the forklift driver brought the second pallet over to our truck and tried to sit it next to the first one, we ran into our first problem.

The pallets were wider than standard and would not fit side by side in our truck. Because the semi is 102 inches wide he was able to sit them that way, but our truck is 96 inches wide and they wouldn't fit. There was a lot of discussion about how to resolve the problem and someone came up with the idea of restacking the units on standard size pallets. A call was put in to dispatch and they had to get permission from the customer. Finally, we received approval to go ahead and the job got completed.

We had an interesting conversation with the tractor driver. He's been with our company for quite a few years. He enjoyed telling us stories of how it used to be. Apparently the pay used to be quite a bit higher than it is now. He also said he refuses to go to Canada. As a matter of fact, he doesn't go west of the Mississippi River or east of Ohio, or South of Georgia. As a solo driver, he said he's learned over the years to stay in that box and he does okay for himself.

After loading was completed, we headed out to Stoughton, Saskatchewan. This load had a lot of extra time on it since we were picking up on Wednesday and it wasn't delivering until Friday. We decided to use some of the time to stop off and eat a good meal together and get a shower.

We drove up to North Dakota and stopped off at a truck stop. We got our showers done and were sitting and enjoying our meal when dispatch called and said the customer had noticed that our truck hadn't moved for awhile and was getting concerned. Our truck is equipped with a satellite tracking system and customers are given tracking info and can actually track our truck during the delivery process. We told the dispatcher that we had stopped to eat and shower and nothing was wrong. We just had quite a bit of extra time on the load so we wanted to stop and kill some time while in the US and had internet available.

He said okay, he would pass it along to the customer and let them know that their freight would be there on time as planned. We hung up and went back to our meal. A few minutes later, dispatch called again and said for some reason, this customer was really uptight and worried about this load. Could we please go ahead and deliver direct. We were aggravated about the inconvenience, but agreed.

We took off driving and made our way up into Saskatchewan. This being our first time there, we were wondering what road conditions would be. Turned out, they were not so great. In addition to that, the weather turned really crappy. We started running into snow, we saw a lot of deer and we were hoping and praying they didn't decide to jump out in front of us. We worked our way to the consignee according to the directions we were given. We got there and immediately realized that something was wrong. We were in a residential neighborhood. This was at 2 AM. There was no sign of a business in this area. We called dispatch and informed them. They tried to call the customer and got an answering machine. Remember the customer who was so concerned about this shipment and wanted us there asap?

With no help from dispatch or the customers, we wandered around for a little bit and eventually we found a small gas station. We decided to park there and wait until morning for someone to tell us where to take this load. In the morning we made phone call after phone call and finally got ahold of the customer who advised us that we were given the wrong address to deliver to. No duh!

The funny thing was, the delivery location ended up being directly across the street from the gas station we were parked at. We drove across to the construction site, which had no docks and found a guy who was taking responsibility for the air conditioners. We told him about the request to deliver direct and the wrong address and he apologized and said he wasn't even ready for the air conditions yet. He was going to have to find a place to store them until he was ready to install them. While he was using a machine that I don't know the name of, it looked like a forklift on steroids with forks that extended,  the snow was flying, the wind was blowing and it just struck me as funny that we were delivering a load of air conditioners in a blizzard!

First Trip to Quebec

We made our delivery to Waterloo, Ontario. From there our next load was being picked up in Woodhaven, Mi. There is a crossdock there that our company uses to do swaps. Another driver had a load that needed to go to Canada, but that driver doesn't go to Canada, so he takes it to the dock and drops it off and someone else finishes getting it there. This time, that someone else was us.

We drove down to Woodhaven and let our company know we were there. They said the other driver should be there in a couple of hours. I set the alarm for two hours and we went to sleep. I woke up when the alarm went off and went inside and asked if the other driver had shown up yet. They said they hadn't seen him. I called dispatch and asked them when he was going to be there. They said he had to stop to have a light replaced and should be there anytime.

I continued to wait and watch but never saw him. After awile, I went back inside and asked if he had been there and I had somehow missed him. They again said no. Back out to the truck and more waiting. An hour later, dispatch sent a message and said the driver had sent a message saying he had arrive and departed. I went back inside and found out that he had indeed somehow gotten in and out of there without me seeing him. It was so nice that neither he or the guy that works inside bothered to let me know.

Near Niagra Falls

We finally got loaded and headed off to Pointe Claire, Quebec. This was our first trip to Quebec and we were unsure what to expect. The only thing I knew about Quebec is that they speak French. I was hoping we wouldn't have a communication problem.

For the most part, it went okay. Our gps had major problems though. I was ready to throw it out the window. Despite the gps issues, we got to the consignee and made the delivery. The road signs were a bit confusing because they were written in French, but most of them also had an English version. The people we dealt with all seemed to know enough English so that it wasn't a problem communicating.

We decided to go to a nearby truckstop and see if we could get a load out of Canada.

Uptight Chemical Plant in Mt. Vernon

I am forcing myself to retype this entire entry to the blog. I had the whole thing done but some glitch caused it to disappear. Grrr!

We sat several days in New York after the routine maintenance debacle. Finally we received an acceptable load offer that would pick up in Waterloo, Ny. The load was delivering in Garret, Indiana. We're originally from Indiana so it felt like a homecoming going back there.

We weren't there very long before our next load offer came in so we didn't get to do any visiting with family members. The next load picked up in Fremont, Indiana and delivered in Lebanon, Tn. Again, a routine pickup and delivery.

One of the cute little 1000 Islands in Canada

Not too long after delivery, we received another load offer that we accepted. This time we were picking up in Mt. Vernon, In and the load would be going to Waterloo, Ontario. I knew we wouldn't be able to stay out of Canda for long.

I was on the night shift on the drive to Mt. Vernon. I had a little bit of trouble finding the place but eventually I got us there. The shipper was a very large chemical plant. This was our first time picking up at a place like this. Apparently chemical plants run a pretty tight ship and security is heightened. I pulled up at the guard shack and was immediately made to feel like a criminal. There were two guards. The first one came up to the drivers window and started a rapid fire q&a session. Did we have any cameras, cell phones with cameras, drugs, weapons, pets, etc. While that was going on, the second guard was running a mirror all underneath our truck. I don't know what he was looking for, but apparently we checked out okay. We were directed to our dock with strict orders not to be outside the truck unneccessarily, and to wear our seat belts at all times while driving.

We got to the dock, backed in, and went inside to check in. The person on duty was very unfriendly and directed us to sit in the waiting room and wait until we were told our truck was loaded. We were not allowed to go back out to our truck until they said we were done. May not sound like a big deal, but when both the driver and the co-driver are forced to sit and wait inside, that means that no one is being allowed to get any rest. Why the government, who is supposed to be so concerned about the sleep that drivers get, allows this practice to go on, is beyond me. All I could think about was all the miles we were going to have to drive and how it was going to suck because we were going to be tired.

The loading took over two hours. Ridiculous, considering we were only picking up two pallets of freight. We were the only ones in the waiting room so I am assuming there were not a lot of other trucks being loaded, so I don't know what the hold up was. At long last, we were allowed back out to our truck and we headed back to the exit. We had to go through the two guards again and were given a pardon and allowed to leave.

Back to Canada we go.