Home for the 4th

How ironic that we have decided to stay out on the road and make money to build our savings account back up after the huge repair we had and now we keep getting loads taking us close to home.

After finally getting our truck back we got a load picking up in Kansas City, Missouri and delivering in St. Louis, Missouri. We weren't thrilled with the load because of the short miles   and the fact that it was going to be a hand load and unload. But, dispatch made us a good deal on it and we decided maybe a short load would be a good test run after the major repair.

The truck ran fine and we breathed a little sigh of relief. I kept catching myself looking in the mirror expecting to see smoke coming out of the tailpipe, but fortunately, it never happened.

Next up was a load picking up in Ft. Campbell, Ky delivering in Tobyhanna, Pa. This would be another good test for the truck because it would involve a lot of mountain driving. Again the truck performed well.

Our next load picked up in East Hanover, New Jersey. The shipper manufactures flavors. We were picking up flavoring that was destined for an orange juice plant in Bradenton, Florida. It smelled delicious at the shipper. All those flavors floating around in the air. While we  were sitting and waiting to be loaded, we watched a group of deer who were munching away on the sweet smelling grass. I never associated New Jersey and deer together. In my mind, New Jersey is all concrete and steel, but there are actually trees and grassy areas and quite a few deer.

Bradenton was not too far from our home and we really wanted to go home for awhile but we forced ourselves to stay in service and keep making money. We did drive home and get the mail and check on things while we waited on our next load.

We didn't have long to wait, (of course) and we next picked up in Orlando, Florida and headed back up the east coast to Nashua, NH. I like the drive up I95 until you get up into all the congestion around Richmond, Virginia. From that point on up it's too much traffic and then when you get up to New York, the roads are horrible. I think it's criminal that you have to pay so much money to cross the George Washington Bridge and then on the other side the roads are so bad that you would swear your truck is going to be destroyed by the time you get to Connecticut.

The truck held together, and our next pickup was Ashland, Ma. This one was taking us back south to Tarboro, Nc. From there we picked up in Rural Hall, Nc and delivered it to Jacksonville, Florida. This is Friday and Monday is the 4th of July so we decided it would be okay for us to go home for the long holiday weekend. We really need a break!

Deer in the Headlights

Freaking Deer!

The repairs were completed on our truck and we finally got a load picking up on Tuesday in Indian Head, Maryland. Some cities have the strangest names. That load delivered in Patuxent River, Maryland. Maybe all the cities in Maryland have strange names?

Next we picked up in Dahlgren, Va and delivered in Yorktown Va. If you have a military background, you probably guessed that all these loads were in military bases. Fun times!

Deer damage

From there we headed to Richmond, Va and took it to Wilmington, Ma. The next day we got a load picking up in Ft. Devens, Ma that was supposed to be going to Nogales, Az. After we took off with it we were informed that the shipper changed his mind and now we were taking it to Chicago, Il.

We were really not happy about that, but there wasn't anything we could do. It was a nasty night out. Windy and rainy. John drove first and we saw a one vehicle accident on the passenger side of the road. Somehow the guy flipped his car. We can only assume speed had to be a factor.

After John's shift was over, I started driving. I was on the NY thruway (90). Cruising along, talking on the phone with the boys, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a deer standing in the left hand lane. I hit the brakes and kept it straight on the road but the stupid deer jumped right in front of me. It was so loud when it hit that the boys could hear it through the phone. I pulled off on the shoulder and John came flying up front to see what happened. I told him I hit a deer.

Poor truck, stupid deer

We got out and looked at the damage and we had coolant running on the ground. The headlight on the passenger side was knocked completely out. The hood was knocked at an odd angle. We weren't going to be able to drive it with the coolant leaking. About that time a cop pulled up and I told him what happened. He reversed down the road and found the deer laying dead off to the side. I was so happy that the stupid deer was dead!

Lost our coolant

The cop called the tow truck company and the guy showed up and hooked us up. We had him take us to the nearest Freightliner dealership and he dropped us off there. Our carrier found another truck to come and take over our load. They showed up right after we got there and John and the other guy transferred the load to their truck. It was the middle of the night so we slept in the truck until they opened in the morning. We got things set up with them and then packed our bags. There was a motel down the road a little ways so we called a taxi and had him take us over there.

We got checked in and we are now waiting for the truck to be repaired. I can only imagine how long this is going to take.

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.