A moment in time

Let me set this scene for you:  I am in the sleeper compartment working at the computer desk.  As we cruise down the road (I-40 westbound in Oklahoma heading for Sacramento), I am on the internet working on the blog.  I am also downloading some podcasts for listening later tonite on my sweet little ipod (transmitter thru FM radio).  My laptop is happily playing tunes from my "Groove Mix" playlist on itunes.  I am eating a great grilled ham and provolone cheese sandwich that I grilled up on our itty-bitty sandwich grill.  I am also snacking on wonderful California cherries and blackberries that we picked up at a stop last week in the state of fruits and nuts.  All in all, a great moment.  

But wait. . . what are the rest of the crew doing?  Tony is driving - probably on cruise control.  He is finishing up an audio book that we get through a rental program at the truckstops.  It is a brand new Clive Cussler audio and I'll finish it up tonight on my shift.  Then we'll turn it in and rent another one.  They aren't cheap, but since there are 3 or 4 days of listening to each one, we consider it money well spent.

Leo is in his co-pilot car seat helping Tony drive.  He looks so macho in his sheepskin lined harness.  He is also snacking on an apple/chicken treat that I gave him.  We found a great doggie boutique in Washington and suffice it to say that Leo has a full cupboard of treats.  When the weather turns colder again, we will take him in and try on several coats and sweaters to see what the well dressed truck dog will be wearing next season.

It isn't always this sweet in the truck. . . sometimes it is downright icky, but right now is one of those sublime moments to be savored and remembered.  So, help me remember it when we are caught in a blizzard and facing Snowqualamie Summit with snow chains on the truck!  

Back on the Road

Yea . . . we are finally back on the road.  Our stop in Odessa ended up lasting 8 days.  We were really ready to get back in the truck and get some miles under us.   We got a 350 mile deadhead (no load, but paid) to Irving to pick up a load and head on over to California.  We love driving to California - always get good miles on those runs (this one will be 1550 miles).

The best part was that we got to have dinner with my sister and her husband.  They had never seen our truck and we got to show it off.  When we dropped our last load before hometime, I made sure that we picked up a trailer that matched our tractor.  After Con-Way bought CFI, the corporate heads decided to change the color and logo on our trucks and trailers.  We had really been looking forward to driving one of the CFI "Red Racers" but ended up with a brand new (only 27 miles when we got it!) white tractor with some great blue sweeping stripes.  With 3,000 trucks in the fleet, it will be some time before all of the red trucks are gone and we are running all white ones.  They are also replacing the fifty gazillion trailers in our fleet at the same time.  I guess we get a matching trailer about 15% of the time.  When it happens, our tractor seems to feel happier as we gobble up the miles.  Maybe it's just me, but I think the mis-matching trailer makes my butt seem bigger. . .what do you think?