VACATION

We are on vacation!!!!!  Real fun time off that doesn't include doctors and other "have to" kind of stuff.  We were in Dallas with a highlight for Odessa coming up in 5 days and there just wasn't any freight for us to run with and still be back in Odessa by Tuesday.  The bad news is that we are off  and not earning any money for 5 days that we hadn't counted on.  The good news is that we decided to made lemonade and go explore Arkansas.  We got a great deal on a rental car and headed off to our first night in Hope, Arkansas.  

Leo napped/guarded  while we cruised up to Little Rock and had a great day.  The Clinton Presidential Library was awesome and we got to go to a Farmer's Market as well.  The produce was so beautiful and smelled absolutely wonderful.  We weren't able to buy anything this time, but did enjoy simply being there.  I used our new digital camera and took some pictures.  As soon as I learn how to get them onto the computer, I'll actually try to post them.  

The plan for tomorrow is to lay around the hotel room and do absolutely nothing.  Might be a good time to experiment with the iPhoto program on the laptop and see what I can do with the new pictures.  I'll keep you posted. . . 

Trucker Time Out

I got sent to trucker time out last night.  Had to sit there for 5 hours.  Felt very foolish for being there - all the trucks that drove by knew I was sitting in time out.  I totally deserved it though (well, sort of...).  The Department of Transportation officers of the different states take their jobs very seriously.  You all should thank them for keeping you and your grandchildren (and my grandchildren) safe from drivers who get distracted, stressed, too tired to care, or any other myriad reasons why they might let safety slip from the absolute first place it deserves.  

  Here is the story . . .  we were in El Paso at 5:00 on a Friday afternoon.  ICK . . . DOUBLE ICK . . . El Paso traffic isn't the greatest under the best of circumstances, but it really sucks (traffic wise only) on a hot summer Friday during rush hour.  Tony did his usual thorough job on the safety inspection of the trailer we just had loaded.  He told me (it was going to be my driving shift) that there were 2 non-adjacent loose lug nuts on one of the rear trailer wheels.  

So, my female mind does some quick math that went something like this:  10 lug nuts per tire " x 18 tires = 180 lug nuts.  Only 2 loose?  Seems like good odds to me.  I promised Tony that I would drive FORWARD to the absolute next truck stop and get them tightened.  He wanted me to drive BACKWARD through El Paso nightmare traffic to the CLOSEST truck stop and get it fixed.  Here is the real rule:  If there are 2 non-adjacent, then you may proceed forward.  3 out of 10 or 2 adjacent and you must deal with it now.  So, against my co-driver's wishes (nasty argument), I chose to proceed along my merry way.  In addition to all of this mess going on, I had also chosen to take a US highway instead of the Interstate. There I was tooling up highway 54 toward Alamogordo when I came upon a New Mexico Port of Entry.  As I pull in, there is an obviously bored officer sitting in the elevated taco hut at the side of their inspection area.  

"Pull on around and come into the bay for a Class 2 inspection" he says. 

 "Oh crap" I think, "this could get ugly!"

Sure enough, he not only finds the 2 loose lug nuts, but horror of horrors, the 3rd one is missing entirely!  In truth, the wheel was obviously crying out for help and attention - right damn now!

He smiled as he explained to me that he was putting me OUT OF SERVICE and to bring my log book and permit book and follow him into the office.  

Put yourself back into about the 7th or 8th grade and imagine that nasty vice principle that everyone hated telling you to grab your ill prepared essay on the reform policies of the New Deal era and follow him to his office.  That is about what I felt like.  Lucky for me, my log book is a marvel of neatness and perfectness.  Our permit book is always up to date (thank you Con-Way) and everything else about our rig is the very model of neatness and in good order.  It also helped that Leo was being Mr. Cute and doing his best to charm the guy as well.

When we sat down, the officer slid a dog biscuit through the little half moon cut into the window.  "For your co-pilot" he said.  Leo had done his job well!

After all the papers were examined and I drank 14 little cones of cold water, he got to the nitty gritty.  "I am giving you a verbal warning only and placing you out of service until a service truck can come and replace/tighten the lug nuts and get you on your way."  

"No ticket?" 

 "Nope, just have to call your service department and have them send someone out to get this done."

And that was that.  Unfortunately, on Friday night in the middle of nowhere, it takes a little longer for a service call.

So I got to sit for 5 hours waiting and reflecting.  In retrospect, I'm not sure that I would have made a different choice.  When we checked, only the 2 were loose.  I know that Tony will be more pushy for the "get it fixed now" options and I will argue that we spend more time getting Con-Way's trailers fixed than any other driver.  

That is why there are 2 of us and why we make such a good team.

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?  

Out of the snow and on our own. . .

So, if the tow truck gets stuck while trying to pull you out and must then use you as an anchor to get out of the mud pit, do you still have to pay?  Yep, and you must pay a lot!  Well, the wonderful company you work for must pay and promise not to fuss at you for getting stuck in the first place.  All in all the fun and games in Mitchell, South Dakota wasn't enough fun to keep us there too long.  We headed up to St. Paul to meet out relay and then headed home to Texas via our main headquarters in Joplin, Missouri.  

We are in Odessa for some Dr's appointments, re-supply of favorite goodies and time with our oldest son, his wonderful wife and 2 precious grandkids.  Yea!  

IT IS SNOWING !@%#??

Who could dream this up?  We are shut down in a snow storm in South Dakota.  Winter's over you say...Spring has sprung...well, someone forgot to tell South Dakota!  The good news is that we were able to get off the interstate before too much slipping and sliding took place and find a truck stop.  We also have a great signal on the air card so I can use the internet.  AND, we have the 2nd season of Lost to watch, plus the 3rd season if it comes to that.  The bad news is that we are in a really muddy snowy bog with about 50 other trucks and are so gridlocked that we will have to be peeled out one at a time.  Our hope is that the mud will freeze enough to enable us to drive over it (okay, that's my hope.  Tony just looks at me with that "you are such a girl" look on his face when I say that).  One guy had a tow-truck pull him out, but he almost hit a couple of trucks in the effort.  

So, we are actually stopped for the night - not something that we get to do very often.  Luckily, we are well provisioned and have a great heater in the sleeper that runs independently of the truck electrical system.  It is fueled with the diesel that fuels the truck and has it's own power supply.  Smart thinking on someone's part.   

Time to turn in for the night.  I'll keep you posted on how this little adventure turns out.  Like my buddy Charlotte and I used to say, "It's not just an adventure. . .it's a job!"

Getting locked out is no fun!

Boy, do I feel silly.  I managed to lock myself out of here for a couple of weeks.  March was really busy for us on the road.  In addition, I had to finalize Rancho Fandango taxes and deal with Micah's financial aid stuff.  All of that is finally finished and now that I finally figured out how to get back into this thing, I'll work on keeping it up. . . Promise.

We are in lovely California right now getting ready to make a run up the coast to Seattle.  It is a really tight run as far as time goes, but one of the more scenic ones that we do.  Heck, I can't really think of a run that we have done that wasn't scenic.

Spring is busting out all over and I am absolutely loving it.  After living in the desert for 20 years, I had really forgotten what spring is like.  So far it is green and soggy and even smells like something is growing out there - what a change from spring in Terlingua.

More later as I get my "writer-thang back again".