Dateland = Good

When we are in California and southern Arizona, we always look for ways to stop for dates. 

Growing up in the Midwest and South Texas, dates were just not part of our diet.  Oh sure, we might have the odd slice of date-nut bread or maybe a date muffin.  But the reality was that dates just weren't on our radar.  

DAMN 

 Those things are waaaaaayyyyyy too good.?

And who knew that date shakes were heavenly??!

Additionally, our favorite undisputed top pick for on the road lunch is Quiznos.  

The food is fresh and they have my favorite Sobe pink grapefruit drink in their soda fountains.

Imagine my delight when I spied what I thought could only be a mirage shimmering in the heat as I drove across I-8 headed to Calexico.  

Could it possibly be a new Travel Center?  

Do I see the sign for a Quiznos?  

Is that "Date Shakes" painted on the side of the building?  

Are my eyes telling me true?  

And then, the best part of all - truck parking!!!!!!!

And it wasn't really a truck stop - therefore, it will be clean and spacious and welcoming and not full of smelly truckers . . . 

It was light and bright and full of yummy goodness.  

So we got to have Quiznos Sammys for lunch and date ice-cream for desert.

We are on our way to Georgia.

My dad tells me we will have run 21,650 miles this month.

That is a good month!

Roadside Whimsy

We see lots and lots of cool roadside art.  

Sometimes it is sculptures, sometimes billboards and often simply unique and indescribable.  

I am really trying to have the camera out more often in hopes of capturing these elusive moments of Roadside Whimsy.

This little beauty is part of a trio observed in Gila Bend, Arizona.

As I write this, I am pulled over on the side of the Interstate in Oklahoma.  

It is 11:00 Wednesday night.  

The wind is howling and rocking the truck . . . 

 it was hailing hard a few moments ago . . .

and 

the rain is coming in sheets.

  

I really have NO interest in driving.  

I think I'll just look at this picture and remember how nice and DRY it was that day in Gila Bend.  We are going to be going through there Thursday night.  

I should be driving in the dry by then.

It is Canada's Fault . . .

We are either still in Canada or just returning from Canada.  When we are in Canada, we have learned to shut off the cell phones and leave the computer in its case.  Those foreign airwaves are apparently expensive.

Either way, this is a good excuse for a favorite post rerun.

I first ran this post in January and when I decided to rerun it, I went back through the list.  I still listen faithfully to those same podcasts.  I couldn't think of any new ones that would make the cut as favorites, so here is the original unedited post.

We should be back in the States late Wednesday night.  In fact, we may already be back, but I'm gonna preschedule this anyway!

When I drive, I have 11 to 12 hours to listen to the radio.  We have XM in the truck, but even the gazillion channels on it get stale after awhile.  My iPod provides a nice change.  We have a transmitter that sends it to the radio and it plays through the speakers.  

I listen to my own "Groove" Playlist.

(I'll share the goofiness of my playlist in another post)

 

I also listen to podcasts.  

They are one of the newest things to hit the web, and one of my favorites.

If you do any amount of driving, dishwashing, gardening, walking, waiting around, then podcasts could be for you.  You don't even need an iPod.  Any mp3 player will work.  I think there are some relatively inexpensive ones out now.  You could also download to your computer and burn discs.  I did that before we got our iPods. 

 iTunes is a great way to find out about podcasts.  All of mine come from the iTunes store, but there are lots of others out there too.  I just find so many on iTunes that I'll never listen my way through all of them!

So, here is a list of my favorite podcasts along with a brief description:

(Hang on a sec while I hunt down my iPod)

A Way With Words - this one is all about the usage, origin and pronunciation or words.  Very entertaining, actually.

The Splendid Table - mmmmmm, this one is about food.  Can you tell that I am a foodie?

The Story - This is done by American Public Media and is hosted by Dick Gordon.  This may be my favorite podcast.  I think he does one each day.  They are always timely and usually I learn a new way of looking at something.  Even if I don't think I'll be interested in an episode from the title, I have learned to just listen anyway.  I am almost always glad that I did.  If you don't try any of these other titles, try this one.

Travel With Rick Steves - This is probably my other favorite.  I don't do much travel outside of the United States, but Rick Steves takes me to the most wonderful far flung places.

Backstory - With the American History Guys - This is really a great podcast.  These guys take a current hot topic and spin it through the last 3 centuries of American History.  

I have a bunch of other podcasts, but these are my favorites.  These are the ones that I look forward to listening to.

What are some that you listen to?  

I am always looking for new ones.

Rainy Night in Georgia

Hoverin' by my suit case

Tryin' to find a warm place to spend the night

Heavy rain fallin', seems I hear your voice callin'

It's alright

A rainy night in Georgia

A rainy night in Georgia

It seems like it's rainin' all over the world

I feel like it's rainin' all over the world

Neon signs flashin'

Taxi cabs and buses passin'

Through the night

A distant moanin' of a train

Seems to play a sad refrain

To the night

A rainy night in Georgia

Such a rainy night in Georgia

Lord I believe it's rainin' all over the world

I feel like it's rainin' all over the world

How many times I wondered

It still comes out the same

No matter how you look at it or think of it

It's life and you just got to play the game

I find me a place in a boxcar

So I take my guitar

To pass some time

Late at night, it's hard to rest

I hold your picture to my chest,

And I feel fine, Fine

But it's a rainy night in Georgia

Baby it's a rainy night in Georgia

I feel it's rainin' all over the world

Kinda lonely there and it's rainin' all over the world

Oh, Have you ever been lonely people

And you feel that it was rainin' all over this man's world

You're talkin' 'bout a-rainin' rainin' rainin' rainin' rainin' rainin' rainin' rainin' rainin' rainin' 

Rainin', a-rainin. a-rainin' rainin' over the world

I said now rainin'... 

by Tony Joe White

Alligator on the Zipper

I had a blow-out the other day while driving through Nebraska.

Our company uses "Super Single" tires on many of our trailers as well as our tractors.  They are supposed to be better in terms of fuel mileage and maintenance costs.  The only problem is that when one of them goes, there isn't that other wheel in the old style "Duel Wheel" set-up to pick up the slack while you get to a repair facility.

Apparently, the other issue with them seems to be that you aren't always aware when they blow.  

We had just switched drivers, so I was certainly awake and Tony was as well.  Neither of us heard or felt anything.  

Another truck driver alerted me to the problem, so I pulled over and found this . . . 

ICK, ICK and ICK

Tony pulled out our "Approved" Con-Way Truckload Repair Kit - his cellphone and called Road Service.  

They sent a repair truck out and Zip Zip Zip, we were on our way.

I can only guess that I must have unknowingly created one of those horrible strips of shredded tire that clog our highways and byways.  Truth is, we don't always know (as evidenced by this one) and we certainly can't go back and pick them up.  

In the trucking world, they are called Alligators.  

Great description.  

So, the correct term for them is Alligator on the Zipper.  

Sorry 'bout that.

Sunday Smile

Believe it or not, I really don't spend all my time thinking about food.  

I enjoy cruising around on the Interwebs too. Especially those weird humor sites.   

I really like it when those two collide.  

Then you get fun websites like Fancy Fast Food.  

If you click on the link, you will see pictures like this . . . 

I'm not going to tell you why this is funny - you have to go to the link and find out for yourself.  

Scroll down the page - it gets even weirder!

I hope you have a nice Sunday.

Outside My Window

 Someone mentioned the other day that my blogging had turned away from trucking and our cross-country travels.  I get caught up in food posts and thinking about future bathrooms.  

So, I figured I should concentrate on the view out my window.  

We drove from Suffolk, Virginia (way over on the Chesapeake Bay) across to Mesquite, Texas and then on to Kettleman City, California which is on the other side of the country.  

This is what I mostly saw out my window . . . 

Oh, and I saw bunches of this . . . 

July is Resurface All Highways month across the entire nation.

We also spent time looking at this . . . 

Yep, we saw lots of that in Charlotte, Albuquerque and let's not forget Los Angeles.

But sometimes we see things like this . . . 

That is totally an owl sticking her tongue out at me.  

Her red tongue just flapped in the wind.  

Her two babies are sitting on her head having a good laugh too.

It gets boring out here - we have to find entertainment where we can!