You may not have noticed, but I haven't updated our blog in a LONG time.

With a few computer issues, network issues and just downright lazyness I have put it off.

I did want to post some pictures of Scott and Jennie's wedding from last Sunday. It was beautiful and we had a wonderful time.

Here's Jennie arriving and carrying baby Sophie.

This is Scott surrounded by Teresa and myself and Debra and Bill.

Debra is my ex-wife and Bill is her husband. We had a wonderful time.

Scott and Jennie prior to the nuptials.

Plus Hunter and Sophie. Sophies dress was the same color as
Jennies. Very pretty.

THE WEDDING

Charlotte, NC

We went to bed Friday night with expectation of waiting for a relay load to arrive in Edwardsville on Sunday morning, ohhh that hurts.


Saturday morning that load got canceled and our next w/a had us going across the street to Proctor and Gamble with a delivery today in Salisbury, NC. That's 742 miles and about three days to do it. That would give us time to stop in at Hartford, TN where they do the river rafting. Hooray, maybe. We got there Sunday and Saturday was the end of the season... Drat.

Anyway we had a nice evening there and delivered at noon today. We're at the Charlotte OC. Our next w/a has us picking up a load of rolled paper in Catawba, SC and delivering tomorrow night at 2100 in Danville, KY, 372 miles. We seem to be getting a lot of short loads, can't say that I like it.

While we in Edwardsville we watched these fellas piggyback 12 old Schneider trucks, 4 to a string. These old Schneider trucks are headed for Mexico.

For the record... tomorrow (8th) is my birthday - big 55.

16 days till TAH - headed to Boise for Scott and Jennie's wedding.

Not much else to report - see you in the funny pages, page 1.

Back in the Saddle

So, I made it home last week albeit a day late. Thursday instead of Wednesday. I had still opted to head back out on Monday taking 4 days off instead of 5. Low and behold, Schneider called on Friday and asked if I could pick up a load on Sunday that had to be in Lawrence, KS Monday morning. Although I told my DBL that I would prefer not, if there were no other options we would. And we did, and now we're back at it.

Back to my TAH for a minute. Saturday we went to the 133rd Annual Ponca Tribe Pow Wow.

Very interesting. Every event has a queen, just like me... this is Dana Clark.

Their costumes are very elaborate and colorful.

This little guy won the Fancy Dancer competition for kids.

After the Pow Wow we went country dancing at the Rocking Horse Saloon. Another couple saw us struggling (to put it mildly) so they each grabbed one of us and gave us a lesson. We learned three dances that night. Doesn't mean we remember them today but we had a great time.

Sunday we headed back to the truck and up into Kansas. Delivered Monday morning, right on time. Then on to Independence, MO for a pickup and delivery in Chicago Tuesday with a pickup in Chicago also on Tuesday. Then on over to an AutoZone DC in Zanesville, OH.

Yesterday after delivery we picked up at a KMart DC and dropped here at a Sears DC in Manteno, IL.

We delivered at 1300 and our next load is supposed to be ready at 1900 but my we're waiting out my 10 hour break and will pick it up at about 2300 tonight with 2 deliveries at Sears stores around St. Louis, MO at 0600 and 0900 tomorrow.

I'm not real fond of the overnight loads, since I don't sleep much during the day. After delivery tomorrow morning I'm going to make us unavailable until Saturday morning at 0700 so we gat back on a day time schedule. They (Schneider) may not like it. Oh well.

Anyway, we're back together and back at it. Since we're not independently wealthy and have to work, what more fun could you have...

My Queen likes it too.

Gary OC

Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. You know how it is. Right now the bear is getting me. I spent last night at the Indianapolis OC and left this morning for University Park, IL, on I57 just south of I80. My delivery was a drop at 1500. I got there at 0900 - had to wait somewhere. Instead of a drop, which is quick and easy, it was a live unload, which is not. Five hours. Now I'm at the Gary OC for the night.

I dropped the empty and picked up the loaded one. Delivers tomorrow 0730 in Waukegan, which is just north of Chicago. I'll leave here between 0530 and 0600 to make sure I miss traffic. Probably closer to 0530.

Today I covered 210 miles and so far tomorrow is 68. More dog bites in the butt, and not headed home yet.

We'll see what comes up after I arrive in Waukegan...

Ashville, KY

I know, lagging again, I'm blaming it on the Funny Lady for not being here to keep me in line !!!

I've been from Syracuse, NY to Pittsburgh, VA to West Virginia over to Winchester, VA thru the Washington beltway and down to the southern most part of Virginia and now in Ashville, KY.
Took 2 hours to travel 30 miles last night down I95 from D.C. I hear on Friday's it's even worse.

The load I have now was a 3 stop picker upper and it delivers in Evansville, IN tomorrow. I figure about noon.

I am pretty sure I have been over 2 of the hardest routes in my year and a half on the road, and they are both in Virginia. One is WV-55 over to VA-55. I took the other today VA-58 from Martinsville, VA to I-81. Ten percent grades and not quite hairpin turns, could hardly keep my tandems in my own lane around the sharp corners.

AND SLOW... I've had enough of the hills in VA, ready for some relatively flat land of the midwest.

This load is headed for TJ Maxx. I've got Ralph Lauren Polo stuff, roasted red peppers and artichokes and Nautica stuff.

In a perfect world I should be home some time Tuesday for TAH, looking forward to it.

Next TAH we're headed for Boise for Scott and Jennie's wedding.

Not much else to report.

Binghamtom, NY

I was trying to talk myself out of updating our blog this evening. Obviously I lost that one.

The w/a I had to be in NJ by 0900 tomorrow was canceled, the driver doing the pickup didn't make it. How does that happen ? I haven't figured it out either.

By the time I got to Warren, OH I was really pooped and hungry, not that many miles (521) but some of it was Sunday afternoon traffic and construction. Most of all the route from Canton to Youngstown was horrific. I couldn't keep track of how many 1 light towns I went through, some at 25 mph.

After delivering I was headed to a Pilot I knew of in Youngstown on I80. Didn't make it. I passed an outdoor mall with a Cici's Pizza and a Border's bookstore. Teresa doesn't particularly like Cici's, but for $5.71 I figure you can't go wrong, so I took advantage of the opportunity and then wandered around the bookstore for an hour. The parking lot was empty so I got a good quiet night of sleep.

While I was eating my next w/a came in; pick up a relay at the Seville OC and deliver in Norwich, NY between 0700 and 1000 tomorrow. So I've stopped in Binghamton for the night. Let me tell you it won't be a quiet nights rest...

Funny thing, last week Joe was giving me a geography lesson related to the location of the Watkins Glen racetrack. Guess what ? I had not yet been through the Finger Lakes region. Now I have. Drove right through on I86, beautiful country. I have also discovered the worst interstate in the country, also I86.

Tomorrow after delivering I am to deadhead to Canada. I don't have the w/a yet, just instructions to get to the shippers location.

I almost ran myself out of hours the past 7 days. I have 7 1/2 hours left for tomorrow. Will be enough to get to Ontario, but not very far after. Guess I need my navigator and watchdog...

By the way, my bruised dog bit butt has healed.

I just talked to Teresa she's just leaving Bartlesville, OK, should be home within the hour. Sounds like she had a wonderful week with Andrea and Tracie, she's a lucky lady.

Friday in Charlotte

Looks like I lost my update from yesterday.

Anyway I stopped Thursday night at the Atlanta OC. Showered and DID MY OWN LAUNDRY!!!! Yes I can do it.

This morning I left at 0430 headed for Orangeburg, SC. Only got misdirected twice. I say misdirected as I knew I wasn't where I was supposed to be but I also knew where I was supposed to be. I just couldn't find the correct roads to get there. NO ROAD SIGNS.

As I was trying to get to the Husqvarna plant my next w/a came in. From Orangeburg I went down to Savannah, GA and picked up a load and 4 hours later went right back through Orangeburg enroute to the Charlotte OC. I made it using all of my 11 and 14 hours available for the day. Hopefully I can lighten up or I'll be forced to do a reset for the first time in a year.

This load is headed for a Kmart distribution center in Warren (north of Youngstown) Ohio.

I already have my next w/a. Pick up an empty trailer there at Kmart and deadhead over to the Seville OC (also Ohio) and pick up a relay load 450 miles headed to Somerset, NJ with a 0900 AT delivery on Tuesday.

Busy Bobby...

Teresa and the girls are back in Champaign, IL. Party is over tomorrow their going to move Andrea and Josh into their new apartment.

Teresa just called and she and Tracie are relaxing in the hot tub at the Hilton Garden Hotel. Andrea got them an employee discount.

And here I work my butt off so they can soak. Something is wrong with this picture, don't you think ? NAH.

Lonely Trucker, Again

While I'm out driving my tail off, Teresa is out playing with the girls. They checked into the Sheraton in downtown Chicago right on Lake Michigan. Rough life, huh ?

Monday I deadheaded east from OKC to Siloam Springs, AR and picked up a load of pet food from a chicken processing plant. The south side of the plant is for picking up chicken and the north side is for picking up pet food. What we don't get, our pets do.

Delivered this morning at Dollar General in Alachua, FL and within 30 minutes got my next w/a. Go across the street and pick up a load (can't tell what it is) but it's headed for a Sysco center in Calera, AL. I covered 480 miles today and am 23 miles south of my delivery point in Clanton, AL. I already have my next w/a; deadhead to Russellville, Al and get loaded and then to Orange(something), SC. That load delivers Friday. Looks like I'm having a pretty busy week.

It's all good. Good morning, Grandma Joannie... she reads this at about 0400. Better than sleeping she says.

Sadly, back to work tomorrow

Sadly, time to head back to the truck tomorrow. I may have mentioned that Teresa is not going out with me this trip. We scheduled it to be short, only 17 days. She's going to drop me at the truck in OKC by about 0800 then head up to Chicago to spend the week with Andrea and Tracie.

Guess you know I'll miss her, but like I said 17 days, I'll be working and she'll be having fun. What a life, huh ?

We enjoyed our TAH... Rodeo for two nights, baseball in Wichita, KS; the National Baseball Conference World Series. Watched two games.

Every Rodeo has a queen, here are a couple of the entrants.

Hard to get a shot at night, but I guess it shows action...

Here's my queen and her Dad, I guess I can share her with him.

Me and my queen...

Many Firsts !!!

Final note on the WindCreek Casino. Very nice, just opened July 4th. The pool and surrounding area are also very nice. We thoroughly enjoyed our morning there.

Delivered in the basement at the Kimberly Clark toilet papermill. We delivered some sort of "starch" there. So you ask what would a what in the world do they use starch for. They use it to make a glue to seal the end of each roll of toilet paper. You know, the end you hate to have to fool with when you really need it.

Our next w/a had us run up to Pennington, AL for a pickup at 2100. We typically have good luck and are able to pick up early. NOT THIS ONE... We arrived about 1500 and sat there till after the 2100 p/u time. Then went to bed. I got up at 0500 and hooked up and hit the road. This was a Georgia Pacific plant - a load of toilet paper. Of course I love those loads- 15,000 pounds !!! Headed for Stuarts Draft, VA. No problem we delivered at 1100 on Saturday.

Our next w/a had us all set up to get home from VA; Down to Danville, VA for a pickup then relay in Indianapolis on Monday, then pick up a different relay there and head for Emporia, KS for a Tuesday morning delivery.

When we got down to Danville (140) miles turns out they close at 1200 on Saturday. We arrived at 1500. Schneider dispatch thought they were open 24/7. Schneider took both loads off of us, darn.

About an hour later we got a new w/a. Head up to Covington, VA to pick up a load of cardboard headed for Tuscaloosa, AL. By 1900 we were out of gas - physically. We overnighted in Roanoke, VA. Ran up to Covington than on through Beckley and down through Knoxville and Chatanooga. We're about 30 south of Chatanooga in Rising Fawn, GA on I59.

Beautiful countryside. We took a nice long walk through the country. We were almost back to the truck stop when a couple of big dogs came out to greet us. They "seemed" friendly, I figured the best thing might be to ignore them. Wrong idea ! The big one sort of circle around us and as we continued past he bit me in the BUTT. Not just a nibble, actually broke the skin without even going through my shorts. I've got a fang scrape about 5 inches long on my left butt cheek. Teresa wants a picture... so far I've been able to avoid it.

And yes I had a tetanus shot a few years back after the motorcycle accident. Think I'm OK.

Tomorrow we deliver at 1200, then we're hoping to head more westerly. Got to get to the Rodeo on Thursday...

Time Flys When You're Having Fun

I can hardly recall the last three days, but I'll give it a go.

Sunday folks at the Atlanta OC DID fix the a/c. I'm not sure they know what exactly, but they replaced a few parts and voila, it's working fine. We left out of the OC about 1530 heading for close to our delivery point - AutoZone in Lavonia, GA. About 50 miles outside of Atlanta we had a blow out on a trailer tire. That's three this summer. We limped into a Pilot truck stop and called Schneider Emergency Maintenance. They got someone from the TA about 20 miles away to come fix it. Took about an hour and a half.

We made our delivery at 0800 and were out of there by 0930 and on our way to our next w/a. But whoa... the delivery is in Indianapolis on Wed at 0300. I sent them a message to change it to either after 1400 on Tuesday or after 0700 on Wednesday. I did not want to ruin a whole nights sleep. We pulled into the Atlanta OC and discovered they had removed that load and given us another. We headed out and picked up 45,000 pounds of rolled paper stock in Coosa, GA and headed for Nashville. Surely by now you know we enjoy the mile walk over to Broadway and the honkey tonks. The Stage seems to always have the best bands. The brick building is the Ryman Theater, the location for the original Grand Ole Opry. And that's the Funny Lady in the fountain in front of the court house. No we did not end up in jail for vagrancy... But we had fun as always.

Tuesday we headed up to Indianapolis and unloaded the paper and then got out next w/a; about 10 miles away pick up a load of "starch" to deliver in Mobile, AL. We headed back down I65 and decided to stop just north of Louisville, KY as it was 1700 and who needs commuter traffic.

This morning we left at 0615 to avoid the commuter traffic and made it 585 miles to the WindCreek casino. Good buffet. Looks like they have a nice pool and hot tub so we're planning on taking advantage in the morning. To stuffed to swim tonight. We deliver at 1300 about 60 miles away so we've got some time to "fool around" in the morning. HAH.

Still Hot in Atlanta, GA

Thursday we had a light day. Dropped out trailer in Harker Heights, TX west of Temple and then picked up an empty at WalMart in Temple and deadheaded up to the Dallas OC. I tried to get them to look at the a/c. Appears to be getting more sporadic. Still runs great when we're driving but at night sometimes it works and sometimes not.

They advised me to come back after our pick up at 1930 about 15 miles away, another 44,000 load of water headed for Hammond, LA. The service writer assured me by then they would be looking for work. HAH !!! Stopped back in at 2030 and got they " oh, no, we couldn't look at it until tomorrow morning." Sounds like they really didn't want to take my work, doesn't it ? We delivered our water Friday night at about 1900 then headed for a place to bed down.

Saturday we picked up a load of Castol motor oil headed for an Auto Zone distribution center in Lavonia, GA with delivery at 0800 on Monday morning. Since we were coming through the Atlanta OC I figured why not try again. At least the a/c tech was interested. I indicated we need to be on our way by about 1600 to be close to our delivery location in the morning.

We headed right through Mobile, AL - though about Dan D on the way through. Took them 4 hours to load us so we were headed right on through. I honked or farted, can't recall which, as we passed through - did you hear us Dan ?

Just went out to get lunch stuff, and they still haven't touched it but at least I've been placated for awhile.

Nine days till TAH - Rodeo time.

Temple, TX

We finally got out of Laredo and the heat that goes along with it, but not too far.

We picked up a load of empty Coke cans there at the OC and dropped them in Lufkin, TX. Our next w/a was to pick up a load of water. Of course by now you know I hate the water loads, 45,333 pounds of it. We picked it up at 0900 this morning which was 107 miles away and are to deliver at Sam's Club in Temple, TX at 0200 tomorrow.

We arrived about 1600 and there's another Schneider truck here with a load of... you guessed it, water.

The temperature this afternoon was 97 so we walked over to the mall to hang out in their a/c.

Oh, another first. The a/c in the truck works just wonderful when we're driving but last night when we went to bed it pooped. It wasn't that hot, not sure exactly but with both fans on we did alright. I tried several times today to let the truck idle hoping it would poop out again so we could drop into the Dallas OC on our way down here to Temple. But you know how those gremlins are. They show up when they want, not when you want.

It seems the temp has dropped a bit this evening and we're not supposed to idle here at Sam's while parked. So we'll have to take a wait-and-see approach. Update on that tomorrow.

Sunday and Monday in Laredo

We're boiling in Laredo... not too bad though. We spent the afternoon at the movies a hamburger at Fuddruckers, picked up some MATCHING western shirts at Mike's Western Wear and generally had a great day. But it's still hotter than heck, the official city website shows it as being 107 degrees. Top that if you can.

Anyway we obviously did not get a load out of here yet. See what tomorrow holds. I already know we're headed for Krispy Kreme in the morning.

Had another first today; after unloading us the forklift driver asked if we had a cold soda in the truck. Sure I said and gave hime one of Teresa's WCDP - Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi.

Looks like there are still 30 - 40 drivers here waiting for loads so we're not holding our breath.

Sunday in Dallas

Thursday morning was nice in PA. Light rain in the early morning hours, cleared everything up. Boy they've got some hills in that part of the country. Not long necessarily but steep, some over 8 degrees. Doesn't sound like much but try pulling 43,000 pounds over it. On one hill I slowed so fast I missed a downshift and then the next and before I knew it I had to stop completely and actually use 1st gear to get started. Really unusual and unnerving. As I have said plenty of times in this space, the directions are most times very good, but occasionally they're not. Well, I missed one turn; I was looking for an address on RR 837 but I was supposed to turn on Hwy 837, knew it as I passed it but what can you do ?

I called the shipper and talked to the receptionist she gave me clear directions, indicating NOT to take the turn as it came upon us rather to go on down the road and take the jug handle to make a U turn. She was very clear, our truck wouldn't be able to make the turn. I was privately thinking I could probably give it a go. As I arrived at the turn the sign indicated "No Trucks Over 40 feet Long" I could definately see where both sides had been beaten up heavily. Needless to say we took the jug handle.

Our w/a had given us an estimate of 3 hours for load time. Took them about 30 minutes. We skipped on down to Louisville, KY Thursday then into the OC in W. Memphis on Friday arriving at about 1500. I had called on Thursday for an appointment for the 50,000 mile PM. Got 10 new tires, front end alignment and all the other regular stuff. Since this PM usually takes several hours we checked into a hotel for the evening. Nice dinner at Ameca and a swim in the pool. Life is good.

We made it on down to the Dallas OC yesterday and will be heading out for Laredo this morning, with a delivery at 0800 tomorrow. We can only hope to get a quick w/a out of there after delivering. The weather forecast indicates 104 for today and 106 for tomorrow. Guess we'll be "idling" tomorrow night.

Turns out all of our diligence paid off for last quarter; we were notified that we met the bonus criteria. The bonus is 2 cents per mile for each mile ran during the quarter. On average we covered about 2,200 miles a week. If you're a mind to you can extrapolate the bonus, I'm just trying to convey that we worked hard and suffered a bit and got it. Not sure that will hold for the summer months since idling is a big piece and at 106 you've got to stay comfortable some way.

As I get my update in the Funny Lady is getting her beauty sleep. We've only got about 420 miles to Laredo today, so she can sleep as long as she wants this morning.

Wednesday and we're hanging out in Smithton, PA.

Monday was a tough day. We started out in Franksville, WI just south of Milwaukee. We planned correctly and left there at 0830.

We delivered in Romeoville, then headed into Chicago to pick up a load of scrap paper headed back to Neenah, WI. They're converting it into tissues.

Just for the record here's the building where I worked before "junking" it all to be a truck driver, Northbrook, IL. So far, no regrets for either of us.

We deliverd at 1800 in Neenah. Then at 1930, still on Monday, we picked up a load of "wedding paper" and stopped back in Franksville at 2215. Almost a 14 hour day.

Yesterday we ran all they way here to PA, 570 miles, and delivered this morning. National Envelope prints all things for weddings, plus. Looked like they were doing a booming business and looking to hire, too.

Last night we found a nice quiet truck stop. That's the way it seemed at 1830. At about 2100 a truck pulls right next to us and and tied his Beagle up, outside. If you know anything about Beagles you know they are barkers. Talk about discourteous. Anyway we moved.

Tomorrow we're picking up a load in W. Elizabeth, PA and headed for Laredo, TX. We've been pretty lucky with the temperatures so far this summer. Looks like we're headed for the hot stuff now.

Chilling in Milwaukee

We had a very restful 5 days off in Ponca City. When we arrived in OKC on Friday it was 103 degrees. Man that's hot. We swapped our stuff to the Bug and headed out and watched the temp climb to 105, and man that's hotter still. Fortunately the next day a cool front came through and dropped the temps into the high 80s and low 90s for the next 5 days. Thanks Mother Nature. Of course that brought in some much needed rain to the area. Disrupted one of my planned golf days but for the relief it brought I'll take it.

Lots of good eats, most notably I fixed a brisket (sp) that I thought was pretty good. I cooked it Quincy Jones style. I used to regularly ruin ribs on the grill but years ago I picked up the Quincy Jones Ribs recipe off of Oprah's web site. Oprah raves over the these ribs and I have to tell you, they're really good. Anyway I picked up a 7 lb brisket and some green and red peppers and a Vidalia onion. I rubbed the brisket down with Uncle Joe's mix and cut the peppers up and put the fat side of the brisket up, on top of the peppers, wrapped it all in foil and "aged" it overnight. The real secret is to cook the whole thing at about 300 degrees for 8 hours. Then I lowered the temp to 170 till dinner time. Real tender and juicy.

We got back to the truck Thursday morning at 0800 to find dead batteries, not a great start. I called Schneider's emergency maintenance (SEM) and the guy was there in about an hour.

Our first w/a was to pick up a trailer in OKC and head over to Pryor, OK to pick up a load of paper headed for Indianola, MS. We spent the night in Little Rock, AR and dropped at Dollar General on Friday morning. Our next w/a was to pick up a load of recliners in Houston, MS and deliver to Wauwatosa, WI Saturday. We dropped that trailer last night at a JC Penny distribution center. When I got up this morning it was about 60 degrees, real nice.

We were headed up I57 right through Champaign so we called the girls for a lunch date. Teresa was uncontainable.

Our upcoming load is to head north to Neenah and pick up a load of consumer goods headed for Romeoville, IL with a delivery some time tomorrow. Right now I'm planning to sit here till 1800 tonight which will be 24 hours after delivering yesterday. The 24 hour sit time means Schneider will owe us $65 for layover pay. We'll pick up tonight and head back through Milwaukee without traffic and stop north of Chicago and wait out the morning traffic till about 0900 then head for our delivery, which we should be able to make by 1100.

I think our TAH counter is 23, after 3 days already on the road. We're headed home for rodeo.

We're planning a trip to CA to see Adam and Claire in September and a Mediterranean cruise for next spring.

Life is one big trip for us, whether in the truck or not.

Pooped out and home

Since the load from Knoxville to Muskogee was going to be our last we figured the quicker we got there the quicker we would get home. On Thursday we covered 585 miles, ALL the width of Tennessee and most of Arkansas. Then wrapped up the delivery by 1100 and headed for OKC. The geography of Tennessee is one of the pretties of all the states we've been to, for sure. Lots of tall trees and water. Right up there with the Carolinas.

So we're home now. Course you know we have no home, we rely on the "home is where the heart is" axiom.

Jennie and Scott sent this picture of Hunter and Sophie. Pretty cute, huh ?
We really enjoyed them, of course Scott and Jennie, too, in Las Vegas.

We're TAH (time at home) for 5 days. Ready for some rest and relaxation. Between cooking, golfing, wave runnering and so on, I'm sure I'll get some.

Happy 4th of July to ALL.

Bob

Alive, Frustrated but headed home

Monday turned out to be a disaster, not really just time wise. We arrived at the CN (consignee) about 1130 est, backed into the dock rather quickly and could tell they were working on it. There were 34 pallets that had to be separated into 64. This is one of those places where you have to hire a lumper. They won't let a driver use an powered jack. So if you want to do it yourself (and get paid for it) it's a lot of work. So you don't. With approval from Schneider I paid $80 for the lumper to unload and separate the load. Everything seemed to be going fine until the lumper left without letting anyone know she had not finished the paperwork. I heard other drivers complaining to the receiving department about how long it was taking and I didn't want to go there. You know, make the chef mad and you never know what they're going to do with your food. So we waited. While there we got our next w/a; head up to Eden, NC to the Miller plant and pick up a load of beer headed for Knoxville, TN. The w/a indicated the load would be ready by 2200, but I didn't have that much time on my 14 hour clock. I think we got out of there about 1800. I thought if we headed right out and didn't stop we could grab the load and be ready to head for Knoxville the next morning.

We were at the CN for about 6 1/2 hours. That's rough.

We made it to the Miller plant 15 minutes before my 14 hour clock ran out. Nope the load wasn't ready. No big deal really, we figured we could pick it up in the morning and still be headed west.
Not to be... every hour or so I check with the guard shack to see if it was ready till about 2000 last night. Finally we decided to pack it in and relax and make our plan for the next day. I had indicated we would deliver at in Knoxville at 1530 Wednesday. We THOUGHT; hmm if I get rolling at 0500 and pick up the load, head for Knoxville. We could stop at the same place we were at on Sunday and take a raft trip at 1100, be done by 1300 and still deliver by 1530. Nope, enroute we got a message that they needed the beer by 1300. Well, that blew our raft trip. We were wondering, what would they have done if we hadn't planned to hit the road at 0500.

Anyway we arrived at 1230 and were out of there by 1330. We got our next w/a after delivering; pick up a load of scrap paper about 7 miles away and take it to Muskogee, OK on Friday. Hoooray, we're headed home, right on schedule.

Some things work and some things don't, you've got to go with the flow !!!

We dropped the trailer at the shipper hoping to pick up the load this afternoon, but it won't be ready till the am. No problem, we'll probably run about 550 miles tomorrow which will leave about 180 miles. We'll finish in the am on Friday then head for OKC and pick up the bug and head for Ponca City.

Sewing, golfing and wave runners are on the schedule so far.

Hartford, TN

One of the early Schneider truck and a just as old driver !!!

We stopped last night (Sunday) on I40 exit 447. The place is beautiful and peaceful. The welcome sign says Hartford, TN. It's on the Pigeon River, right in the middle of the Great Smokey Mountains, just beautiful. We spent the afternoon hiking around and enjoying the scenery.

Course my water baby had to play in the water. Next time through I'm sure we'll have to take a raft trip. It's about 2 hours round trip. Teresa HAS to do it.

While we were there they let some water out of the dam and the rock that the Funny Lady is on was soon covered up.

If you look closely you can see the trout in the middle. It's about 2 1/2 feet long. There was another actually bigger.

We're being unloaded in Salisbury, NC and not sure where we're headed next, except that TAH starts on Saturday so I imagine we'll be headed west. Don't bank on that it's only my imagination.

Headed to Salisbury, NC

Thusday we got the truck back and decided to hang there in Green Bay where it was fairly cool.

We made our plan for Friday; head for the IdleAire in E. St. Louis and then head out at 0430 for Neely's Landing. We got to where we could see the Arch and my navigator (Teresa) decided that she would prefer not to have to get up that early, se we headed all the way to Neely's Landing - 580 miles. We stopped at a nice roadhouse and had catfish and bbq pork sandwich then parked a mile away. Delivered this morning at 0600. Last night we got our w/a for this morning so we planned one out. We deadheaded back to St. Louis and picked up a load right across the street from the Edwardsville OC then came over and showered. The load is headed for Salisbury, NC. We HAD figured to stop off in Nashville. Seems like another driver wants to take it as it's headed his direction. Whoa, he's decided not to take it.

We're letting the heat pass in Nashville expecting to arrive there about 1900. We figured if we hung out at the OC for a couple of hours we would get to Nashville about 1900 then hit the honkey tonks.

Not much else going on ready to hit the road... Nope, Teresa's going to surf a bit then we're out of here.

A new first - I know Craig and Diane have had it a few times, but it's a first for us...

While we were in the OC one of the guys said to watch out for P&G loads, they can be poorly loaded. Since we only had 39,000 lbs I figured to put the tandems in the 9th hole and head for the hills. Since he made that comment I thought I had better run by the scale, just to check. Good thing. The steers were at 12,000 which is the max, the drive tires were at 37,080 and the tandems were at 29,000. I moved the tandems all the way up and got it to 35080. Now what ?

Back to the shipper to remove and reload. Turns out it wasn't loaded according to the load plan.
When they got done I was still over 80 pounds (9th hole) so I moved it the tandems up 4 holes and hit it.

Since we hung out for two hours and THEN scaled and then spent 2 hours unloading and reloading I didn't have enough time on my 14 hour clock to make it to Nashville. So we're hanging out at the IdleAire in Mt. Vernon, IL. Which means we'll have to cover some good ground tomorrow, at least 500 miles. Which will leave 200 left to arrive in Salisbury by 1215 on Monday. Seems like a good plan, we'll see.

Back Where it All Began

We arrived in Belgium, WI about 2130, still hotter than I was expecting but not too bad. Left at 1030 and stopped at the Green Bay OC. More showers and a WalMart run. Left for delivery at 1400 and then on to our next w/a; pick up at P&G in Green Bay for delivery on 6/27 in Neely's Landing, MO. I noticed that the front bumper was hanging a little loose and funny. We have hit some hellacious bumps in the last couple of days. They say the heat is causing the roads to buckle.

One bump even knocked both of our glasses out of the cup holders, that's really rough.

We didn't want to get on the road and have a problem develop so we've stopped in at the G/B OC to have them look at it. They are working on it now. I guess we'll stay here where it's a little cooler then head for the IdleAire in E. St Louis in the am - about 490 miles.

Got to run to the shop.

Hot as heck in the south

Monday we trekked on up to the Edwardsville, IL OC. We stopped in for a shower, seems like when it's so hot and you're out dropping and hooking trailers it gets really stinky after awhile.

Our next w/a was supposed to be a quicky; pick up a trailer there at the OC and deliver at 0500 on Tuesday in St. Louis. We grabbed the trailer and headed to the IdleAire in E. St. Louis, IL. Teresa threatened to pull out the mattress pad and sleep in the OC if we didn't have cool air overnight. Not really, but sort of.

Headed out at 0400 for 25 miles. Followed all of the instructions and ended up going through old residential areas. Finally after arriving at the destination at 0500 I was pretty sure it was wrong. Called the consignee and got real directions. Arrived at 0600. Not sure if that constitutes a late delivery or not, since the directions were all fouled up.

Enroute we got a flat tire on the trailer. By the time I got stopped to check it out most of the rubber had already thrown off so I figured to go ahead and deliver.

Whilst unloading we got our next w/a; pick up a load of scrap paper to deliver in Owensboro, KY. I was in a bit of a quandry; a) go back to the OC to get the flat fixed, or b) go ahead and pick up the 40,000 pounds of scrap paper. I called support and they told me they would be unpaid miles, so that made the decision pretty quickly. Each tire can handle 7000 pounds so we're good.

Picked up the scrap paper, headed to the OC and got two tires replaced. The flat one and one with a nail in it. And another shower.

Owensboro was only 210 miles away so we headed out straight away and delivered at 1500.

Sometime in the morning I mentioned the unpaid miles issue to my DBL and she said she would have taken care of it. Problem was she comes in at 0630 and this was at 0600 and I was dealing with the overnite folks in Green Bay. Not very helpful. I also mentioned that I could deal with a w/a to north country to get out of the heat.

After delivering the scrap paper we picked up a load of paper at the same place and this one is headed to Green Bay.

After dropping and hooking the next load it was 1600 and I was pooped and hot. We checked into a Motel 6 had ANOTHER shower , dinner and a swim.

Our delivery is 6/25 in the afternoon so we're hanging out in the motel room for the morning. I figure if we leave hear around noon, we'll get to Chicago around 1900 and through without much traffic. Hopefully through Milwaukee and stop for the night in Belgium, WI, real close to the cool waters of Lake Michigan.

OK, I'll get a few pictures today. We missed a good one Monday. We were behind a very old jalopy being passed by a Rolls-Royce Bentley. Quite a juxtaposition.

ANOTHER shower this morning and then hit the road.

Ha - Staying on top

Going back a couple of weeks, we were on our way down I95 through North Carolina on our way to Florida. We started seeing signs for "South of the Border" advertising Mexican food. Since we both enjoy Mexican food and love "On the Border" I ( note I here, not we) thought we should stop in and have lunch. Boy what a cheesey place. The food was horrible and over priced. If you happen to be in the area, don't stop.

Makes for a couple of good pictures, though.

On our way through Alabama on I59 yesterday we stopped at this rest area that had an old rocket on display.

We're at the Memphis OC showering and doing laundry. Waiting for the car to go over to WalMart . It's right a 100 degrees out at this time, hotter than heck!!!

This is a picture of the Charlotte OC. Can you tell which truck is ours ??

Lots Of Catching Up To Do

Have you ever procrastinated on something and then it got worse and worse ? Me too ! Once I missed a day or so, which I'll explain, I kept putting off updating the blog, and it got worse and worse. I've got some time now and there is no excuse except that I'm pooped.

Here we go... We had a great weekend slumming out at the Four Points hotel. We delivered in Chicago on Monday and headed over to the Hinsdale Oasis on I294 to wait it out. Had a Gyro and turkey leg. They were both excellent, wouldn't quite expect it at the oasis, but it was. We waited a bit more. Then my DBL sent us over to the Gary OC to wait some more. About 1300 we got our next w/a; pick up an empty trailer in Sauk Village and take it over to Toys R Us for a 1900 pickup with a delivery 370 miles away in Lexington, KY at 0600 the next morning(Tues). Yep an all nighter. Of course I new it and tried to snooze, to no avail.

We stopped at the border of Indiana and Kentucky and took an hour nap about 0200. Helped a lot. We made the delivery at the Toys R Us store with 2 hours left on our 14 hour clock. While unloading we got our next w/a. I figured we were going to have to sit until Wednesday. Nope they had us run 35 miles south to Lancaster, KY and pick up 44,000 pounds of scrap paper to deliver in Loudon, TN. On paper we were done at 0700(CST) for the day so we could not start back up until 1700, which we did. We hung out in the little town of Lancaster to run out our 10 hour break. Of course not much sleeping in the daylight.

This trip was 173 miles and we finished real close to 2100. Somewhere in there we got our next w/a to pick up a load of toilet paper from the same place we dropped the scrap paper. So, have you figured it out yet ? We're essentially using shredded documents that has been refined into toilet paper.

Friday we delivered the t/p in Cincinnati and ran over to the Smuckers plant close by and picked up a load of jam headed for WalMart in Robert, LA. We had another great evening in Nashville, wandering through the honkey tonks and watching Teresa play in the fountains, with the OTHER little kids.

We were planning on delivering the jam this afternoon after a long day but got a flat tire and had to wait 4 hours for a guy to come out on I59 in Mississippi to fix it.

We're in Slidell, LA, just outside of New Orleans tonight and will be in Robert by 0800, and we already have our next w/a; pick up an empty trailer there at WalMart and run up to Brookhaven, MS to get a load of pallets headed to St. Louis, MO. With an AT deliver of 1500 we should be done by 1630 on Monday.

It does seem like freight has gotten a bit busier the last week, but it could be just a mirage.

14 days till TAH.

I'm up-to-date now, no more procrastinating.

Final Stats from Las Vegas

Final report - nobody beat the house in Las Vegas.


Tracie, Teresa and Grandma, three generations.






My Mom and Baby Sophie, four generations.

Quite a gathering we had.










Tracie, Andrea, Josh and Sophie.






I left my remaining funds with Grandma and Grandpa to deposit in our bank. Surprise, surprise Grandma added a significant amount to my deposit to help pay for the airplane tickets. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa !!!


After delivering Friday morning in Little Rock we got what could be considered to be a lousy load. Pick up in Little Rock and deliver in Chicago on Monday - 600 miles - three days.


We overnighted at the W. Memphis OC on Friday and then hustled up to Cicero. We were in the middle of the storm that went through there - we didn't see a tornado but we heard there was one and the sirens were going off.

We're staying Saturday and Sunday nights at a Four Points (Sheraton) just south of Midway.


This morning we headed to Teresa's favorite breakfast place; Walker Brother's Pancake House.

One shuttle, two trains with 30 stops all the way to Wilmette, then a one mile walk. But it was worth it. We got there and walked right in, when leaving the line was out the door. They have five locations, all excellent.

















Then we headed over Millenium Park and the famous "Bean" and then to the Chicago Blues Festival in Grant park. Very busy day.












Quick trip across the street to Costco for some staples and we're ready to deliver in the morning.

Little Rock, AR

We had a GREAT TAH in Las Vegas. Andrea's boyfriend was the only one beating the casino as of the time we left on Wednesday. Grandpa paid his dues, had fun and never got lost...

I think I took 4 pictures in 5 days, we're really bad at it. Will have to post later, forgot cam in the truck.

I spent much of my time being the shuttle driver, at least it kept me from the tables.

Teresa and Grandma thought the Donny and Marie show at the Flamingo Hilton was fabulous. Grandma did have to ask the guy next to here to quit singing !!! She figured she paid to hear Donny and Marie sing not the other guy. Seemed to work, but he she thinks he held a bit of a grudge.

We left Tracie, Andrea, Josh, Scott, Jennie, Hunter and baby Sophie to spend out the rest of the timeshare week. The Hilton Vacation Club was new and very nice.

We were headed back to OKC yesterday and planning to go up to Ponca City for the evening and drive back this morning. My DBL called yesterday while we were at the airport and inquired ast to how early we could make it back on Thursday. She said another driver was on a high-value load and had a family emergency. I told her I would have Teresa drop me there Wed night instead of Thurs morning so the other driver could head home. When we got to the drop lot the driver told me his daughter had fallen off a horse and was in the hospital with a lacerated kidney. We were glad to help.

Teresa zipped up to PC to exchange our vacation bags for our work bags and got back about 2130. She was pooped out when she got back.

Now we're in Little Rock, AR at a McDonald's, cooling off. Deliver at 0800 tomorrow. Teresa will get to sleep in till 0700.

Back at it...

Tech Assist

For those not quite so tech savvy, click on the baby pictures and it will bring up the whole picture. Do it, they're very good.

Bob

Slow Blogger

Ok, so occasionally I am a recalcitrant blogger. Had a bunch of stuff going on this week with kids.
I hope that will let me off the hook a little, we've all been there.

Last night we were in Nashville, TN. Parked at the TA across from the Tennessee Titans stadium, like last year. No football game though, instead we got Taylor Swift. Not really, just her tour trucks. Looked like she had a concert there the night before.

We wandered over to Broadway where all the honky tonks are and wandered through all the places listening to the bands. We really liked the one called "Greg Campbell" appearing at the Stage. The others were so so.

This morning we motored on to St. Louis and dropped our trailer at the OC, then picked up an empty and headed out for another load. We're in Springfield, MO headed for Muskogee tomorrow. Not sure what happens after that but we're hoping they'll send us on home so we can get ready for Las Vegas.

It's misting and cold here in Springfield. Doesn't seem at all like June 3rd in MO. While I'm blogging at the McDonald's Teresa is watching Bride Wars. They have a Red Box here at the Macs, so Teresa's happy, and I don't have to watch Bride Wars....

I am surprised no one has commented on my beautiful first grand daughter. Come on get with it !!

Probably the last blog until Sunday and things start happening in LV. Take care.

Baby Sopie Pics

Here's baby Sophie pictures. Congratulations to Scott, Jennie and Hunter !!! Isn't she beautiful !!! Mom and baby are doing fine.

Nuff said for today...

Way Behind...

I know I'm way behind, it's Thursday evening and I'll try to catch up. We had a great brunch with Andrea and Tracie in Champaign and then continued on to Ohio. Monday we stopped at Tamarack, WV for Teresa to get her eye candie. Lovin' every minute of it. Then it started raining and raining and raining. We were headed for North Carolina and it rained the whole way. I figured if we weren't going to be able to get out of the truck so we used some of our timeshare points and stayed st the Sheraton in Greensboro, NC. Nice room on the 26th floor.

You think our truck was lonely ?

Since it was the end of the holiday weekend the place was empty. We had the run of it. Pool and hot tub. All alone - ooh la la. We had a very nice evening and free breakfast then headed for Browns Summit 20 miles away. Dropped our trailer and picked up an empty and headed to Eden, NC to pick up a load of Miller beer headed to Camp Hill, PA. I noticed that the delivery was for 5/28 and we would be there by 5/27 so I coerced Cathie, my DBL, to let us drop the beer at the OC in Carlisle and give us another load.

We stopped at a rest area on I81 in WV 5/26 and about 0400 5/27 the next w/a came in. It was a relay in Carlisle, good so far. The deliver was for 0630 in New Jersey. Oh, I forgot, during the day on 5/26 they asked, potentially, when we could deliver and I had said 5/27 1400.

Obviously there's a conflict there. Del for 0630 and I say 1400. I figured they had worked all of the kinks out. Nope. We got there at 1300 and they said no way, Jose. So we had to sit on it until this 0730 this morning.

Oh well, we got our walks in, found a Belgian Waffle maker ( for Grandma, not for her to use, for me to use and makes waffle for her!!!). We had a great Lasagna and Con Pollo pizza for dinner at a quaint Italian place Stephano's in Piscataway, NJ. We don't suffer much.

We did suffer this morning after delivering in Somerset, NJ. Our next w/a was to pick up at the Jersey City docks at 1001 this morning. I missed the turn twice and had to hit the I78 tollway twice, and had to back out of the toll plaza (it wasn't EZPass) But we made it at 0958.

We're enroute to Alachua, FL. Got through NJ, DE, MD and we're just north of Richmond, VA now. Showered and Blizzarded. Is that a word ? The Pilot has a DQ in it. That's a first, and it has chocolate ice cream.

By the way, except for a brief period yesterday afternoon it has been raining/misting since Monday. Still was when we stopped, but it looks like the sun is trying to break through now.

I'm caught up now and 8 days left on the road till Las Vegas.