Independence Day Across the Country

We did it!  We drove straight through Independence Day as we traveled across this great land of ours.  It all began Wednesday, June 27 in Memphis, Tennessee.  From there we moved to Houston, Texas to Fairfield, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to West Deptford, New Jersey to Cody, Wyoming; arriving there on July 4  (all in one week).  We delivered on the 5th.  The scenery was beautiful with breathtaking sunrises and sunsets.  I am always impressed with how awesomely generous God is to us.

After delivery the real fun began.  The "powers that be" in the FedEx dispatch office deemed it necessary for us to deadhead empty to Las Vegas, a mere 866 miles away, to layover while we wait for our next load.  It seems they had NO other trucks our size in the area and needed ours.  It was a 17 hour drive through some very pretty mountains.  Beautiful but not without drawbacks-road construction.  Lanes closed, roads torn up but not a soul was working anywhere in the several states we traveled.  I guess a Wednesday holiday allows for an entire week off.  We could use an employer like that.  Ours begs everyone to stay out for all holidays. 

We arrived in Vegas at 5:30 this morning eastern time.  After a few short hours of sleep Ron decided to have our truck inspected at the truckstop, since our inspection was due by the 12th.  While there the mechanics doing the DOT inspection checked the registration and asked where the license plate was located.  We've has some mounted in back and some mounted in front.  Ron told them it was in the back.  They couldn't find it so he went back to show them where:  IT  WAS  GONE!!  At one point in the mountains and construction we came across an incident where a truck had lost part of his load of inflated inner tubes, about a dozen in all.  There was no where else for a truck to go and traffic was building up behind me since it was rush hour so I straddled 2 of them and was able to maneuver around the rest.  We decided we had made it through safely and continued on our way.  A few miles down the road we heard a pop and decided we had been dragging one of them until it popped.  We figure that's when we lost our license plate. Our owner had to fax us a temporary plate good for 45 days until we can get back to Ohio and pick up the real thing.

Ah, the adventures of traveling the roads.  What an adventure!  Until next time . . . . . . . .

Back At It

Well, we're back on the road again after a week at home.  I feel like we never had any time off.  First, we cleaned out the tractor with Ron taking a tumble backward out the door; then Tuesday we took it back to Indianapolis; Wednesday we had a lazy day while Ron rested his back.  Thursday we got everything ready for the next straight truck; on Friday we drove to Columbus, Ohio to pick up the new truck; Saturday we got last minute stuff for the road and then took Dad out to Texas Roadhouse for his Father's Day dinner.  Sunday after church we spent the entire day packing the truck.  Monday we hit the road again.  We headed to Mt. Vernon, In. for a load going to Grove City, Ohio.

 We are enjoying the new truck, it rides much smoother than any other so far, but I must tell you about one of the hazards I've encountered.  The bed is dangerous! It is mounted on the side instead of the back as the others have been.  That part is pretty great and it's got a good mattress so sleeping is good, but it has a hidden spring that helps when it's time to put it away and bring up the table.  THE DUMB THING TRIED TO EAT ME!!!   Ron got up yesterday morning while I was still sleeping.  When he stood up the bed started folding up with me in it.  I couldn't move other than to put my hand on the wall so my face wouldn't get smashed and yell "HEY" at Ron.  It reminded me of those comedies on TV where the bed folds up in the tiny apartments.  We were laughing so hard he barely had the strength to pull the bed back down.  Now every time one of us mentions it we laugh all over again.  I suppose the giggle sessions will happen for a while yet but we did have a reprieve last night.  We had to bring the truck back to Columbus, Ohio for a repair that has taken some time so we spent last night at a motel.  Was nice to be there but not as exciting as the truck.  We're hoping to be on our way this evening with everything working the way they are supposed to.

 So, until next time . . . . . . . . . . .

Happy 2nd Anniversary

First off I want to say "Happy Anniversary" a day late to my wonderful husband.  We were in the car and on the road all day and had a great time.  So here is a belated wish to the most loving man in the world.  I love you, honey.

Sorry to all of you for the length of time since my last post.  Our lives have been on a roller coaster for the last month.  First of all we chose to drive for a different trucking firm.  Ron went back to driving a semi (I rode along) so that I could have some insurance coverage.  So we left FedEx, emptied the truck and took it back to the owner, drove Ron to Indianapolis for orientation, and then hit the road in an 18-wheeler.  Anyone that thinks downsizing is great needs to rethink.  We went from a 100 inch living space with refrigerator, microwave, sink, tv, cabinets, closet and double bed to 72 inches of space with nothing but a single bunk (an upper bunk we never used), one slide out desk slab, 3 small cabinets and a small closet that was only 25 inches tall.  Unbelievably small.  We had to bring our own electric cooler and we had some snacks but had to eat every meal out.  Try to find places you can park a semi that is not a truck stop.  Now we are transitioning back to FedEx.  After only 2 weeks we knew we'd had enough.  Fortunately we were gone only 20 days so we do NOT have to go through all the classes again.  They were able to simply reinstate us.  Thursday or Friday we will go to Ohio to pick up our new truck, bring it home to pack, celebrate Father's Day and be ready to hit the road again on Monday.  Super-sizing isn't always a bad thing!

The up-side of our diversion was that the truck was only stopped when Ron had to reset his driving hours.  We traveled to Seattle, Wa., Billings, Mt., Denver, Co., Green Bay, Wi., and most of the Midwest in only a very few short weeks.  I'm still amazed at what a beautiful country we live in.  So many places to see a second time and so little time.  Well, until next time . . . . . . .

Happy Easter

Another holiday away from home! We are spending this weekend in LaVergne, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. It's beautiful here and the weather has been great. This morning we went to church service at Brentwood United Methodist Church, a very large church near here. We parked in a business area and rode the shuttle to the church. The lobby has a huge central staircase leading to both sides of the balcony. (So antebellum!) The service we attended was a blend of traditional and contemporary with a huge pipe organ, 6 pastors, 100 in the combined youth choir, a 5-piece brass section, a baptism, traditional hymns and contemporary songs. The sanctuary was packed. The stained glass in the sanctuary was beautiful facing 3 walls and 3 time periods: Biblical, pilgrim and modern scenes and families. A wonderful Easter experience!!

After church we headed to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Normally we are able to park in the RV section but this particular spot had a dozen cars taking up the bus/RV slots. Fortunately we were able to park at the industrial plant right behind the restaurant. Our wait was less than 5 minutes, I think because there are only 2 of us. Most people were with family members. As always dinner was wonderful. Tonight we will probably eat at the truckstop restaurant. They are offering a ham dinner and Ron wants ham for Easter. (The ham with his breakfast at Cracker Barrel wasn't much more than a teaser.)

We will be heading to Delaware after we pick up our load tomorrow evening. Sure wish the routers could find a way to get us even remotely close to Indiana so we could stop by the house for a day or two. We had a new roof put on and sure would like to see it.

Hope everyone enjoys this holiday and celebrates the life it brings. Until next time . . . . . .

A Great Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend in Jacksonville, Florida. We had a load that had to be in a secure location until delivery this morning. Ron and I were not allowed to stay with the truck (no facilities) and were put up in a motel for the time being. When we were certain of the details we contacted Ron's sister, Donna, who lives near Tampa. She drove up Saturday morning with her dog and spent time with us until Sunday afternoon. It was great seeing her. It's been 13 months since we last had a visit. We hadn't seen Ricky, the pup, in over 2 yrs. and he's not too friendly with strangers so I was a little apprehensive. Needlessly as it turned out. After giving Ron a huge welcome Ricky became my best buddy. So much so that he slept at my feet on our bed and totally ignored his "Mommy". What a surprise! After brunch Saturday morning we checked in at the motel and changed clothes. We decided to take the small trip to St. Augustine. I had never been there so we made the tourist thing and went to the Fountain of Youth. It's a beautiful park with interesting exhibits and performances. We got to see the firing of the cannon. And they are all pet-friendly. We tried to have dinner at the Santa Maria, a ship-restaurant that Donna had been to before but we couldn't get a place to park within 5 miles of the place. Not only was it St. Patrick's Day but also it was Bike Week. I have never seen so many motorcycles in one place in my life. But it still was a unique place. I would love to go back sometime when there are not so many people. After we delivered this morning we got a load out of St. Petersburg and are spending the night in Tampa. We called Donna and had dinner with her at Cracker Barrel. An unexpected delight for all of us, an extension of our weekend.

I just finished reading a great book. It took me all of about 20 hours to read from cover to cover. This book is titled "Heaven is for Real" and is the true story of a little boy who had an out-of-body experience while in the hospital. It's written by the boy's father, Todd Burpo, and is fascinating from start to finish. Colton was critically ill when he had surgery and miraculously survived. After months had passed he made a comment that had his parents thinking and asking questions. He described Jesus, God's throne, Heaven, the Holy Spirit and people who died decades before Colton was born. His statements were proven to be in Scripture and several things he talked about were things a 3-year-old could not possibly know. Very intriguing and I highly recommend it.

We will be leaving Florida tomorrow morning for a return to the Midwest. That may be a good thing because if we stayed here one more day I was going to go shopping for some summer clothes. Capris and heavy T-shirts are just too warm for 85 degree weather. Tough, isn't it? :)
Sorry, I had a moment of pity-party. I guess this is it for tonight so--Until next time . . . . . . . .

And Here We Sit

We have put in a lot of miles in the past week. First let me tell you that we had a relaxing time at home for 5 days, even though we had a lot of errands to get done. We left on Monday morning and our itinerary is as follows: Louisville, Ky; Pittsburgh, Pa; Cumberland, Md; Anniston, Al; Colorado Springs, Co. and ending up on layover in Denver. We have been here since Friday noon and waiting for a load out. We had one that would take us to Sunnyvale, California but was postponed until next week. So we wait some more. You would think that we would get something because we are the only truck (surprise) in Denver. But the dispatchers have been really quiet. Not a good thing! I guess time will tell where we head next.

I will say that it's hard to believe that it is only the second week of March. The weather here is so great. We had a bit of a chill and light rain Sunday morning but otherwise we have been in shirtsleeves and sunshine since we got here. From the weather channel we've watched the fantastic temps all over the country. Maybe spring has arrived early? One can dream.

Early in my blogging I reported our experiences with Rest Areas. Well, I must tell you about our latest. We stopped at a service plaza in West Virginia to get something to eat. Breakfast had been about 7 hours earlier. One of us had to babysit our load and truck and I needed to stretch my legs so I volunteered to make the journey to the building. These places never let trucks park anywhere near the buildings. As I made my way there I noticed some workmen at one of the entrances but didn't pay too much attention and continued past an antique shop that was closed and another door that was blocked by storage bins. As I rounded the corner I saw some people standing around the door. I asked if this was the entrance and was told it was locked. I then started to complain about having to walk around the entire structure (which must have been the size of an athletic arena) when the young people told me the whole building was locked down. Absolutely nothing was open except the fuel islands. Makes me wonder what all the cars were doing in the parking lot. Plus it's a good thing the only reason we stopped was for food because it was quite a while before we saw another rest area or food stop. I guess life is still full of challenges and unexpected circumstances. So---Until next time . . . . . . . . . .

Errands and More Errands

We finally made it home Tuesday night for the first time since New Year's. It feels so good to be here, now I just wish I could find time to just veg for a while. The past couple of days my brain seems to be pure mush. We had to make it home before today because we had fuel tax stickers and the registration for the truck in the mail and the old ones expired yesterday. We certainly didn't have much time to play with. But the good Lord was willing and we made it.

We've been so busy since we got here. Wednesday started out with breakfast out because Mother Hubbard's cupboards were bare. From there we made the rounds to the eye clinic to pick up Ron's new glasses, to MedPoint because Ron has another respiratory infection, to Walmart to restock the food supply, to the post office to relieve them of a mountain of mail and finally home to put everything away. After a quick lunch I had to place myself at the kitchen table for the great task of getting things ready to have our taxes done. This took me the better part of the afternoon and evening to get done. I sent Ron out for gyros for supper so I could keep working. By the time I felt ready to call it quits my brain was truly rebelling. At that point it was time for bed.

Thursday morning--up and going all over again. This time we had a hearty breakfast at home, headed out to the accountant's for a 3 1/2 hour tax preparation session. Once we got this year's done we discovered that we had to amend last year's--all with good endings. Thank goodness. From there we went to lunch, the post office again and then to the BMV to get the registration for the new car. Today we arrived back home just before dark. Another day gone!!! The way I feel we are having soup and sandwiches tonight (we had buffet for lunch so I don't feel guilty)!

The rest of our time home is pretty much open. I'll do some baking and cooking/freezing for the truck, some good cooking for here at home, maybe go to dinner with some friends. Hopefully we'll get some time to sit and relax for a couple of hours before going back to the store to stock the truck again. We will be heading out Monday morning but don't have a destination yet. It would be nice to get home for Easter again this year but I'm not sure since we're here now. Time will tell. Until next time . . . . . . . . .