Friday, May 04, 2007

FOUR DOWN.....TWO MORE TO GO


We have been driving "OTR" (over the road), Craig 16 months, and me, happily riding along, for just under a year. In that short period of time we have seen a vast amount of the USA and Canada. On the blog site I have listed the States we have been to. This by no means indicates we have seen all we want of those States, but can factually state we have been there. On our newest dispatch, after our drop in Johnson City, Tennessee, we were directed to go to the Sea Ray plant in Vonore, TN and pick up 3 boats. Delivering these boats will take us through four States we have not been to before: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The last remaining States are Maine & Rhode Island. Once we have those under our belt we can proudly state we have been to all 50 states, Alaska and Hawaii we have been to on vacations. To me, that is quite an accomplishment, and to be honest, without driving truck, I doubt we would have been able to do it.


This particular dispatch has us delivering to Laconia, New Hampshire, Saint-Paul-de-l'Ile-aux-Noix, Quebec, and Port Sandfield, Ontario. With the Canadian deliveries, we will, for the first time be dealing with two different Brokers for our clearance to get into Canada. I hope this does not cause us problems. As written before in previous entries, I always have a feeling of angst whenever crossing back and forth between USA and Canada. It seems no two border crossings are ever the same, so you never know what to expect. Keeps you on your toes, but I could do without the anxiety.


We have done a bit of traveling since my last entry from Wisconsin. Our routing to Johnson City, TN had us taking some back roads which are always nice for the scenic views, but not so nice for a tractor trailer rig loaded down with at 36,000 pound Genie. But we managed some steep hills, were courteous to other drivers and pulled over often to let them pass, and was able to capture a couple of nice photos along the way.


Making it into Vonore, and after getting loaded, we discovered an air leak in one of the air bags on the truck. After a quick phone call into Road Service, we were directed to the TA truck stop in Knoxville, where we got the air bag replaced, had a preventive maintenance done on the trailer, and had the truck and trailer washed.........just in time for it to rain. But that didn't hamper our incredible good luck on Thursday as we were able to accomplish all that before 9am Pacific time. We didn't have to wait in line to get any of them done. Feeling quite confident, we found a Wal Mart just seven miles from our next fuel stop and bought enough provisions to last us until we get back into the States again. After fueling up and finding the perfect parking space to call it a day, we settled in and was in bed by 4pm. Oh....did I mention we have been getting up around 1 or 2 in the morning Pacific time while we are in the East? Today we were up at midnight to ensure we get to New Jersey and our next fuel stop without having to deal too much with Friday afternoon commuters. Now where is the nearest Starbucks......I need some COFFEE !

1 comment:

rosemary said...

This last picture is beautiful...looks like a painting.

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