See.....I told you Craig was much better at crunching the numbers and doing the math than I was. He called me a few hours before his mandatory 10 hour break was over, and I of course was quick to ask, "are they swapping your load out with another driver"?. Craig just laughed and said, "no, I got it all worked out in my head, at least in theory", and then he proceeded to tell me just how it would all work out within the federal hours of service rules. There is something to be said for having a large sized head like my husband's,
which is obviously filled with a fully functioning big brain that loves numbers and math. I think we are a good match, with my smaller head, and it's own good functioning brain, more inclined for creativity and organization.
You can see how happy I am to be back on the truck. I had the pickup packed up and made my way into French Camp to meet up with Craig around 7pm last night. A quick transfer of the food and my clothes, the pickup parked in the employee lot, and we were off to Merced to stage at our first delivery stop in the morning. We both did some research on Google Earth to see what the parking situation might be for an overnight stay, and we both agreed that there was a high probability that we would find a place to park. Upon arrival, even in the darkness of night, we saw an open parking lot and large dirt lot, good enough for us, and we called it a night.
In the morning, we were up and ready by 6am, too bad
we couldn't say the same about the employees here. They finally started showing up a little after 6am, and we were told they would come out and let us know when they were ready for us. Then we waited and waited, and if it wasn't for the detention pay, there might have been a few cuss words, but I was content to be surfing away on the computer while Craig listened to the radio.
Long about 8:30am, we were finally summoned into a dock to off load the 2 pallets of meat we had for this location. You could almost get claustrophobic backing into the dock as there wasn't much room on either side once you got backed in. It took all of 15 minutes for them to take the 2 pallets off and then it was off to do battle with the San Francisco Bay Area for our next two deliveries.
Second stop in Newark, CA went well. We found it relatively easily, by passing it up, and then having to back down the street until we found one small little address sign that let us know we were at the correct location. There were o
nly 4 pallets coming off here, so within 30 minutes we were in search of our last delivery of the day in Santa Clara, CA. After debating on several ways to get there, especially after earlier taking a "no trucks" allowed street, we rolled into the consignee and promptly told to get in line, it was a "first come/first served" situation. Well we certainly weren't in a hurry since we were 90 minutes ahead of our appointment time anyway.
All three places we went to today were surprisingly easy backs. You gotta love when businesses spell it out and places signs so that everyone is clear on what they need to do to get safely into the docks. Such was the case at our last drop, and being good little soldiers, we followed the directions and except for holding our breath when backing down a rather steep incline into the dock, and hoping that the landing gear wouldn't get messed up, we were in and out in record time. In fact, by 2pm we had put in our empty call and had been given our new assignment. It's off to Fresh Express in Salinas..........It sure feels great to be back on the truck again, this has been a happy day indeed.
In light of this being the last day of 2009, I thought I would share with you some photos I took of an old building while in Fresno, CA on Wednesday. I wasn't really noticing anything out my window, as the truck was jostled around, while all that creamy delicious ice cream was being off loaded from the trailer. Then I finally focused my eyes on the building across the railroad tracks from me and I saw this: 
I've always had a love of taking pictures of trees and old barns, and now I find myself attracted to these old buildings as well. I'm sure there are some stories to be told from the walls that still hold them up. So as we bring in the new year, I'm going to make it a habit to seek out these old buildings and take their photo to at least keep it's history alive in my archives of pictures.
Here's hoping you all have a safe and happy New Year's Eve wherever you might be!
Heaven on Earth restaurant is located off Interstate 5, at exit 86, in Quines Creek, Oregon. They do a brisk business on Sundays and we had to find a table in their overflow area, but not before being shown the multitude of bakery items they had for sale, and the array of free samples they had out to taste. We were not deterred by temptation and decided to partake in a late breakfast, but what we really wanted was one of those famous cinnamon rolls.
We had a great breakfast, while enjoying the scenic views out the window, and when it was time to pay the check, we allowed ourselves to drool over all the baked goods. One of the employees had just finished ladling a heaping amount of icing on a cinnamon roll as I said to her that we would take that very one with us to go. Now this is where I will do my best to describe this cinnamon roll. I truly believe it could feed a small family. It measured at least 5 inches tall and about 6 inches square. It was the biggest cinnamon roll I have ever seen in person.
Toting it to the truck took some effort, but Craig was able to hoist it into the truck to keep it safe until later in the evening when we would delve into it's gooey goodness. Just in case you don't believe me about just how big this thing was, take a look at the picture I took just before we left.
Who among us hasn't traveled down the information highway? The mere fact that you are reading this blog entry lets me know you are a frequent traveler of one, if not many, of the hi-tech devices that are available to us every day to use. Craig and I were delighted when his company finally decided to save money during these hard economic times, and put payroll information on the Internet, instead of mailing it to our home, which by the way, we never saw until months later when we finally went home to retrieve our mail. Recently, they have gone one step further into cost saving ideas, by cutting out paying postage and FedEx charges, having the TWT drivers start scanning their trip information ie: bills of lading, receipts, seal reports, etc into scanners that they have placed at all the company yards. 
This caused us to stop and give pause to the thought that there will soon be a time, when they have the System/flatbed drivers, who number upward to 800, also start scanning their packets after the first of the year. Further more, the wait time at the one lone scanner at each yard could add up to quite a delay, especially on those time sensitive loads when you don't have the extra time to stand around and wait for your turn. Since we used to scan and email all the broker information when we were on the boat fleet directly from our truck, we thought it would be worth looking into getting a scanner again.
A quick phone call into the department in charge of this new scanner procedure at first had Craig talking to an employee who wasn't sure if Craig was going to be complaining about the scanner and was quite apprehensive when Craig said he had some questions. Her tone immediately changed to excitement when Craig asked if we could use our own scanner and send in the information by email. Evidently, they are hoping that more drivers take on Craig's attitude, and were prepared with a form questionnaire to fill out via email, and then a practice run of scanning and emailing in two test trips and we were officially set up to go online. 
After sending in our first official trip packet via the scanner, we sent in a message to the person in charge asking if there was a confirmation we would receive that the trip in fact was accepted into the system. We promptly got a reply back that since we were the first ones in the company to actually use their own scanner, that they had not thought of that, and that the computer guy was busy working on it at that very moment. Let's hope being first to drive on this information highway with the company will be free of any major pot holes or road blocks. I guess we'll find out just how well it works next payday.
But I do have another Christmas wish to send to the heavens, and that is the thankfulness we feel for our friends and family, who have accepted our way of life, and welcomed us with their warm embrace of love into their homes, letting us know in no uncertain terms, that their home is our home. I wish that they all feel our love and gratitude this Christmas Day, even though we will be absent from their celebrations, for all that they have given to us this past year. We love you all and look forward to sharing our traveling adventures with you in the coming year.
And to our fellow trucking and blogger friends, thanks for keeping us company this past year on our travels, along with your prayers for our safe journeys. They obviously have been heard and we do so appreciate your well wishes. We look forward to you too accompanying us again in the new year to come. Now we raise our glasses of egg nog and send our best to all of you this holiday season.........Merry Christmas from our home to yours
As you probably figured out by now, we made it into LA and then into Long Beach, CA to make our delivery of the frozen french fries. There we met up with four more TWT trucks making deliveries, and then all four of us wound up at the Company yard in Bloomington, CA along with about 6 other trucks waiting to get a new assignment. We thought we wouldn't get any dispatch until today, but long about 5pm last night, it came across the computer. No surprise, head to the Port in San Diego and pick up bananas and then head to Clackamas, OR.
He had found her abandoned along the side of the road, in a cardboard box in Plainview, TX. She was probably not much more than 4 weeks old when he rescued her. The past two weeks he has been bottle feeding her every few hours as they learn to share the confines of the truck. We watched as she stood on wobbly legs on the asphalt parking lot of a truck stop, which will be all too familiar to her as she grows old. How appropriate is it, that he has named her "Diesel" and how we all agreed that he would have a traveling companion for life. 
Maybe one day we will see them again, traveling along this long lonely stretches of highway. And if we do? We will always remember how it all began, a kind and generous soul reaching out to one in need, and creating a bond to last through the ages. Travel safe my friends......travel safe.
Fortified for the rest of our journey we continued and ran smack dab into dense fog. As the sun tried vainly to burn through it, we finally climbed a small incline in the landscape to rise above the fog layer and see Mount Hood proudly poking it's head through the clouds and fog. I couldn't get a great photo of the blanket of fog covering the landscape, because as quickly as we were above it, we were just as quickly back under it again.
Craig's driving hours would only take us as far as Chemult, OR where we got a prime parking spot in the front row, since we shut down for the day at noon. After the past few days that we have had, getting limited quality of time to sleep or even relax, this was a nice change of pace, having the remainder of the day to rest our tired bodies and minds. Suffice it to say, we were both sound asleep by 6pm and then up and ready to roll at again at 1am. Seems it is going to take another few days to get our body clocks back on track.
Knowing that Snoqualmie Pass, would be the first of many snowy passes we would have to pass over this Winter, made it that much more anxious for me. But if the rest of our snowy journeys go as easy and as safely as this one......well I will be one very happy girl. Our load at Draper Valley in Renton, WA turned out to be a drop/hook. No waiting around for a live load, and we even got it almost two hours ahead of schedule. With plenty of fuel on board, we bypassed our fuel stop in North Bend, WA, after all, no need to torture yourself maneuvering around that truck stop at night if you don't need to.
Now as to those of you who could only imagine how incredibly delicious those wiener roll ups are, I don't have a recipe, as I purchase them from a tiny little bakery down the street from my Mom's house in Modesto, CA. I can attest too Craig acknowledging that it was sad yesterday when he didn't get a piping hot one handed to him for his lunch. But never fear, there is a chance to make use of our pickup at the company yard in French Camp and sneak away, hopefully tomorrow to restock our cooler. I'll be more than happy to pick you up some, but then delivery to you will be a major problem, so we'll just have to eat them for you. Trust me, I'm doing you a favor.....they can be addicting.
We got about 6 hours of sleep after stopping at the rest area Monday night, but we still had to sit around until the 10 hour mandatory break was over with before we could leave. By 10:30am we were headed north again with a little over 300 miles to go in order to get in an 8 hour split sleeper berth break before heading out to make our delivery at 3am in Seattle. By 4:30pm we were staged in Toledo, WA at GeeCee's Truck stop, heating up some beans for an early dinner and then trying to grab about 5 more hours of sleep before heading back out at 12:30am.
Our only worries now? What will Snoqualmie Pass throw at us as we try and head over the hill. For our sakes I hope we have an easy go of it, but that doesn't make for a good blog entry now does it? Keep your fingers crossed, I know mine will be.
We got into Salinas, CA on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed a lazy evening and sleeping late in the morning, if 6am is considered late to you. We were hopeful our load would be done early, so we checked in to find the trailer in the dock and the red light flashing. We took that as our opportunity to hit Wal Mart early enough in the morning to buy Craig a new pair of boots. He had literally worn himself right out of the soles of his last pair about a week ago. 
The shopping experience was a pleasant one, with nary a sole inside the store, so we treated ourselves to a Starbucks, which so conveniently was located right across the parking lot. Then it was back to check on the progress of our load. The dispatch information stated it would be ready by 3pm, and as each hour ticked away, the time constraints on the load got tighter and tighter. We have two deliveries to make, one in Seattle at 3am Wednesday morning, and the second in Auburn, WA at 7am. 
Craig of course was busy crunching numbers....would we be able to do two breaks or only one break before delivering? What was our drop dead time for getting our loaded trailer before it would be impossible for us to make the deliveries? I swear I could see smoke coming from his ears as he went to work on the computer and doing the math in his head. We finally went loaded at 1:30pm and off we went knowing that we would be doing a full 11 hours of driving.
We were keeping a watchful eye on the weather, as we knew we had a couple of passes to get over and there was talk of snow. But as we crossed into Oregon, it was only lightly snowing and we got down off the summit with no problems. The only problem for us would be where we would be able to find a parking spot for the night. The first two truck stops and rest areas were full, but finally, with only minutes to spare before the 14 hour clock expired, we found a spot at the next rest area and we settled in for some well deserved sleep.
I made a phone call to my Mom on Wednesday, saying that I would be headed home the next day, and that I would call her over the weekend after I settled in. Then I left Walla Walla Thursday morning with a stop over in Klamath Falls, OR to break the drive up. This afternoon, I rolled into Modesto, CA and made the following phone call when I was two blocks from my Mom's house.
It sure was fun to pull off a great surprise like that and to see the happy looks not only my Mom's face, but my niece's as well. I did enjoy my drive to California, especially in our pickup, where I could stop and take pictures whenever something caught my eye. It was also great to be able to pull into any Starbucks that called my name as well. I have no doubt that my Mom will enjoy by visit, and I will be looking forward to finally getting back onto the truck with Craig as soon as he is done training Charles and can get back down here to pick me up. If all goes well, he will be here to pick me up by my birthday. I couldn't think of a better present to receive than that!
Since I have been visiting, we have baked, and cooked, and cleaned, and shopped, and well.....if I do say so myself, I haven't been this busy in such a long time, I think I just might be feeling my age. One thing is for sure, it has been so much fun, and I have so enjoyed being able to spend this time with my best friend Cori. I couldn't have asked for a better place to call home for a couple of weeks. But all good things must come to an end. Come Thursday, it will be time to pack up and take my vagabond bones back home for a few weeks, until Craig comes home again and we close up the house for the winter. 
Speaking of Craig, on Saturday they drove from Lebec, CA to Medford, OR which set them up with a relatively easy drive on Sunday into Pacific, WA to stage for their delivery this morning. Charles took the opportunity to make use of his personal vehicle which was parked in the company yard, and spent the evening at home and got to sleep in his own bed, albeit for just a short time. He was back at the truck this morning at 4am in order to make their delivery appointment at 5am in Puyallup at the Fred Meyer distribution center. 
It came as no surprise, when they were told to drop the trailer there and await a load heading out again later today. With so many of the drivers wanting to be home for the holiday weekend, I'm sure it was difficult to find drivers for all the loads that needed to be delivered. Craig's assignment was to deliver in Coeur d'Alene, ID tonight at 11pm. When completed, they will head to the company yard in Spokane and take advantage of the laundry facilities in the morning while they wait for their next dispatch. 
If all goes as planned, and we all know how easily those plans can go awry, Craig and I should be back together again in the truck in three weeks. We're both looking forward to getting back into our normal routine again, but until then, I still have a couple of days to get all my Christmas decorating out of my system. Do I hear a Fa La La La La?
Craig and Charles made it to their delivery this morning and got quite a nice collection of detention pay as it took about 5 hours to unload the frozen french fries and to figure out if indeed they needed to pay the extortion fee for the lumpers to unload the trailer or not. After several phone calls it was determined that in fact this time they would not have to pay. Put one in the win column for the good guys. 
While waiting, they did receive their next assignment, to head to San Diego and the little hole in the wall warehouse, tucked into the residential neighborhood, to pick up a load of bananas. As I type this now, Craig is yet again collecting 5 hours of detention pay as it was rather busy since the Port of San Diego was not operating due to the holiday weekend. They were putting the last pallet of bananas on as I was talking to Craig, and then he was taking off and driving until he feels like stopping. My guess is that he will be stopping in Lebec, CA. 
This load of bananas is scheduled to be delivered at 5am Monday morning in Puyallup, WA. Will make for a nice easy run for them. Word on the street is that Charles is doing quite nicely perfecting his backing skills, and it looks like he is on target to get released from training in just under three weeks. Looks like that is just about how much time I will need to fit back into my clothes and get back out on the truck with Craig. All I got to say about that is.......it's about time!
With the holiday this week, all the drivers that can, were staying out over the weekend. I know, call us weird, but we work all the holidays by choice. Anyway, it looked like slim pickens for getting a load out Saturday. He did get an assignment, of a heavy haul trailer loaded with beer, for a delivery in Idaho and Montana, but when he went to scale out, he was 3,000 pounds overs on his drive axle with no way to adjust it, so just as quickly it was taken away. 
Charles did find his way back to the yard Yesterday afternoon, after getting a ride in Seattle from another trainer. Then later in the day, Craig was told that his next assignment would be Monday morning, at 5am at Johanna Beverage in Spokane, (again with a heavy haul trailer), and take it to the company drop yard in Pacific, WA. From there we don't know what he will get to get them through the holiday week and back on track running hard again. 
As for me, I made it into Walla Walla, WA Friday night and am already helping to plan the Thanksgiving festivities at my friend Cori's house. I heard from Craig this morning and there is already 3 inches of snow on the ground in Spokane. Should be a lot of fun later today when he gets Charles out in the yard and has him practice his backing skills. 
The pictures posted are from when we left our home on Friday and made our trek into Spokane.
