AS TIME GOES BY AND BY AND BY

We started out very early this morning to get into Lebanon, Missouri when the boat manufacturer opened in hopes of being able to load a day early. Best laid plans often don't turn out in the trucking business as I am learning. But at least we were able to see another great sunrise.

The routing into Lebanon took us directly into yet another tragedy that was in the news recently, the Elks Lodge building collapse in Clinton, Missouri. We drove right through the town, but did not see the actual building.

Further down the road we came across Truman Lake and were quite surprised with the beauty of Missouri, or at least the area we were in which is part of the Ozarks. We especially liked an area near Camdenton, Missouri which was right on the water. In fact we saw billboards listing new condos for sale starting at $90,000.

So now back to the best laid plans. We get into Lebanon and were told there were several trucks ahead of us to be loaded first and that they would call us with an update by 12pm. There was a very small truck stop about a mile away so we headed there to park. While we waited in the truck, I started reading a new book and Craig watched TV. We informed our dispatcher Katie of the update via the truck computer and waited. Very shortly, Katie called us and said she had contacted our drop off site in Glendale, Arizona and evidently it is a business just now being completed with a lot not even paved yet! They were in no position to receive or unload the boats they were slated to receive. So of course we are put in a holding pattern waiting to hear what they want to do.

Right next to the truck stop was a Holiday Inn Express. Yep, you guessed it, we knew we would not be leaving the area today, so we went over to the hotel and got a room. They had truck parking out front and we enjoyed our down time in the comfort of an air conditioned room,with internet access, and our very own shower!

Craig thought he was in heaven when I noticed a Chinese food restaurant right next to the hotel, and not only that, but it was a buffet! With these amenities we can wait out the confusion in luxury.

We had a very relaxing night in the hotel room and proceeded back to the boat manufacturer first thing in the morning to see what the decision was. They were ready to load us and in fact said there were 2 other trucks they were loading this morning going to the same boat dealer in Glendale, Arizona. While we waited, I continued to read my book as Craig unofficially supervised (just watched what was going on) with the loading of the trailer.

With the trailer loaded, we waited some more. This time for the paperwork on the 11 boats and trailers we had. By this time I just about had my book completely read! An hour and a half later we were finally on the way.

Now, I get asked all the time why we aren't owner operators and own the truck. The situation with the trailer falling off in my hands and then finding that we needed a new front tire on the truck is reason enough. We decided on this adventure as a pre-retirement gig. Basically getting paid to drive and see the country, not worry about gas prices, truck insurance, truck maintenance etc. So we were happy to call road service and have them tell us to have the tire replaced at a TA truck stop.

Forty miles later we were there, enjoying a bite to eat, getting the truck tire replaced, and catching up on household chores, doing laundry!

Once back on the road we were headed out of Missouri and into Oklahoma. In my mind I had Oklahoma pictured as nothing but a dust bowl with oil rigs every where you looked and boy was I wrong. I was surprised by how green it was. We dove through Tulsa and spotted the biggest American flag off the side of a building under construction and the down town area from a bridge over a river that had seen fuller days.

We were not impressed with Oklahoma City, (no offense to anyone from there) and found ourselves getting into Sayre, Oklahoma just as the sun was setting.