WHAT WERE THE ODDS?

How we managed to get unloaded, drive back to the yard, fuel up and still “legally” get in an 8 hour break before we had to leave for our next dispatch wasn’t anything I would have bet on. Getting a banana load, out of San Diego, was something I would have bet on and lost. Now, add to that a snow storm, just outside of LA, on our way down the Grapevine, and you got yourself a 24 hour period filled with a lot of surprises.After our drop in San Bernardino of the frozen French fries, we were snuggled into our beds just at the crack of midnight in anticipation of either the preplan dispatch we had received earlier, or the banana load we thought we would get. Eight hours later, after receiving the confirmation on the dispatch to the City of Industry, we drove the 35 miles in un-LA type commute traffic, and arrived right on time for our 9am appointment.As luck would have it, we were given one of the two easy docks to get backed into and we sat back and enjoyed first some sunshine, than clouds, add in some heavy down pours of rain, a dash of thunder, and oh yes, some lightening , that came freakishly close to frying our laptops as we watched them flicker while on our laps. Happily, after collecting our two hours of detention pay, we were released to go with over 31,000 pounds of soy milk and coffee creamer. This is where, as we were leaving the LA basin, we noticed the electronic traffic board flash to expect delays for snow escorts at Smokey Bear Road exit. WHAT???? Heck, the State of Wyoming will let you drive in white out blizzard conditions, but let a few snow flakes start falling anywhere near LA and the world starts coming to an end. In fact, just in case it did, there was a news crew on top of the overpass ready to broadcast it live. We even saw a couple of snow plows out, with a parade of cars and trucks safely following behind. Now granted, the hills and landscape were white, but come on, as soon as it hit the pavement it melted and the minute you hit the bottom of the hill, any traces of the snow was just a distant memory. We decided to call it a night in Avenal, CA at one of the cleanest truck stops we have stayed at. Why this isn’t used more often by truckers is yet another surprise to me, but on second thought, maybe I shouldn’t advertise it too much. Don’t want it turning into some of the less than ideal spots we have been forced to stay at in other locations. We now have two full days to drive 950 miles to easily make our deliveries on Thursday morning. Now it’s just time to sit back and enjoy the view from our front window to the world in front of us.