To say we have been lacking in the sleep department the last week is truly an understatement. As you have probably read from other trucking blogs, the "hours of service" rules that govern how long truckers can drive, can be a real thorn in the side, especially when you are forced to drive when you are sleepy, and aren't allowed to drive when you are wide awake. You just can't force a body and mind to shut down on a certain time table as most, if not all truckers will attest to.
So over the past week, we have gotten sleep when we can, and just powered through the times when we couldn't, but would have given anything to be able to put our heads on a pillow. Wednesday, and I use that word loosely, as it actually seems like it was a week ago to be quite honest with you, we dropped the bananas in the company yard in Bloomington and received a dispatch out of Carson, CA with an appointment time of 8pm Wednesday night. Since Craig had been to this particular receiver before, he knew how they operated, and also knew that we could drop the trailer and park in their lot. It was an overnight run from Carson, CA to Tracy, CA so we hightailed it over there to shut down his driving clock, and give him the best shot at making the 5am delivery time.
At best, we were hoping for an 8 hour break, but luck was with us, and we managed to get a full 10 hours sitting idle until the trailer was ready. Do you think that during that 10 hours we would be able to get some much needed sleep? A logical person would probably say yes, but try as we did, the only sleep we finally managed to get, was the 90 minutes between when we checked on the trailer after the 8 hour break, and when it was finally ready at the 10 hour mark.
Off we head to Tracy, listening to as much old time radio, and comedy channels that we could handle. Craig was the trooper, and got us into the consignee right at our 5am appointment time, and no sooner were we unloaded, and we were told to head to Salinas, CA and drop our trailer for a load to be determined later. Driving another two and a half hours, we finally bob tailed to the truck stop down the street, and got some sleep.......four hours worth, but it was a solid four hours. I do believe our body clocks are so messed up, they don't know what to do.Checking in with dispatch, Craig was especially happy to hear that our load would not be assigned until sometime Friday, but would we mind after our 10 hour break was up at 8pm, to bobtail to the company yard in French Camp,(120 miles away), and pick up another trailer to take back to Fresh Express? Sure, why not.....at least this way Craig was able to drop me back off at our pickup, and he could then drive straight back to Salinas last night, drop the trailer and still try and convince his body that he really can lay down and sleep during the night like normal people. But hey, no one ever was convinced that Craig was normal, but he's mine, and I love him anyway! Thanks Honey for a great week out on the truck. Can't wait until April to do it full time again!
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