One of the problems of writing a blog primarily about our trucking travels, is when I'm not on the truck and have to rely on Craig to fill me in on the details, which sometimes can be like pulling teeth getting a few tidbits of information from him. He is always wondering, when I am on the truck with him, what the heck I'm taking pictures of and has captured my attention. I always tell him that the tiniest of things will catch my eye, or a passing thought brought on by a billboard or a bumper sticker, can prove to be great inspiration for a blog entry. If you've forgotten, I've not been on the truck since August, so if the entries of late have seemed a bit bland, you know why.
If you remember, after Craig snagged what he thought was the simplest run into Arizona, they stopped to fuel up in Aurora, OR and went over their routing for the trip. What surprised both Craig and I, was that on this particular run, they would veer off on Highway 89 out of Mt Shasta City, something we have never done before, and weave their way to Arizona. That particular route would take them the back way through Susanville, CA into Reno, NV and then south on Highway 95 into Las Vegas. As Craig said to me, it was the first time he has ever been in Reno and Las Vegas on the same day, and with no time to stop and enjoy either one of them.
Shortly after leaving Las Vegas, Craig took back over the driving duties, and drove into Phoenix, AZ to begin the deliveries at the Fry stores. The first two drops were quick and easy, and with them being about 3 hours ahead of schedule it looked like it would be a short day for them. Right before getting to the third stop, Craig called ahead to let them know he was there, and then proceeded to squeeze his way into the dock area and then waited for the employee to come out.......and waited......and waited.
After about 45 minutes he saw an employee come out to talk to him. Seems that they saw fit to build two Fry stores at the same intersection. The employee directed Craig's line of vision to the corner where he saw the Fry's store that he was suppose to be at. The employee stated that this happens at least a couple of times a week, and called over to the other store to let them know Craig was on his way. After that little hiccup, the rest of the drops went well and they were empty and in possession of a new assignment by 2pm.
After suffering through over 110 plus temperatures, they were so very happy to see that they would be headed to San Diego this morning to pick up bananas. Cool ocean breezes never sounded so good, so with Roy back in the driver's seat, they headed to Yuma, AZ where they would shut down for the night, crank up the AC and get a good night's sleep before Craig would drive to the Port of San Diego and drop Roy off at the entrance since he doesn't have the credentials to have access to the Port.
They are set to deliver the bananas to Puyallup, WA on Thursday morning. I didn't have the heart to tell Craig that this week will be warmer than normal on his travels northward, but after 110 degrees in Arizona, I'm sure 80 won't seem that bad!
2 comments:
Many moons ago, Fry's bought out Smiths and some of the stores where within a cannon shot of one another (Grocery wars). On Ray and Rural in Chandler you can see one Fry's on the NW corner and the other Fry's on the SE corner.
It is hot down here. I've been a Zonie for 15 years now and I'm having issues with the heat of late. You could say we are Fry-ing down here in the desert.
Sounds like the Fry stores are like Starbucks - one on every corner! Maybe they can give you GPS coordinates to tell which one to go to.
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