IT'S ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION

The one thing we have learned over the past five years in trucking, is that if you don't communicate in a timely manner, issues can't be dealt with when they are manageable, and snowball into big problems.  We've heard and seen way too many times, of drivers that wait until the last minute to give their fleet manager/dispatcher a heads up about a problem, and then complain about how it was handled.  Or, the amount of times we have been stopped by truckers at a truck stop or rest area, wanting to know which direction a particular city or highway was.  A map isn't an expensive tool to buy, especially when you drive for a living.  Do they ever stop to think, that except for unforeseen issues, (accident/medical emergency), that if they took as little as 15 minutes to do a little planning, a lot of headaches could be eliminated.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Craig knew when he received the dispatch that the delivery times, combined with his driving hours, added onto his 14 hours clock, would present a problem, especially at his last drop.  It's not often that he ever calls into dispatch about a delivery problem, because he is like a dog with a bone, and refuses to give in until he looks at it from every angle and possible scenario, before finally making that call.  So yesterday he calls in and explains the situation, saying that the delivery is possible, but here are the factors involved, and the main one being the electronic log system that he is on.  It leaves no wiggle room what so ever!  About two hours later, he is told to drop the load in French Camp by 3am this morning, and that a local driver will make the deliveries and with that, what could have been somewhat of a big problem has been resolved by a little bit of communication. 

Craig has already received his next assignment, another load from Foster Farms in Livingston, destined for three drops in Washington.  What is sweet about this load, is that he is to bob tail to Livingston, which means he can swing by my Mom's house and pick me up on his way there, plus get to stop and visit for a short time.  After picking me up, we'll continue onto Livingston and go directly to Foster Farms to sleep in their lot and await our load in the morning.  I go on record saying that Craig had no problem what so ever communicating that information to me!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

GRACE UNDER FIRE

We received a comment yesterday from Michelle and Kendall over at the Plum Trucker blog.  She mentioned how it can be a challenge for them to handle multiple drops, and in her words...."you guys always seem to handle them with such grace".  To that I say, that grace comes from experience, and sometimes even with that, it can be a challenge for us as well.

I know we owe 90% of our success rate to meticulous planning, and the other 10% to just plain old luck, but sometimes you get a load that is so tight, and leaves you with your hands tied and no escape route. Take for instance Craig's latest assignment. 

He was given the load a little before 7am on Friday.  Drive from Toledo, WA to Wallula, WA to pick up a load of meat by 1pm.  The load has three deliveries, one in Newark, CA, one in Daly City, CA, and the last stop in Santa Clara, CA all on Sunday morning starting at 5am.  When given such a load, the human calculator (Craig), starts figuring miles versus hours of driving, and when I'm in the truck, I start inputting the data into my mapping program to be able to give him the distance to and from any particular spot on our routing.  With me out of the truck, Craig either has time to do it on his own, or he will call me, as he knows my computer is never far from my reach, to get the information he needs.

With the amount of time he used to drive to Wallula, he knew that it would be an extremely tight delivery with his 14 hour clock in jeopardy on Sunday.  With a start time of 1am in Corning, CA  he needs to get to his first drop at 5am, and then ending with his last drop at 3pm.  Already most drivers have figured that the 14 hour clock will run out at the last delivery.  Our only hope is that the first two deliveries run ahead of schedule, that there are no traffic issues driving into and out of San Francisco on his second drop, and that he will be able to get to the last drop way before the 3pm appointment, get unloaded, and find some spot in the Bay Area to park.....as if there are any spots to park in the Bay Area.

With all of that being said, even with all the planning that is involved in thinking we have this under control, we are still going to need a hefty shot of that 10% just plain old luck, and a lot of grace under fire, to survive this assignment.

CLICK IT OR TICKET

Yesterday was an interesting day, and I'll go on record saying that I was glad I wasn't with Craig.  His first drop went like clock work, in and out and onto his second stop.  He arrived on time, and when he went into the receiving clerks office, there seemed to be a problem with the paperwork.  He left the details to be worked out between them and Foster Farms and retreated back to the truck to wait. 

After about 45 minutes he rechecked again, and found the receiving clerk still perplexed.  She kept checking and couldn't figure out who had ordered the product.  Long story short, after another 15 minutes or so, it was finally figured out that the turkeys that were being delivered were for the employees for Thanksgiving.  Once that mystery was solved, their portion of the load was taken off and Craig was on his way again.

Thanks to the delay, he was on an ever so tight schedule to make his last drop.  In fact he was just 3 blocks away, following a Foster Farms truck to the complex, when he noticed flashing blue and red lights behind him.  More than a tad bit confused as to why he was being pulled over, he found a spot safely off the roadway and awaited the officer's arrival at his door.

Seems the officer was parked at the corner, and looking through binoculars, it was in his opinion, that Craig was not wearing his seat belt.  I will go on the record here, that Craig never starts up the engine of his truck without having his seat belt on, even if it is to drive around the parking lot and never go out onto the street.  So you can also imagine Craig's surprise at this revelation by the officer. 

So let me put into evidence, exhibit #1.......the bright yellow coat.   Now notice the black collar of the coat where a black shoulder strap would lie, and then continue across a dark blue t-shirt.  Craig explained that he would never say that the officer was mistaken in what he thought he saw through his binoculars, but that he was indeed wearing his seat belt.  A level 3 inspection was done, with Craig passing with flying colors, and then the officer admitting that maybe he was mistaken in what he saw.  He sent Craig on his way, and he was only a few minutes late to his last delivery.

On a lighter note................THE GIANTS WON!

GO GIANTS

Giants win, I'm at my Mom's house visiting for a few days, and we didn't get that light produce load we wanted.  Well, that's not exactly true.  After going empty in San Luis Obispo, CA Tuesday afternoon, we were told to head to Salinas and drop the trailer for a Fresh Express load.  Then, the QualComm beeps..........."change of plans.....head to Livingston, CA".   If that message would have come any later, we would have missed the opportunity to take a quick exit onto Highway 46, and would have had to do some major back tracking, not to mention eating up some limited driving time on Craig's clock.

But it did come in time, we did make the quick exit, and we did manage to pull into Los Banos, CA 30 miles from the Foster Farms Plant in Livingston, before the driving hours ran out.  We did get another great night of sleeping, showers, and an early start to Livingston for our drop/hook, where even the shipping clerk was surprised that our load was ready and waiting for us.  Paperwork in hand, old trailer dropped, new trailer hooked up, fuel at the TA just down the street, and we were headed towards Modesto,and our favorite drop off spot, where my Mom was waiting.

Of course you know she is never empty handed, and I know Craig was thinking the same thing, because as I was gathering up my belongings to be taken off the truck, he comes back to the door all smiles with his hands full of some home cooked goodness.  I like to think it eases the pain of being separated from me!

Craig headed north and drove as far as he hours allowed, into Canyonville, OR where he called me to see if I had switched to being a Ranger's fan yet.  I know enough about Giants torture to know that you never throw in the white towel with these guys, and they did not let me down. 

This morning, Craig is headed to Woodburn, OR to the WinCo for the first of his three stops.  Then it is onto the Columbia Cold Storage in Woodland, WA and finally ending up at Foster Farms in Kelso, WA at 3pm this afternoon.  Of course, we have no clue as to where he will be sent, or even when he will be back through Modesto to pick me up, for that we'll just have to wait and see......kinda like watching the World Series!

WILL WORK FOR FOOD 4 LESS

After inheriting this trailer full of meat in Dunnigan, CA Saturday afternoon, we have over the past two day, delivered to 5 Food 4 Less stores......two in Stockton, one in Manteca, one in Paso Robles, and finally one in San Luis Obispo.  For the two deliveries in Stockton, we had to once again be creatures of the night, and  start driving at 12:30am Sunday morning from Dunnigan to Stockton .  The first stop went like clockwork.  Our appointment time was 3am, we were there about 30 minutes early, but as soon as the meat guy showed up at 3am, we were unloaded in 15 minutes and on our way to our second drop.

Once at our second stop, Craig walks to the door to check in, only to be met by the dairy guy, who was puzzled as to why he was needed to unload meat.  Craig informed him that he just got here, but there was another guy who he saw walking away when he got to the door.  That other guy?  Well "she" was within ear shot, and promptly called Craig an asshole, and then gave the dairy guy her paperwork.  Sheez, as Craig tried to tell her, all he saw was her back and apologized to her and came back to the truck.

The dairy manager had already told Craig that it would take about two hours to unload the dairy truck, so we hunkered down with Craig taking a nap, and I took to my computer.  Sure enough, about two hours later, the dairy tuck pulls out and  we back in.  After 6 pallets of meat were unloaded, we took the opportunity to do a bit of shopping, and stocked up our pantry before heading to the company yard to await the rest of our deliveries for the next day.

This morning, we had an easy unload in Manteca, CA and then headed down our beloved Interstate 5 to Highway 41 to make our way into Paso Robles.  A quick 30 minutes there, and we were off again to San Luis Obispo, CA.  Totally loving the weather there by the way.  The ocean breeze was refreshing, the air crisp, and the sun shining.  Once again, it took all of about 30 minutes and we were finally done with our marathon deliveries at Food 4 Less.  Gotta say, these types of runs are all the better due to the friendly, professional employees we encountered along the way.  Here's a collective "atta boy" for Food 4 Less employees.

So now we find ourselves empty and on the move once again, this time to Salinas, CA to stage for a nice light produce run.  It'll be a nice change from these heavy meat loads, plus we'll get to enjoy the wonderful coastal weather for one more day.

CREATURES OF THE NIGHT

                                                                      Photo from google images

Over the past several days, we have become quite the creatures of the night.  This is the third consecutive night that we have gotten up around 1am to either drive or make a delivery.  Surprisingly, we seemed to have adapted quite well, as we have slept well, and relatively long enough (6-7 hours),  prior to the alarm waking us in the middle of the night. 

Craig has been using up every available driving hour since we came back out after vacation.  Before we made our delivery in Tolleson, AZ we had our preplan sent to us, picking up a loaded trailer of bananas in the company yard in Bloomington, CA and taking them to Puyallup, WA.  Only problem was that we had over 300  miles to drive to even get to the trailer.  Doing the math, we informed dispatch that we could only get as far as Dunnigan, CA this morning, and then run out of hours.

So we took off from Arizona as soon as we were unloaded from the Albertson's DC in Tolleson, and drove to Bloomington, where we did an Indy 500 pit stop, dropping our empty trailer and then hooking up to our loaded trailer, and hit the road with what little driving time Craig had left to get us as far as Wheeler Ridge, CA.  We took the mandatory 10 hour break, and even managed to watch some of the play off game between the Giants and Phillies, before having to get some sleep, and be pleasantly surprised this morning to awake at 1am to see that the Giants had won.

We decided, since we had to get up so early yet again, to do a quick stop in Buttonwillow, CA at the Denny's to fortify our bodies with some hot coffee and a bite to eat off their $2 $4 $6 $8 menu.  I've mentioned this before, but what a deal that is.  For a total of $6 dollars, we both had more than enough to satisfy our appetites and leave feeling full and happy!

We plan to get into Dunnigan, CA by 9am this morning to do a swap with a team who will be able to make the 5am appointment time in Puyallup, WA  Monday morning.  In return, we inherit a trailer of meat which has 5 deliveries attached to it.  Looking at the dispatch details, we will once again have to get up at  midnight tonight to drive into Stockton, CA and make two of the five deliveries starting at 3am.  With only about 5 hours left on Craig's 70 hour clock, we should just manage those deliveries before shutting down in French Camp Monday morning, to set up for the final 3 deliveries on Tuesday, in Manteca, Paso Robles, and finally in San Luis Obispo, CA. Maybe by then we'll be back on a more normal schedule.

THE BRIDGE TO SOMEWHERE

PHOTO BY: David Wallace/The Arizona Republic

Unlike the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska, the bridge pictured above, definitely takes you somewhere.  This is the Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, and it was just opened for public use on Wednesday.   Had one of our blog followers not told us about this new bypass, over the Colorado River and by the Hoover Dam, we would have driven 50 miles more than we needed to.  Heck, we didn't even know that this bridge was even being built over the past seven years.

                                                                    PHOTO BY: Michael Schennum/The Arizona Republic

According to Wikipedia, the bridge is the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the United States. It includes the longest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere and is believed to be the second-highest bridge in the nation.  Unfortunately for us, we crossed over this magnificent bridge under the cover of darkness, and were unable to fully appreciate the panoramic views offered while crossing it.

By the time the sun rose, we were well on the way to Phoenix after driving through Kingman, AZ and reconnecting back up with Highway 93 once again.  The only views we saw were  cactus and an abundance of crazy rock formations scattered all over the desert landscape.  After negotiating some interesting round abouts in Winkenburg, AZ, we had just 55 miles left to our final destination.

Shortly after 10am, we pulled into Phoenix, AZ after enduring some wicked road construction on Highway 60.  It was nice for a change, to see that trucks are not the only vehicles that have to endure restrictions.  While driving through Sun City, we saw quite a few signs posted, to have the golf carts a lot of the retirees drive, warning them to stay off the roadways during the road construction.



FOR THE LOVE OF BAMBI

I don't know about you, but I've had my fill of political ads of late.  When I saw one over and over again while we were at home, admonishing one of our incumbent US Senators about funding a turtle crossing, I thought that was just plain silly.  So imagine my surprise, while having nothing better to do while traveling Highway 93 in Nevada, reading signs about deer migration, and then seeing a 1.8 million dollar bridge that they had built for the deer to cross.

If that wasn't bad enough, they were erecting yet another bridge, at the cost of well over 3 million dollars just a couple of miles away.  Add to that the 3 miles of fencing they built out from each bridge on both sides of the roadway, and you have close to 6 millions dollars spent on a highway that is lightly traveled.  I had to laugh out loud when I read this article and an employee of the Nevada DOT proudly proclaiming that there hadn't been a vehicle versus deer accident since the first bridge was completed.  I guess the memo hasn't gotten to him yet about the two dead deer carcases that were splattered across the asphalt that we saw as we drove by the bridge.  I think they need a better PR person to get the word out to the deer

As you can tell, I had a lot of time to think while on Highway 93.  For those of you who have not had the pleasure, except for the occasional truck, RV, or vehicle you pass, there isn't a whole lot to look at for entertainment, just a vast amount of flat desert, surrounded by some mountain ranges.  We left Boise, ID around 5am, and after driving about 500 miles, will call Alamo, NV our home for the evening.  With a very early start planned for Friday morning, we hope to drive into Las Vegas for our fuel stop, take showers, and then try our hand at our lucky slot machine again.  With any hopes, we'll come out on the winning end of things before we head into Tolleson, AZ for that 2am Saturday morning delivery.

ABOUT FACE

Craig drove just about 10 hours Monday night, to get us into the rest area just west of Klamath Falls, OR.  We were happy to see that there were still several parking spaces available at10pm, but as we were walking back to the truck, after using the facilities, we saw a long line of trucks pulling into the rest area.  Sometimes timing is everything!

As soon as our mandatory 10 hour break was done, we were back out on the road again, and planning our departure time for the Port of Oakland from the company yard in French Camp, to best try to avoid commute traffic.  But as we crossed the border of California, and passed through the Agricultural Inspection Station, the QualComm beeped with a message to call dispatch as soon as possible.  This could mean only one thing.....a swap of trailers, and we were more than happy to be of service, and get off of this container load and all the headaches that go with delivery to a Port and dealing with the paperwork.

Since we were only 40 miles from Weed, CA that was the designated swap spot, and within 30 minutes of our arrival, we were hooked up to our normal 53 foot trailer and headed right back in the direction in which we came from.  It gave me a second opportunity to take some photos along Highway 97, and get reacquainted with the road we travel on almost weekly.  I love the tiny little towns we pass, and the old, unused building left long ago abandoned.

We won't hold onto this trailer any longer than it will take us to get it into Pasco, WA, which is 450 miles away, as this load has three deliveries in Spokane, starting at 5am Wednesday morning.  We should make Pasco by 8pm, where yet another driver will take possession of this load and make the deliveries.  We've already been given another dispatch, to head to Tyson in Wallula again to pick up a loaded trailer and take it all the way to Arizona.  We're pretty confident that we will in fact, make a delivery on this one, at 2am Saturday morning in Tolleson, AZ.

THE CONTAINER MISSED THE SHIP

One of the greatest things about trucking, is that truckers are so willing to pass on little gems of knowledge to one and other.  We were the recipients of one such trucker driver's wisdom when it came to picking up a container at the Tyson Meat Plant in Wallula, WA.  Craig had checked in at our appointment time at 6am, and was told not to expect the loaded container for at least 3 or 4 hours.  Doing the quick calculations in our heads, we knew that 10am was basically the cut off time for us to make it to Seattle by our 3pm appointment time.

Long about 9am, we walked into the office to use the facilities, and another TWT driver was standing outside.  He inquired if we were waiting on a load going to the Port in Seattle, to which we replied "yes".  Come to find out, he is on a designated fleet of three drivers who do nothing but take containers from Tyson to Seattle.  We had all kinds of questions to ask him, having never been to the Port of Seattle before, and he was more than willing to fill us in on all the nuances of delivery such a load.

It seems our hold up on getting our load was the USDA inspectors that had to inspect the product prior to it getting loaded, and as the hours ticked away, our window of delivering on time was quickly closing.  However, the other driver did say, it had happened once before where he had received the load late and was able to stage at the Port until morning when it was dropped for loading onto the ship.  So when noon rolled around, and we finally saw movement with the containers being released, we knew that it was looking like a night at the Port for us.

We made an agreement that we would follow him, since he was so familiar with the best way to get into the Port, and where to park to stage, and as we quickly fell in behind him, after scaling, we went about relaxing and enjoying the drive, that is until the QualComm started beeping.  Simultaneously, we both received the information to call into dispatch, so we zipped into the company yard in Pasco to make the calls.  We were told that the ship was leaving by 6pm, and there would be no way to make it there in time, so the next best thing was to beat the ship to it's next destination in Oakland, CA.

We parted ways at that point, with new assignment details in hand, and we headed south, with a new appointment time of 8am on Wednesday at the Port of Oakland.  Since he was a local driver, his load would remain at the yard until another driver could be found to relay it to California.  There are a couple of things I have noticed about this container versus a reefer unit.   It is much quieter when running than any of our reefer, and the overall length is much shorter than when hauling our normal 53 foot long trailer.  I can't say that we would look forward to another one of these container loads, but it's nice to add a new experience to our trucking resume of different loads we have hauled.

HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING

Saturday afternoon Craig called into dispatch to see if there was anything lined up for us to come back on Sunday.  We really weren't expecting to have to go back until Monday, but lo and behold, we had an assignment waiting for us, which would have us back on the truck and rolling towards Wallula, WA Sunday afternoon.  But first, we had a bit of house cleaning and laundry to do back at home, where by 10am Sunday, we said goodbye to our little oasis, and headed towards the company yard.

We wanted to check on the truck before running all of our errands, and I'm glad we did.  Upon checking our 12volt cooler we have had for quite some time, we found that it had cooled it's last lunch meat and diet Pepsi.  So after reviewing our dispatch, and doing a quick check of the trailer assigned, to make sure the reefer ran and the tires were good, we headed across the street to the Petro truck stop to purchase another cooler.   Eighty dollars later, we had  our new cooler and were headed to our next stop.

We fueled up the pickup, then stopped at the Starbucks for some fortification of some caffeine, before hitting the local Wal Mart.  After being off the truck for ten weeks, it took a bit of aisle walking to get back into the mind set of buying for eating in the truck.  I have been spoiled by all the fresh fruits and veggies we had enjoyed the past week when Craig was at home.

Along with the food we would consume over the next couple of weeks, we also replaced the plastic storage containers we use to store all of our food.  The previous ones had seen better days, as the drawers were cracked, and no amount of duct tape could get them to slide as smoothly as they once did.  On a happy note, the new containers are much larger than the old ones, and I had plenty of room to store the food with a container for breakfast items, one for lunch items, and the last one for dinner items.  Now all I had to do was do a thorough cleaning and vacuuming of the inside of the truck and I was ready to roll.

Our new assignment is one we have not had before.  We are picking up a container full of meat at the Tyson meat plant in Wallua, and taking it to the Port of Seattle.  We will be dropping off an empty trailer tonight, and picking up the container around 6am in the morning.  Then we have until 3pm to get it to the Port.  Seems like a nice easy load to get us started back out, after relaxing at home the last 10 days.

THANKFUL

Thankful that for at least one night, we were at home and not in the truck. 

Still on vacation, still perfecting the art of doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying our surroundings.  Will be back on the truck either Sunday or Monday............see you then!

FALL IS IN THE AIR

The day after our train trip with Craig's parents, we had one more little adventure to go on.  Up where we live, north of Spokane, there is an area just lush with apple farms, and this time of year, they make every effort to attract the townsfolk out for a visit.  My favorite apple is the Honey Crisp, and I was lucky to find a crate full of fresh from the tree picked ones to purchase.  I also purchased some honey made from the bees that were used to pollinate the apple trees.

I had to think of my BFF Cori when I spied the house on the property, as she has a love of old farm houses, and this one, nestled amongst the pumpkin fields and apple orchards, would be just her cup of tea.  Across the dirt road from this property, I saw this big red barn.  Don't know how anyone couldn't appreciate the beauty of this barn, in fact, I liked the barn more than the modern house that was built next to it.

At our second apple farm stop of the day, they had a large retail store and bakery on the premises.  I spent a few minutes, sampling some of the wines they had for sale, and settled on two, which we have been thoroughly enjoying.  While listening to some live music being played outside, Craig's Dad purchased four, fresh from the deep fryer, apple spice donuts, which were quickly devoured.

Having Craig's parents come visit, gave us the opportunity to see some of the great things there are to do near our home.  We definitely will be checking out these areas again, and trying to add even more points of interest, in case we ever have any more out of town visitors.

A BYGONE ERA

Yesterday we went on a train ride.  We boarded an old passenger car and settled into relaxing with the rhythmic beat of the train riding the rails as we rode from Ione, WA to Metaline Falls, WA.  We thought it would be a fun afternoon activity to do while Craig's parents are visiting from California.  The weather held out for us, and the rain didn't fall until the ride was finished and dinner had been eaten.

All in all it was a pleasant afternoon taking in the quickly changing fall colors around us, while enjoying the lush greenery we have in abundance in Washington State.  While having the engine change ends of the train on our return trip, we had our train boarded by this young lad and his mother who had no trouble persuading people to donate to their "loot" bag to help with fund raising for the local community theater.

After getting Craig's parents on the correct road back to their hotel, we retreated to our own little oasis we call home, to indulge in a little cocktail to put a perfect ending on a perfect day.  Today we'll try to explore another area near us in hopes of finding a couple of apple farms with fall festivals, that is if the weather continues to cooperate!

HOME SWEET HOME

It's true, we don't spend much time at home, in fact, since we purchased our park model back in July of 2008, we have probably only spent about a total of 60 days at home together.  I've had the pleasure of enjoying it by myself while Craig has trained, but together? not so much.  So after three weeks away in Walla Walla, and Craig out on the road training, and the limited amount of time we have spent at home in the past, you can understand how excited we are to have Craig take 10 days off and spend it at home!

I left Walla Walla around 4am on Thursday, and drove to Spokane to pick up Craig, who was anxiously awaiting my arrival.  We made a beeline for home and have been just taking it easy yesterday and today.  Other than my BFF Cori, who spent a girls only weekend with me back in Dec of 2008,  we will have our first official visitors to our home tomorrow when Craig's parents come to visit.  They are flying into Spokane and will drive out to see exactly where, out in the boondocks, that we live. 

Because of the size of our teeny tiny home, they will have to stay at a hotel in north Spokane, but we have planned a few activities for them, even though the forecast is for rain.  After all, this is the pacific northwest, and we are supposedly on the drier east side, but it does get it's fair share of rain and snow.

I'll be posting some updates during our time off about some of our activities, but I must confess, we plan on doing a whole lot of nothing during the next 10 days, and that's okay with me.  We'll be back on that truck and the hustle and bustle of trucking soon enough........now I think I'll pour us another cup of coffee and enjoy the view out to the river.

IT'S ALL ABOUT JUNKING!

All of you trucking enthusiasts out there will have to endure one more post about yard sale finds, as my days in Walla Walla, WA will officially end very early tomorrow morning, when I head up to Spokane to be reunited with Craig, after eight long weeks apart.  I am so excited to get back on the truck again, but will miss my adventures "picking" with my BFF Cori, that is until I make a return trip through Walla Walla in early December when I drive our pickup down to California for us to use during the winter months in the company yard in French Camp.

My husband has embraced my new love of junking so much, that he actually enjoys watching "American Pickers" on the Discovery Channel with me, and much to my delight, decided to send me a picture of a "pickers" dream not far from the yard in French Camp.  Thanks Honey, but due to the dogs you told me about guarding all those treasures, I think I'll pass even taking a quick look over the fence at that one!

Here is the group of items we finished up yesterday in our marathon two days of trying to get as much accomplished as we could before I leave.  Those two little round tables looked like this when I picked them up at an auction warehouse for only $5.00 each. 

 I think they are almost reminiscent of thread spools, when we decided to make them part of the collection of furniture we did using the old time face clock on them.  The tray table was also picked up at the auction warehouse for $10.00 including the glass top in perfect condition.  A little paint, a little distressing, a touch of burlap and some stenciling, and you got yourself the a great looking French shabby chic table that is the perfect size to fit anywhere.

I love how the little magazine rack turned out, and that octagon table with glass top was a steal for only $2.00 at a thrift store. 

Today we take some of the items over to the retail space and do a total revamp of the area, taking out items that have been there awhile and replacing them with new ones.  If last week is any indication of how sales will do, I'm sure Cori will be extremely busy in the coming weeks taking over more of our completed items and working on pieces we have lined up in her garage.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with her being creative and turning "junk" into "treasures".

In trucking news, Craig and Roy have delivered the bananas to Puyallup, WA and are awaiting word on the dispatch that will route them home to Spokane.  It will either be a late delivery tonight, or an early delivery tomorrow morning.  In either case, I'll be headed to Spokane early in the morning to meet up with Craig and then happily drive home to Usk to enjoy 10 days off together.  I'll be sure to post all about our adventures while on vacation, but more importantly, I am so looking forward to being back in the truck, and occupying my passenger seat to bring you our travels of life on the road!