THE LAST DAY OF NOVEMBER

I can't believe it is going to be December 1st tomorrow.  This year has just flown by so very quickly, and just like the preceding years since we started this trucking adventure, we continue to enjoy our time spent together creating memories that will last us our lifetime.  You know what else I enjoy?  The great weather we have had so far.  Even though it is still considered Fall, we have yet to experience any snowfall to speak of on our travels.  Did I just jinx us?  We'll know soon enough as as Winter officially will arrive in three weeks.

After I got back on the truck, we continued with the transformer shuffle between Oregon and California for a couple more days, and then took a relay of a USF load out of our French Camp yard headed to Tacoma, WA on Thanksgiving morning.  Without the normal time constraints on this type of load due to the holiday, (it's normally a team load), we were able to enjoy the drive north with very little traffic on the Interstate.

We passed on our meal at the Casino in Corning, CA as it was way too early in the day for a Thanksgiving feast, and opted instead to take showers and continue our way north.  By 2pm, we were more than ready to enjoy a meal, which left us with the holiday buffet at the Petro truck stop in Phoenix, OR.  I was surprised at how busy it was, not from truck drivers, but from the local residents.  It wasn't home cooking, but they had all the fixings, along with prime rib, which we both enjoyed.

I passed on any dessert, hoping to enjoy a waffle ice cream cone at our destination for the evening in Canyonville, OR where we were planning on watching the 49'er game in the driver's lounge.  How disappointing it was to find that they didn't have any flavor of ice cream that I liked, and had to settle for an ice cream bar out of the freezer and on top of that, watch as the 49'ers lost to the Ravens.

We dropped the trailer in Tacoma on Friday and then headed to the yard in Pacific to pick up an empty to take to Draper Farms in Renton, WA.  We stayed in their parking lot for our 10 hour break while the trailer was being loaded and headed out just after midnight for our run into Spokane for delivery in the morning.  As soon as we dropped that trailer and hooked up to an empty, we were dispatched to Wallula, WA to Tyson Meat for a load destined for Castroville, CA on Tuesday morning.  Yadda, Yadda, Yadda............ load delivered and here we sit in Salinas waiting for a load out of Fresh Express.

We have just about 7 days left before we are scheduled for some home time which looks like we will take in Modesto, with Craig going back out in the truck solo while I stay in town during my Mom's third round of chemo.  We're hoping to take in a movie or two, enjoy a nice dinner, and update my phone before I get back on the truck around the 17th, and we can enjoy the Christmas/New Year holidays together in our home on wheels.

IT'S BEEN AWHILE

I know it's been awhile since I last posted.  I've been in Modesto, CA again this past week helping my Mom out as she goes through her second round of Chemo and 6 weeks of every day radiation.  She has three more rounds of Chemo to go, and we are hoping by mid February 2012, she will be completely done and able to start living a normal life again.  I'll be back again in December for round three.

Craig has been on a two week dedicated run between Salem, OR and Marysville/Emeryville, CA.  It's a PG&E account that keeps you moving non stop, and is actually a great little money maker miles wise.  We were sweating it a bit with whether or not he would be able to get back down to French Camp, CA to get me back on the truck before Thanksgiving, and it looks like either tomorrow night or Sunday morning will be when I meet up with him again.

I saw that they had some heavy snow going over the Siskiyou Moutain Pass this morning, and Craig, ever diligent during winter weather, made his escape over the pass before the storm hit at 3am this morning.  It looks like there will be a break in the storm system for him to make a hasty retreat back over tomorrow sometime.  You gotta love when it can work in your favor, and dread it when you are stuck putting chains on.  But, that is the life in trucking during the winter.

The next time I post, I hope to be able to tell you all about our Thanksgiving.  We are counting on hitting one of the many Casinos along the west coast to partake in a great hot meal.  Neither one of us wants to think of what the alternative will be, but it's already in our pantry in the truck if we have to resort to it.  Let's hope for the best, shall we?

THE EVOLUTION OF OUR FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON

I was off the truck for a week staying at my Mom's in Modesto, and hitched at ride back on the truck in the very early morning hours Thursday.  In fact, so early, that Craig drove into Modesto and onto one of the major streets (truck route approved) just a couple of blocks from my Mom's house.  My niece was so very kind to drive me to where he parked, in the parking lot of a high school, at 3am in the morning.  We quickly loaded up my belongings and were back on the highway in record time.

We made a delivery of chicken parts to a Foster Farms plant in Porterville, CA and the made our way to Salinas, CA for a Fresh Express load.  On our way to our first delivery smack dab in the middle of Portland, OR (thank goodness it was an early Sunday morning appointment time), we had the opportunity to experience our first snow of the season.

It started out mild and meek just outside of Weed, CA and as we neared the Siskiyou Mountain Summit, it gathered strength.  All in all it wasn't too bad.  Oregon DOT were out in force to sand and plow the roads, and no one was driving like an idiot.  I'm sure we'll see lots of idiots in the months ahead of us driving during all the winter storms we will most likely encounter.

Craig's driving hours are looking very slim over the next three days.  We are no in possession of a dry van, and will be picking up some transformer parts from PG&E in Marysville, CA and taken them to Salem, OR.  It's a nice little run that will fit perfectly into what hours Craig has left to drive.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I didn't stay out too long on the truck before getting right back off again.  I've been in Modesto, CA since Thursday morning, when Craig dropped me off on his way to LA.  It's been fun having a few days here without a doctor appointment to go to with my Mom, but that will change starting today.  Her first round of Chemo went pretty good, and we'll have a follow up appointment with that doctor this afternoon.  Then on Wednesday a visit to the radiation doctor.  That appointment will determine if I get back on the truck right away or stay a bit longer. 

I spent the better part of yesterday taking pictures of one of my twin nieces, and then on the other niece's daughter Gwen (my grand niece) for her first Halloween pics.  Of course we also had to carve some pumpkins.  These don't even come close to the pumpkins I used to carve when I went all out for Halloween back when I lived in Modesto.  I'll be passing out candy tonight and hoping to see a lot of cute little kids instead of the posse of adults that were out the last time I was here on Halloween.

Craig made his delivery in LA and was then dead headed all the way to Salinas, CA to Fresh Express to pick up a load yesterday afternoon.  It'll be a short trip, as he only has to go to Woodburn, OR and the WinCo to deliver on Tuesday morning.  With any luck, I'll be able to get back on the truck either on his way down or on he way back up later this week or weekend.  Hope y'all have a "spooktacular" Halloween evening!

BACK TO WORK WE GO

Our home time, as usual, went by way too fast.  It is my most favorite time of year, when all of the summer folks head back home and the year round  folks start having get togethers.  I would be hard pressed to say which season is more beautiful up here, Fall or Winter, and it was with a heavy heart that we packed up and headed back to the truck yard Friday afternoon.

Very early Saturday morning we headed to Wallula, WA to pick up a load of boxed meat.  This particular load had three deliveries, two in Los Angeles and one in Phoenix, AZ.  We were loving the miles attached to it, but as we waited for our trailer to get loaded, we watched as the clock ticked and with every minute, went the chance that we would be able to deliver it on time.

Three hours after it was suppose to be ready, we finally got the go ahead to hook onto it, and after fueling and scaling, we had to send the message that if we were to keep this load, it would deliver late.  We got as far as La Pine, OR for the night, and first thing in the morning we were beeped with the message to swap loads with another driver in Redding, CA.

Now normally this would not be an issue, but I was slated to be dropped off in Modesto to visit my Mom and take her to a couple of doctor appointments.  Unfortunately, the new load we were assigned, headed us back north instead of south.  I really hated making that phone call to my Mom, but I had no other option.  Our new load is from Fresh Express and will deliver in Auburn, WA Tuesday morning.

All along our drive today we saw the billboards for the Mega Millions and PowerBall Lottery, so when we stopped in Chehalis, WA for the night, we made sure to get us a couple of quick picks for each draw........you never know, trying to figure a way for me to get south may not be a problem after Wednesday!

HEADING FOR HOME

Love this time of year.  It's still much too warm for my liking in the Central Valley of California, but at least further North, it is starting to get a chill in the air.

Our last couple of trips required us to do the dreaded "night driving" again, but thankfully, last night we were able to sleep.  We are currently in Livingston, CA with an empty trailer awaiting the load that will take us North and HOME!  Yes, it's been over three months since we have been home and we are so looking forward to a couple of days there enjoying the below freezing temperatures in the morning and the chilly 50's during the day.

We also need to close up the house for winter in the event that we don't get back there until Spring.  With the plans of Craig dropping me off in Modesto every month while my Mom continues her recovery, we just aren't sure that we will be back before Spring.

Hopefully the next time you hear from me, it will be from my favorite chair in front of our fireplace enjoying a glass of wine!

NOW THESE ARE SOME LOYAL FANS

The one thing we have noticed, over the years of traveling Interstate 5, is that Oregon loves their College Football.  Without fail, on any given Sunday, you will no doubt notice them flying their college flags from their windows, and in the case of the Oregon State University fans, a beaver tail from the back end of your vehicle.

Yes, last Saturday, the Interstate was filled with cars, trucks, and an orange and black bus, occupied by people all wearing orange and black.  The trucks were loaded down with grills and ice chests, the cars had OSU stickers plastered all over them, and you just can't miss all those flags flapping from atop the roofs of the vehicles.

I had to look up OSU's record so far, and sadly they are 1-4, but the losing record did nothing to damper the fighting spirit of the loyal fans on the way to a Saturday afternoon game of football.

THE EMERALD CITY

We ended up getting a Foster Farms load out of Livingston, CA last week after our marathon 6 drop assignment that finished up in Madera, CA.  The load delivered to the WinCo in Woodburn, Or and then in Sumner, WA at the CostCo.  Before we were unloaded, we were beeped with our next assignment that would take us to Stanwood, WA to the Twin City Foods for a 43,000 pound load of frozen vegetables. 

I have to say that we have really enjoyed the weather the past few days while up North.  Overcast, rainy, and cool temperatures.  Just right for leaving the windows open at night.  I'm sad to say that with this present load that we are on, we are headed South, and already have hit the warmer conditions in the 80's.

It's always nice to drive south on Interstate 5 through Seattle, except of course when you hit commute traffic, but fortunately we were able to bypass the traffic and enjoy the picturesque scenery of the Emerald City.  We are looking forward to one day soon, using our home time to take a trip to Seattle and explore the area for a few days.

The load of vegetables are headed to Riverside, CA for a delivery this afternoon at the Fresh & Easy warehouse.  Since we are delivering so late in the day, I'm sure we'll continue to enjoy our streak of being able to sleep at night and drive during the day. 

LET'S TALK TRUCKS

I've been asked by a loyal reader to write about the various trucks we have driven/lived in over the past six years and since I don't presently have anything very exciting to write about, I'll be happy to respond to his request.

Our first truck was a Freightliner.  I remember the day Craig received this truck.  He was just released from training and had to wait for it to be returned from the dealer after having some work done on it.  It had previously been driven by a driver who quit, and quite frankly, the truck was a pig sty and reeked of cigarette smoke.  As we worked together trying to clean it up, I kept trying to calm myself down, wondering to myself if selling everything that we owned, and doing this trucking thing was such a bright idea.  But Craig promised me that by the time I would join him, in about two months, that it would smell better and look in tip top shape, and he didn't let me down.

Over the next two months, Craig "frebreezed" it every opportunity he had, and installed a refrigerator, microwave, and TV.  What more would we need?  There was ample room in the sleeper, and we were more than comfortable living in it except for the time it leaked while we were in New York and had to find a way to stop the rain from coming inside.

Being a novice OTR truck driver, we had no comparison to other trucks as far as power or handling, but most of our loads were light when we hauled boats, and when we did have a back haul with a Genie or some other type of equipment, we didn't seem to notice it being inadequate.

When Craig hurt his back in Texas July/2007, our Freightliner was left at a tiny truck stop in Fort Stockton, TX and driven back to the yard by a team driver.  When Craig was cleared to return to work in October/2007, we were assigned an International that had been left by a driver near Roseburg, OR.  We drove up there to retrieve the truck and I was happy to see this truck was somewhat clean, but it had the tell tale smell of cigarettes.  I left Craig with the truck and drove back to California, where I loaded the remainder of our items and met up with him in Spokane a few days later.

The International had windows up by the bunk, and more room in the sleeper.  I remember joking with Craig that it was so spacious we could dance. In this truck we had room to make a small office area on top of one of the cabinets, where we installed a scanner/printer, which we put to good use with all the border crossings we did delivering boats.  It drove very much like the Freightliner and we enjoyed living in it until we made the decision to change divisions and go to the green side of the company TWT.

Finally, on our third truck, we had one that had not been used by a smoker! It was a Peterbilt, and from what we heard over the years, is that die hard truckers swear by a Peterbilt.  I can't say that we will be one of those people.  It was extremely hard to get used to the cramped driving compartment, and as an added shock to my system, I had to deal with no cup holder for the passenger seat.  Oh the horrors of it all!  We couldn't fold up the top bunk without folding Craig's mattress in half and making it like sleeping in a taco shell, so we kept the top bunk down which meant hunkering down under it whenever I needed to fix meals.  Storage was adequate, and with the use of computers and phones to watch movies and TV, we no longer needed to use any space for an actual TV.

The long nose made for some tricky maneuvering and tested Craig's skills at many of the Shippers and Receivers we were dispatched to.  We also didn't think it had that much power going up the hills either.  The one thing we absolutely loved about it???  It had an APU which provided us with wonderful AC when the weather was hot and warmth when it was cold.  We could put up with any other inconvenience as long as we had that APU.

Which not leads us to our latest truck, a Kenworth.  What a blessing to be assigned a brand new truck with a cup holder for both of us and an APU.  The trucking Gods were looking down upon us.  This truck has the new PACCAR engine and Craig has noticed a big difference in performance.  First it gets much better mileage per gallon than any of the other trucks.  We average about 9mpg where we were only getting 5-6mpg with the other trucks.  It takes the hills with power and the turning radius is fantastic.  The fifth wheel is not adjustable, but we haven't found that to be an issue with scaling.

The driving compartment is even tighter than the Peterbilt, and I have joked with Craig that the truck designers should really check with me before designing the inside of another truck.  The lower bed is much bigger than any of the other trucks, which leaves very little room to stand up and move around.  Trust me, there is no room for dancing in this sleeper area.  I do love that the storage areas have doors instead of curtains that snap, and are so large that I have not been able to completely fill them up, no matter how much I have bought at Wal Mart. I would have liked to see less windows, as it causes the sleeper area to get much too warm.  We end up keeping the covers on the windows all the time.

So you're probably asking which one we like best, or you're completely bored with this post and couldn't care less, but I'm going to tell you anyway.   Ideally, if we could take a little bit from each one that would be the perfect situation, but we can't.  The one truck I would prefer would be the International because of the room and spaciousness that it gave us, and in the category of performance, I would have to go with the Kenworth and the new PACCAR engine.   

FIELDS A PLENTY

I can't begin to tell you how super awesome it is to not be driving at night this past week.  Of course I know that can change with our next dispatch, but for now I'm enjoying sleeping at night.  Since getting back on the truck with Craig, we have yet to be sent any further South than the Central Valley of California, which is a bit strange, but then being sent to Chicago our first run out of the gate was even stranger.

I've been a bit slow on grabbing the camera to take photos, as there have been a few things that have caught my attention, like the dock hand at one of our many drops (6) yesterday, who was making like Superman on a stack of Corona beer cases while the other dock hand pulled him into the store loading area.  He was even humming the Superman theme as he rolled on by us.

What I have been able to capture is the agricultural diversity of the Central Valley, and it's many crops growing along our route.  By no means was I able to snap a picture of all of them, it proves a bit difficult when driving by at 55mph, but I did manage to get a few.  It makes you stop and realize just how blessed we are to live in a country that can produce such a variety of great things to eat, and the cotton to make the clothes we wear.

Presently we are sitting in Madera, CA awaiting our next dispatch to beep us over the QualComm.  If we had to guess, we will either be sent to Salinas, Ca to Fresh Express or to Livingston, CA to Foster Farms.  Time will tell, and until then we'll just sit back and enjoy our down time.

A WEEK OF NIGHT DRIVING

It's been a long week.  Never really adjusting to the east coast times we kept when we traveled to Chicago, we managed to find ourselves still on the night shift when we picked up our load at Fresh Express last Wednesday.  Craig did have fresh hours, since we ended up doing a 34hr reset in Salinas, but with the time constraints of a tight delivery schedule to three different locations, it mandated us starting our driving on day one at 4pm and driving until almost 3am. 

We made it to a rest stop about 60 miles into Oregon, where we thankfully found an open spot and camped out there until after 5pm when we once again started our day with a 2am delivery in Tacoma, followed by a 5am delivery in Puyallup, WA.  There is where we had to hand off out load to another driver who had just delivered some bananas.  It was after 7am when we finally got the green light at our dock, and Craig's 14 hour clock had run out.

We ended up trying to sleep amidst the noise of the yard goats zipping around with trailers and the constant beeping of them backing into docks.  We knew we would have yet another night of driving as all the loads coming out of the Fred Meyer DC are overnight loads into Spokane.  Our dispatch on the QualComm awoke us mid day with a pickup at 8pm and a delivery at 5am.  At least we would have a couple of hours to stop off at the yard to take showers and do a load of laundry.

After the unload, we were given a dispatch to pick up meat at Tyson in Wallula, WA so we zipped over there to their yard to drop our trailer before Craig's driving hours ran out.  We managed to catch some sleep before picking up our loaded trailer at 7pm and once again, driving through the night to get as far as we could. With a few stops for a caffeine boost and to eat, we finally arrived in Redding, CA around 8am.

We finally managed to fall asleep around noon, only to be rudely awakened by the sounds of the Thunderbirds doing fly bys at the Redding Air show at 4pm.  Damn those planes are loud, but we were able to go back to sleep and make our departure at 1am for our first delivery in Oakland, CA at 6am.  We arrived an hour early and much to our surprise, we were flagged down by their yard supervisor to come directly into the yard and back into a dock.  By 6am we were unloaded and making our way towards Modesto for our last delivery.

Since we had so much extra time, we decided to stop in Ripon, CA at the truck stop for some breakfast before making our final leg into Modesto.  We're sitting in the Sysco lot now awaiting to hear which dock they want us to back into, and then we are both hoping to catch a break and get back into a somewhat normal schedule.  The only photo I have been able to capture this past week was this sunset in Wallula, WA before we left.

SIGHTS FROM THE LAST FEW DAYS

I really don't think I need any words to go with this post. Sit back and enjoy the sights we have been blessed to look at over the past few days.

FALL IS IN THE AIR

We're making our way West, after finding our way out of Chicago, with one wrong turn, but a quick recovery on Craig's part to get us back on the right toll road.  Thankfully, if we are ever sent there again, we'll be much more familiar with the way in and more importantly, the way out of Chicago.

I have been enjoying the Fall like weather ever since we arrived in Chicago, with temperatures mostly in the mid 50's with some rain thrown in for good measure.  Making our way through Iowa and Nebraska you can't help but notice the corn fields and the family owned farms dotted along the Interstate.  I found myself fantasizing about life on a farm, living in one of the many cute farm houses, chickens, a few cows, and living off the land, and then reality sets in and I go back to playing my games on the computer.

After two full days of driving, and making it to Rock Springs, WY we are finally going to enjoy two shorter days, thanks to Craig's driving hours, making our way through Utah and Nevada.  I'll have to tackle our laundry pile, and figured the best incentive will be while in Reno.  What's better than a little casino action to make laundry a bit more pleasurable?

CHICAGO WAS NOT READY FOR US

Since Sunday, we have been making our way East, reminiscing every time we passed by a landmark or an  area of interest we had previously been to in our past travels hauling boats.  It was great being back on some old familiar ground and seeing how the landscape had changed in the past three years.  I had forgotten how some states, such as Montana, have some really nice rest areas to stop at and make use of the facilities.  I swear the individual rooms they had at this rest stop, were bigger than bathrooms in most homes.

As we drove further East and adjusted to the time zone change, we also had to accommodate Craig's driving hours, which left us leaving earlier and earlier each day.  The upside to that, is having the pleasure of watching the sun rise each morning, and arriving at the truck stops early enough to have no problems finding a spot to park.  Speaking of that, we passed the truck stop in Hudson, WI where Craig picked me up at to begin our trucking journey together back in 2006.  Had to take a photo of that for old times sake.

We made sure to arrive early for our appointment at Fresh Express in Franklin Park, IL mainly to miss the Chicago traffic.  We knew there might be issued when Craig checked in and they were a bit confused as there was a TWT truck that had delivered yesterday, another TWT truck parked in the yard to get unloaded, and then us.  But, I'm happy to say the unloading of the apples was the least of our worries, except maybe this lovely dock.  With limited space to work with, Craig had to jack knife the truck in order to squeeze it into the space.  Got to love those challenges.

After the unload, we were sent the dispatch to pick up lettuce bins from the same location.  Only problem was, they only have a load of lettuce bins once every three days, and the TWT truck that was there the day before had taken them.  So now they had two trucks sitting there with no product.  After waiting a few hours, we saw the other TWT truck take off, which we found out later was a scavenger hunt through Chicago to find more lettuce bins at a different location.

The shipping clerk assured Craig that we would have something loaded, sometime that day/evening, so we just kicked back and enjoyed the crisp fall weather that Chicago gave us.  By 4pm we were finally called to a dock, and shortly thereafter we had lettuce bins and cardboard pallets loaded into the trailer.  We were happy to make use of their ample parking area and call it a day and get some much needed sleep.

This morning finds us making our way out of Chicago and all those toll roads and heading West by way of Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada before finding our way to the Fresh Express in Salinas, CA where we will deliver on Monday afternoon.  It will be great having a different route back where we can reminisce some more.

WE'RE GOING WHERE?

This past Friday, I drove 950 miles in 17 hours to get from Modesto, CA to home in Usk, WA.  A quick stop over to pack up a duffel bag, grab my passport and port credential, and get some much needed sleep.  Saturday I drove to the Company yard to await Craig's arrival with a load of apples he had just picked up in Moxie, WA.  We were able to hit the local Wal Mart, grab some dinner, and get situated in the truck.

During the course of all that, I learned that the load he was assigned, and which will be my first run with him in almost a year, would be headed East instead of the usual South.  In fact, once again, Craig is what he calls the "guinea pig" on a trip that would take us to the Chicago, IL area.  In the past, TWT used to send teams to Chicago all the time, but it proved too difficult to get loads back headed West, so they discontinued going
so far East until now. Even rarer, is that it is a solo run.

So imagine my surprise, and almost disbelief when he informed me of the details of our load assignment.  It definitely brought back memories of the time we delivered boats and the I90/I94 corridor was one of our routine routes.  What a great run for my return to the truck, and we are both looking forward to seeing some old familiar areas through Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin before arriving in Illinois and having to deal with toll roads without the benefit of the electronic toll pass adhered to our windshield.

Since we will be dealing with different time zones, and working around Craig's 70 hour driving clock, we have been having some very early mornings, or as some would say, some very late evening driving start times.  We started out from Spokane, WA at 4am on Sunday morning, and this morning we were hitting the Interstate at 2am.  I don't even want to think about what time Craig told me we would have to get up and be on the road Wednesday, or should I say Tuesday night to make our delivery in Franklin Park, IL at Fresh Express.  I'll just deal with that when I have to.

THE BIG BANG THEORY

 It's usually the remnants of it that you see scattered on the roadway, and on rare occasions it scares the crap out of you when you witness it happening in front of you.  What is it you ask?  The big bang of a tire blowing out. In the almost 6 years that Craig and I have made a life driving on the highways of this country and Canada, we have never had a actual blowout while driving...........until yesterday.  Yep, mark that one off our list of experiences and adventures.

Craig is heading North ,as I begin my migration North early tomorrow morning, in what we hope will be the reunion in Spokane that will get me back on the truck this weekend.  He was enjoying his usual radio shows, when he heard the "pop" and knew instantly that he had blown a trailer tire.  When he called later to tell me about it, I had asked if he had noticed if any of the rubber had flown off, and in his usual sense of humor responded with " I didn't see anyone chasing me down or passing me while giving me the finger, so I'm assuming all was okay".

He safely pulls off at the next exit and gets out to survey the damage, locating the one outside trailer tire that had met it's demise and the collateral damage of one mud flap that would need to be replaced.  A quick phone call into Road Service started the ball rolling to have the nearby TA send one of their service techs to replace the tire, but the mud flap would have to wait until he could get to the truck stop.

When it gets to the truck stop repair bay he is asked the normal questions, but the one that has gotten him the most reaction is the question of what type of engine he has.  In his new Kenworth, he has a PACCAR engine, and most techs are curious to see what it looks like.  As Craig tells me, they all want to look, but no one seems to know how to work on them.  Thankfully, this time around, his engine wasn't what needed to be repaired.  He walked into the store to grab a cup of coffee and a sandwich, and was surprised that upon his return to the repair bay, his mud flap has been replaced.

And just like that he is headed back North again, headed to the Fred Meyer DC in Clackamas, OR to make a delivery of fresh off the boat bananas tomorrow morning.  We don't know for sure, but we hope he will then get a load headed to Spokane, where I will be waiting with my duffel bag to hop back onto the truck and make myself comfortable to report back to you our life on the road viewed from the passenger seat.

AND SO IT BEGINS AGAIN......

It's a season of change again in our household.  First let me start off by saying my Mother continues to heal and recover from what every doctor has told us is one of the most extensive surgeries a person could ever have.  Total recovery may take up to a year, but I have seen her make great strides this week.  We have one more specialist to see this afternoon, and then we should have a clearer picture of the road to her recovery.  Prayers for her, if you are so inclined would be appreciated.

Now.........for some even bigger news.  It saddens me to leave behind a partnership with my BFF Cori, but I have decided to go back on the truck with Craig. I leave Cori with a full inventory of products which we amassed over the past year, and plenty of orders for dress forms to keep her busy for some time.  Of course you know I'll be visiting there every few months as I did in the past, and will be assisting with creative ideas and a pair of hands willing to get dirty to work on a few projects.

 Many reasons prompted the decision to go back on the truck, but the main one was Craig and I missing being with each other everyday.  Also, with being on the truck, it is an easy drop off and pick up in Modesto anytime I need to be there for my Mother during her recovery.  Additionally, when Craig was dropped off in Modesto for his vacation, Roy informed him that his son in law was back in town and was going to team back up with him, hence leaving Craig back as a solo driver.  Trust me when I say this, Craig was not the least bit disappointed.  All in all I think it is a win/win situation for everyone concerned.

 So now I have even more great news to tell you.  See that brand new, still having the plastic wrap in the interior truck #350 parked there?  Yep, that is our new home on the road.  After almost 6 years of living in previously used trucks with Craig, (with two of them previously used by smokers.....YUCK!),  I will finally have a new truck to live in.  This is getting to be old hat for Craig, since he was just given one about 5 months ago while team driving with Roy, but when he called to say he was going back solo, they said he would be given a new truck.  I was so excited.

The plan is for me to drive our pickup back up to Washington, shortly after the Labor Day weekend, with a short stop in Walla Walla, and then onto Usk to check on our house and collect our mail.  Then Craig will ask for a run through Spokane where I will hop back onto the truck with my belongings and once again, report back to you through the blog, with our adventures out on the road and my perceptions of life viewed from the passenger seat.  I can't wait!