GOODBYE 2012 - HELLO 2013

It's the last day of 2012, and like so many others today, I'm looking back on this past year and all that has happened.  2012 did not start out well for our family, as we lost our Mother/Omie on January 2.  There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of her and miss her dearly.  She would have so enjoyed watching her great grand daughter Gwen celebrate her first birthday and marvel as she learned to walk and talk.  Although she might not understand some of the decisions we all made in our lives, she was always our greatest supporter.  I take comfort in knowing that she is still looking out for us and sending her love to surround us.

Craig did one last go around with team driving, and I got to say, he had the best driving partner of the lot.  We both enjoyed getting to know Justin (Junior to Craig and I), and watching as he learned the ropes and became yet another great employee of TWT.  There isn't anyone around who loves chicken more than Justin and it has become a running joke between Craig and I every time the work chicken is said.

While Craig was buy teaming, I got to enjoy for the first time in five years, living at our home for almost 8 months straight.  In that time, I managed to grow some veggies, and keep our plants and flowers thriving to the amazement of both Craig and I.  I was also able to do quite a bit of redecorating/painting of our home and we are both looking forward to being able to truly live there as Craig nears closer to his retirement.

Speaking of retirement, after a long six and a half years of waiting, I finally reached my retirement age of 55, and was so happy to start collecting.  Not only does it give us some breathing room financially, but takes the sole burden off Craig for supporting us, and we now have a much better health insurance plan than we have had the past 7 years.

We are looking forward to enjoying the last years of Craig truck driving journey, taking time to stop and smell the roses (mini trips during home times), and cherishing the opportunity to create memories out on the road together in the upcoming year.  May all of you be blessed, happy, and healthy in 2013....thanks as always for coming along with us on our journeys.  It wouldn't be the same without you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I couldn't let the day pass by without saying "Merry Christmas" to everyone.  Craig has been pretty sick since he had to chain up during that blizzard.  It really took a toll on him, and this is day 5 and counting of him not feeling too good, or having much of a voice.  I've been fixing him hot lemon and honey drinks the last couple of days and that always makes him feel better for a little while.

Since the blizzard, we have been lucky with good roads going back over the mountain passes again, no doubt with the help of positive thoughts and prayers from our loved ones.  We skated by once again very early this morning when we left Weed, CA at 3am as a new storm was fast approaching.  In celebration, we were able to stop at the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, CA where they have one of the best buffets that I have every eaten at.  I was able to load up on some fresh veggies, prime rib, and a piece of cheesecake......yum yum.  Made Christmas that much  nicer for us.

What wasn't as nice to see was the $2.00 senior citizen discount we got.  Since when did we grow so old?  I still feel like I'm in my 20's.  Oh well, we managed a little yule time cheer and donned some reindeer ears for a quick photo opportunity.  Craig of course had to act like he didn't want to, but we all know better.

We are scheduled to pick up a load in Modesto, CA Wednesday afternoon, and head right back up through the mountain passes again and deliver in Sumner, WA on Friday.  Some positive thoughts and prayers are always appreciated for a safe journey, and that Craig will not have to put on chains.......at least until he is feeling back to normal.

END OF THE WORLD BLIZZARD

I see that the December 21st arrived, and contrary to what the Mayans have foretold, we are still here.  Craig and I have been dealing with trying to deliver a load of frozen fries in a blizzard.  We thought we had avoided the bullet on Wednesday, when we received the load and headed to Warden, WA to the Columbia Cold Storage.  On our way, we ran into quite a bit of snow falling down, making it look very much like a winter wonderland.

Glad to have over 43,000 pounds of weight added to our trailer, we headed south, and as we had Pasco, WA in our sights, two things happened.  One, the snow stopped and we had bare pavement and clear skies, and two, the reefer stopped running.  We were in the perfect place to call road service and have them give us the go ahead to drive straight to one of our repair shops not more than a mile away.  Two hours later, the broken wire found on the reefer unit had been replaced, and we were once again headed south.

We hit Hwy 97 at Biggs Junction, OR and managed to drive a dozen more miles to a deserted weigh station, where we called it a day.  Waking to clear skies had my hopes high that we could possibly avoid any snow, but one look at the weather radar and we both knew that we would be facing a huge storm face to face.

The road between Bend and Klammath Falls was the usual winter snow packed road with a light snowfall.  Between Klammath Falls, OR and Grass Lake, CA the roads were bare and dry, and then, about 4 miles from Weed, all hell broke loose.  We had wind gusts up to 50 MPH and the the snow started falling.  Looking at the weather sites, the storm had been declared a blizzard, and Craig quickly pulled over to start putting chains on.

Every indication on the Internet had the roads still open going south, although they were completely shutting down traffic heading North from Redding and even up into Oregon on the summit, Grants Pass, and Canyonville area.  It was an anxiety filled ride for me, as I watched Craig do his best winter driving and try to avoid all the passenger cars on the road that were spinning out and sliding sideways.  We managed to get to the Lakehead Rest Area at mile marker 702 where we pulled into an open spot and decided to call it a night.  We only had about 90 minutes left on his driving clock and knew we would have issues finding something further down the road.

Awaking this morning to our snow covered truck, we took survey of our surroundings, checked the Internet, and was even able to talk to a CHP officer that was driving through the rest area.  We slowly took off, only to be stopped at a chain inspection area, where we were told a big rig had spun out near the bridge and that truck traffic would not be allowed through for at least a couple of hours.  With that we pulled off to the side of the road and presently await word on when we will be allowed through.  We know from looking at the radar, that we only have about 15 miles to go to hit rain and be out of the snow........at least for today

IT'S BEEN AWHILE

I know it's been awhile since I last posted.  Seems all we have been doing lately is night runs.  Trying to sleep during the day, starting our driving day at 10pm and finishing up about twelve to fourteen hours later.  For at least the time being, we finished up our last night driving Thursday morning in Pleasanton, after leaving Reno, NV at 10pm the night before.  After a staying at the yard in French Camp and resting up, we hit the road early Friday morning headed to Clackamas, OR.

We had picked up a loaded trailer of bananas and made our delivery this morning at the Fred Meyer DC.  When we weren't beeped with a new load after we went empty, we decided to head over tot he truck stop in Troutdale, OR to wait it out.  With only 4 hours of driving time left on Craig's 70 hour clock, we knew the odds of us getting anything today would be slim.  With that in mind, we took off on foot to the outlet stores down the street.

We enjoyed walking and window shopping, although I couldn't resist a pretty new pullover sweater at Eddie Bauer.  It rained off and on while we enjoyed the chilly, overcast weather.  Finding nothing else to purchase we headed back to the truck stop to our truck.  We were dispatched on a new load that doesn't pick up until tomorrow, and delivers in Vernon, CA on Wednesday.  Looks like we'll be enjoying some "normal" driving hours for at least the next few days.