Day 340 (A Slight Delay, But Still On Track... So Far)

Randy and I left Olathe, KS this morning at 0800 and began this trip heading to Sandston, VA. On the way, one of the turn signal lights stopped working, so we went to the terminal in Madison, IL (just outside St. Louis) to have it taken care of. We had planned on stopping there anyway, first to top off the fuel at the Pilot just south of the terminal, and also to get a shower. After the shower, Randy and I - along with another driver in the company - made a run to Starbucks (as if that's at all surprising). Dan (the other driver) works in the flatbed division, whom I haven't seen in a few weeks, is always a character to hang out with. We chatted about whatever came to mind on the trip. He, like myself, is prior military (though he was in the Army, but I won't hold that against him), but he is someone I can look up to... literally... he comes in at 6' 8".

The shop at the terminal fixed the light, but also updated the program in the engine's computer. The delay occurred when they were running the updates and/or diagnostics, when the final one failed to do what it was supposed to do... whatever that is. The mechanic tried closing the system and starting over, but to no avail. He finally called the nearby Freightliner shop and eventually had to reboot the system, then that last item did whatever it was supposed to do... whatever that is. We are now underway finishing our day, and trying to cover as many miles as we can before our 14 hour clock expires for the day.

At least I had Starbucks - twice... one which I got from one of their locations, and the other which I made this morning in my percolator with the ground coffee I purchased from a Starbucks (in Wisconsin, to be exact).

Day 333 (Tonight, Chicago Area; Tomorrow, Who Knows)

I left this morning from a small truck stop just north of Marion, AR. I made a couple quick stops along the way, then topped off the fuel in Effingham, IL - where I also made a trip to Starbucks.

In just a little over 30 days, I've realized, I will have fulfilled my challenge of blogging every day for a year. At this point, I'm really not sure where I will go next. Whether I continue blogging every day, or move on to something else, remains to be seen. Hopefully I can get a little input. I'm sure that I've had a few posts that were less than interesting, but (at this particular point) I don't know what I would do if I do end the blog... I have rather come to enjoy posting each day - even when I go on my occasional rant. I should come up with a firm decision within the next 32 days.

Day 332 (Heading Up North - A Little)

Last night, by the time Tyson finished loading my trailer, I had only an hour left to drive. I decided to park at their facility for the night, mainly because I was unfamiliar with the first 75 miles of the route, and didn't know where I would have been able to park. It was also snowing, so I just sat there watching it fall. I made a stop on the way here to Russellville, AR (of course, at Starbucks), stretching my legs in Conway, AR.

I was given a pre-plan, which has me picking up at the same Tyson facility I'm delivering to. Fortunately, it had already been loaded, so I'm able to cover some ground tonight, then finish off tomorrow what's left. This load has me going to Hanover Park, IL - in the Chicago area - for Thursday morning. Probably by tomorrow afternoon I'll know where I will be going next. In just a few weeks, I'll take my first vacation with this company. We may not go anywhere, but at least I'll be home for the last few days of Chanukah.

Day 281 (A Few More Days, Then Home)

As you had by now noticed, I was absent yesterday in observance of Yom Kippur. First, I would like to extend a special "Thank You" to Julie Mollins of the blog Telling Tales (you can also follow her on Twitter: @tellingtales).

Yom Kippur was very pleasant, though it was a bit of a struggle (trying going without food or drink for over 24 hours), but at the end - before I ended the fast - I felt quite exhilarated, energetic.

James and I are having to play a little bit of "catch up" with this load. Normally, it would get loaded in Lewiston, ID around lunchtime on Thursday, then delivered in Tulsa the following Monday, but since the customer didn't have enough of an order to build a full load, we didn't get it put on until Friday... but it still delivers on Monday. Fortunately, it's not due until 1230 Monday (instead of first thing in the morning), so we have a little extra time. We have been able to make up for lost time, as we are traveling through Kansas right now. I was impressed with James yesterday. Being as he's never driven a truck before, his focus & determination was outstanding. We started from Rocker, MT (on the west side of Butte), and we switched over (I had a couple hours more than he available to drive) in Casper, WY - just over 500 miles away, which he drove nonstop. I drove us from Casper in to Cheyenne. About 40 miles north of there, we noticed signs of a recent snowfall... shortly thereafter driving into a snowfall ourselves. It was very pretty, but this was no light flurry, as you can tell from this pic taken this morning as we were leaving Cheyenne:






From Cheyenne, we have 780 miles left to cover by lunchtime tomorrow. If we can't cover all of that tonight, we will at least be close.

I did get some Starbucks today, which is always a nice little treat after a fast. Speaking of coffee, my friend, Lauri Rottmayer (whom also has a blog and is on Twitter) had recently returned from her birthday trip to Spain... and brought me back some Spanish coffee! When she mentioned (via Twitter) that she was there I jokingly commented to bring me some back... and she did! I am humbled, grateful, and a bit embarrassed that she brought it back (not to worry, Lauri... I will savor & appreciate EVERY drop).

I guess that is why I have chosen a motto for myself: Carpe Java (Seize The Coffee)!

- Another rant via BlogPress