Saturday, August 23, 2014

Stepping out of the norm…

It’s not often that Irene and I get to stop and smell the roses while on the road. Well actually I would like to, but Irene cracks that whip.  If the truck isn’t moving we aren’t making any money.

Saturday found us in Centralia, Washington waiting on a load that did not pick up till 6:00 am Sunday morning.  With almost 24 hours to kill we did a little shopping to stock up on groceries and then we enjoyed a nice lunch.  All the locals were talking about a car show that was going on downtown, which was quite a big event.  We parked at Walmart and conveniently the bus stop was right out front. So we hopped on the bus and headed downtown. Of course Irene was nervous as heck that we would get lost or we would take the wrong bus. I told her to have faith, one way or another we would find our way back to Wally World…lol.  We enjoyed the afternoon strolling the streets and gawking at all the beautiful cars, pickups, hotrods, and even a few bikes. I can honestly say there was a several hundred to drool over.
It was nice to step away from the truck even though it was just for the afternoon.  Below are just a few of the pictures we took at the event. Hope y’all enjoy!










 
 



 








 

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

She's Back!

As many of you know, we had taken some time off from the road to start another business.  Dad built it, Lexi manages it, and Irene manages Lexi and me both.  We had sold our Red Solo Truck and had planned on buying a brand new truck.  However Mom and Lexi had other plans.  With a few pennies I had left, I managed to pick up a decent used truck.  I think this truck will do us well for a while. I wanted to work out the kinks in it so I took it out on the road for the month of June.  I returned home in July to get Irene so we could run team again. Upon returning home I had some adjustments made to the truck while Irene scrubbed the inside top to bottom.   After a few weeks of getting things in order (and goofing off) we hit the road last week, and boy how some things never change. I’m talking about my blonde sidekick that never leaves me with a dull moment.
 
Now keep in mind that Irene has been off the road since last December.  She was quite nervous, of not only getting behind the wheel, but also getting into a truck she had never driven before. She was a little shaky out the gate, literally the truck was shaking. Throttle, clutch, shift, she was just a little rusty but I had started her off on the interstate where I knew she would be able to get used to it without a lot of shifting like you would in a city.  We had been rolling for about 45 minutes and I noticed Irene kept glancing at the floor under the steering wheel.  I asked her what she was looking for.  “The brake pedal” she replied.  “OMG…are you kidding me?” I said.   “What’s the problem?” she asked.  Do ya think that might have been an important question before ya got rolling Irene? I helped her along though by telling her it’s the peddle in the middle…lol

Well after a couple of hours behind the wheel and her knuckles bleach white from the death grip she had on the steering wheel, I asked her how she was liking the truck so far.  “I like it!” she replied.  I could tell by that big grin on her face that she really was enjoying her new ride. We were on our way to Dallas to drop a UPS shipment and she asked me which way we were going? I told her down to Atlanta and across.  “ATLANTA! Are you kidding me?” she screamed.  Do you know what the traffic is like in Atlanta?  That was panic attack #2 in the truck.  The 1st one was mine when she was looking for the brake. I wasn’t sure if now would be a good time to tell her that we would hit Atlanta at rush hour. Needless to say she made it thru Atlanta and has been driving like a champ ever since with just a couple bobbles.  
Oh, and I may as well go ahead and tell ya’s now, because I know if I don’t she will. First, I stalled the truck at an intersection the 1st day we went out. (Pretty sure Irene was distracting me, just kidding) and 2nd Irene has been getting better fuel mileage out of the truck than I have.  (She always drives the flat land and leaves me with the mountains, again kidding) It’s been 7 days out now and it’s seems like we never left the road.  We laugh; we enjoy the road, and can never wait to see what tomorrow brings. The other day I said to Irene “we can honestly say there is an “I” in this team”.  She looked at me with a puzzled look and asked what the "I" was for?  LOL Your name honey…Irene…as I said, she’s a little rusty.

Life is good again!

 

 

 

Saturday, August 16, 2014

We are doing well…


After being away from Trucking for so many months, I was very nervous about getting behind the wheel again.  My first day out was a challenge to say the least.  Randy can’t wait to tell you all about it.
I am happy to say that I am very happy with our Volvo.  Hopefully it continues to run good and nothing goes wrong.  The space in our truck makes life so much easier.  What a huge difference from our Red Solo Truck.  I think we should call this truck the Great White.  But anyway, below are some pictures.


Life is good for us right now and I am enjoying the road.  Be sure to check back soon to read about my first day back to driving.  I think you will enjoy it.


 
 
 


 
 

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