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.


 
 
 


 
 

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

I am so excited...

I am so excited that I can’t sleep.  Well actually the fact is that my husband is snoring like a freight train.  No matter what I do, I can’t get him to stop!  So I thought this would be great time to post a quick update and fill everyone in with what we have been up to over the last 7 months.
We never did make it to Hollywood.  It is a little disappointing, but on the other hand, I don’t know if I could deal with all the paparazzi.  (LOL)  Of course Randy is very saddened because he is still "just an ordinary guy" and not a celebrity.  To be honest I don't think he could handle being a celebrity.  He would not be able to fit his head through any door.  For those of you who know him, I am sure you know what I mean.

Randy and I went home for Christmas with the intention of going back on the road in the middle of January.  At the time we had our “Red Solo Truck”.  It was a Kenworth T600, which is intended for a solo driver.  It was extremely tight for the both of us, but we wanted to test the waters of being Owner/Operators with a dependable truck.  That is key in this business.  It was an awesome truck in every way, but the size.  We knew that we would not last in that truck for very long.  I won’t bore you all with the details, but we sold the truck with the intention of buying something bigger.

In February my daughter and I decided to jump into a business venture.  We have been talking about this for several years.  The opportunity presented itself so we decided to finally do it.  In April of 2014 we open the doors to an upscale Tanning Salon which offers several different services.  My daughter is very happy and doing great!

In June Randy purchased a used Volvo.  He went back on the road as a solo driver while I stayed behind to help our daughter.  This was all temporary of course.  After only four short weeks Randy realized that he could not live without me.  He needed his better half.  Coffee in the morning was just not the same and there was no one to make him the special sandwiches that he loves so much.  Life for Randy took a different turn.  And of course without having his wife there to entertain him, what is the point, right?  Well Randy decided to come home and wait for me. J

We are almost ready to hit the road again!  That is the reason why I am so excited.  I really missed driving.  I love the job.  I love being with Randy and having our coffee in the morning.  I love the fact that we can call our own shots.  We can stay out on the road for as long or as little as we want.  I can’t wait to see the country again.  We are finishing up some things in the truck, like cleaning it.  Every time I ask Randy if he cleaned something inside the truck, his answer is “I don’t remember”.  So I have to scrub the truck from top to bottom.  I am also working on the bedding since we have two bunks now instead of one.  This is so exciting.  No more stumbling over one another.  We have plenty of storage and plenty of room.  I will post pictures soon.  I have to admit that even though I am excited, I am also very nervous.  The truck seems so big.  Below is a picture of the truck.  It is not a good picture, but it is all I have for now.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Hollywood here we come...Maybe!

I am sitting here at home enjoying a cup of coffee at the kitchen table counting my blessings. I am thankful that I am not out on the road. Don’t get me wrong I love the road but with the frigid temperatures gripping ⅔rds of the nation along with another snow storm in the north…I’m fine right where I sit. The temps here in Carolina are not expected to reach above 40 degrees today.  For some of you I know that’s a heat wave, but for us rednecks, that’s like the arctic.

We arrived home on the 23rd of December and will be here till about the middle of January. We finished up our time on the road with runs from California to New York, back to Denver, down to Oklahoma City and finally to Charlotte. We dodged a lot of bullets weather wise on the way home. Snow in New York, snow in Denver, and ice in Oklahoma City. It was so nice to arrive home in the Carolinas with 70° to 80° temperatures. This southern weather just spoils me.
Well everyone has made it through the holidays and we embark on a new year. 2013 was a great year and Irene and I feel that 2014 will be even better to us. We have a few plans up our sleeves and only time will tell if they are the right choices. As with a lot of things it just takes time and money.

For those of you who are truckers I wanted to share a great little pizza/deli place that we found in Montgomery, New York.  After delivering a Con-way freight load to Montgomery, we decided to grab a bite and stumbled upon this place. It’s called Cascarino’s Italian Deli located at 121 Hawkins Drive.  It is in the Shop Rite plaza right behind McDonalds. Trust me you will want to add this address to your GPS favorites if you ever get a run to UPS or Con-way freight in Montgomery. Their food is awesome…they offer pizza, sandwiches, wraps, pasta, salads, paninis, and desserts. I guarantee you will not regret it. They also offer free delivery.  What is even more interesting is the owner use to be a truck driver. Irene and I enjoyed a nice conversation with him while we devoured our dinner.

 
As I wrote in our most recent blog Irene and I were contacted by a couple of different scouts from Hollywood about the possibilities of interviewing us. Well yesterday we had our first interview.  It took place via Skype and it seemed to have gone really well. We were nervous and excited about interviewing and now we will wait to see if we make the cut. They are going to choose 4 couples for the show and we should know more on the 17th of this month as to whether we have made the cut. Keep your fingers crossed for us…lol.
We have about 10 more days of home time before we head back out on the road. Irene is leaving for an 8 day cruise with my daughters today.  My plan is to work on my “honey do” list that Irene manages to keep updating for me. There are a few things I need to get done on the truck as well. With Irene gone it will be nice to “wear the pants” in the family again. (Lol) My son will be home with me so we will turn this place into the ultimate “man cave” while the girls are gone. Hmmm let’s see what we need, beer on tap, indoor gun range, stripper pole, cigars, 80” big screen to watch the playoffs and bowl games. That should about do it.  Oooops, we need a kicking sound system for the strippers to perform. Ha ha ha! Ya’ll know Irene is going to kill me when she reads this right? No, my plans are simple.  I will finish my chores and wait for the love of my life to return so we can hit the road again.

Excuse me for a second I need to call Irene’s cell phone that she has seemed to misplace…(again)! OK, I’m back!  As usual she has made the bed this morning and her cell phone was buried in it. (Nothing like searching and hearing the ring tones coming from the bed.) I swear that woman should have a show of her own…lol
We hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season, and we wish all of you the best in 2014. We appreciate everyone who has followed us this far on our journey and hope that you continue to follow us in the year ahead. Besides…you never know what to expect from Irene while we travel down the highway. Stay tuned!

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