March… a month I would like to forget…

March was one of the worst months we had since we started. Anything that could go wrong did! It seems that we spent more time sitting rather than driving. Every trailer that needed repair happened to have our name on it. We also had issues with our own truck, which resulted in cancelled loads and short mileage trips. I have said it before and I will say it again, if the wheels are not turning long distance, the wallet stays thin. Of course we did take a week off in March to spend time with family, which did not help, but it can’t be about the money all the time. We did have a few good trips though, and we had great weather all along. Everywhere we went the bad weather had just finished up or it was set to start soon after we left.It’s been refreshing to see all the spring colors popping out all over the country. With all the different colors and everything in bloom it really makes the job that much more enjoyable. We had to drop a trailer in Michigan and as we headed south our next run took us thru the Cumberland Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, and the Smokey Mountains. For Irene it was just a ho hum ride, the beach girl that she is, but I was in my glory. I love the mountains…. We picked up a trailer in Bryson City, NC in the Smokey Mountains. That load was bound for California. After reviewing the GPS route and the atlas, we headed south/west not realizing our route would take us thru the heart of white water rafting in North Carolina and Tennessee. For those of you who do not know, one of the items on Irene’s bucket list is to go white water rafting. Unfortunately this was not going to happen at this time. A, because we were under a load, and B, the road followed the river for miles, twisting and turning along with Irene’s stomach…yes, she got car sick. I should have known better, because years ago, when went thru the Adirondack Mountains, Irene was sick back then as well. Needless to say, the dozens and dozens of rafters we passed that appeared to be having the time of their life, Irene would never get to see, because she was in the sleeper hanging on to her stomach. After stopping for a bit and giving her a little Coke Cola she started to feel better.…Dramamine next time definitely…lol

We had the opportunity to do our 1st ever trip into the heart of Chicago. A very nice place as long as I never have to go back…lol. We had a 44,000 lb load of paper that we delivered to a place that was not truck friendly. Once again as luck would have it, Irene was behind the wheel. Just turning the corner onto the street that the business was on was a challenge in itself. I had to get out and hold up traffic while Irene turned the corner onto a street that was lined with cars on both sides. It left her with one lane to share with oncoming traffic…oh and let’s not forget that I was the one trying to stop traffic…in Chicago…oh not going to happen! I must have had a death wish…wait a minute, Irene sent me out there…ohhhh now I get it…I need to have a word with her about that.Anyway, she made it to the gate of the loading dock, and as we pulled up another driver said to me…“Dang, she’s good”. I wanted to say “wait a minute pal, did you see me dodging cars in the street?”…that was suicide in the making…but I just shook my head and agreed. I told the guy that I taught her everything she knows…ha ha! Once we checked in with receiving we learned that we would have to back into a long narrow alley from the street to the dock…this was going to be a challenge. I learned my lesson the night at the Nokia Theatre and I was not about to ask Irene if she wanted me to do it. I could tell she already had her game face on, so I along with 2 other drivers held up traffic while she maneuvered the truck into this alley. The drivers again complimented on how well she had done and with a couple of adjustments she was at the dock. After a short time we were unloaded and on our way…I looked at Irene and said…please get me out of this city! The area we were in reminded me a lot of where Archie Bunker lived. The houses were all very close together and it brought back memories of something I would see on “All in the Family” or “Laverne and Shirley”…lol. It was a beautiful day and it seemed like every one was on their front steps enjoying the weather, and of course all the kids wanted Irene to blow the air horn as she passed by. I remember doing the same thing when I was a little kid…I guess I didn’t realize then that I would be on the other end of the horn 40 years later…funny how things turn out.

I love LA

My apologies for not posting in a while. With Irene’s grandmother passing away, time ran out quickly each day while we were home. Along with all that we spent some quality time with the kids, re-landscaped the front of the house, laundry, visits with friends and family, getting our taxes done, fixing my daughters car, shopping, sorting through 8 weeks of mail, Dr’s apts, dropping our truck off for service…holy cow it’s great to be back on the road. Going home is soooo exhausting!! Irene says no more going home…it’s to stressfull.

Well as the title says…I love LA…we went back on the road on the 15th and picked a load up in Charlotte NC and ran it to Calexico California. From there we dead headed to LA and were instructed to pick up at the Nokia theatre. Upon arriving downtown Irene was driving and she started to get a little nervous about the tightness of streets. She wanted me to drive, but I told her that she had to do it. With traffic and the amount of people walking around it was tough. Let’s see…it was St. Patty’s day, there was a LA Kings hockey game, and a concert at the Nokia…wait concert? I looked at Irene and like I always say, you got this babe. She pulled us in front of the Nokia and I asked the ticket office where they wanted us still not knowing why we were there. They instructed us to pull to the loading dock on the rear street and they would let us in from there. That is when we learned that we will be hauling (to Texas) stage and band equipment for a singer named Arjona who is some pop star from Guatemala…sorry no cowboy hat or boots…never heard of him…even though he has won 2 grammys. After being cleared by security and given all the details the huge roll up door opened and I said to Irene…OMG, you better let me do this one…heck no she snarled at me…yes maam…I know my place. This was a 45 degree angle from the street backing down hill under the theatre while holding 4 lanes of traffic up…and there was a huge crowd gathering to watch this blonde bombshell back this giant truck underneath. They were cheering Irene on and some were helping watch to make sure she was clear on her blindsides while she backed. Honestly these people were having more fun with her than they did at the concert I think. Well my sweetheart got it in the dock on the 1st try. I taught her so well…lol This is when it became even better…there were 4 more of our company trucks due in, but seeing Irene and I were early they let us under the huge rolling doors and were given backstage passes and allowed to wander and enjoy…as long as I promised not to show up on the stage…Dang!

So we decided to wander downtown for a bit and grabbed an awesome dinner at Lawry’s Carvery and took in some sights. What a busy night it was, but it was awesome being down there. We headed back to the Nokia and decided to get some rest in the truck for our drive that awaited us…nope not going to happen. We may as well been sitting in the front row…Latin Pop music for the next couple hours blared through the Nokia…lol…the sound was great though so we enjoyed the concert from the comfort of our truck. When it ended we watched the band file into the limos that were waiting in front of us. The door opened to a mob of people that were waiting with banners and all screaming for this Arjona…who by the way was not even in the limos…he slipped out another door and disappeared…to funny! Well the roadies broke everything down and packed it up in our truck and a couple hours later we were on our way. Next Conway truck please…and the work continued. There were 5 of us hauling his equipment and we dropped it in Laredo Texas at our Terminal where Mexican drivers picked up and hauled our trailers across the border for another concert later that week…Adios Arjona!

Our New York City Run...

Our New York City experience…

Wow! What a place to visit.  I’ve been in New York City before (once or twice), but experiencing it in the truck surely gives you a different perspective.  I am going to try to explain this experience the best that I can.  Let me start by telling you that Randy almost suffered a heart attack and that is putting it mildly.  Actually, I believe it was more like he was in need of squeezing the Charmin…LOL.  While driving on a six lane highway (three lanes each way) Randy started approaching a bridge and as he got closer he started noticing that the bridge had three different height limits.  That was strange he thought to himself.  So as he approached closer he could see the sign for lane one said 13’3” limit, the sign for lane two said 13’4” limit, and the sign for lane three said 13’5” limit.  (Now keep in mind that the height on our truck is 13’ 6”.)  Randy was in the middle lane and quickly changed to the highest limit lane…but by this time it was way too late.  His heart fell to the floor and he decided to close his eyes and hope for the best as he went under the bridge.  He was convinced our truck was about to be shortened by at least an inch.  As he looked up he noticed the concrete above him was broken out about 3 to 4 inches.  Evidently this was from other trucks hitting it over the years.  Wow that was close, I heard him say.  Our career had almost come to an end.

As I was sitting in the passenger seat with my camera in hand and going over one of the bridges in New York, I noticed a sign that said “Use of Cameras Prohibited”.  What?  Isn’t this a free country?  Well not only is the use of a cameras prohibited, but this rule or law is also strictly enforced.  Randy thought it may have something to do with 9/11.  Hmmm so I am thinking that if a terrorist truly wanted pictures or diagrams of the bridge, I am positive that they could Google it and find all the information they could possibly want.  So maybe, just maybe it has to due to the flash from the camera?!.  I could understand blinding someone with a flash while driving.  Ok so I managed to convince myself that this sounds reasonable and if stopped by police I would try to talk my way out of this one.  I proceeded to turn off the flash on my camera and the picture taking started.  I did look behind us to make sure that the cops were not after us.  After all the “Use of Camera’s is Strictly Prohibited”…lol

So back to New York City…I felt like the city was just suffocating me.  The high rises, all the vehicles, and all the walls around me, just felt very restricting.  I think that literally every square inch was accounted for.  We drove under a big high rise, which was strange.  It reminded me a lot of being underground, which I only seen in the movies, but you know what I mean.  Everything was so tight and snug and it seemed like there wasn’t room for anything.  Now mind you that we did not go thru the best part of town, and it was very gloomy and rainy outside.  I am putting some pictures for you to see.  Look at the pictures of the cemetery.  Even though the pictures did not come out very well, (I could not resist) look at how tight the grave stones are.  After we left New York City I felt like I could breathe again… there was a sky, air, and trees I always thought I could be a big city girl…guess I was wrong…just couldn’t imagine living like that.

Of course we did have some laughs along the way…as always.  Randy has a supply of 5 hr. energy drinks he keeps in the truck for when he drives at night.  This is by no means for keeping awake…just a little pick me up for when he feels flat.  Well one day he noticed one drink was missing and asked me if I had drank it.  “Yes” I replied and I proceeded to tell him exactly what I thought of his little drink.  Well, I told him, I know now why they say that it is fast acting.  Once the taste hits your lips and tongue, the nasty flavor immediately wakes you up.  It makes you want to jump out of your skin.  Oh, and do you know why they call it 5 hour energy ?  Cause it takes about five hours to get that nasty taste out of your mouth.  Randy busted out laughing and said he would have loved to seen the look on my face when I drank it.  LOL