Been a while…

Wow how lazy I have become when it comes to our blog…nearly 2 months since my last post. Maybe it’s the dog days of summer. We are still here…physically, not sure about mentally though…lol. We took 2 weeks off in July and spent some quality time with the kids and family plus celebrated our birthdays…Irene a very young 28…lol…and myself a wonderful “50”…and still acting 18 though…lol. We have been very busy since returning to the road and have knocked off some great miles. Last week was our best to date finishing with 8926 miles. Speaking of last week, we have mentioned on and off in the past of a couple Ann and Craig that drive as a husband and wife team that we followed on a blog they had sharing their tails and experiences on the road. They were a very big influence in our decision to pursue this occupation and through a handful of email swaps and their knowledge is a big part of why we are here today. Well for 9 months we have been trying to cross paths with them on the highway and finally last Sunday it happened. We met up on I-40 in Oklahoma at a truck stop where we enjoyed great conversation and a meal fit for a king…well actually it was Subway…I guess a meal fit for a truck driver…ha ha! What a great couple they are and it was so great to finally meet them…I know they are reading this and we can’t wait to see ya’s again! Thanks again you two for all the insight on the industry you have provided.

We had a delivery the other day at a customer near Boston Mass. who had one of those names that you just can’t forget…unless of course you’re Irene. When I first saw their name on the bill of laden, “A. Duiey Pyle” all I could do is laugh…I said to Irene, well that’s an easy one to remember.  We picked the load up in NJ and headed to Mass.  and on several different occasions I mentioned the customer’s name to Irene…again “A. Duiey Pyle”. Well after the delivery we headed to Montgomery NY to pick up a load headed for California and Irene ask me a question about our previous delivery…confused a little I asked, who are you talking about. She says that place we were just at…what was his name…Gomer Pyle? I couldn’t resist…for those of you who are old enough to remember I turned to her and said “well golly Sgt. Carter” she found no humor in that.

It’s so nice to be back on the road…I was fearful that the time home would strip Irene of her Blonde actions but luckily as Gomer proved…they are alive and well…lol

The truck has been running great and we are enjoying our time on the road more and more each week.  We have really settled in and are finding more time to enjoy each trip…having more time to stop and smell the roses along the way…life is still good!  

Pictures from June

I-80 Utah near Bonneville Salt Flats

This is not snow, it is at the Salt Flats in Utah

Underground Warehouse Facility in Springfield MO

Amish

It has been about three weeks since we took possession of our new 2013 Volvo truck.  All I can say is “so far so good”. We have not had any troubles to speak of. Our fuel mileage has been great and the truck has not broken down…LOL. One of the nicest features of the truck is that it has a ton of storage space. When you live on the road, storage space is a blessing, to say the very least. We also have NaviGo navigation in the new truck. Therefore, between the NaviGo,  our Garmin GPS, and Irene I now have 3 women in the truck telling me where to go. It’s been coast to coast already and from southern Texas to Detroit Michigan without a hiccup.

Speaking of Detroit…we picked up a load of truck axles headed to York, SC.  We decided to save on some miles so we took a short cut across Ohio on Route 250 to I-77.  This route happened to take us through Amish country. Wow! What a beautiful early evening country ride we had. On top of all that, I was able to see several Amish in there buggies and a team of work horses being put to use by a farmer. I am not sure why but for some reason I am very fascinated by the Amish…Irene thinks I am nuts, oh well. Maybe it’s there simple way of life…after all…I am a simple kind of guy.

Just about at the end of highway 250 (where it meets I-77) there was a little town called Strasburg that we rolled into. While driving thru this little town I noticed a drive-in movie theatre. Irene and I looked at each other in amazement. We could not believe that a drive-in movie theatre was still open in America. Honestly, we have not seen one of these drive-ins anywhere in years.  I wondered if the Amish people drive to the drive-in in there horse and buggies. It was early evening and there was a line of cars going in to the drive-in, which happened to be playing the movie “Madagascar 3”. Of course we tried to look inside the drive-in to see if there were any buggies in there, but we could not get a good look.  We are such knuckle heads. I started to think we were doing a “Back to the Future” scenario…

On another recent run we did from California to Indiana, Irene got up close and personal with a black bear. We had just fueled at a Pilot Travel Center and we pulled back onto I-80 heading east in Utah. It was late and Irene was at the wheel.  I figured it was time to get some shut eye. Now keep in mind, this was a mountainous countryside, we were traveling through. I had no more than put my head on the pillow when I hear Irene yelling OMG! OMG!  I thought to myself this is it; we are going over a cliff! Oh, I did not want to go this way. Please help me Jesus! I’m sorry for breaking that window when I was a little kid; I’m sorry for putting my parents thru hell; I’m sorry for not sharing with others; I’ll never tell another lie; just let me live through this! Then I hear Irene yelling “Holy Sh!t”.  Now I am thinking to myself…Oh Lord, this is the big one.  A lot goes through your mind quickly when your life flashes before ya! Now at this point I am out of my bunk and Irene says…“a huge huge bear just crossed in front of me, and I mean huge.”  You mean we are not going over the cliff!  Dang Irene, you scared the heck out of me!  “Scared you? How did I scare you?” Irene asked.  She was the one who almost hit the bear…but I was the one who thought we were going over the cliff. “So you think I drive that bad?” she asked.  Good Night honey…I said…love you!   

Our miles have been okay but nothing to brag about lately. We were in Joplin MO last week for some Qualcom (computer) work that needed to be up-graded in our truck. We spent the night at the Holiday Inn and we were able to relax, go swimming, and just enjoy some normal time for a change.

Later that evening Irene was showering and I was watching TV.  She yelled for me to pass her the shampoo and conditioner.  Usually Irene does not use the complimentary shampoo and conditioner from the hotels, but she happens to like the ones at Holliday Inn.  She says that they smell nice. Anyway, I quickly picked up one green bottle and one white bottle and passed them to Irene in the shower.  For a second I wondered why the hotel leaves two conditioner bottles and only one shampoo bottle.  Oh well, back to the TV.  A couple of minutes later I hear Irene say “RANDY” in that tone that tells me that I am in trouble. “What did you give me?” she says.  I headed to the bathroom with tail tucked between my legs and asked what the problem was. “This isn’t conditioner you idiot…this is body lotion!” I guess the Hotel leaves complimentary shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion.  You learn something new every day. “Oh” I said, “I was wondering why there was 2 white bottles…hmmm.” It was a very quiet night in the hotel room…rather cold to…won’t make that mistake again…LOL

Things are going well, truck is running good, the family is healthy, and we are heading home in a few weeks to celebrate Irene’s and my birthdays…big 50 for me this year. Life is good…