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.

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 23^rd 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 17^th 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!

We are back!

In the words of Gomer Pyle…surprise, surprise, surprise. We are back! It’s been a long, long while since I last posted and I make no excuses. I just got lazy, plain and simple. But it does feel good to write again and so much has happened since my last post in May. I don’t even know where to begin.

We are currently sitting in Oklahoma City waiting to be loaded and then we are off to Charlotte, NC. Once we drop there we will be heading home for the holidays. I can’t wait to be home. Maybe it’s the Christmas spirit that urged me to write again…lol

Red Solo Truck has been performing flawlessly. We have not had a single breakdown or any issues for that matter other than normal routine maintenance. With that said we are currently in the process of looking at new trucks and hate to think about parting with this one because of its reliability. We are not sure at this point if we will trade, sell or possibly hire a driver for Red Solo. We will just have to see what is financially best for us. We have just outgrown this truck and we need more room. Comfort is #1 with us when we are on the road.

For those of you who drive as husband/wife team we have been contacted by a scout from Hollywood looking for people interested in applying for a documentary that they are doing on teams that run long haul. They are looking for certain qualifications to meet there requirements. They asked us to spread the word so if you are interested you can go to the link (at the bottom) to apply. Good luck to everyone!

I can’t believe Irene and I have been driving over 2yrs already. Wow how time flies. We have had so much fun in that time along with some hard times to but in the end I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The freedom we have you couldn’t find anywhere. We have been owners for 10 months now and have already enjoyed 3 months off…what job could ever give you that? Well I guess if you were a politician in Washington you could do better. LOL

But with another year gone I think it’s time to reflect on some of the laughter Irene has given me in that time…

1^st  No matter how many times we stay in Joplin (home terminal) at the Holiday Inn, Irene will always manage to get lost traveling to and from the front desk and our room. Scary to think she drives us cross country while I am asleep.

2^nd  She thinks that trains still run on coal…shhhh don’t tell her any different.

3^rd  On a billboard at the California/Arizona boarder on I-8 there is an ad for tours of historical territorial prisons. Irene thinks they give prison tours these days for the convicted. Of course I told her it was something new they were trying to make prisoners feel more at home. I said they have different style prisons now and the prisoners get to choose which one they like best.…shhhh about that one also.

4^th   She still struggles with Border Patrol…a common answer we use when asked by BP as to what we are hauling is freight all kinds (FAK) But Irene continuously replies…”all kinds of freight”…after 2 yrs I am pretty sure there is no hope with this one.

5^th  When I wake up and it’s my turn to drive and I ask Irene what state we are in…whatever she says, its most likely wrong. At least she tries, she use to just shrug her shoulders and say “I don’t know”

I could keep going on and on with the day to day laughs she gives me but it’s time to roll so I will leave you with this.

From our family to all of yours, have a safe and wonderful holiday season. Enjoy your time with family and friends, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in 2014…