Another Long Week

Kinda catches up to me. I had meant to add to this blog more than I have. When I started it freight wasn't all that heavy, but it has picked up some, at least enough to keep me rolling. I have been away from home 31 days now and will be going home on Friday.

I had made my delivery in Dandridge, TN last Monday and they ran me over to Newport 17 miles away to pick up a load at Conagra, used to be Bush's Beans, and the load went up to Tomah, WI to a Walmart DC there. I remember growing up in East Tennessee, that when we would go home to Texas for a visit mom picked up 2 cases of Wolf Brand Chili to bring back to Tennessee. In the 60's they didn't have decent chili in Tennessee.

In 1996 I went into the Bush's plant in Newport, TN and picked up a full load of Wolf Brand Chili and took it to Texas. Times change. Couldn't get Mexican food in Tennessee back then, now you can get it in Canada.

After I dropped my load in Tomah they sent me over to Oshkosh, WI to pick up a load of paper packages going to Kelloggs in Omaha, NE. As I left to go to Oshkosh my signal lights went out on my tractor. So back in the shop again. Found a wire that had been rubbing against the frame and had shorted out.

After delivering in Omaha they sent me downtown Omaha to pick a load of paper bags going to Conagra flour mill in Columbus, OH. Was interesting here because it was supposed to be a drop and hook on Saturday morning. When I got there there were no empty trailers and they were refinishing their floor and couldn't unload the trailer. I got to drop it in their dock and just drive about 2 miles to our terminal in Columbus and picked up an empty trailer there. I went up to Lima, OH and picked up a load at Procter & Gamble going to Walgreens DC near Greenville, SC.

I was supposed to go down to Knoxville, TN and across to Asheville, NC on I-40 and then down to Greenville, but I-40 is closed through the Smoky Mountain Gorge because of a rock slide couple of months ago. The detour is up to I-26 near Kingston, TN and through the mountains to Ashville which is an extra 45 miles. Which I don't get paid for. Doesn't matter if roads are closed or not, they only pay what the rate miles are, and that is all the driver gets.

I delivered the load to Walgreens this afternoon, now I go to Columbia, SC tonight and pick up a load to run over to Target DC in Tifton, GA. Hopefully work my way home from there.