I got up and drove over to our terminal in Marietta Saturday morning and dropped my load off there. They turned around and offered me 3 loads to choose from, every single one of them were 500 or more miles away and delivered on 6/1 or 6/2. Had to remind him I was supposed to be in Marietta on night of 6/1 for the safety class on Tuesday. So they gave me a load off the yard that had been dropped earlier to be delivered to Petsmart DC in Newnan, GA at 8am Sunday morning. So I picked it up, drove to Newnan to a truck stop there and sat until Sunday morning.
I delivered to Petsmart this morning, full load of dog food. They next gave me a load on the Marietta yard again, another dropped load. It has 3 drops on it going to 3 different grocery warehouses, my favorite places. First stop in Athens, GA, just across the street from where I am right now at 4am tomorrow. The second drop is in Suwanee, GA back toward Atlanta at 7:30am tomorrow. After that drop I go back to Marietta, set until get class out of the way Tuesday, then drive back over just down the street from my second drop and drop the final 13 pallets Wednesday morning at 10am. I guess they planned that just for me.
No TV reception in this hick town, so I guess I play solitaire until go to bed.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Long Week
Well, never intended to get this far behind on my blog. When made the last post I was expecting to be sitting for awhile, but they gave me a load to pick up the next morning in Granite City, IL, across the river from St. Louis. It was a Proctor & Gamble load going to a grocery warehouse in Albertville, AL and delivered on Memorial Day. Was a bit surprised by that, usually they are closed on holidays.
Once I delivered that on Monday morning, they gave me a load from Krannert, GA, near Rome, going to Newtown, CT. This was load of rolled paperboard out of International Paper. The rolls are about 3500 lbs a piece and had 13 of them on the truck. Had a fast trip to get there on Wednesday morning.
Once unloaded there they sent me over to Norwich, CT, all the way over on the other side of Connecticut, 88 miles away. It was a load of copper tubing. Expensive stuff. Had 6 pallets of this weighing about 7000 lbs a piece. They put 3 in the nose of the trailer and 3 in the rear so it will even out on the axels. The load went to a customer in Claremont, NC. I made it to Milford, CT around 1pm and was about out of hours for the day, since I had started out at 3am. There are few truck stops in Connecticut, and a lot of trucks looking to park. This one is the last before going through New York City going south. The trucks were lined up out on the street trying to get in. I bypassed them and went to a tiny truck stop next door and found a spot to park. This place was a dump next to the Pilot everyone was trying to get into next door, but I just wanted to go to bed.
I got up at 2am and drove to the Pilot, got my fuel and drove through NYC before traffic got bad. I made it down to Mount Airy, NC (Mayberry) and spent the night. Got up this morning and delivered 80 miles down the road. They then gave me a short load out of Kelloggs in Charlotte, NC going down to Augusta, GA. I picked this load up and delivered it at 3pm, and they gave me another load out of same place going to Missouri for a Monday delivery. Since I have to be in Marietta to take a safety class on Tuesday, I will have to drop the load in the morning in Marietta. I hope to get some short loads over the weekend to keep busy.
They had a Krystal hamburger place next door. Used to love those things when growing up, anyway stocked up on them for supper.
I
Once I delivered that on Monday morning, they gave me a load from Krannert, GA, near Rome, going to Newtown, CT. This was load of rolled paperboard out of International Paper. The rolls are about 3500 lbs a piece and had 13 of them on the truck. Had a fast trip to get there on Wednesday morning.
Once unloaded there they sent me over to Norwich, CT, all the way over on the other side of Connecticut, 88 miles away. It was a load of copper tubing. Expensive stuff. Had 6 pallets of this weighing about 7000 lbs a piece. They put 3 in the nose of the trailer and 3 in the rear so it will even out on the axels. The load went to a customer in Claremont, NC. I made it to Milford, CT around 1pm and was about out of hours for the day, since I had started out at 3am. There are few truck stops in Connecticut, and a lot of trucks looking to park. This one is the last before going through New York City going south. The trucks were lined up out on the street trying to get in. I bypassed them and went to a tiny truck stop next door and found a spot to park. This place was a dump next to the Pilot everyone was trying to get into next door, but I just wanted to go to bed.
I got up at 2am and drove to the Pilot, got my fuel and drove through NYC before traffic got bad. I made it down to Mount Airy, NC (Mayberry) and spent the night. Got up this morning and delivered 80 miles down the road. They then gave me a short load out of Kelloggs in Charlotte, NC going down to Augusta, GA. I picked this load up and delivered it at 3pm, and they gave me another load out of same place going to Missouri for a Monday delivery. Since I have to be in Marietta to take a safety class on Tuesday, I will have to drop the load in the morning in Marietta. I hope to get some short loads over the weekend to keep busy.
They had a Krystal hamburger place next door. Used to love those things when growing up, anyway stocked up on them for supper.
I
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Iowa
I got to Walmart this morning early and dropped the load. They had already warned me yesterday afternoon they didn't have any loads. Told me again a bit ago. After dropping my load I had to drive 20 miles north of Mount Pleasant, IA to the nearest truck stop to find parking. Doesn't look good for the weekend. I will probably be stuck here for awhile.
If they don't come up with a load offer before 1 or 2 pm today, it may be Tuesday before I get something. Where I am sitting in Ainsworth, IA, I can see the truck stop I am sitting in and corn fields in every direction. I have 2 tv stations I can pick up and a weak computer signal. I guess I will watch the complete 5 disk collection of Harry Potter this weekend.
Happy Memorial Day. Remember the Veterans this weekend, and especially the ones who gave all their tomorrows so that you may enjoy this day. Take a moment to read about my great uncle and the sacrifice he made for all of us this weekend. PFC Hollis A. Cloyd, the link is below.
http://76thdivision.com/indexhac.html
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Green Bay
I got to my delivery in Eau Claire at 3pm this afternoon. Was a drop and hook at Menard's Distribution Center. Was in and out in less than 30 minutes. They gave me another load as soon as I was unloaded. So far I have had 2 good weeks now. They gave me a load that picked up in Green Bay, WI, it is about 200 miles from Eau Claire and I made it to a truck stop about 30 miles from where I pick up.
The load is at Georgia Pacific on Lombardi street about a couple of blocks from where the Packers try to play their football. Ain't the same without Brett Favre.
The load goes to WalMart in Mt. Pleasant, IA and will deliver Saturday morning. Nice and comfortable up here, mostly cloudy with some showers today. High in the upper 60s and down to the 40s tonight. Good sleeping weather. Wisconsin is a beautiful state, especially in the northern areas. The trees are much like the ones in Maine last week. Kind of things that grow where it's too cold to live, at least if you have any sense.
The load is at Georgia Pacific on Lombardi street about a couple of blocks from where the Packers try to play their football. Ain't the same without Brett Favre.
The load goes to WalMart in Mt. Pleasant, IA and will deliver Saturday morning. Nice and comfortable up here, mostly cloudy with some showers today. High in the upper 60s and down to the 40s tonight. Good sleeping weather. Wisconsin is a beautiful state, especially in the northern areas. The trees are much like the ones in Maine last week. Kind of things that grow where it's too cold to live, at least if you have any sense.
Hello Wisconsin
Made my delivery at Colonial Heights, VA outside Richmond. I was told by dispatch that they opened at midnight Sunday night and you can deliver 24 hours up to Friday at midnight. Since I was parked just down the street I got up at midnight and drove around the block to the customer. Alas!!! They actually opened at 3pm on Sunday for the week, and there were 20 trucks in there. Eight in the docks and 8 waiting. I checked in and parked and waited. Waited. Waited some more. Seems at 1 am every time a truck would pull out of a dock they would stick one of their empty trailers in that dock for loading. They kept doing that until 8 am. I did not get into a dock door until 9am and did not leave the customer until 10:30am. Had been there 10 1/2 hours. Ended up with very little sleep and still had to get down close to Macon before taking my break so I could get to the other customer drop rest of the load, and still have hours to pick up another load.
I made it to Columbia, SC, which is about 6 1/2 hour drive in my truck. Remember my truck only goes 61 mph. Rough when all the southern states have speed limits of 70 mph. Hard not to get run over.
I slept a full 9 hours that night, a rarity for me. Left Columbia around 9 am and got to the customer one hour before my appointment. They put me right into a dock, and since I only had 5 pallets of beer for them, I was done in 15 minutes. One of the cases of Micolob Ultra slid off the top of the pallet and so had to sweep up the broken bottle. Got another load rather quickly picking up down the street from where I was in Macon going to Eau Claire, WI.
This worked out good, because it delivered anytime on Thursday up to midnight. This gave me time to drop by the Marietta terminal and get my truck serviced. They got me done Wednesday morning by 9am and I was off. I made it to Champaign, IL last night and now will go on up to Eau Claire, about 7 1/2 hours, and drop this load.
I made it to Columbia, SC, which is about 6 1/2 hour drive in my truck. Remember my truck only goes 61 mph. Rough when all the southern states have speed limits of 70 mph. Hard not to get run over.
I slept a full 9 hours that night, a rarity for me. Left Columbia around 9 am and got to the customer one hour before my appointment. They put me right into a dock, and since I only had 5 pallets of beer for them, I was done in 15 minutes. One of the cases of Micolob Ultra slid off the top of the pallet and so had to sweep up the broken bottle. Got another load rather quickly picking up down the street from where I was in Macon going to Eau Claire, WI.
This worked out good, because it delivered anytime on Thursday up to midnight. This gave me time to drop by the Marietta terminal and get my truck serviced. They got me done Wednesday morning by 9am and I was off. I made it to Champaign, IL last night and now will go on up to Eau Claire, about 7 1/2 hours, and drop this load.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Virginia
I made it into a Pilot truck stop about 1/2 mile from where I deliver my first drop on Monday morning. In Colonial Heights, VA on the south side of Richmond. I started out from Sturbridge, MA around 4:30am yesterday.
I stopped in Milford, CT for fuel and then came on down I-95 through the Bronx on the Cross Bronx expressway. This is the main road through NYC and leads you to the infamous George Washington Bridge. Some days it has taken me up to one and a half hours to go the 3 or 4 miles across the Bronx, and across the bridge and into New Jersey. Yesterday morning, being a Saturday, I breezed right through. Still have to go reasonably slow though, or the pot holes will knock a wheel off. I must say that it is smoother through there than in years past though.
I have got to get me a transfer cable for my camera to download these pictures I have, maybe this next week sometime.
From NYC I came down the Jersey Turnpike the length of New Jersey, across the Deleware Memorial Bridge, across the 17 miles of Deleware and into Maryland. Stopped just inside Maryland and got me a $5 footlong at Subway using my driver's points at the Pilot. The points that they put on my Pilot card for fueling. They give you 1 point for each gallon of fuel purchased. You can then use the card to purchase things in their store. I usually let mine build up then start cashing them in for footlongs. I can half one and make 2 meals out of it.
Didn't want to stay there too long, because I needed to get on through Baltimore before the traffic got heavy going over to the Preakness. Went through downtown Baltimore around noon, through the McHenry tunnel, 40 miles to Washington, DC and around the loop on the east side and into Virginia. I got to Colonial Heights around 2:30pm with a driving time of 9 hours.
I will deliver my first drop here in the morning, then will drive to Macon, GA to drop my last part of load there on Tuesday afternoon. I did get to watch the Preakness. Mine That Bird almost did it. I thought it was interesting the kick he had to come from behind. He came within 3/4 length of catching the filly, and he was just a gelding. What was he going to do if he did catch her???
I stopped in Milford, CT for fuel and then came on down I-95 through the Bronx on the Cross Bronx expressway. This is the main road through NYC and leads you to the infamous George Washington Bridge. Some days it has taken me up to one and a half hours to go the 3 or 4 miles across the Bronx, and across the bridge and into New Jersey. Yesterday morning, being a Saturday, I breezed right through. Still have to go reasonably slow though, or the pot holes will knock a wheel off. I must say that it is smoother through there than in years past though.
I have got to get me a transfer cable for my camera to download these pictures I have, maybe this next week sometime.
From NYC I came down the Jersey Turnpike the length of New Jersey, across the Deleware Memorial Bridge, across the 17 miles of Deleware and into Maryland. Stopped just inside Maryland and got me a $5 footlong at Subway using my driver's points at the Pilot. The points that they put on my Pilot card for fueling. They give you 1 point for each gallon of fuel purchased. You can then use the card to purchase things in their store. I usually let mine build up then start cashing them in for footlongs. I can half one and make 2 meals out of it.
Didn't want to stay there too long, because I needed to get on through Baltimore before the traffic got heavy going over to the Preakness. Went through downtown Baltimore around noon, through the McHenry tunnel, 40 miles to Washington, DC and around the loop on the east side and into Virginia. I got to Colonial Heights around 2:30pm with a driving time of 9 hours.
I will deliver my first drop here in the morning, then will drive to Macon, GA to drop my last part of load there on Tuesday afternoon. I did get to watch the Preakness. Mine That Bird almost did it. I thought it was interesting the kick he had to come from behind. He came within 3/4 length of catching the filly, and he was just a gelding. What was he going to do if he did catch her???
Friday, May 15, 2009
Back south
Well I made my delivery last night OK. They had posted on their window in the warehouse what the parking options were around Portland, ME. Wasn't much considering it was midnight when I got out of there. They don't let you park on their city streets.
The first option was a service plaza on the Maine Turnpike back southbound about 20 miles. It was full when I came up north about 3 hours earlier. The second was north on the turnpike about 20 miles. I looked at it on Google Earth and it only had about 5 spaces for truck parking, so I ruled that one out for that time of night. The last was a rest area on I-295 north of Portland. That interstate is not as traveled as the turnpike was, so I headed up that way and hoped for the best. It was a small rest area and had about 10 spaces for trucks, 3 of them available. Lucky me. Ten minutes after I parked the other spaces were gone too.
They finally gave me a load offer about noon today that picked up in Devens, MA which is next to Harvard. Came out of Anheuser-Busch and has two drops, one in Richmond, VA and the last in Macon, GA. Nice sunny drive this afternoon and the traffic around Boston wasn't too bad. No tie ups anyway. Got back to Sturbridge, MA and got a spot for the night and will take off in the morning and try to make it down near Richmond tomorrow afternoon. Will have to go down through NYC in the morning and try getting across the GW bridge again. This time it is Saturday so maybe won't be too bad in the morning.
Have a good weekend.
The first option was a service plaza on the Maine Turnpike back southbound about 20 miles. It was full when I came up north about 3 hours earlier. The second was north on the turnpike about 20 miles. I looked at it on Google Earth and it only had about 5 spaces for truck parking, so I ruled that one out for that time of night. The last was a rest area on I-295 north of Portland. That interstate is not as traveled as the turnpike was, so I headed up that way and hoped for the best. It was a small rest area and had about 10 spaces for trucks, 3 of them available. Lucky me. Ten minutes after I parked the other spaces were gone too.
They finally gave me a load offer about noon today that picked up in Devens, MA which is next to Harvard. Came out of Anheuser-Busch and has two drops, one in Richmond, VA and the last in Macon, GA. Nice sunny drive this afternoon and the traffic around Boston wasn't too bad. No tie ups anyway. Got back to Sturbridge, MA and got a spot for the night and will take off in the morning and try to make it down near Richmond tomorrow afternoon. Will have to go down through NYC in the morning and try getting across the GW bridge again. This time it is Saturday so maybe won't be too bad in the morning.
Have a good weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)