03/06/2010

I hate I-80 across Ohio, Indiana there are service plazas every thirty miles or so. It never fails when I am traveling this stretch of roads that at every other service plaza my body needs to stop. Whether it is for food or munchies or the ever present bio-break. Other interstates it is not unusual for me to drive for hours on end without stopping, but not I-80. Anyway that is why I hate I-80.

Other than the aggravating service plazas todays journey was pleasant enough. I've posted a collage of the photos I took while traversing the greater Chicago metro area. That was a first for me and it being Saturday wasn't all that bad. I can imagine hitting this area at the wrong time during the week being a total pain in the butt. Of course if it had been during the week I probably would have circumvented the area to avoid the mess.

At any rate as the “where am I” section of the blog indicates I am right by Racine, WI. That leaves me a whopping 21 miles to cover Monday morning to make my delivery. So I'll have a fresh 70 hour clock on Monday and ready to roll.

Now just to fill the hours between now and Monday.

Have a nice weekend

Bookerz out

Chicago collage

 

 

03/05/2010

Whenever I have a non-glass load I seem to work myself (mentally) into a state of tension. Despite the fact that historically speaking all my non-glass loads have been easier than live loading glass.

Today was no exception. Getting to the shipper was easy. Once at the shipper they provided directions a blind man (metaphorically speaking) could follow. Actual loaders weren't the hard asses you hear stories about. Load was loaded in a timely manner. Plenty of time was provided to properly secure and tarp the load. Even the roads in and out of the shipper were decent, a somewhat rare occurrence in PA. So I've come to the conclusion. That a lot of the truckers out here are candy asses that are looking for reasons to be offended. Now that is just my opinion which is based on non-scientific data. Could it be that I am special and just get the good shippers (not likely)? Another possibility is I only see the silver lining when there is a cloud about (possible).

At any rate my luck or whatever is holding up and I shouldn't let getting system loads raise my tension level above normal safe levels.

All the above words boil down to it was a good day. I got loaded in good time and I knocked out 400 miles of the 745 I got to run. Today I discovered I have a burnt out headlight so I won't be able to take off as early as I like. But that will be tomorrows problem.

Tomorrows plan includes running the gauntlet through Chicago, Il. To date I've dipped my toes in that arena, but haven't actually had to run through the area. With tomorrow being Saturday I figure it will be a good day to test my luck. The other task to complete tomorrow is to replace my headlight. Not a particularly daunting task, but one I'll need to complete none the less.

Until tomorrow then. Have a good night.

Bookerz out

Plant where I loaded today

Thought I'd take some photos while I waited
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

03/04/2010

Well todays ending was a mirror reflection of its beginning.

I woke up this morning and broke down the racks on the trailer in anticipation of getting a system load today. At 4pm I was instructed to DH over to Mt Holly Springs and switch trailers for a load that will be loading tomorrow morning. Once I got to Mt Holly Springs I get the dubious honor of putting the racks I took down this morning back up. Hence the mirror reflection. Brings back flashbacks of military basic training of picking them up and putting them back down.

At any rate it only took a combined 80 minutes to earn $40 which equates to $30 an hour. Not bad for a non-union sort.

The load tomorrow I'll pick up around Harrisburg and run it over towards Milwaukee for a Monday delivery. What kind of load I'll get out of there is anyones guess.

Well I'm off to bed

Have a good night

Bookerz out

03/03/2010

A short 2.5 hours up the road plus a fuel stop found me at the customer today. There was a bit of snow falling as I made my way up but it wasn't enough to impede progress or bring out the daredevils that like to play smash em up on such days.

What I found when I got to the customer was a motivated one. They have to unload the product outside and as it was snowing and it is not good to get the glass wet. So a mere 2 hours later I was rolling off the property. I've had customers with all the advantages, such as an overhead crane, take more than 3 hours to unload. So these guys were hopping today.

I passed on the way in, a rest area about 15 miles south of the customers location so that was my destination to await further orders once unloaded. I waited about an hour or hour and a half before I was told to head for New Jersey. So that is where I sitting tonight. When the sun comes up I break down the racks and wait to see what is next. I could have broken them down tonight but a fit of laziness washed over me. I won't get anything before 8 or 9am tomorrow anyway so nothing lost by waiting.

I am proud to announce that the Big Apple (or traveling through it) has lost it's power to make me a nervous wreck. I still don't care to go through there, but I am comfortable with my skill level. Delivering within the city will probably still drive me crazy but passing through is ok. I used to stop short and then blast through the city in the dead of night. The last 3 times I haven't had a choice and while it is not a nice drive it isn't as bad as I used to think. SMALL VICTORIES!!

On that note

Have a good day

Bookerz out

03/02/2010

Well my NYC end of luck has come to an inglorious end. The last 4 or 5 times I had to pass through the city has gone off without a hitch. Today, while no where near as bad as it could be, not so much. From half way across the GWB to where I-95/I-295 split it was stop and go the whole way. Washington was great, Baltimore I take US50/US301, even Jersey was a breeze. And I actually hit New York at a good time because rush hour chased me out off town. I stopped at the first service plaza in Connecticut and rush hour had caught me the rest of the way out. My initial plan to go all the way to the customer failed when I decided to be lazy and drive the last 2-3 hours in the morning. Well anyway I made it to West Haven, CT and I plan to take off at 4am. Which should put me at the customer by 7am.

Have a nice day

Bookerz out

03/01/2010

After getting unloaded this morning the customer loaded up some racks going back to Laurinburg. On my way back to Laurinburg I got a preplan for a load going to Wilington, Ma for delivery Wednesday morning. I needed to grab this load and get a couple of hundred miles knocked out so I can go all the way into the customer tomorrow. Fortunately they completed this load around 4pm and I was able to take it and get up to Roanoke Rapids, NC tonight. Not quite as far as I wanted to go but it is getting late enough that finding parking farther up I-95 is in doubt. So I topped off the fuel tanks and called it a day here. I should be able to get the entire way up tomorrow for an early delivery time on Wednesday. Which can open up the possibility of getting another load that closes this week. We will just have to see how it plays out

Have a nice day

Bookerz out