Yesterday was a long day of driving from El Paso to Catarina, Texas. I was hoping to take some pictures with my new camera, but much of the day was spent in fog or low clouds and the lighting was horrible.
Today I made my delivery in Laredo. I've been to this town before, but this was the first time that I was downtown. The receiver was literally a block away from the Mexican border!
Laredo has a long history as a border town. It's been the setting of TV westerns and country songs. Now it just seems to be one big trucking center. All the big trucking companies have terminals here. My favorite commodity to haul out of here is empty wine bottles. I'm still waiting to here where I'm off to next, but if I had my choice, I would be off to Napa Valley with a load of empties.
One great thing about this town is the mobile food. After my delivery, I motored back to the Flying J and decided to chance a chicken burrito from the neon-lit taco truck out front. Spectacular! It came loaded and with a Serrano chile on the side. Mouth burning heaven!
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
The company sent me a pre-plan Saturday to rescue a load of chicken from a broken-down truck in Hesperia, CA. I quickly packed and bob-tailed over to meet a team whose truck was ailing. They had a nice trailer to give me complete with full fairings, and I headed up to Tracy getting over 8 mpg. On the way there I got a new pre-plan to pick up Sunday at noon there in Tracy and deliver in Laredo, TX. Nice!
This load was scheduled for Saturday at 04:00, and the planner thought that I might be able to deliver it Sunday morning. No dice. The Safeway DC doesn't receive meat on Sundays, so they suggested that I get a new appointment for Monday morning. I was prepared to spend the rest of the day at a truck stop, but the planner sent me a message saying to drop the trailer at a cold storage place in Turlock and grab an empty for the Laredo trip. They have some local drivers there to deliver the Safeway load.
Picking up at Leprino in Tracy was pretty routine, and I was soon enjoying cruising down the valley getting 8.3 mpg at 76,000 lbs. Sometimes this truck is pretty awesome!
Tonight I'm in El Paso debating how I want to finish this load for a Thursday afternoon delivery. I think the plan is to spend tomorrow night somewhere around Eagle Pass after an easy day of sight-seeing. I'm looking forward to having time to try out my new camera. Thursday I'll pull into the Laredo Flying J in the morning early enough to take an 8-hour split sleeper berth break. Hopefully the company will get me a plan tomorrow to help me decide how to run. Finding a place to park in Laredo after dark can be challenging!
This trip is 1,740 miles, which will help me keep my 1,425 mile average up. Some of the loads coming out of Laredo are pretty good. My favorite is empty wine bottles going to Napa, CA.
Whatever it is, I hope that I can stay in the South! I got my A/C fixed last night (free under warranty, YAY!) so delaying my return to the winter is, literally, no sweat.
This load was scheduled for Saturday at 04:00, and the planner thought that I might be able to deliver it Sunday morning. No dice. The Safeway DC doesn't receive meat on Sundays, so they suggested that I get a new appointment for Monday morning. I was prepared to spend the rest of the day at a truck stop, but the planner sent me a message saying to drop the trailer at a cold storage place in Turlock and grab an empty for the Laredo trip. They have some local drivers there to deliver the Safeway load.
Picking up at Leprino in Tracy was pretty routine, and I was soon enjoying cruising down the valley getting 8.3 mpg at 76,000 lbs. Sometimes this truck is pretty awesome!
Tonight I'm in El Paso debating how I want to finish this load for a Thursday afternoon delivery. I think the plan is to spend tomorrow night somewhere around Eagle Pass after an easy day of sight-seeing. I'm looking forward to having time to try out my new camera. Thursday I'll pull into the Laredo Flying J in the morning early enough to take an 8-hour split sleeper berth break. Hopefully the company will get me a plan tomorrow to help me decide how to run. Finding a place to park in Laredo after dark can be challenging!
This trip is 1,740 miles, which will help me keep my 1,425 mile average up. Some of the loads coming out of Laredo are pretty good. My favorite is empty wine bottles going to Napa, CA.
Whatever it is, I hope that I can stay in the South! I got my A/C fixed last night (free under warranty, YAY!) so delaying my return to the winter is, literally, no sweat.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Whew! I'm enjoying being home for the first time since January 3. I've had a toothache for the last week which is finally subsiding. I went to the dentist today and will need to return around March 10 to get the work done.
I've been sleep-deprived for a couple of weeks. It's been a combination of the toothache along with lengthy trips through blizzards. These factors have contributed to my lengthy delay in getting this blog on track. I'm hoping to start posting more regularly on here when I get back on the road Saturday.
Today I picked up a Lumix DMC-FZ70 camera at Costco (http://www.costco.com/Panasonic-LUMIX-FZ70-Digital-Camera-Bundle.product.100085953.html). This camera takes great photos and will be a welcome addition to the truck.
I've been sleep-deprived for a couple of weeks. It's been a combination of the toothache along with lengthy trips through blizzards. These factors have contributed to my lengthy delay in getting this blog on track. I'm hoping to start posting more regularly on here when I get back on the road Saturday.
Today I picked up a Lumix DMC-FZ70 camera at Costco (http://www.costco.com/Panasonic-LUMIX-FZ70-Digital-Camera-Bundle.product.100085953.html). This camera takes great photos and will be a welcome addition to the truck.
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