Buy Chrome on an Account?

What is this...seriously? Yep, this job just keeps getting better and better. We are allowed up to $200/month to bling out our truck at the chrome shop in Phoenix. Shopping is much more fun when spending someone else's money.

First shopping spree...all of the gauges have pretty chrome trim around them. The turn signal/windshield wiper is now chrome, both door handles and the air conditioning knobs and back plate are now chrome. This could very easily become an obsession...but it can be over done too. I like a bit of contrast with my chrome!

Pics of door handles to follow.  Need to pick up some silicon so they don't fly off the truck.

Yuma or Vegas?

Neither one a good choice on a Friday afternoon out of Oxnard. I decided to miss the Vegas traffic and opt for Yuma and a ride along the coast. Its only 350 miles...right? It was a beautiful drive however it was pretty much a traffic jam for 250 miles of it. Did I mention how much I have been loving this automatic transmission is Cali? We have pretty much spent the last two weeks in California, I don't think you can count Lake Havasu at exit 9 in AZ or Yuma at exit 3.

All of our loads have been picked up in Oxnard at Port Hueneme, London's new favorite place. It is usually a consistent 68 degrees...lovely ocean breeze and Jay who runs the Yara terminal where we load has two doggies, Romeo and Tally. London gets to socialize with non-truck driver dogs that actually run and play and are used to being out of the truck longer than 5 minutes to go potty then right back in the truck. It seems like that is all we run into anymore. What happened to taking ur dog for a real walk? They even gave us a mandatory 30 minute "meal break" now to get er done.

On my way to Vegas now...however it looks as though its gonna be another long afternoon. We are backed up on the 15 for at least 30 miles now according to the CB. ..sweet. Drivers are getting bored and the CB chatter is getting pretty entertaining. The desert is a good 106 today. The 4 wheelers are dropping like flies. I was hoping to stop by Speedco in Vegas to get a PM  (preventative maintenance) and our annual inspection on the tractor and trailer...they are only open until 8 pm and its already 4:30 and I still have 142 miles to go, don't think its gonna happen.

Good 34 Hour Reset

Since we had to load in Port Hueneme this week we headed for Oxnard, after our last delivery on Sunday in Lake Havasu, for our mandatory 34 hour reset. I love saying that! When working for Waggoners, we would get home on Sunday afternoon and go back out Monday night.  Not very much downtime. But with this job we only work 6 days a week (not 7) so we truly get a nice break every week.

We stayed at a nice hotel and got to visit one our most favorite restaurants we have found out here...Cabo Seafood and Mexican Cantina. It was just as good as I remember it being and the margaritas were even better. This time we tried the Parilla de Mariscos for 2...which is basically a plate full of seafood, enough for two hungry people, which contained: an entire red snapper grilled with Mexican rice, shrimp quesadilla, octopus, garlic shrimp, cheese & jalepeno stuffed shrimp wrapped in bacon, camarones de verde (my favorite) and ranchero shrimp. All served with fresh, hot homemade tortillad and bottomless margaritas. Oh wait, I guess they weren't bottomless,  but my glass wasn't empty the entire meal or during dessert either. It had been over a year since our last visit and it was worth the wait.

The next day we strolled the streets of Old downtown Oxnard finding treasures we couldn't live without...oh wait that was just me that couldn't live without them. Jeff and London did a lot of sitting and waiting, but we managed to get in two miles of walking, which with two guys is pretty sneaky, it was a beautiful 68 degrees which was a nice change from the week of AZ deliveries in 100+ temps. Needless to say, all three of us slept very well last night.

Last week we covered 7 states and 9 stores...Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California,  Arizona and New Mexico. Not too shabby of a week. I am just dropping in Barstow (which means an In-n-Out for me) then back to Port Hueneme to load and take a nice walk with London on the beach tonight.  It is only 97 here in Barstow, which really isn't that hot for here, and tonight at the Port, there will be a nice breeze and about 65 degrees. Life is pretty rough right now....NOT!