Been a While

Night sky in NM....I need a tripod

Sorry it's been so long. We have been so busy running back and forth across the country that I haven't had the time to update you all on what we have been doing. Not that I am complaining about the miles, they have been great. We just rolled over 700,000 on our truck and am proud to say that we put 100,000 on them ourselves. Last week we were in Missoula, MT and they offered us a newer truck. We looked at it, but it was two years newer than ours and only had 40,000 less miles on it. We love our truck and don't want to trade it, as long they keep fixing her we will be driving Dorothy!

Travel and see the world....well, we fell for it!

Our schedule is working great and we are not half as tired as we used to be. It is becoming more of a routine, which Miss non-spontaneous is loving! The job is spontaneous enough, I don't need kaos thrown into the mix. We have only missed 6 states now. Mostly, way north-east and also ND. Not sure if we are missing much in ND, but would like to see the north-east. We have been as far east as NY, which frankly is a pain in the butt to drive a truck in. The east is pretty, but the roads back there are very narrow and not made for big trucks and the bridges can make you duck every now and then when you go under a 13'8" one.

Dorothy looks good at the beach.

We got to back to Jacksonville with the same load, but this time we were a bit smarter. We have a client who takes from 6 - 8 hours to unload the trailer. The nearest truck stop is 15 miles away and the beach is 12, which offers the same amenities as a truck stop I might add, so I guess you all know which one we chose. We found the perfect spot to park the truck and spent the day at Jacksonville Beach. It was AWESOME. Finally after at least 24 days of going back and forth across this beautiful country and not 1 day to relax, we had a much-needed day-off (it was really only about 8 hours, but it felt like a full day of leisure). We went back and picked up the empty trailer and were back in Dalton, GA the next morning to pick up our next load.

Jacksonville Beach, FL

Have been eating mostly in the truck lately since we have been going so much, We have perfected several dishes out of our crock pot that have been really good. We also have had the opportunity to find a fantastic mexican market when we are are in LA. It has wonderful fresh produce for cheap and a deli that serves every dish you would find in a mexican restaurant, served up hot for under $6. They also have pork that already has the Al Pastor seasoning on it in the meat dept., great for throwing in the crockpot an having a yummy, warm dinner. I know you were all concerned about our withdrawal from Chubby's, but no worries, we are still keeping the mexican food tradition alive in our truck.

I-70, Utah

We got our routing changed and don't run the 40 as much as we did earlier this year, but now are taking 70. It has been nice to go through Denver, but can be such a tease. We have had the opportunity to have lunch with one of our boys a couple times, but then its back on the road and on our way. Most of our runs consist of LA to FL, NJ, MI, WV, NC or GA. Then from the east we usually run north and south for a couple of days. Sometimes OH or MI and then back down the GA to pick up another load to go out to either WA or OR. Then we get dispatched south to go back to LA. WA and OR are beautiful in the spring and summer, but the drive all the way down the 5 is a long one. It is over 1,000 miles and you can only drive 55 in OR and CA. When you cross over the border from OR to CA the first exit is 796....and then it goes backwards from there down to 1 in San Diego. Thats a lot of one highway in just one state. But when we go across TX to FL its 847 miles all in one state, which is all on I-10. There is usually a pretty good celebration after we cross the TX-LA border. Not that we don't like TX, but after a day and half and still being in the same state, it just doesn't feel like progress!

Pushy seagull in OR

We have met some more interesting people in the last few months. Trucking never has a shortage of colorful folk. We got to stay at a truck stop in Portland, OR called Jubitz one night. We went to see a movie and had dinner. It was like date night, I think I remember that. It was funny to watch a movie with everyone in the theatre being truckers as well. They also had jacuzzi tubs in with the showers and that was so luxurious to take a bubble bath that night. We both slept like babies.

Until next time....thanks for tuning in and enjoy the summer, I know we are.

More Randomness

This is a the biggest Jesus I have ever seen. It is in Ohio along the Interstate 75 and is as tall as a 10 story building. It is really cool looking whether you are a religious person or not.

We finally got the opportunity to drive down to Florida. Here is a pic of the Florabama ocean . Did not see any oil, but I hear it is not looking good for this coast.

This is the Tennesse River which we have probably passed at least 8 times so far. Very pretty and I got to catch it on a nice clear day.

Our loads are always ready at about midnight or after coming out of California. This week we had the opportunity to start our run during the day. This is a pic of the CA/AZ border just after Needles. We have passed this probably 10 times since we have started driving and this was the first opportunity to see it in daylight. The only thing I knew about the bridge we crossed over before was that the speed limit changed from 55 to 65 (which is a great thing!) But who knew how pretty it was...now we do!

I have finally found the last thing to put on our bucket list. While driving through Indiana I saw a sign for: The Vacuum Cleaner Museum. No, I'm not kidding...this really exists. First of all, before I offend anyone, who in the hell would want to go to a vacuum cleaner museum? I just don't think I will run out of things to do before I die before I make it to this museum.

We spent my birthday in Dalton, GA...out of the truck in a hotel room with a king size bed that wasn't moving. It was fantastic! Thanks for all of the birthday wishes from everyone. I forgot my phone charger in the truck so by the time I got back to my phone for our load out to Ohio at midnight I got all of your messages. We went to Western Sizzler for a free birthday meal, it was yummy. I guess I am old cause resting and eating was just fine with me :o )

Random Photos

Both of these are of the Grapevine in California. This is a pass you must cross when coming from northern California to Los Angeles.

This is a cool tree that grows everywhere in souther cal. It looks like a Dr. Suess tree

This is a beautiful hybrid

number that we found in Port of Vancouver, WA

Mount Shasta Lake in Northern California.

Paper Plant in Washington State

Okay, for all of you printing geeks. We got to pick up paper rolls from the Warehauser Paper Mill and it was so cool. I really am a nerd. From being in the printing industry and then seeing where the paper is made and how it is made was so interesting. This was in Longview, WA which is a port of entry. Before you could even pick up your load you had to show ID and testify that you had no drugs, firearms or liquor in your truck...we passed by the way. We got a map with directions on how to get to the proper building, all winding through logs, wood chips and other buildings that who knows what happened in there. We got our paper rolls and were headed for Quebecore. People were looking at me wierd when I was taking these pics in amazement, so I hope you enjoy them.

Is that like the coolest thing you have ever seen before? I think that is pretty crazy that they take your entire truck and turn it 90 degrees and empty it...kinda like an "E" ride at Disneyland.

It Never Fails

Jeff and I seem to have a knack for being at the wrong place at the wrong time or we get lucky and hit everything when it isn't busy or crazy....well these last two weeks have been on the wrong place, wrong time mode. We ended up in Tennessee for the most rain they have had in their history, 20" in 2 days. The floods were incredible and the stories we heard from local people are truly sad and heartwarming. I have a few pics, but our job was to stay on high ground and make sure our load was safe, so we didn't get too close to downtown Nashville. We were about 25 miles SE of there when we decided it wasn't safe to be driving any further. We pulled into a truck stop to check the weather on the TV and it was incredible. Tornado warnings, Flash flood warning

s and the Interstate 24 we were traveling on was closed about 12 miles up the road....okay, so that part did swing us to the lucky side. Some truckers were not so lucky. They were parked at the TA right in the heart of Nashville. The water got so high that boats had to start coming in to rescue drivers because the water rose so quickly it started coming into the cab through the windows...it was that high. The Cumberlin River rose to 48' in the heart of the city. We waited out the storm for 2 days and finally decided according to the chatter on the CB and TV reports that we should try to make our way over to Interstate 40. Well, other people had this same idea!

It was like a parking lot...no literally a parking lot. These trucks had been lined up on the road for the last 24 hours waiting for the interstate to re-open. There were about 4 - 5 rivers that cross under the 40, but at that time they were flowing over the 40, so it

was probably a really good thing that the highway was shut down. Nashville is a hard place to be stuck. There isn't a simple alternative route to take and heading NW or just West for that matter....Nashville is the hub that every truck has to come through.

The South and Beyond

So we finally arrive in Dalton, GA on a Thursday morning, not on a Friday in the wee hours of the morning. We actually have an entire day until our load is ready at midnight. The truck is clean, dishes are done....didn't get to the laundry yet, but let me tell you

how nice it is to have this truck stopped for a period of time and able to get re-organized and functioning like normal human beings again! The pic on the left is in-between Dalton and Atlanta. I actually got to see Wisteria for the first time blooming, not a silk flower, but real Wisteria. They are really pretty and smell very sweet. We have our driving shifts down now. I usually drive from noon - midnight and Jeff drives from midnight to noon. It works really well, sometimes I end up getting more drive time for the week, but sometimes Jeff ends up getting more drive time...it is just the luck of the draw!

So...we had our first mishap. We fueled in Las Vegas and were planning on spending the night at the truck stop, but there weren't any spaces available. So we decided to keep going into Southern California. Before we crossed the state border we found a rest stop 12 miles this side of the border. Pulled in and it was a HUGE dirt lot...perfect! I pulled in and purposely pulled all the way to the other side of the lot where nobody was parked. We pulled in and parked for the evening. In the morning we both woke up and were still laying in our bunks and I asked Jeff if he wanted me to make some coffee and he said he just wanted to lay there and wake up for a bit. I said that sounded good...as soon as I said that we heard and felt a huge bang. Jeff looked out the driver window and a truck had rolled right into the back of our trailer, however, there wasn't a driver in the truck that hit us. Jeff saw a driver running across the lot after his truck to get it to stop, but not in time. He forgot to set his parking brake and the truck rolled right into us. Needless to say, after 4 hours of highway patrol, safety officers from the other drivers company, we finally got on our way to drop our load in Souther CA. The trailer wasn't messed up enough to be pulled out of service, but as you can see from the pic above, his truck was jacked up. I believe he was fired from his job as well for having not set the parking break...bummer. Nice guy, but just made a big mistake. Makes you think how quick things can change.

Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia are just striking in the spring. The fields are starting to be plowed, so now we can see what all of these farmers are growing. Can't wait to get fresh produce directly off of people's farms, not to mention the refreshing drive of not hitting snow or ice on the road. These pics are from Modesto, CA where I have been waiting for this strawberry patch for at least 2 months now. Finally we pull in the terminal across the street and they are ripe and ready to purchase. I paid $5 for the juicy balls of deliciousness that you see above.....YUMMY!

We have met so many people that we would have never had the chance to meet in our previous jobs. People that just want to sit and talk about life and their experiences. Jeff is in hog heaven...cause we all know he can talk to anyone, about anything, for any amount of time! There are some really nice people in this world and it has been an awesome experience to meet so many of them. There are still jerks that exist, but you learn very quickly who to talk to and who to just keep on walking and not have anything to do with.

We have now added MI to our list of states we haven't been to yet. Hoping we can get into Florida at some point, but haven't had the opportunity yet.

We did get the chance to go the biggest truck stop in the world in Iowa. It is on I-80 on the Iowa/Illinois border. It has 23 showers and 600 parking spaces. A movie theatre, 3 restaurants and had 3 semi trucks within the building displayed. It was crazy...but pretty cool!

Here is a great example of how the weather can change in just a few hours of going down the road. These three photos are in Utah within a 3 hour period...crazy! The middle photo is an actual salt blizzard off of The Lake.

As I said before, we are planning on having a BBQ this summer, probably in July or early August where we would love to have everybody come over and see our new remodel of the house and our beautiful backyard, as well as catch up on our new career. I will let everyone know when we are thinking ahead of time, so we can see everyone and catch up on what everybody else is doing. Until then, hope spring happens soon!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

So we finally get time to come home and we get a 60 degree day and then we get a blizzard...nothing has changed! It was nice to be home, but we didn't take any time to see many people. We mostly slept, loved our dogs and enjoyed our family. Next home time visit, this summer sometime, we will have a BBQ at the house, and have everyone over and share our stories and see all of our friends and catch up.

We have been in pretty much every state so far. Weleave for Michigan this evening, so we can add that one to the list.

I don't have time to go into detail right now, but I will share these photos with you and hope you enjoy them. Thanks for visiting our site and I will try to be better about updating...really, I promise!

Finally got to drive in Colorado over the I-70. It was beautiful and nice to see the pass from up high in the truck.