Change is Coming

We have made a big change in our career and decided to leave Watkins Shepard. They have been good to us and we have learned a lot from them. It is time for us to spread our wings and fly....so we are starting our new job tomorrow, July 3. This company has a terminal in Denver, it is called Diversified Transfer and Storage. We will be home for a 34 hr. reset EVERY week and we will have every 5th week off. We have been training all this week and are looking forward to getting back in a truck and back on the road. This is very different than what we did at Watkins and are looking forward to all of the new challenges!

We will be running a reefer unit (refrigerated unit). We will also be hauling LTL freight, which means less than a truckload. So basically, we will head out on our run, get to a location, have about 6 or 7 drops then drive a bit again, then deliver like crazy the next day, then start heading back to Denver by Saturday with pickups along the way so they can be redistributed to other drivers and cities from Denver. Our first run is to Atlanta, GA and it ends in Winston Salem, NC. From there we will get our pickups and start heading back to Denver. Should be an interesting week!

I will update more on the new job....I Promise! We have now updated our phones to Droid status. I can now update my blog from my phone, yaaay! I miss the iphone for some functions, but have been pleasantly surprised with my Droid. Stay tuned....a new adventure has just begun...AGAIN!

Better Late Than Never

Okay, okay...I know. I pretty much suck at blogging this year. I'm not even sure where to start to catch you up. I would say one of the biggest updates is our new dog, London. We found him in London, KY at a weigh station 4 months ago. It was pouring rain and the scale master said he had been trying to catch the dog for about 4 days and he wouldn't come to anybody...but as soon as Jeff appeared out of the restroom he walked right up to him and let him pet him. Well needless to say, we have a doggie now. He was in pretty bad shape...ticks, fleas and icky worms. All good qualitiesyou look for when sharing a 57 square foot living quarters with two other bodies and are scheduled from Conover, NC to Lakewood, WA in 2 days. Long storyshort.Wemade it toWA, took him to the vet...which they enjoyed picking ticks off of him...true story, it was a bit disturbing. He is now a clean bill of health and becoming quite a little fireball. A quiet dog at first has come out of his shell and become a great truck dog and companion to both of us. He is very silly and keeps both of us company when theother is sleeping, plus just having a furry one by our side again has been something I don't think I realized how much we both needed!

We took some time off in January and visited Savannah, GA. What a beautiful city The Riverwalk was was quaint and the city has so much history. We rented a car and drove up to Hilton Head, SC and also visited the local hangout of many Georgia folk, Tybee Island. Both were very pretty. Hilton Head, much more golf oriented and four star hotel type accomodations vs. Tybee Island, very quaint homes and smaller hotels along the the shores.

This one is definitely on the list for places to come back to. There are many things to do and the south is known for their awesome food. We didn't get the chance to go to Paula Deane's restaurant, which is something that would be fun to do next time.

We did meet this guy on Hilton Head beach that had the biggest Great Dane I had ever seen before...all jet black. He was awesome!

His name was Brutis and we met his dad Lenny. After standing there talking on the beach Lenny told us if we were ever back on the Island to give him a call and we would stay with him and his wife. How awesome is that? We have kept in touch via FB and who knows when we might be back! All in all I caught some great pics, had some of the best butter pecan pralines ever, and enjoyed some downtime out of the truck, met some great folks and enjoyed some quality time with my husband.

Happy New Year

Well this year has gone so fast, I can't believe it is almost over. It has been a year of learning so many new things, meeting new people and an entirely different way of life. Its hard to believe where we were a year ago. We still are loving what we are doing, however winter isn't as much fun as the summer months, but all in all we have seen more of this country than we would ever have the opportunity to see in our lifetime. Here is to next year...looking forward to sharing new stories and pics from abroad. We hope that everybody had a great Christmas and hope the New Year brings us all a bright and prosperus 2011.

Look at The Star

Jeff was featured on the front page of The Trucker newspaper last month. They had a blurb on the front page and then a half page article in the paper itself. He was interviewed by a reporter in Little Rock, AR and the article appeared about a month later. We have a copy at home, but haven't been able to find a copy out on the road before they went out of print.

As you can imagine, whenever we pull into a terminal and a bunch of drivers are sitting around, Jeff gets harassed all the time for being a star. I was in the truck sleeping during the entire interview. Maybe when I get back home, I can get a better pic of the front page and article to I can share.

Made it to NY

Well, for he first time we have been sent to NY. As we sat on the George Washington bridge for 3 hours at 2:30 in the morning in a line oftraffic...we wondered if we were really missing anything by not beingsent to NY. But then it just got better from there.

We found our delivery and parked for the evening. Finding a parking spot in NY isn't easy for a car let alone a 73 foot vehicle. Jeff backed the trailor probably 1/2 a mile in-between an abandoned looking warehouse and the subway. We were both so tired that sleeping wasn't a difficult task. We off-loaded the next morning around 9:30 and headed toward

Plainsview on Long Island. Through the Bronx, and over the Long Island Expressway bridge. Picked up from the customer and headed on out of the City. It is exhausting driving in NY because there is absolutely nowhere to park or even stop for a minute, so you are constantly on duty. By the time we got back over the bridge and into NJ it was time to just stop and take a breather. It is amazing how 24 hours can happen in about what seems like 6 hours.

Leaving NY heading towards the Long Island Bridge.

Driving through the Bronx.

George Washington Bridge Toll

Crossing over to Long Island

Winter has arrived

We have been traveling up northeast lately and had to deal with Old Man Winter. Our run to Spokane from Dalton was great on miles, but sure was crappy weather for the second half of the trip. From South Dakota all the way through Wyoming and then all the way through Montana, nothing but blizzard and cold cold below zero weather. Pretty to look at, but it sure takes a longer time to drive through.

Once we ran to Spokane we went from Lewiston, ID

with a paper load to North Las Vegas on Thanksgiving weekend. Before we made it to Vegas we already had a load picking up in LA with a stop in Myrtle MS then to Conover, NC and then NY.

Food and Friends

When in Dalton, GA you must make an effort to Pollo Allegre. We found this place on accident and what a great accident to have. We were looking for mexican food and just looked on our phone and chose this place and drove there. If you look at the pic you can see a screened in building on the left. As we approached the steps to the restaurant all we could smell was BBQ'd meat...yum! We walked in and sat down, no menu. Most of the people inside were hispanic...always a good sign that the food is good at a mexican food place. The waitress walks up to our table and says, "half or a whole?" Both Jeff and I looked at each other and weren't quite sure what she meant. So I explained that we had never been there before. This restaurant serves chicken...half or a whole, brought to your table directly off of the grill. We opted for the whole chicken. It was served with a side of refried beans and rice as well as homemade corn or flour tortillas. There was a fresh salsa bar with at least 6 different kinds of concoctions...we of course tried each one. I'm telling you what, this was the best grilled chicken I have ever had. No BBQ sauce or no spice overpowering the meat, just yummy grilled chicken. We walked out of there for $20 with one of the best meals we have had in a long time. Now when we go to Dalton, we have to get there before 8 pm....otherwise, no chicken!

When passing through AZ we had a chance to stop and our friends Devon and Rhonda. Devon went through the 10-day training program with us at Watkins as a solo driver, but we had the chance to meet his wife as well down in Santa Fe Springs. It was nice to catch up with them and have a meal and great conversation. Devon used to have his own pool cleaning business in LA, which he was very successful at, but decided he wanted to learn how to drive a truck. Rhonda will be on the road with him soon, once they get their youngest (14) raised and on his own.

Okay, so this isn't a meal, but this is the best thing about going to Spokane, WA that I have found so far! This is like a big hostess cupcake, filled with the white cream and all, but it is a Krispy Kreme....cannot recommend this one enough. I haven't ever seen this one in Denver, but if you can find it, buy one...YUMMY.