Jan 22, 2010
california weather and no loads
well its friday, wish i could say tgif. this is only our second load of the week. (no $$)
it started ok. we picked up paper rolls in springfield, after our 2 days at home. drove down to fresno where this load was tcalled so we could pick up fedex wed. at 4am. ok so we didnt like having to sit all day tuesday but, what are you gonn'a do about it, right. wednesday we go to pickup our fedex. get there at 2:00 am, the load is ready at 4, they give us the paper work. while will is hooking up to the trailer im calling the haz-mat hotline to report we will be carrying hazmat, (extra $$). then before im done with hazmat, fedex comes up to us and tells us the load was cancelled. so after some frantic phone calls and messages to who-ever-cares-on the qualcomm. it was confirmed the load was cancelled.
sorry. contact you dm for a new dispatch.
i said last time a load was cancelled from seatac to okland we were told to run the empty trailer. we were told not this time. so we waited. our dm comes in at 6am. no load. 7am no load. 8 am ah yes a load. (4 hours after our load was canceled) this load was to be picked up in antioch ca and going to toppenish, wa. it is sheets of tin for making cans. this load was for trader joes. so next time you buy something in a can there thing of us.
the weather was just awful in california. and with the side ways rain and wind by the time we got to the shipper in antioch, our dry trailer was rejected because it was filled with water. some patch work they had done to fix some holes failed. but to be honest it was raining so hard its not really swifts fault on this one.so we had to go towards travis airforce base and get another trailer at the Clorox plant. this time the rain was more normal and the trailer stayed dry and we were loaded. we were loaded at 5pm in the bay area!! just another good omen for this trip.
we were able to drive from antioch to redding before the weather shut us down for the night.
we hit the road again at 5:45 am. got on the freeway and stopped.
i drove a total of 3.2 miles before we had to stop.
there were two lanes of trucks. also the on ramps were full of trucks. the school buses couldnt get the kids to school because they couldnt get on the freeway. the residents of redding couldnt get to work because of the back up. the back up went from dunsmire to anderson.
news stations said the back up was 25 miles !!
we sat there for about 4 hours before moving--YES ok buckle up here we go---- nope here we stop 1000 feet north of where we just were.
take off the seat belt, pick up my book ( the stupidest angel by christopher moore funny, funny, funny) if you need a laugh and like a slightly twisted humor this is for you. a christmas story, without all the christmas stuff. fruit bats, zombies, sword swinging warriors, an accidental murder of santa. and a little boys wish that starts the whole thing rolling.
we inch along the freeway every so often, and now we are going down to 2 lanes. 'trucks in right lane' of course. so now the back up is unbelievable. one time someone from the south bound lane came on the cb and said, ' hey north bounders, dont worry, youll get through this. its ok..' this too shall pass.
another hour passes and we hear on the cb that they are opening the left lane to trucks and taking down the chain inspection and the chain requirements. ok, now we are rolling, clipping along at at speed usually reserved for mopeds. i must tell you it was quite a site seeing nothing but two lanes of trucks in front of you and two lanes behind. people were standing on the overpasses, taking pictures.
once we started rolling someone came on the cb and said 'ok guys, lets just keep the wheels turning, if everyone can keep their testosterone in check and nobody messes up we wont be stuck behind an accident.'
we get up this hill and the weather is clear. it must have been bad the night before, but the roads were fine now. as we were driving, nobody was sure why cal trans had chain check points, and chain requirements up.
so after thinking our load was going to be delivered late we made it to toppenish, wa with 3 hours to spare.
and here we sit.
we delivered last night at 9pm and as i write this it is now 9am, and no load........................12 hours. i dont believe it trucking is a 24/7 business except for swift. is an 8 to 5 business.
our diver manager keeps telling us that freight is down. we would get more miles if we drove all 48 states. no thanks. no new york or chicago. we will stay west of the mississippi. then she tells us the 11 western states doesnt have much freight for a team. i answered her back by telling her i was sure west of the mississippi had more than 11 states. she said if we didnt want to do all 48 then we would be staying on fedex. i just dont understand. the map of the the united states that swift has posted in the orientation room has several zones to choose when picking a route. i asked her, ' so swift only has freight for all 48 states or i5?' i asked that wednesday and still have not gotten an answer.
cant wait to see what happens next. what an interesting ride this has been.
love and miss you all
