Jan 24, 2010

      new mexico

      we got a load to albuquerque new mexico.  that is a nice town.  boy it smells good there. (wish i could eat it)

      its a light load, only 8,000 pounds. we are carry potato chips. so at least we wont starve if something happens.  right on the bill of lading it says, stay on route provided. do not go over 6000 ft elevation. , then okay. that means a southern route. (we are picking up in washington) but no...swift sends us east , then south, then east, and a little. we go through, oregon, idaho, utah, colorado, arizona, finally ending up in new mexico.

      snow everywhere.  we reached elevations of 7600ft. some of the roads we bearly plowed wide enough for one vehicle, let alone a semi.  will mentioned to our dm about the route and she said sorry.  (but not like she meant it) the snow and ice and freezing fog made traveling very, very slow. but of course we made it.  i have a few new pictures i need to upload as soon as i have a steady internet connection. (i type this off line then cut and paste it, that only takes a minute or so of internet.),

      our next load is a load of tire going to fremont, ca.  might we be getting back on the fedex run..... who knows.

      i thought the route was going to take us on route 66, but will corrected me and told me its route 58. so again, there is no picture of us standing on a corner in winslow ariazona. bummer.

      we changed drivers in bakersfield. got to see a couple of truck stop hookers. i was upstairs reading (dies the fire) and will was in the drivers seat reading a map. i watched them walk by and they looked and smiled at will but they kept walking.  then i saw the driver of a flat bed truck get out, looking for the hookers i think. will wanted to walk across the street to jack in the box, but he was afraid to leave me there alone, and afraid to leave the truck unattended. so we decided it was time to cruise on.

      i love and miss you all

back up in redding california

      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

getting paid to haul an empty trailer

Jan 11, 2010

    Paid to haul an empty trailer

      will has been driving a truck for 27 plus years.  in that time he has seen  trucking company's do very odd things.  he thought the oddest load was hauling 6 mattresses' from reno to portland. until yesterday that is....

      we arrived at sea-tac fedex for our load going to okland. we talked to the dock manager and he told us where to wait.  it was getting close to our 4 pm pickup time when he came over to us and said there was no freight to put in the trailer. we asked him if this was a new run or was freight late or something and he said no, in fact there are 2 trailers scheduled to go to okland.  so we called our dispatch, asked what to do. they told us to run the load.  take the empty trailer from seattle to okland. even the gate guards were shaking their heads when we left.  the guards joked that they would have to seal the load, dont want any of this good seattle air escaping before it gets to okland.

      so now will says he has seen everything.  as we were leaving the other swift driver showed up, guess we will be seeing his empty trailer in okland too.

      we showed up at fedex okland  airport and everyone there was confused about why we were trying to deliver an empty trailer. the first guard said we were at the wrong gate because we had an empty trailer ok. so we back up and go to the next gate. and that guard kept telling me where to leave the empty trailer.. we told him we need to treat this delivery as if it were loaded.  so where do the loaded trailers go, and who signs the loaded trailer delivery sheets.  'the empty trailers go over there.' finally our dispatcher said ok. and will was calling fedex to ask them, and the lady on the phone had it all together, she said she would put it in the computer that we delivered on time.

      good grief.........cant say that i blame them about being confused. but most of the people we talked to spoke english, so after explaining the situation over and over again, we were getting frustrated why we weren't getting the answer we needed. i guess from everyones response the other swift driver with the other empty trailer had not arrived yet.

      anyway. thats done. now we are sitting here at the brooks ranch restaurant in fresno we will wait here until 2am when we will go to fedex and wait there until our load is ready. mondays is soup and salad bar at brooks ranch. navy bean and minestrone. ummm good.

      love and miss you all,

      leslie

seatac airport

     Jan 10, 2010

      sea-tac

      our next load is a fedex. pick up at sea-tac airport deliver in oakland. (and of course the fresno load planner is on top of things, she has already sent us a reload in fresno to spokane.)

      after getting caught up on laundry, we arrived 5 hours early hoping the load would be ready early but it wasnt so we had to hang out.  the fedex terminal isnt really where the people terminal is but  isnt that far to walk. so walk we did. it took about 30 -45  minutes to walk there.   

funny things about airports. they  are not  designed for customers who arrive without a car. we had to walk on the side of the road and on the grass.  while walking we saw the regular type of garbage thrown out on the car window. we did see a happy birthday balloon. all deflated and tangled up in a tree.  i also found a pass port. i know! it was all wet, looked like it had been there at least a day or two. it was a female, born in washington state. (cant remember her name) so i picked it up.  will told me not to. what was i going to do with it. turn it in to someone at the airport.

      so we finally arrive at the airport.  will is certain we will be held in tsa security for hours of questioning.  i ask a baggage handler where  security was, and he points me to the man wearing a blue shirt.  well the man wearing the blue shirt was busy, but the lady wearing the blue shirt wasnt.  i held out the passport and told her we found this on the ground and she said ok, thanks. and we went our separate ways. 

we decide to eat something at the airport since really there wasnt any place else to eat anyway.  

 we can afford starbucks normally but to add airport prices gee whiz

$18.99 at the sea-tac airport buys 2 sandwiches and 1 soda. a little high but not as bad as we were thinking. we went to the rest rooms before walking back. and i realized i lost my lipstick. darn it. that was mary kay too.

      walking back meant walking into traffic. but as we rounded a corner, i found my lipstick. yea.  so taking inventory of our walk, we found a birthday balloon, a passport , and my lipstick. If only i had a candlestick , im sure i would have been found guilty of killing mrs. peacock in the library.

      now we are back at the truck. just waiting for our pick up time.  looks like im going to have to drive until 10pm. tonight. unless i want to drive into okland tomorrow.  10pm it is.  we need to figure out the timing for these trip and see how many we could possible get a week.

      im done reading the books i took. ann rule. (true crime). have a little faith, that was a quick read, very good. the monster of florance. another true crime story in florance italy. the judge is the same one that sat through the knox trail that just happened in italy. very interesting  how italian justice works--or doesnt work rather. so i need another book.   we are done with the sons of anarchy. season 1. and started watching 6feet under.  i cant wait to get home i have a cross stitch project i can bring with me.

      gotta take a nap.

      love and miss you all.

happy new year

 Jan 3, 2010

      happy new year

      this new year has me reflecting on some of the events from the past year.

      i am always thankful for family and friends. without them none of this would be possible. they take care of things at home so we can be away working. they keep me up to date on all the happenings. and they give me more moral and spiritual support than i ever imagined i would need. i am truly blessed, i just need to remind myself of that fact more often.

      since i started truck driving i have a new list of things i am thankful for.....

      small knitting projects, cross stitch, good books, tetris on my phone, colgate wisp mini disposable tooth brushes, the increasingly rare vanilla diet  pepsi,(i take this for granted in oregon)  a hot shower that last longer than 3 minutes, hand sanitizer, honey crisp apples, peanut butter & ritz crackers, single serving size jello & fruit.  slow cooker liners,  a good map program, someone that can drive at night and back up.

      love and miss you all,