Thursday, February 26, 2009

"I Feel Good" Da da da da da da da



Hi all, its amazing what a good shower, a nice meal and news that you might be getting a change of scenery can do to lift your spirits. But more on that later.
I left you hanging about the weather in the last post as I made my way to Waterloo. When I woke at 3am (slept in) a good few inches had fallen through the night so after cleaning off the lights and the rest of the stuff I set off and made really good time as I had no cars panicking in front of me and rolled into Waterloo at 9.30, dropped the trailer then picked up an empty and headed back to the truckstop 5mins away to have some breakfast.
A message was waiting when I got back and I had a reload about 4hrs away just west of Chicago. It all was a breeze at the reload destination as the trailer was already loaded so I dropped mine and picked up the new one. The company even faxed the paperwork to the Customs brokers which was a godsend and then I was on my way.
I now had a bit of a dilemma as I was running low on hours but could still easily make the delivery to Brampton Ontario where I would need to have a break or do it in Illinios, decision was made and I had a reset in La Salle Illinios...36hrs off.
Had my break, dropped the trailer in Mississauga Ontario and picked up yet another loaded trailer bound for Calgary......I like this picking up and dropping off loaded trailers !!!
So that brings me to today which is Thursday. Happily trundling along the Trans Canada I got a message saying that I had to drop the trailer I had at Winnipeg Manitoba and load in the morning for....wait for it.... Virginia..... whoo hoo !
I really cant remember the last time I added a new state to my list so I hope fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong between now and tomorrow morning. As well as adding a new state its also the first time I have ever gone south from a province other than Alberta and British Columbia.
So yes I feel good, not that I didnt before just now I feel better.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Oh the joys...Waterloo...Again




Hi. Well is Waterloo Iowa bound again.
Time is extremely tight on this run as courtesy of the supplier I was a day late in clearing meat inspection at the border so as you have read before on countless occasions an easy trip is now a tough one. To top it all my hours are low and all in all that means I have to set off tonight at around 2am in a bid to makke ontime delivery for before 9 in the morning.
The weather was great the first part of the trip which was through Montana but things took a turn for the worst running through North Dakota and into Minnesota tonight. Plummeting temps and heavy snow didnt so much slow me down but they are an inconvenience and it all adds up in making you tired, especially with an early start tomorrow.
So, providing the weather stays good through the night I will be dropping this trailer at the customer and picking up an empty and as of yet I dont know what the reload is. Like I mentioned earlier I am running low on hours and need at least 24hrs off before I can return to Canada.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Empty...loaded...back to Calgary.

Sorry but no pictures this time even though I had a late Xmas and bought myself a new camera. As of yet I havn't managed to take a snap worthy of bragging about the new piece of equipment and its all down to my ignorance of basic photography skills...which in turn isn't a bad thing as I am both reading and learning something new.

Once again, as always the trip was spoilt by the customer, after being chased by despatch to get there early I ended up sitting for 5hrs and for the priviledge was paid a pittance. The thing that really annoys me is the little "Hitlers" that make you wait couldn't care less if they get the product or not as they are paid less than me. The life of a trucker eh ???/

The reload was superb, I have only been to the customer once before and just as it was then we have a few spare trailers there so when I arrived it was just a case of drop my empty...pick up the loaded one and then on my merry way...bliss.

Out of principle the best pizza makers in North America are Kraft.

Thats about all folks, I have had my moan so I feel better. Calgary is the next destination.

Oh, while I remember. After the recent cold weather the trucks have been allowed to idle (keep running) and therefore both myself and the truck could be kept warm through the night as the heating system is so pathetic it beggars belief. Ooops, did I say "keep myself warm" !! I was refused to have Piglet (my truck) allowed to idle and the reason was "the worst is over" !! It may be, but once again my night heater has given up, I am in North Dakota and its bloody freezing so although I know the lad who told me it couldnt be done wasnt the decision maker I hope he didnt tell his neighbours to plant there bulbs in the garden as spring was here !!!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Tom is at home so I'm all alone.

Some pics from the last 2 weeks





Hello everyone, well Tom flew on Tuesday night and by all accounts had a very pleasant trip so its back to living the semi-reclusive life as usual.
Before he went home Tom and I did a couple of trips across the rocks to Vancouver and then as he was on the plane I was preplanned to go to Dallas Texas which was promptly cancelled as suprise suprise I was given a trip back across the I-94 but this time to Butler wisconsin and not Waterloo !!
Parked up tonight at a place called Osseo which gives me just over 200 miles to run to the customer in the morning which is not too bad at all. Put in a big day today as after leaving Beach-North Dakota I tried to reach Black river Falls-Wisconsin but sadly after in excess of 1100km (680miles) I ran out of time after 11hrs drive and ended up 30 miles short.
So its an early-ish start in the morning and once at the delivery I will find out what the rest of the day holds.
Will keep you informed as today is over and its time for bed.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Catch up time.


Firstly I must apologise for the lack of posts, this was mainly due to me being lazy and finding other things to do with my time on a night.
In my last post I was in Utah and so I will carry on from there. Had a quick reload with car parts and ran up to Calgary where the trailer was dropped, then it was into High River for a load bound for Calexico California which worked out perfectly as it gave myself and Tom just enough time to do the trip and get him back for the flight home.



On the second night of the trip we managed a night in Las Vegas then left the following morning and arrived at the Customer at Calexico which is on the Mexican Border. Being as how it was Tom's last trip we decided to take a cab to the border and walk into Mexico (Mexicali) just so that he could say he had been. One of the first places we saw was a "titty bar" and after bribing the doorman with $5 (Tom is only 17) we went inside, sat at a booth and enjoyed the sights........what happened that night cannot be disclosed on the blog as its a family friendly site hahahah.




Unloaded the next morning which is a pain as it involves a lot of running backwards and forwards from the customer to the customs but eventually waved goodbye to Calexico and pointed the trucks stubby nose towards Port Huenneme which is just north of Los Angeles. Spent the night there, loaded bananas in the morning and come 7pm that night we were back in Las Vegas for a reset (36hrs off) Happy Days !!!!



Spent the night on The Strip with another H&R driver..Hi John... and had a relatively early night. Woke the next morning and then spent the full day wandering up and down The Strip which involved going to Madamme Tussauds which is where the pics of Tom with the ladies are taken...how many of you thought they were from the titty bar ?



Watched a variety show at Planet Hollywood in the V Theatre which is a family show and would recommend to anyone visiting Las Vegas as its cheap and very entertaining.

Since Tom has been here he has become somewhat of a "Burger Connoisseur" and his former favourite which was "Wendy's" was knocked into second place by a visit to "Fat Burger" which was found on The Strip and scored a massive 10/10 with a comment of "awesome"



Anyway, left Vegas behind on the 31st and ran north as Toms flight was leaving on the 2nd Feb and he needed to be in Calgary for about 4pm. For some unknown reason we had to drop the trailer in Lethbridge so on the morning of the 2nd I rang despatch and was told there was no loads going to Calgary so I might have to make alternative arrangements to get Tom to the airport...panic stations !!!
All of the above didnt matter as the UK was hit by a few inches of snow and all airports were closed and therefore his flight was cancelled. I had been looking forward to him leaving for weeks and now it wasn't going to happen....thats a joke !!
His mam..Hi Amanda..did a great job of sorting out another flight and unless anything else happens he has managed to wangle another week out here and he goes home next Tuesday.

So, have just ran to Delta BC and on our way back to Calgary.

Thats about it then, all up to date.

Speak soon.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Its been a while....

Hi all, sorry for the lack of posts but I promise there is one coming very soon.