Virginia and back.

Hi, really enjoyed the Virginia trip as I had only been down there once before. The weather was great and hit 28c the day I unloaded. Was in and out of the factory and on my way for a reload which was from a place called Smithfield...not far from Virginia Beach. That too was a breeze and was in and out in no time and heading back North.
Ran around Washington DC at about 9pm and the place was heaving with traffic, there is some major roadworks going on but things were moving well.
Arrived back in Brampton Ontario the following evening and dropped the trailer in the yard then went to bed.
Next load was across to Saskatoon Sasketchewan so I had 3 days of hard driving on what for a good portion is third world countries roads. 1850 miles later I am here with the trailer dropped and catching up on a few hours before I turn back around and head back down the same road.

There have been some changes while I have been back home. Two of the truckstop giants have merged which for a lot of reasons is a good thing however there is bad as well. You have heard me harp on about the Flying J buffet.....well that is no more. The food side has been taken over by a nationwide diner called Dennys which has a restaurant under the Sandman Hotel in Lethbridge. Long gone are the fresh vegetables with which you could fill up on and they are replaced by mass produced food items such as burgers, grilled sandwiches and of course...fries.
When I was taken ill I was warned about the amount of salt I should be eating and the effect it can have on your heart. The following are extracts from the LA Times and backs up the reasons I enjoyed eating at a buffet so much. the second quote is in regard to a "meat lovers Scramble":


July 24, 2009|Jerry Hirsch

Doctors recommend against eating more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. Order a Denny's double cheeseburger and you'll consume 3,880 milligrams in one sitting, almost double the suggested daily allowance of salt.

But maybe the people ordering it -- including older people, African Americans, people with high blood pressure and those at higher risk of it -- should know that the Denny's breakfast confection has almost four times the recommended limit of sodium -- 5,690 milligrams of the stuff, and that several other entrees served at Denny's have sodium content almost as high. Eating meals like that is not going to be good for your blood pressure, and high blood pressure will put you at greater risk of heart attacks and stroke.


My answer to the above is to pretty much boycott both Flying J and Pilot in favour of Petro and Travel centres America, who both still serve a good reasonably priced buffet. While I am on the subject of food have the prices in truckstops in Canada risen considerably while I was back in the UK? I ate in one the other day in N.Ontario and was shocked, remember I was in a truckstop; I ordered a Beef Dip Sandwich and fries. I was served (by a woman who to be honest needed a good wash and change of clothes) with a dry 6" bread roll which contained I shit you not, 2 slices of beef about the same size and thickness of a dollar bill, a piece of that pretend cheese and a bit of onion which resembled an old mans toe nail. The fries were the offcuts of the potatoes and the 'dip' was a cup of probably something like Bovril. I had a coffee with this fine meal (no refill offered) and was given a bill for just short of $15 (a tenner in English). Needless to say that Husky truckstops are going to be avoided as much as possible as well.
So, the slow cooker has been getting a good workout and I have been eating rather well, all at a very reasonable cost.

Well I am going to watch some TV, the BBC no less. Thanks to being given a website I can now watch the BBC iplayer so I can catch up on stuff I am missing.

Photos to come soon....probably tomorrow.