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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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Trip 33 - Used Freightliner - Refer ... to Niagra Falls, NY Trip 33b - New - Class B Motorhome ... from Kitchener, ON Only two runs available for Wednesday, one is a used refer to NY ... the other is one of three chassis to AB. I've driven one of the chassis for about 300 miles, 1,200 miles is out of the question. But they won't send out the NY until they hear back about a return trip out of ON ... they've told the customer they need to know before noon Wednesday ... 2/11/04 - Dispatch has no answer at 8 or 9 AM and I'm busy doing other things so I'm not really ready to run anyhow ... Finally at 9:30 I'm cleared to go ... I have to make this drop by 5:30 tomorrow, and then catch an 8 AM bus the next day ... shouldn't be a problem, but I do need to be moving by noon to make it ... earlier, if anything goes wrong. By the time I'm finally get to the office, get my paperwork and get fueled two hours have gone by and now I only have a half hour to spare over the next two days. My first Freightliner, but other than having a 75 gallon tank it's the same as any other truck. Before I left I had time to do a little checking on my trip, it's only 88 miles between my drop and pickup ... but it is going to cost me 24 hours, 8 of that on the bus, but I didn't find a better route ... can't do the rental car route, can't drop American cars in Canada so it's the bus. ... soon I find out the bad news ... my travel agent (my wife) was trying to find a better route and found that the bus depot is not open when my bus leaves Friday morning, so I need to get my ticket the night before ... which means getting to Niagara Falls an hour plus earlier than planned ... and I only had a half hour to spare ... more creative logging to come. I didn't have any excitement today, but someone must have ... at the rest area just south of Madison an Overbye semi pulls out as I go past, I had to change lanes to let him in ... so I remember the rig ... about 15 minutes later I have to pull over to the third lane to pass to semi's ... the one in the center is slowing down and as I past I notice it's the Overbye rig again ... with a completely shattered front window ??? Did something fall from an overpass? or another truck kick up something? or did a semi loose a chunk of ice? ... don't know. The only other memorable vehicle was a mini-van with just a driver ... stashed with junk and / or garbage ... at least the passenger seat was garbage ... empty fast food bags and cups as high as the dash ... My first stop for the day is seven hours later, finally have to stop for fuel at one of my least favorite places ... Flying J, Gary, IN ... OK, I don't have to stop at the Flying J, but I am almost out of fuel and hadn't wanted to stop in Chicago, this is usually the lowest price in the state ... If I'm lucky this will be my only fuel stop, I think I'm about half way ...they truck was on empty this AM so I had to fuel before I left town, no choice on that one. Had hoped to stop in Montelair, IN ... we've stayed at the Ramada there before for under $50, hoping it will be cheaper single. No such luck, the gal on tonight insists that price is only for semi's, NO exceptions and I'm not about to pay $70 ... $50 is my top end, but this place has a place to eat without having to move my truck so I was taking that into account. FINE, I'll stay at the Econo Lodge across the street ... wrong ... $50 ... "Sorry" I tell the lady, "That's too much for an Econo Lodge." and left. I wasn't out of hours, but didn't feel like running all night until I heard the price ... now this cost me at least 15 minutes of my half hour leeway ... ouch. Next stop is Toledo ... logged it as 620 miles under the old 10 hour day, so not a problem with the new rules, just wanted to stop early and run more daylight hours ... We've stayed at the Knights Inn before for $39 double, and the Howard Johnson has signs for $29, but I decide to try the Ramada, just a gluten for punishment tonight I guess ... now that the weather is colder I have been trying to avoid the smaller motel's ... the rooms and the water never seem to get warm ... part of the reason for checking the Ramada was that it is right next to the Flying J and I could walk over for meal(s) ... "CDL rate is $50" ... again "Sorry" ... every $10 I save is mine ... last time we stayed at this Knights Inn it was COLD so I go for the Howard Johnson ... the price is good and they have a restaurant and lounge ... restaurant closed hours ago ... it's now past midnight ... but I haven't eaten since breakfast so I know I gotta eat, the closest thing open is the Petro / Iron Skillet ... food was good and now for some shut eye ... and figure out how to gain a couple hours so I can get my bus ticket. 2/12/04 - It's too early for me to eat breakfast again ... I just do my paperwork and head out. Another uneventful day, which isn't a bad thing ... decide to follow the computers route around Cleveland this time, in the past I've had class B trucks and have gone through downtown on I-90 but with this rig I'm wondering if I may have a clearance problem ... there has to be some reason the computer routes us that way ... it's not the shortest route. That's when I realize a couple things ... first, my paperwork says my truck number is 12-4, thought this was a strange number for a truck ... now I realize it's the truck height, guess who ever did the paperwork didn't realize that ... second, there is a place by Buffalo where clearance will be 12-6 ... that should keep me awake ... Just following I-90 through Cleveland was easier ... I miss one of my turns and take a shot in the dark at an alternate route ... luckily it only cost me seconds and some frustration. Buffalo would be another story ... The computer routed me off I-90 onto the city streets for a couple of miles before I got to I-190 in Buffalo ... I haven't been this way before so I don't take any chances, I follow the computer ... it MAY have save a half a mile ... and cost me 15 or 30 minutes ... stoplights for six miles ... and for what? I don't know. Oh I did find a little perk when I hit NY ... this was a used truck and when I pulled up to the toll booth the lady looked at me and said "You're good to go." ??? Ahhh, that's right, I did see the EZ-Pass sticker in the window ... a few more cents saved. My first plan when I found out about having to get my ticket tonight before they closed was to pickup my ticket before I dropped the truck ... and if I was running late, I would have to stop somewhere earlier, Buffalo was open 24/7 so not a problem ... but once I found out where the bus depot was supposed to be ... 'downtown' ... I wasn't sure I wanted to try and park the truck there, and now it looked like I would have about an hour and a half to catch a cab ... no problem ... wrong. The map dispatch gave me of the drop showed I-190 ... always a big help when it shows a major highway ... it also showed the exit number ... 21 ... it's the first exit after the bridge ... THE bridge, not A bridge ... somehow I exit after coming across A bridge ... I can see a 'river road' ... but the street signs don't match ... I have no answer to why I didn't stop, but that part of my brain doesn't always kick in ... I keep driving the direction I should be going ... '5 ton weight limit' ... so I turn ... still not a single street sign that matches ... I keep driving ... and driving ... I have gone at least twice as far as I should have ... now there is a '5 ton weight limit' in all directions ... (aren't those signs only for spring??) ... finally I get to bridge going into a park ... NOW would be a good time to stop ... I get turned around and stop a couple who had just been hiking in the park and ... yes ... ask directions. "Sorry, we've only lived here a couple of weeks ..." but they do have a Avis map in there car and I realize where I am ... shhhhh ... They tell me how to get back to the highway ... I must not have listened too well, because they soon stop and tell me I've missed my turn ... then give me new directions ... and have to point right when when they see my left turn signal on ... finally ... but this has cost me the better part of an hour. Now I need to drop and call the cab ... ASAP ... once I get in the right area, finding the drop is no problem ... I do find the right door ... and in a couple of minutes a guy comes out and says "You need to take it down the street to our service center..." Aaaahhhh ... but the customer is always right ... I find the new drop a couple of blocks away and find my contact ... he says I'm early ... I am earlier than planned, I was going to get there at close ... "Yes, but had to push it ... and now I've only got about a half hour to get to the bus depot." ... quiet guy, doesn't say anymore, just walks to another part of the shop and asks if the second guy knows where the bus depot is ... he does, because it's just been on the news ... change of location, change of hours, local's aren't happy ... without really asking if I wanted one, they are going to give me a ride "THANK YOU, thank you, THANK YOU." I get the paperwork signed, they say I can leave the truck in the middle of the lot running ... they will take care of it ... I should have been more ready to bail out of the truck, not everything was in my bag ... At one point I had thought of walking to the depot ... could have been done if time allowed. Turns out the 'bus depot' is now a four foot counter in an enclosed walkway used as a bus shelter ... they guy at the counter asks if I want to take a city bus to Buffalo and then catch the Greyhound out of there ??? No, I decide to stay here, motels may be cheaper and more that I'd like to see. $39 is what my day of fun will cost me tomorrow ... should have asked to see if anyone would have drove me there for $50 ... 88 miles each way, that would be $10, gas paid ... woulda' coulda' shoulda' ... I do ask about motels and food ... the guy does suggest the Ramada at $29 ... but by the time he's done with my ticket he has talked to his friend that works there .... "No, the price is now $50." ... this I expected ... this is a tourist town and my wife had done some checking ... this suggestion for food was the casino buffet for $18. Sounds like this town couldn't bring enough business in to keep their convention center busy, so they turned it into a casino ...still were ... I could see the old walkways in the ceiling. There were about a dozen motels within walking distance, none were going to be cheep ... the first one I get to was the Holiday Inn ... they were remodeling ... the front desk ... was a single office desk ... but no breaks on the price $70 ... I walked across the street to the Econo Lodge ... $50 ... I took it, this is a tourist town after all. This is another trip where I am glad to only carry one bag, a backpack. I walk into my room ... had to be 100 degree's ... I shut the heat off and left ... it was still only 4 PM and light outside. The motel was only a block from Niagra State Park ... this was a trip we were supposed to take a couple of years ago as a family, never happened ... now here I was alone in the dead of winter, not exactly the same. Strange how, in most cases, if there are a lot of people ... strangers ... no one says a word to each other ... but here today there are less than a half dozen, and only one couple doesn't stop and say something to me ... we all share the same feelings ... it's great that there are no crowd's, but nothing is open, can't even get a good look at the falls ... we are a way above them and between the angle and the fog / steam, there's little to be seen ... sure does not look as I expected, I guess the picture's I remember must have all been take from a boat or plane. Best place to see the falls from the ground would be the Canadian side ... lot's of motels with a perfect view ... my guess is they cost a little over $50 even in the off season. I pretty much walk on every cleared path in the park area and end up by the bridge to Canada ... thought about walking across but be the time I realized where I was, I was already past the walkway ... probably just as well ... by now everything seemed to be closed, the Aquarium, the Air museum ... the old down town didn't look that interesting so / and I headed to the casino. Time to eat, in my hurry to get here today, I had only eaten a PopTart on the run and that was over 10 hours ago ... Think the buffet was only $16, no line ... food was OK, but I would have done just as well at one of the motels advertising buffet's for $10 - $12. Back at the motel it is only 6 PM ... I have walked the park and ate in under two hours ... cheep motel's ... if I want the phone turned on, it's another $10, without the phone turned on I can't get a wake up call ... AND ... I've let my phone go dead again, same as last week in Williston ... a full day without a way to charge my phone and it's almost dead ... the room has now cooled ... maybe ... can't open the windows ... hold the door open for a while but can't tell that's helping ... turn the bathroom fan on to maybe suck some hot air out ... one hot and steamy night ... at home in the summer time it has to stay in the high 70's overnight for me not to use blankets ... tonight I finally pulled a sheet over me some time around five in the morning. Williston, ND ... was on the national news today ... seems the Amtrak couldn't get through the snow drifts between Williston and Minot and had to back up to Williston for the night ... guess I shouldn't complain too much about getting out a couple hours late ... at least I got out ... One good thing here that I'd like to see everywhere ... an alarm clock with red numbers three inches tall ... sure beats trying to look at those little grey numbers on my cell phone when I'm not sure if I need to wake up or not. |