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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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Trip 72 - New Sterling - Garbage
Truck ... to Phoenix, AZ Friday - There was supposed to be a week long run to TX for Monday, I had until Monday to let them know if I wanted it. Monday - TX run disappeared, move one truck 15 miles for $15. Should be Phoenix run on Tuesday. Tuesday - Phoenix run, truck will not be ready until noon ... until afternoon ... until late tonight ... until Wednesday noon ... ... I ask what else there is ... there is a round trip to Denver, totals 1,400 miles, no dead miles. ??? I turn it down ??? don't know why. But the driver I'm supposed to run with to Phoenix takes it, now they are trying to find another driver to run with me. New problem, we have no way to get to our trucks. There are no other drivers going that way ... there are not any rental cars available. Dispatch checked, I checked, I was trying to call the drop location to see if they could 'force' one through for us when dispatch finally found one ... 1/26/05 - 7 AM ... had hoped to have picked up the rental car last night and be picking up the other driver at 7 ... not so. We end up killing 2-1/2 hours before we are actually leaving town. I've done this run before and it will take us all of three days. I even had dispatch check about Saturday delivery before taking this run, knew we may not make it in three days. We had been told the trucks wouldn't be ready until 1 PM, we are at the customer a little before that and both trucks are ready. We shuttle the rental car to the airport, about 15 miles, that kills another hour. As I'm waiting to sign for my truck I can hear Paul Harvey on the radio, talking about Mount Saint Helens ... a new lava dome is forming. Hadn't heard that one, and I try to keep tabs on this ... having lived out west briefly and having just delivered a truck out there this month and so the mountain again. Also had visited the mountain about two years after it blew Now the fun stuff ... "Oh, yeah. You need to pick up a part that goes on the truck before you leave ..." When dispatch said it, it didn't register what they were up to, something I want nothing to do with. Hoping I'm wrong, we had called that customer on the way past to see if we could pick it up in the rental car and they the place where the truck was being picked up could put it on ... 'Nope.' It had happened once before with this customer where I did have to go and get work done on the truck before leaving town ... this time was a little different. When I get there I see what is going 'on' my truck ... a skid of freight. The shipping guy says "Don't think you really want to be showing this paperwork around ..." 'Don't want to know anything about it.' was my response. I need to do some checking, but with all the laws in this country about who can do what ... hauling freight as a transporter doesn't sound up to par. I'm going to be low on fuel by the time I get to Bethany, the other driver had already stopped there and gotten fuel for $1.91 so I knew today's price. But he has stopped at a Kum n Go, and I knew I couldn't get a 'truck receipt' there so I'd be eating the cost of hire priced fuel just to get a receipt. (not that I was running illegal or something. Truck receipts don't have a time stamp on them.). Pulled off just north of Bethany at Eagleville at a truck stop, fuel was $1.98 ... Ok, I'm not willing to pay that much for a receipt. Got back on the interstate and stopped at the Conoco / Unlimited Convenience truck stop in Bethany ... paid $1.92 or a penny per gallon more than across the street. Cost, fuel receipt, 53 cents. Had spent a bunch of time checking fuel prices Tuesday ... not working, needed something to do ... spent some time looking at the Prophesy FuelLogic System Report. Looked like a good idea, cost is $40 / month ... a little steep for one driver. Instead I looked up a few of the Flying J fuel prices as a guide. And here is some of what I found. $1.97 Tues - $2.03 Weds ... Williams, IA (WalMart 50 miles E was still $1.87) $1.89 Tues - $1.92 Weds ... Des Moines, IA $1.93 Tues - $1.98 Thurs ... Emporia, KS Which means the prices are only good for the time/day you run it ... so how much good would a report be? To me it would only be helpful if someone could run it an hour before I would need fuel. Or maybe three hours, personally don't like stopping for less than a half a tank of fuel. Bad news for the other driver, I'm getting paid for this little side trip and he's not ... but if we are going to run together he can't get to far ahead of me. He doesn't, I go three plus hours out of route and he only gets an hour and a half ahead of me. He has stopped for the night in Lenexa, KS at a Days Inn ... easy to find, truck parking ... not sure why, but there was a squad car parked by his truck when I got there. He said there had been a couple of them there earlier, didn't notice any trouble. 1/27/05 - Motel breakfast (juice and a donut) at 7, rolling at 7:30 ... 10 hours off. He wanted me to lead, so I asked how if he drove 50 or 55 ... "You were driving 65 yesterday, weren't you?" he asked me. Nope ... he thought I was kidding ... he always runs as fast as the truck will go or the speed limit plus. I told him we didn't have to stay together, we both have cell phones and shouldn't get more than an hour apart, but he wanted to stick together ... so I led on, at 50 mph. We had gotten further than I had expected, but not as far as I had wanted ... would have liked to run another hour last night, we didn't run our full 11 hours. That would have gotten us within two days of Phoenix. Oh well, we can still make it if we knock off 600 miles each of the next two days. The other driver is retired and really doesn't care when we get there, I ... would like to be home for a full weekend. Ah ... the advantages of running alone, I like to run at 50 mph, only stop if I need fuel and only spend 10 minutes or less at a fuel stop. Most drivers like to push the speed, take stop every couple of hours and spend extended amounts of time at the fuel stops ... which is why if we'd run separately, we'd never get more than an hour apart. First fuel stop together was at the Flying J in Emporia, KS ... he wanted me to lead, so I did. But forgot to tell him I wasn't following the dispatch route. Computer routes us down the I-35 toll to Witchita and then west on US 54 ... the last few trips I/we have been getting off I-35 before the toll and taking US 50 to Hutchison and then dropping south to Pratt. Saves the <> $6 toll and about 6 miles, and avoids the endless road construction on US 54 in Witchita. Anyhow, the other driver told me later that he was going to wait at the truck stop until I realized my mistake (taking US 50) and came back ... but he only waited long enough to look at a map, and then followed. Not much new in KS ... stopped in Hutch for a quick break ... stopped again a couple of hours later. This time it was a very small c-store ... felt guilty just stopping to use the restroom so I bought a bottle of water. Somewhere along this stretch I saw a rail car / grain tank car on its side, didn't look like it had been a major wreck, no debris other than the one car. After making such good mile yesterday I thought maybe we'd try to make it to our drop in three days so I kicked it up from 50 to 60 mph ... and instead of getting a safe 350 miles, we were driving on fumes at 310 ... sure glad the other guy topped off his tank as well as I did. By going 60 instead of 50, our milage dropped from 6.6 mpg to 5.6 mpg. We would end up using 290 gallons instead of 246, a dif of 44 gallons <> $88. So I told the other driver he was on his own ... I couldn't afford to run at that speed. And by now I had found out that the Friday airfares had jumped from $120 to $180, Saturday was still $120. That was a surprise ... I had been watching those prices for a couple of days and every day was the same price $120 ... 10 flights a day. Thinking today was still Wednesday, I figured I could wait one more day, just in case something happened. Our 310 miles got us to Hooker, OK ... home of cheap fuel, not so cheap today. Have seen it as much as 20 cents less than Liberal, KS <> miles away. Today its about the same price $1.98. Wasn't worth running on fumes for. Guymon, OK has fuel for sometimes 10 cents more or less than Hooker ... today its the same price at the truck stops. A Loves convince store has if for a couple of cents less, but by now we are fueled. I haven't spent much time listening to the radio or weather radio, but the other driver has informed me that there is a storm coming in ... rain / snow for the OK/TX panhandle area ... right where we are heading. Even back in KS I had noticed the DOT was out 'pre-treating' the highways (with liquid salt?). Did listen to the radio enough to know it was a small town station ... they listed off every police call within the last 24 hours ... named who was stopped, who was arrested ... no secrets in this town. With our good day yesterday, I had hoped to be at least as far as Santa Rosa tonight, so far we still may be. Next stop was supposed to be the TX/NM scale ... closed. Saves us $7.50 each ... maybe. Had hoped to talk to the other driver when we stopped at the scale about how far to go tonight. By now its dark, and raining and I know he doesn't like to drive in either ... but if we stop now we will be driving in the 1-3 inches of snow that is supposed to fall tonight. So we keep going, hoping to get south of it ... Tucumcari is another 50 miles south of the scale. Stop in Tucumcari at a restaurant parking lot and check with the other driver. He's ready to shut down ... so am I ... driving a right hand drive is not something you want to do tired and the last couple of hours of dark and rain have taken their toll. He picked the motel last night, so tonight's my turn ... where are my coupons when I need them? There is a motel for $19/$25 across the street but he's not up for that, and I know that he doesn't like sharing a Motel 6 room ... too small. Motel 6 sign says $35, we stop at the Super 8 across the street ... $44 ... $49 double. So it costs each of us $5 more for a bigger room ... and we'll get breakfast at this one. Forecast is showing we did make it to the south of the snow ... we'll know in the morning. If we don't want to drive, we have three choices for food ... pizza delivery, Denny's or the Best Western. The Best Western is closest so we check there first ... table cloths on the tables = $$$. We looked at a menu before sitting, we each find something that sounds better than anything at Denny's so we are seated. I have chicken Alfredo, he has trout ... why trout here in the south instead of at home? He doesn't know, it just sounded good. And was ... and the price was ... ok. 1/28/05 - Until now we could have still made a Friday delivery ... our 10 hours were up at 5:30 this AM ... we get rolling at 7:30. Day two, no alarm either day. both days we have woken up with in minutes of each other. The other driver comments I must have been tired last night ... "Why" I ask "You shut the lights and the TV news off at 10:15 and I went to sleep." 'No, I didn't ... I watched the whole news and the late show ... but you were snoring by about 10:15.' Really? Breakfast is not bad for free ... a couple of kinds of cereal, toast, rolls, coffee, juice. I'm in the lead again ... we are a half a block from the freeway ... by the time we get to the top of the ramp we hit ... fog. Thick fog and at 6:30 local, it is still dark ... nasty driving. For the first few miles I could just see the next reflector as I passed the current one and they are 1/10 of a mile apart. Should be getting better fuel milage, not even going 50 this AM. After what seemed like hours we lift out of the fog ... then drop back in for a few more miles. By the time the sun is coming up we have left the fog behind and are getting to Santa Rosa ... we've only gone 60 miles so far today. I had checked Mile.com to see where I could cut miles out of this trip, and it showed dropping south out of Santa Rosa on US 54 to US 60. Sounded like a good idea, should cut about 40 miles off this trip. The other driver just wanted to avoid Flagstaff, he wanted to go to ABQ, drop down to Las Cruses then back up to Phoenix ... I'm guessing that would add 100 mile$. After checking a 'truckers atlas' at the truckstop, I found that US 60 is not a truck route ... then we asked a couple of drivers in the parking lot ... 'go via Flagstaff.' was the answer we got. Last week four drivers did this same route, the first one, who was a half a day ahead of the others, went via Flagstaff and called the others and said avoid, due to the weather. They did, by going via Las Cruses (we've been watching, weather is not a problem this trip) ... but ... of those three, only one truck made it to Phoenix. One blew a turbo the other had a major oil leak ... another good reason to stay on truck routes. Not sure dispatches policy on breakdowns when you are not on a truck route ...ie, 100's of miles from truck services. Did a quick check in with my wife and my phone started beeping ... going dead already and it has only been off the charger less than two hours ... and off most of that time ... these strip down trucks without cig lighters are a pain. B-a-d news ... Airline prices went up last night to $180 for Saturday too ... I feel sick. I have just lost $60 off this run. When I check in with dispatch I mention the airfares ... dispatch is no longer doing travel for the drivers ... didn't know that. The less dispatch does with my travel the better, but to me loosing $60 is called 'getting in a bind' ... so I take the number of the travel agent the drivers are now using. The other driver was on the phone the same time I was, and has already called the travel agent, she will get back to us. To him, anything under $200 is a good price ... maybe, but it doesn't look like it when the price could have been $120. If the agent can find a cheap ticket I'm in, but two hours down the road he calls her back ... she's found two options ... two airlines ... $180 for either ... ??? Really ??? I knew that already. Why pay her $20-30 for that info? At this point I'm still kicking myself for not getting a ticket earlier. Just at the top of the hill to the west, over looking ABQ is an exit where the only services are a couple of campgrounds ... and the area is clearly marked "DO NOT PICK UP HITCH HIKERS ... PRISON AREA." ... let me get this right ... it's a great place to camp, but dangerous to pickup of hitch hikers ??? (Also a campground I would like to stay at ... of course I can't remember when, where or why.) Stopping every two hours would have put us in ABQ ... not stopping here, but I remember there is a casino just wet of here a few miles ... there is, but not the one I remember. I was expecting the Silver City casino (which I will find out later is not until exit 102 ... at exit 140 outside ABQ is the Route 66 casino. The only difference to me is that Silver City is on the westbound side of the highway ... saves those minutes crossing over. Always watching where I can cut minutes off the trip. ... what am I going to do? That's what the other driver asks ... he has her book his ticket. I don't know, catching a bus to Las Vegas is one option. In the little bit I had the radio on this AM, I heard about a bad accident ahead just east of Grant. Sometime last night a truck driver pulled out of the truckstop and onto the freeway, sideswiping a couple of cars and then rear-ending a semi, killing one person and critically injuring the other ... high on speed according to the report. Later in the day just west of Grant we see an eastbound truck which has gone through the ditch and up the embankment on the other side ... just about straight up ... up a hill that was better than 45 degrees up, tractor had made it to the top and was laying on its side holding the trailer from sliding backwards ... not sure if this was the same one we heard about or if this was a second We are still not doing as well on fuel as we had been ... the storm passed through overnight and now we have a beautiful day ... and strong head winds. Now its time to stop for our final fuel fill. Rather than run it down to 'E,' I prefer to fill the tank early, based on how many miles we have to go. On this trip there is an added reason, fuel is cheaper in NM than AZ. Gallup, NM is 300 miles from Phoenix, we got 310 miles on our worst tank full so we should be safe. By now the winds have died and the trucks now have over a 1,000 miles on them, for a while it looks like we may end up leaving 1/2 tank of fuel. I've been told you never get a pass at the AZ scale, but somehow I seem to remember getting one a few trips back, but knew I needed to stop for a permit ... hadn't been given the plates. No such luck this time, scale is open ... always fun with a right hand drive, at this scale they sit at a window and everyone stops. When I saw who it was, I knew what to expect ... 1) Plate? 2) IFTA? .... and 3) NM permit? As far as I know, she is the only one at the scalehouse who will as for the permit at the window ... and she was working today. No big deal, just another half hour off our drive time, off our 14 hours. Inside the gal at the counter asked for ... 1) BL, 2) Plate, 3) Inc ... and 4) NM permit. She got going on the permit before I found our insurance and she never looked at it ... Cost $7.50 which we will get back from the boss. Was another transporter in there arguing with the gals about how much he was having to pay, claimed that when he comes in on a different highway the permit is less. Their response "Then maybe you want to come in the other way next time." Earlier today my truck had been leaking something but we weren't sure what, looked like water and didn't feel like anything more than water. After running my wipers later in the day the leak seemed to have stopped. By looking at the coolant overflow tank, it looked full and didn't want to open it hot. Today was the first time the engine fan had kicked on, but it sounded like the other drivers truck was running just as hot today. About 40 miles out of Flagstaff we stop for a quick break, pretty much been stopping every two hours the hole trip ... when we did my 'ABS' warning light came on. I checked the manual ... breaks. I've driven the little Isuzi's with that light on, IH's too. Was fairly sure what it meant so I figured I could just keep running with the warning light on ... have before. After only a 100 miles, I could tell that the milage on this tankful was going to be way up there again ... too late now, don't have a way of getting the fuel back out ... the disadvantage of not running the last tank down to 'E.' We had spent way too much time at truck stops today, we were going to be up against our 14 hours before we got to Phoenix ... we weren't going to be delivering today anyway so it isn't really an issue. I would just as soon stop in Flagstaff, I know where food and motels are ... he wants to get past Flagstaff. I know there are a couple of exits with motels in the 125 miles between Flagstaff and Phoenix, I just don't know which ones. Once rolling again I start thinking about the ride 'down' to Phoenix ... we drop about 4,000 feet in the first 50 miles ... brakes ... who needs them. By the time we got to Flagstaff I decided I did. The other driver thinks I have gotten hungry and am stopping to eat ... wishful thinking. On the way into town I was looking for any sign of a truck dealer ... found none. The first Flagstaff exit is their major shopping mall so I didn't want to get off in a residential area, the next exit was Little America. I know the routine, call the mfg 800 number ... I could find a Sterling dealer under new trucks in the phone book. After I was talking to the 800 number I did find it under 'truck repairs' (is that a good sign? they don't advertise they sell them, only that they repair them?). The dealer asked if I could still drive it? Had been, so yes. But all these phone calls had taken an hour our better ... and now when I try to start the truck the 'Stop Engine' light comes on and the engine shuts down. I call the dealer back ... he offers no advise on how to by-pass the shut down, instead he will send someone over "But it could be a while." 'A while' would eventually turn into five hours waiting. Did call them back a few times for updates ... called dispatch who said that I would need to do all the things I had already done. When I hadn't gotten back to dispatch after a couple of hours with an update they called again. I knew it was them because I have the number programmed in on my cell ... but all I could hear is "Kkkkkkk," "Kkkkk kk kkk kkkkkkk" ... so I told him I couldn't hear a word he was saying but gave him an update assuming he could hear me as he hadn't hung up. After the update I said if he needed to know anything else he could try the other drivers cell ... he didn't so I assumed he heard all he needed to know. After a couple of hours the other driver decided to go across the street to the Motel 6 ... there was a Outback near by that he wanted to eat at, or this truckstop, or order in pizza. Had I known it was going to be more than an hour I would have eaten at the truck stop ... but minutes turned into hours, turned into ... As I'm pacing the floor of the truckstop, a lady asks if I'm going to be getting a motel tonight ??? "No, I'm waiting for a mechanic." An hour or so later she comes up to me and asks me the same thing again, and when I say no she says it is too cold for her to sleep outside tonight ... so maybe she was just looking for a room and nothing more. I notice her a few more times and later she is asking the people at the fuel desk to call the police for her, they do and the police show up. Not sure what happened from there, the cop talked to her for quite a while and after that I didn't see her again. Other than looking 'old for her age' she didn't look like the homeless ... clothes were clean, makeup on, not ranting like she was crazy. Did have a lot of time to watch other people ... five hours. Another much younger gal also seemed to be just hanging around ... first saw her leaving the restaurant area where she had been talking to a couple of drivers, then again out where the trucks were being fueled, later in the drivers lounge sleeping ... and the last time I saw here she was still in the drivers lounge, this time working on a laptop. Could have been a driver waiting for someone ... didn't look it though. My truck ... I had thought the shop closed at 11 ... it did, our time ... so when it was getting after 10:30 I was starting to get nervous. But the mechanic shows up, looks over the truck with a flashlight ... hooks up his diagnostic kit and says "You need to add some coolant." 'WHAT? What does coolant have to do with my ABS warning light?' "Nothing, the computer isn't getting any warnings from the ABS so you're safe to run. The Stop Engine light is from low coolant not the breaks." Sure enough, after the truck cooled (while making phone calls) the coolant level had dropped. Now I was getting nervous again ... what is this going to cost me? This would not be called warranty unless I have them fix the leak, or the breaks, both which would cause me to be stuck in AZ for another couple of days. The guy is very polite and informative .. tells me that if the ABS light is on, ie the ABS / Automatic Braking System is working it is the same as driving a vehicle that doesn't have ABS ... basically like every vehicle built prior to the last few years ... which is what I had thought but wanted to hear that from either the Sterling 800# or the shop, neither told me that. And neither told me that the 'Stop Engine' light is only caused by three things. Cooling system, Engine oil and Transmission ... and with the transmission you would also have a second light come on, meaning this light could have only meant two things .... Ahhh, why couldn't someone have told me that five hours ago??? The mechanic told me which coolant to buy, shook my hand and said "Good luck." Whew ... One gallon of coolant wasn't enough, so I added another gallon of water to get it to the full mark. Glad I did stop here, doubt if I would have made it all the way to Phoenix before the 'stop engine' light had come on ... and it could have taken us five hours just driving back and forth to get water ... By the time I'm pulling into the motel so is Papa Johns ... my supper is still hot. By the time we are done eating, it is 1:30 ... wakeup call is set for 7 AM ... five hours from now. As we are eating we talk about the trip ... and a hitch hiker we saw earlier today, I remember a clean cut guy in a white shirt and suit. He remembers a gal in a white shirt and suit, and was wondering why no one was stopping to pick 'her' up ... Ahhhh, maybe because everyone else thought it was a guy ... or weren't sure ... 1/29/05 - Saturday AM ... I wake up and go to the bath room, when I crawl back into be the other driver gets up and takes a shower ... it's 5:30 ... I've gotten less than four hours of sleep. Had never thought of it before but after the other driver mentioned it earlier in the trip ... yes, these rooms at Motel 6 are small when you get two guys and their luggage in there ... and no breakfast at a Motel 6, and its too early even for coffee 4:30 their time. It's cold the windows are frosted ... the good news is that the coolant level didn't drop, I fill up the jug again just in case. About 40 miles down hill I stop at a rest area to check the coolant ... its still leaking, but now that the engine is warm it is holding at the high end of the safe area. Now it has started to rain ... and snow ... and hail. I wanted to make some time coming down the mountain, let the truck go ... make some time ... on a clear day 65-70, maybe even 75 mph, but not in this weather. Signs say use low gear, but why if you have a good set of brakes ??? At one point the road is white with hail, and it feels slick ... I slow and notice the other driver has already dropped way back. Now there is a surprise, that guy hasn't been more than 60 feet off my bumper 99% of this trip. And lightning ... Wow ... usually you can see the crack of lightning across the sky, or from the ground to the sky ... today there were two cracks that just blinded me ... wonder how close you are when that happens. At the rest area the other driver said he would like to stop for breakfast ... should have had him lead, hate trying to guess what others have in mind ... but I find it. I-17, Exit 262, CJ's Diner ... wasn't too sure for a few minutes, down a one lane gravel road and into a RV park and there it was. Place had about 10 tables and for a while we thought our waitress was also the chief cook and bottle washer, but then the cook came out and asked how our food was, so she wasn't alone. Was going to tell her I wanted to complain to the manager, just to see if she was the owner as well. As we got there we got to see the sun rise through the hail ... and then it was gone. Oh, good food ... the other driver asked for some onions in his hash browns, it does sort of add some flavor to them. Came back out to our trucks and it was still raining ... in the desert ... and saw the possibilities for more problems. The windshield was leaking and the water was dripping / running right onto the light switches ... great, now I'm going to short out the electrical system. I quickly went and got a plastic bag out of my backpack and laid it over the controls so the water wouldn't keep running into them ... did the trick. Been to this place before, twice, so finding it is not a problem ... everything is locked up. Had called yesterday to confirm that someone would be here on Saturday ... paperwork says M-F, 7-4, NO after-hours. They would be in working overtime, from 8 until 11, a three hour window ... didn't think that would be a problem, had thought we'd be spending the night in Phoenix at at Super 8 about five miles from our drop. As I'm calling the numbers on the paperwork someone comes out of the shop and lets us in. These guys go over these trucks carefully ... even circling all the pits in the windshield. The other driver wonders WHAT is going on ... been here, seen it before. He notes all the things he finds and signs the paperwork ... Bad news, no free ride today, they are on overtime and have work that needs to be done. I call a couple of cabs ... 1) $20 and will be there in an hour, 2) $25 and will be there in an hour ... 3) $15 and will be there in 15 ... we pick them. Had asked yesterday about the bus ... the guy at our drop didn't know of any bus in the area. Today I see the bus stop sign 40 feet from his driveway with someone waiting. As I'm calling cabs the other driver sees the bus go past ... who knew? (Checked out the bus option after I got home ... good thing we didn't take it. Would have had to switch buses twice and they only run every hour on weekends. Good thing we didn't take THAT bus ... the bus we should have taken was a half a block away and runs north / south instead of east / west, one switch and we are dropped at the airport ... next time.) As we are waiting for the cab it starts to rain ... when the cab pulls up he's in a hurry, he just drove through a downpour and wants us in before it hits here ... My guess is we are about 5-7 miles from the airport, takes about 10 minutes, costs $15 ... we give him $20 as its easier to split ... but he never pays me his share. That's Ok, he paid for breakfast. I just can't find warm weather ... 44 in Phoenix ... 44 in Fort Lauderdale ... 20's in Louisiana ... The other drivers flight is on Northwest so I'll try that one first. I called America West this AM when I got up and there flights are still $180, tried to call Sun Country but they don't work those hours (and later my wife told me Sun Country didn't have any Saturday flights). Good news ... all ticket agents are busy, but no line ... was here a year ago and there was over 100 people in line so I didn't even try them. No one is at the the 'Ticketing' counter and when the helpful wondering person asked what I was needing I was told I would have to use one of there phones and call to purchase ticket and then get back in line to pick up the ticket ... but one of the agents was just finishing up and asked where I was going, "Minneapolis." She said she could help me. Northwest is our hometown airline, but I had never flown them before, I didn't know their routine. Got my ticket for $180, no more no less ...by the time I had ridden the bus to Vegas or anywhere I wouldn't have been saving much money and burning a lot of time. I got a ticket but ... not on the same flight as the other driver, the 1 PM flight is full, do I want a seat on the 3 PM flight ... think quick ... AmWest has the only other cheap tickets ... they are in another building ... if they are full, or if the line is long, what will I save. "Yes, I'll take it." 'Just in case, I am giving you a standby ticket of the 1 PM flight. If you don't get on, they will give you a ticket for the 3 PM flight. Security ... no line, but tight ... but I know the routine, like usual they have problems getting everything back in my back ... so I tell her "... I was only gone four days, imagine when I'm gone for five or six ... and squeeze a pillow in there." The other driver wants to find something to read so he stops and I continue on to the gate, want to check in right away on the standby ... never flown this way before. I find the gate, not manned yet, we are just about three hours early. I use the restroom and then find the other driver who says "The departure list says there is a Minneapolis flight leaving from gate 25 right now" It is ... but the door is already closed, I ask about getting on ... 'sorry, full, and a list this long of standbys that didn't get on' That doesn't sound good for getting on the next flight standby, but he thinks my chances are good ... as does the person who comes to man our gate. The next hour goes by quickly and they start calling rows on the 1 PM flight. Then they call the three names they had called earlier ... the standby's. Then they call a couple of more, and a couple more names, and a couple more ... but one doesn't want to go without the person she is traveling with ... "Sorry, he's not going to make it." ... that meant neither was I ... then he calls two more names, and one of them is me ... Yes!! I'm on. I would have to guess that for some reason the other couple didn't check in at the same time. As I'm finding my seat, two more people get on and the door is closed by the time I sit. Another full house ... they even have some airline employee's sitting on the extra stewardess' seats to fit everyone on. At take off the pilot says for the stewardess' to remain seated until he gives the all clear, its going to be a bumpy ride ... it is, but not that bad. We quickly climb to our <> 37,000 feet and the ride smooths out. Sometimes it takes a while to get to that height but not today, they got the clearance and climbed. The free food was pretzels ... but for $7 you could get a cold sandwich with chips, not me. The next bump I felt was on the way down, had an isle seat so I didn't look out too often but could see that we were getting closer to the clouds, it looked like we were landing on a lake ... lower, lower ... and when we hit the clouds ... well I've had actual landing that were smoother than hitting the clouds today. We do land safely ... home again. This can be a good paying trip ... this one will pay about $125 a day, would have been more except. 1) Took four days instead of three, extra motel ... $20 2) Waited too long to buy airline ticket, price went up ... $60 3) Left 1/4 more fuel in tank than needed ... $30 4) Cab instead of free ride or bus ... $10 5) Drove 60 instead of 50 1/2 of one day ... $10 6) Forgot to put on fuel cap, 'used' more fuel than other driver ...$20 ... ??? could have made $175 a day ... maybe |