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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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200608 CA-OH 2 RV's to Manteca CA ... delivered 1 Bus to Cincinnati OH ... spending the night in Santa Nella CA <<< Photo No reason to be up early, so we were. Breakfast was ... pizza. We each had a slice of left over pizza. And then we went and got our to-go breakfast. Today they asked which room number we were in, yesterday they hadn't. Today was apple juice instead of OJ and something different in the bags, I never looked at them as we were no longer hungry. 8:30 we left to go and pick up the rental car. I pulled into the casino next door to the rental car place as it was bigger and empty. Dropped off BB and headed back past our motel to fuel and then drop. No receipt from the pump so I had to go in. 9 AM got to the drop for my 9:30 appointment. Spent some time wiping things down and getting my stuff picked up. Called the customer and they came out about 9:15. They were expecting two of us, two different people mentioned that. I told them the 2nd one would be here shortly. I did ask if it was OK to leave when they inspected, it was. BB had been moving my stuff from the RV as I was cleaning it, she had gotten there shortly after I did. 9:30 we have picked up BB's RV, she had gone to fuel and I am back at the lot. BB parks and we get her stuff unloaded about the time they are done with the paperwork on mine. Then we sit and wait for a half hour until her RV is inspected. 10:15 we are back at the motel. We sit there for a while, use the rest room one more time. Usually I call the local dispatch as soon as I drop. Because I had already talked to them last week, they knew I was here so I was going to wait until after noon. Nope, they called me before 11 to see if I was still in town. They were 'almost sure' that I would get a bus today, call back at 2:30 PM. We didn't want breakfast so we waited until after 11 AM to drive next door to Chic-fil-A. For breakfast it had been a short line, by 11 AM the line was out on the main highway again. Two lines as soon as we were in the parking lot. People out taking orders, checking orders, delivering orders before you get to the window. But not ours. We sit at the window and wait as they carry other peoples food to them. Finally they ask us to go park. I think total we were in line and waiting for close to an hour. Brand new six weeks ago. Must be the first one in the area. Not sure how long the city will let them back up traffic onto the highway. Non-customers trying to use the road are not very happy. Single lane each way, no way to pass. ... and no where to sit inside and no where to park on their property. We pulled across the street to a strip mall as did others we had seen in line. We both had grilled nuggets. Then we headed for my past time. We drove about 15 east to a cemetery. Before we are away from our car, a little girl greets us and says this is her aunts cemetery and continues heading to the house. This cemetery seems to have a on site caretaker. After a few minutes of walking someone calls out to BB asking what we are looking for. Then the motion for me to come over and once they know they go and get there list. Helpful, but this was a 'smaller cemetery,' and we would have found the marker by walking faster than with their help ... this time. So that was a quick one. Next was a cemetery about 10 miles back west that we had passed on our way. Both cemeteries had about 3,000 people. Bigger than rural cemeteries but not hopeless. We lucked out again and found these markers within 10 minutes or so. The next cemetery was about five miles from our drop. This location showed a pin where the marker should be online. We parked the car and within six feet of the car was the marker. Very short day in the walking looking department today. We won't get to Livermore before I have to call, but we head that direction. We are less than an hour away. At 2:30 I pull off at an exit and call dispatch. "Call me back in 10 minutes." So we drove the rest of the way to Livermore to 'our' outlet center and called again. We are heading to Cincinnati OH. We can get there at 4 PM, but not sure how to get into where I need to be until 5 PM. The whole mall parking lot is coned off except for one short section of less than 50 cars. That is where you can park while you wait for someone from the store to bring your package to you. It wasn't too crowded and we sat there a little bit before we went to fuel the rental car and go pick up the bus. Gas station store was open but the restrooms were closed. It has now been about four hours since the last restroom break. We push the buzzer when we get to the bus company. No one answers. I don't think anyone has ever answered. But I see a senior driver and they tell me how to get in and I will let BB in later with the car. Aaahh, rest rooms that are open. I find my bus, it is the 3rd one I look at that has the bus number of 2001. First bus of the year for a lot of companies. But even the one I think is mine has no paperwork. I find another bus that does have paperwork so I know where it should be. By now I see the other driver for the 3rd time and know that the paperwork is not here yet. So I inspect my bus and will get the paperwork later. By now the person doing the paperwork has arrived and BB follows them in. We get the bus all checked out and as I'm backing out the paperwork arrives. We make sure I am completely ready to go before BB leaves with the rental car. Then I have to give her a 10 minute head start so she is done before I get to the rental car place. I have a little issue with the cooling system until BB shows me there are two area's where the switch needs to be turned on. Both have to be turned on. It is still early enough to call the permit company about the AZ and NM permits. It would be nice to get them before we leave the motel but no a deal breaker. Some times there is not much place to pull over to pick BB up so she has started walking down the street a short ways. Today there is room right in front so I start pulling over and then see her ahead. I'm sure I am interesting to follow. Traffic isn't as bad at 5 PM as 6 PM or less people are still working.* * * * No issues getting to Santa Nella, I had thought about parking on the street but that spot was already full so I pull into the parking lot and park in my usual spot. I have only had issues one night, must have just been a little rattled that night. By the time we are parked the other driver is parking next door. Paperwork here is still the same, sign a bunch of places and they need to have both cards to look at. When I go out to get our second load of stuff I see the other driver again. Sounds like I will likely see them again in Kingman if we both make it that far. Oh, if we did 600 miles a day we might make delivery by Friday ... except they don't take delivery on Fridays or the weekends. So no reason to push. We could only do 400 miles a day but we have our motels picked at a 500 mile spacing. Once checked in, we call down to Andersons Split Pea Soup and the food will be ready when we get there. So our evening walk was a total of 15 minutes out and back and maybe another half hour at all the cemeteries combined. Food was good, I had the chicken salad sandwich on rye and potato salad. BB had soup and salad, her only issue was she didn't get the fresh bread that give if you eat there. Load board is dropping, down to 60 overnight. BP is dropping too, didn't have to take it twice to get it in the safe zone. 200609 CA-OH 1 bus to Cincinnati OH ... spending the night in Kingman AZ Waiting for a permit this AM so not in a big rush. (It came hours after we left) Breakfast was a few pre-packaged items in a box on the counter, the only other thing was coffee. BB tried one, I settled for my left over potato salad. When there was still no permit by 8 AM we left, permit finally came a little before 10 AM. Yesterday when we were leaving Livermore, BB warned me that we would hit a slow down by Patterson. We didn't, but there 40+ acres of freshly burnt grass ... and three fire trucks still looking for hot spots. Today we saw a lot more burnt places, some were likely over 100 acres back into the hills. Very dry, green grass is long gone. 1st stop is in Lost Hills at the Loves, quick in and out. Usually we exit I-5 here but BB had looked at a map it it showed that the entrance to US-99 on the other end was closed. So we got back on I-5 and went down to Buttonwillow like we used to do. Going the way we did today has more stop lights coming into Bakersfield, plus I have to cross a rail road track. Other than that, both routes take us through the farm fields and past the fruit stands. 2nd stop is to eat at the Loves in Tahachapi at Subway. I wanted Loves as they seem to have a better idea of how to print from email. Seems like a simple thing until you ask someone to do it. I asked if they had gotten the email twice before we ate, and after we ate they had it printed for me when I asked again. We looked at McD's, but they had a limited menu so over to Subway we went. And Subway seating was open where McD's was closed and they are both in the same truckstop. We ate indoors and were the only ones who did while we were there. Here I think the staff was wearing masks as were quite a few customers. Did see one older woman with a walker and bandaged up that I thought would have been a person who would be wearing a mask that wasn't. 3rd stop was at the Flying J in Barstow for the restrooms. This place has a huge auto lot so I parked there instead of with the trucks. And I'd been fighting to stay awake. Not really, but did hit the rumble strips a few times so I thought an Oreo ice cream sandwich would help. Now two and a half hours until our next stop. 4th stop was at a Shell station in Needles CA. Most times we stop at the Wagon Wheel but we didn't want to eat indoors or take it with us so we went to Subway ... again. The place also has a DQ. Here I didn't see any staff with masks and during the half hour we were there I saw two people go in/come out wearing masks. One was a 20 something gal who took the mask off as soon as she got in the car. Others that also got in the car were not wearing masks. Later there was an older (than I) man wearing a mask but the woman he was with was not. There was inside seating but we sat on a bench outside. I must have been hot, I finished off two of the small Simply Lemonades. Scale was closed, one less slow down. After many back and forth's we decided to stay at the Rodeway Inn. This may be the 1st (and last) one BB has stayed at. We have stayed at this location many times and know it was on the lower end of the Quality Inn's. Now it's a Rodeway, nothing else seems to have changed. But, because of covid, BB is still wiping the rooms down when we get there. And some places came up very dirty. So not only were they not doing extra cleaning, they didn't seem to be standard cleaning. Someone has a Gyro trailer parked in the motel lot, the front desk said the place is open from 10-6. And we got here at 7 and had already eaten. Nice people here, same people for the four ?? years we have been stopping here. But it may be time to move on. It wouldn't have been the 1st time this trip we would have past up a $50 motel and taken a $90 instead. Load board is back up to 99. But we are likely done with over the road until the end of July at least for this company. I usually ride the shuttle the last week of every quarter for my local company but that doesn't interest me at all. More likely I will see what trips work for BB to follow me. We know a couple of other drivers do all there runs that way but we haven't been able to see how it pays. Sounds like BB's aunt past yesterday. No one had given a time of death or a cause yet. Last we heard was that she had gone down hill and that anything they could try to do would be very invasive and that would at best stabilize her. 200610 CA-OH 1 bus to Cincinnati OH ... spending the night in Albuquerque NM I think these places are taking advantage of having to reduce contact for breakfast. I don't see any reason not to have individual packages of yogurt like they used to. This place had a few packages of donuts like items but not much more. When we went to check out, one person was taking care of printing my receipt and another asked me about my stay. I told them. Not sure if it did any good or if 'they aren't the Quality Inn anymore.' When I went to leave I didn't have my mirrors set right so I almost hit the curb. Saw it and backed up. Later I looked to see if I had done any damage. Nope, the curb was about six inches high, my bus has about 18 inches clearance. 1st (non) stop was just up the road at the Flying J. Trucks were backed up onto the street and staff was just blocking off half the pumps. I managed to stay out of traffic and drive through a couple of lots to where I could take a left turn and got out of there. 1st stop actually was the Loves a couple of miles down the freeway. Cheapest fuel would have been to back track to the TA, but that would have used up half of the savings. All islands were full when we arrived but one lane opened up so I swung around and backed in. The truck next to me looked like he had been eyeing to make a move but I beat him to it. He was still there waiting to move ahead when I left a half hour later. Because there was an open pump I was able to back in and get DEF. Half a tank of DEF so I"m glad I stopped, I was hoping to make two days on a tank. Then I fueled my diesel but didn't get it shut off quite quick enough. This was the 1st time I haven't used my gloves to fuel in a week. I did grab paper towel after I had punched in all the numbers. Not sure why but the staff couldn't find my DEF, four different people looked at it. This station lets me start the pump without paying but I have to go inside to pay. I don't remember it being that way at all Loves. Rolling ... not much to look at today. In the AM we had left the desert behind and were up in the scrub trees. Then by the afternoon we are back in the desert hills. 2nd stop was at the Loves in Williams for a rest break. BB went in, I did not. 3rd stop was going to be at the McD's in Holbrook but they have drive thru only. We walked next door to Carl Jrs/Hardees and saw someone walking away from the drive thru window. They were willing to help us, as soon as there were no cars between the order screen and the window. BB got a 1/3 lb burger and I got a small double. Then we decided to stay there and eat on the bench so I went back and got to the window and got a juice. While we were sitting there we finally saw someone walk thru the drive thru at McD's also. We could have down loaded the app and had them bring the food outside. Neither place would let us in so ... 4th stop was the Conoco at Hopi Travel Plaza. It is an old truck stop that used to be state of the art until poor management. Now it is being rebuild on the inside. I wish them luck. We have stopped there a couple of times for Burger King. They used to have a sit down place plus a barber shop and a couple of tourist trap stores. NM scale ... I held my permit up as a got to the window and got the thumbs up, I was free go. Somewhere there was road construction. Signs said right lane closed ahead so I stayed in the right lane. A truck went flying past me and I thought for sure he was going to hit the stopped truck ahead of him, but he got stopped. A few truck lengths ahead they were not so lucky. One truck did rear-end another so everyone was getting back in the right lane. A mile before the merge and people didn't want anyone in the right lane ... guess they haven't heard of 'merge at the sign.' 5th stop was at the Flying J in Jamestown. Again BB went in, I didn't. Lots of signs saying masks are required in NM. BB said about 75% of the people had on masks. 6th and final stop is at our Quality Inn in ABQ. We look like we are the first ones here and it is after 5 PM. We get a room almost across from our bus. Do the wipe down and then I call and order food from our Mexican place. We walk over and as we walk we see either homeless people or just kids piled in the bushes. So when we walk back we go a different way.* * * * Mexican place is packed, I didn't notice what, if anything, they were doing to keep people apart. Staff was wearing masks. Customers were not. And the lot was as full as I have ever seen it. One of the motels we walk past used to be a mom and pop place, now it is a TraveLodge by Wyndham. Also noticed on our walk that the Buffalo WildWings had a full lot. Cheap fuel tomorrow is about a half hour down the road in Morarity, at the TA. Loadboard is down to 93. BB's aunt did die. The person forwarding the emails to us, forgot to forward that one email yesterday AM. Also now on Fathers Day, where BB's Dad is, is organizing a 'window meeting' for all the Dad's. Not sure if we will stick around for that or if we'll just have a phone call. Spent the day trying to put together a plan in my head for what might work with my local company. But by the time we eat, do paperwork and write notes, it is past time for sleep. Maybe tomorrow. And tomorrow I need to call the drop about Monday delivery. We have re-routed our trip so the bus wash and the rental car are on the way. Car is at the airport but cars are in a remote site so I can just drop BB off in front of the lot. Looked at the drop site tonight. It is only two blocks from the freeway, but three miles from the nearest exit :( Like this motel, but the internet is really bad. One time I think we moved rooms, other times I have sat in the office. Tonight I am OK if I sit on the bed, but not if I sit at the table. 200611 CA-OH 1 bus to Cincinnati OH ... spending the night in Shamrock TX Breakfast. Canned juice and packaged pastries to go. Pulled out at 9 AM local. When I walked out I heard branches braking. A truck driver at the motel next door was jack-knifing his trailer so he could make the turn. No idea why he was in there. Their truck terminal is just across the fence they should have known how much room they needed. Or maybe not, parked up against the fence are four semi tractors a fraction of their original size because of accidents. 1st stop is for fuel at the TA in Morarity. When I pull in there is a truck blocking how I need to get to the pumps. So I go past him and turn around. Then I see he is going to try and go out the entrance, I could tell he didn't have enough room to turn and he figured it out a few tries later. When I'm in washing my hands after fueling and using the restroom I happen to look in the mirror I see the keys for our motel ... we never checked out this AM ??? So I called and did it via phone, before check out time. No issues with fuel, DEF gauge drops to 1/4 after a few hundred miles but then stays there for the next 1,000. Now that I know that and am carrying a jug of DEF, no worries. Yesterday I saw a semi style tractor pulling a 5th wheel travel trailer ... and it had a car parked sideways between the tractor cab and the trailer. So I've looked, there are a number of cars that are <> long that would fit like that. I've also seen lots of transporters now that we are on I-40. Tree trucks, short buses, motor homes and delivery vans. I've seen a lot of Amazon Sprinter sized vans, and now I have seen my first Amazon UPS style van. 2nd stop is at the Tucumcarri Loves for lunch. I thought I had planned an easy in and out but they are working on the road and my driveways were closed. Not a big deal, not much traffic. We end up at Arby's. We do eat in doors with others. Half the tables are roped off but those that are not are full. BB gets a turkey sandwich and I get a rueben. No chicken salad sandwich for us today. Both here and at the TA this AM there are signs saying to wear masks. About 75% were wearing masks except for eating. Before we left Loves I called my drop. They wanted to know if any more buses were on there way. All I knew of was one that left the same time as I. Nothing special to make the drop. I said I'd be there sometime in the morning depending on how long it takes at the bus wash. Another hour and we are in Texas. No scale at the boarder, there is an inspection station at Shamrock that I have never seen open. They did open it for me once, but they had grabbed me on the highway. 3rd stop is at the rest area in Amarillo. 4th and final stop is in Shamrock TX. We stay at the Sleep Inn. We are the 1st one's here tonight so no problem finding a place to park. They also have truck parking across the street. Lots of food choices within walking distance. Vern's Steakhouse sounded good but too much food. BB just wanted a salad so we went to McD's. We can walk in to order, but no indoor seating. And not salads. They are on a limited menu. But we were there so we ordered. And I ordered some kind of a slushy. It's hot outside. Load board is up to 97 out of IA again. 185 on the total board. Nothing heading back the way we are going. I still need to decide what we are going to do the last week of the month. Doesn't look like we will have time to do any local work next week before Fathers Day. Finally looked at the weather map. No rain until a week from tomorrow. If we didn't get rain in the last few days, there likely won't be much left living in my garden. 200612 CA-OH 1 bus to Cincinnati OH ... spending the night in Joplin No alarm, we both woke up between 6:30 and 7. Breakfast ? Blueberry muffin or nothing. They did have their juice machine running. OJ or water. TX inspection station is not open. OK scale is closed too. Might be the first time we have seen that closed. 1st stop is a truck stop in Weatherford. We have stopped here for CNG, fuel, food. Nice mom and pop places with a clothing/boot store inside. Farming. I don't think I mentioned yesterday that grain is being harvested. Most of it seems to be done. Lots of hay being baled. We are now far enough east that the ground is green. Swallows. Bridge swallows vs barn swallows. Under the freeway over passes there are hundreds of swallows. Not sure where they will find enough to eat. I'm not hitting that many bugs, not sure what else they eat. 2nd stop is at the Flying J in OKC. Not the cheapest but I am able to start the pump without going inside. At TA/Petro I have to go inside to start the DEF pump and again to get my receipt. Here I only have to go in once. Fuel isn't an issue anywhere because I am using the company fuel card. First I start the pump with my personal credit card for DEF and put in about 4-1/2 gallons for 1,000 miles. Then I re-start the pump with the company card for diesel so I get the discount. I am able to fill without running any of either on the ground. This is my third fill. On the 1st and 3rd fill I got about 7 mpg. On the 2nd fill I got closer to 9 mpg. Not sure if I didn't get a good fill the 2nd time or if I had a good tail wind the whole day. At 7 mpg I am going to do my last fuel about 400 miles from the drop instead of 300-350. I had thought I was only going to get about 6 mpg. I have been running pretty close to 60 mph the whole trip, not sure if that makes a difference. 3rd stop is at Freddy's in Tulsa near the Hard Rock Cafe. There are a lot of 'No Truck' signs but today I'm not a truck ;) BB had chicken and I had a patty melt and custard. This may be the first time I have had some of their custard. Only three fruit choices, strawberry, pineapple and cherry. I got cherry. Sorry DQ ... this is better. We could have been out of there in 30 minutes but weren't. Stayed on the correct road this time and made it to Joplin a couple of hours later. $10 in tolls. New travel oasis so now there are two west of Tulsa with McD's. 4th and final stop is the Sleep Inn in Joplin next to the Petro. Iron Skillet is open but the buffet is not. We took a half hour walk before going to eat. We looked at the stuff on the shelf, looked at the signs for DQ, Taco Bell and Godfathers. Finally ordered to go from a limited Iron Skillet menu. Lots of food so we will likely be eating the 2nd half of it for breakfast tomorrow. BB had chicken and I had chicken alfrado. The person at the front desk of the motel was older and was wearing a mask and used a Lysol wipe to handle the credit cards and paperwork. Lots of signs about Covid but the further from CA we get and as the days go by, fewer and fewer people are wearing masks. BB is trying to everytime we go in somewhere but even she forgets. Loadboard dropped below 90 for the first time in three weeks today. Still nothing heading back home direction from OH. And not much gets put on the board on Saturdays. Sent an email to my local company this AM but didn't hear anything back. I'm not going to do this daily, but here is how Covid things looked in the news for Wednesday. "Of the deaths announced Wednesday were four people in their 90s; seven in their 80s; five in their 70s; two in their 60s, and one person in their 30s with underlying health conditions. Sixteen of the 19 deaths announced Wednesday were residents of long-term care facilities." 200613 CA-OH 1 bus to Cincinnati OH ... spending the night in Mount Vernon IL More breakfast choices at this motel. We grabbed a couple of Pop Tarts until we realized they were fudge. Ended up with fruit, tried the juice, OJ was warm and apple was water so I threw it. They did also have muffins and breakfast bars but we both had chicken from last night so that was breakfast. When we checked out, I did make a point of telling the desk clerk how clean things were. If I'm going to complain I should also compliment. 9 AM and we were rolling. 360 miles to go today. If we have to push 600+ some day it is going to be really hard. 1st stop is the rest area near Conway. Quick in and out. 2nd stop is for fuel in Pacific. This place is a pain all the way around. First, they have closed the exit from the freeway so you have to get off a ways before heading east and take the city street. Same way to get back on the freeway. Next, the fuel area is small so trucks wait in one line for the next open pump. But I have to back in so I backed in behind someone before they pulled out. That confused people. Then someone pulled into line at the pump past me that was closed. But because they didn't pull all the way in, they blocked my pump for the next person who wanted to use it. I didn't have any problems pumping, but this is the first time I have had to back through because someone had blocked me from getting back out. And the fuel islands are quite a few steps higher than the store so when we came back out, BB was winded. I didn't realize that was why she was just standing there. This was a Pilot, inside was a Subway and we ate inside. Only three tables open and we got one of them.* * * * Six Flags in St Louis is still closed. Don't think I mentioned that the amusement park in OKC was open yesterday when we went through. Going through St Louis is a pain on any day so we decided to go the beltway. After looking at the options we went the way that only added about five miles. Maps said the beltway would be closed AT I-64 so we thought we would be able to get on that freeway. First signs said the same thing, but as we got closer the signs said beltway closed at IL-15 which was before the freeway. We stayed on the freeway until we had to exit ... the wrong direction. So we did three leafs of a cloverleaf and got going the correct direction. Truckers seemed lost but we had looked at a map and BB turned her GPS on. There was a whole bunch of trucks that had been following me but somehow I lost them all. Cloverleaf slowed us down more than anything. And we were back on the freeway. 3rd and final stop is the Comfort Inn in Mount Vernon. We had looked at O'Fallon IL but I wanted to be a little further out of St Louis and we didn't find a good place to say. We've stayed at this Comfort Inn before and many times at the Super 8 across the street. After we check in, we walk across the parking lot to Bandana's. We've eaten at a number of their locations. Right now it looks like no indoor seating for anyone. This place had 8 or 10 tables outside. We got one no waiting but by the time we left there was a line. BB had chicken and turkey with coleslaw. I had the chicken with potato salad. The server never did bring the BBQ sauces, but I was fine with that, chicken was roasted with just the right flavor. Potato salad was really good too. Across the street next to the Super 8 there is a building that used to be a breakfast place, then it was closed. Now it's open again under a new pancake name. Once we were done eating we walked for a half hour or so. Sidewalk, not much traffic, but in the mid 80's. Tomorrow we only have 200 miles to do so we will check out when we have to, then drive, eat and drive and we should get there when we can check in. Looks like the loadboard dropped by about 10 today for IA. Longest trip on the total board is out of IA, to Bend OR. I think there has been at least some OR loads out there everyday for the last couple of weeks. Sounds like covid numbers for MN are still going down, but not so for other places in the country. Looks like we are going to have to be at least aware of what's happening for the next few weeks/months. 200614 CA-OH 1 bus to Cincinnati OH ... spending the night in La Grange KY. 209 miles today !! Breakfast was a very small danish, about the size of a coffee cup. OJ was OK and cold today but the apple juice tasted like water again. BB also had a piece of fruit. Didn't think about walking next door this AM for real breakfast. Finally got going at 10 AM, stopped for lunch at noon and in the motel by 2:30. As we were getting ready to pull out I saw one of the trucks we used to move. No placards or plate, but it looked like a transporter driver and he was towing ... and the truck had a lift gate. Not sure we are 'allowed' to tow with those trucks. I'll be asking. Not much excitement for a Sunday. We've only been this road a couple of times before but just farm country and hills. 1st stop was at the Pilot for Taco Bell. Too bad it wasn't like this yesterday. One truck fueling and the rest open, lots of place to park. Cinnabon person had their mask on their neck. Subway person wasn't wearing any mask. Everyone at Taco Bell had their mask on correctly. We did eat in-doors but only saw one other person eating in-doors. This location had taken out half their tables so it was pretty wide open. We had looked at all the options, Arby's and McD's were not at truck stops so we didn't know if anything but the drive thru was open. Denny's is sit down and Wendy's ... we can do Wendy's when we are driving the rental car easier than trying to eat tacos. I don't think I mentioned the Subway yesterday, I don't think I have ever seen a person less interested in doing their job than the person at Subway yesterday. Just kind of throwing the food on the bun, not looking like they were listening. 2nd and final stop was at the Quality Suites in La Grange. We had been looking at the Best Western and then BB looked again this AM and we switched. Just a Super 8 between us and the Cracker Barrel. Once we were at the motel I added my jug of DEF. Should have stopped filling yesterday at one gallon like I planned. I put in 1-1/2 gallons and now have about a half gallon left in the jug. A few hours after we got to the motel, we ordered on line and then walked the block down to Cracker Barrel. Our food was ready so in and out in a couple of minutes. BB got the fish and veggie and I had the meatloaf with fried apples. And I left enough apples in case there isn't anything for breakfast in the AM. Then we went for a half hour walk in the cemetery across the street. No family showing in any our my family trees at this one. At 7 PM when we got back to the motel it looked like it was still just me with the bus and one other person on a motorcycle here. And they put him in the room across from us?? He was load when he was on the phone but since that we haven't heard him. Motel likely has 75-100 rooms, two guests. I spent more time looking at my route for tomorrow and saw that it took me under a low underpass. I SHOULD clear it by a foot plus but I will re-route instead. If I had looked before I called the drop I would have asked. Google shows a bus at the stop sign but it doesn't show it on the next image so I don't know if it went through or not. Looks like plan is to get up 6 AM local (5 AM our time) and be driving by 7 AM. Any breakfast they may have be can take with us and eat while we are waiting at the wash. Bus wash is an hour away and then another half hour to the airport and then drop. I'm giving myself three hours at the wash and we should still be there by noon. Leaving the drop is much easier. A couple of turns and we are on the freeway. A couple of miles on the first freeway and then the second one is the one we stay on to IA. I'm guessing we will be home by mid day on Tuesday. About 800 miles including the stop to pick up our car in IA. IF there is local work, we plan on working Friday local. Then leave out Sunday/Monday and be gone for up to two weeks before heading to the North Shore. This trip paid good, would have paid even better if we didn't take to extra days because of the weekends. Our whole trip would have been different if BB had canceled her dentist appointment like she had said she was going to do. But at that point we hadn't made plans so why cancel? 200615 CA-OH 1 bus DELIVERED to Cincinnati OH ... spending the night in North Liberty IA The alarm went off this AM :( first time in a while. -0-, no breakfast at all at this location. Same person that checked us in last night is back at 7 AM to check us out. One hour down the road and we will know how the day will go. 1st stop, bus wash in Walton KY. Two bays and one truck. They meet me by the time I stopped the bus, asked me what I wanted ... and if I wanted extra's. Then I drove in. By the time I paid, I was ready to get back in the bus and pull out. In and out in 15 minutes. :) It's a good way to start the day. 2nd stop, or not stop. Dropping BB at the airport to pick up a rental car. We had looked at a map a few times but I could see far enough ahead that the road I wanted wasn't there so I went in the opposite way I had wanted. If I kept going the way I thought I would have had to go through the airport. BUT ... road closed. I had to pull into a car lot and turn around. Only had to back up and pull forward 3-4 times to get turned around. BB walked to Hertz and I left. I noticed that one of the remote pay lots was closed. Not enough people flying. I had looked at the route enough times to know where I'm going. Very few turns, and not much traffic. I exit the freeway in the correct place and notice I should have looked at the map closer. I had just entered this freeway from the left and could have taken a left exit, instead I the exit I planned was across four lanes of traffic in a quarter mile. No traffic so no issue. I was able to see the train depot that I didn't want to drive under so I knew where I was. Found the correct cross streets and pulled in the lot. 3rd stop was the drop. The bus crew was on break by one of the closest doors and motioned for me to stop where I was. A couple of minutes later someone walked over and said I could pull the bus into place and they would look it over. They looked while I un-packed. I doubt I was there a half hour and part of that time was 'talking shop.' BB pulled up as the shop guy was bringing me my paperwork. We loaded and were rolling. A few blocks later and we were on the freeway. About three hours earlier than I had guessed. 4th stop was a rest area in Indiana, the first one from the east, Batesville. BB used the restroom, I didn't. My way of reducing exposer. 5th stop was at the Burger King in Shelbyville. Drive thru. We each had a Whopper Jr.* * * * No problems in Indy, just thankful not to get run over while driving the speed limit. 6th stop was at the Pilot in Crawfordsville for another rest stop. This time I did go in ... and got two lemonades and and a Klondike Oreo ice cream sandwich. The only place I can find them is at the truck stops. 7th stop, Farmers City IL at the rest area. I stayed out again, but I do get up and walk so I'm at least moving. 8th stop, Moline IL at Culvers. Now BB wants ice cream. She gets a hot fudge sundae and I get a malt. Malts are easier to eat while driving. 9th stop, Pilot in Walcott for fuel. $1.96. Saw another Amazon Prime delivery truck, this time I was able to talk to the driver. He was on his way to Seattle. No AC. Said company is paying the fuel on these otherwise no one will drive them. 10th stop ... a few more stops than the three yesterday. We first stopped at Arby's in North Liberty at the drive thru and then drove another block to the motel, Sleep Inn. We had looked at the motel in Walcott for the same price but the reviews were not good. Down side of this one was the 'pet friendly' rooms were $30 cheaper than the no pet rooms. But we were able to get a handicapped room for that cheaper price. Sounds like this place will have all their non-hot items out for breakfast. After eating, we took our half hour walk. Messages flying back on forth on FB today, sounds like my west coast dispatcher is really hurting for drivers. Others are wanting to know why buses aren't on the load board ... and lots of bad info being past but I don't want to get in the middle of all of it. Covid. MN deaths had stayed below 40 and were heading down closer to 20 two weeks ago when we left. Yesterday they were below 10. Here. Not everywhere. We have a few hours left to drive tomorrow. We did talk about making it home tonight and could have by dark ... if we hadn't stopped 10 times. BB is still doing the Lysol wipe down. When I had the bus, she'd do the wipe down while I would bring up the second load of bags. We'll see what happens when we get home. Will she stop or follow people around :) In MN, barbers re-opened the day we left. I walked in but it is appointments only. So I called today as soon as I had dropped the bus and the earliest I could get was 4:30 Thursday. So I will need to plan around that. No word from my local dispatchers but as I tell others drivers ... if you want to work ... call them. So I will call, most likely Wednesday for Friday. 200616 CA-OH 1 bus to Cincinnati OH, and heading home ... spending the night at home This motel had breakfast in the AM, two flavors of yogurt, mini-cinnie's and juice. But again, third day in a row, the apple juice tasted like water so I stuck with straight OJ.* * * * We didn't leave the hotel until closer to 9 AM, no reason to rush home. Yesterday ... just before North Liberty where I-80 and I-380 join, they are re-doing the intersection. We counted 18 large cranes for lifting the beams in place. Wish they would do that in MN where I-94, I-494 and I-694 come together. But no 1st almost stop was at the former rest area in Nashua, the building is still there but it is closed due to the virus. I guess rest rooms are not essential. Somewhere after 10 AM we start seeing RV's. Even saw one with the 'winter wrap' on it, that one must have been sitting for a while. So 1st stop was in Clear Lake at the Culvers. Drive thru line was long and we needed a rest room. In door seating is open but only six at a table, they were telling people they could not move tables to seat more. We ordered to go and there may have been 10-20 people in line when we left waiting for in the one line. I had my second blueberry malt in two days. This one was a little harder to drink as there was a whole somewhere in the middle of the straw. And this one may have had 1/10 of the blueberries as the one yesterday. BB had a burger and I had a reuben. We sat and ate in the parking lot. 2nd stop is Forest City to pick up our car. That doesn't take long. When we were leaving we noticed there was a camera set up and a few people standing across from the main Winnebago driveway. I also noticed 20+ people wearing matching shirts heading to the 100-200 CruiseAmerica RV's. And that in the background of where the camera was likely pointed, there were a long row of each type of RV lined up single fine. Never seen it like that before. I'm guessing they were doing a promo for someone. Did also notice that one area again has 100-200 of the Sprinter type vans sitting in it. They don't seem to be slowing down. Our lot is still close to full but nothing in our 'over flow' lot. I had asked BB if the road was still closed due to construction but I guess she looked at the road that was closed last year (instead of the one closed last week.) and told me no, it was open. But the road that was closed last week was still closed today so we had to take the detour. It doesn't tell you the road is closed until a mile or so before the closure. Heading home it was not a big issue, we followed it half way and then headed to the freeway. No extra miles. BB was in the lead and had seen a deer cross the road and then cross back again so see slowed. Then the deer crossed a third time with a little fawn behind it. They had a long run to the next wooded spot ...* * * * We have been seeing a lot of road kill. This week it seems like there has been a lot of racoons, lots of little racoons. Earlier on the trip we also saw a few armadillos. Road kill. I don't think I have ever seen a live armadillo in the wild. BB has the car we will return to the airport so I stop at the near by cemetery and notice that the rear bumper on this car is coming loose again. More duck tape needed. I just put things back in place with the existing duck tape, but that didn't last the half mile to the airport. So once I had picked up BB I stopped in an empty lot and put on a couple feet of new duck tape. That seemed to work. $1.89 for fuel by the airport. Best price we've seen. Airport looks like a ghost town. More cars in the cemetery than in front of the airport. 93 degrees heading home. High of 91 the next two days. My yard work, gardening will have to be early and late in the day. Grass is a little long, still one inch in the rain gauge from sometime last week so nothing looks wilted. But a few things have been chewed off, big leaf stuff so I'm guessing it is dear. All my sunflowers are gone and I don't think it was either the worms or the bunnies, they had made it to about nine inches tall, or that is what is left of the stem. Load board, down to 66 out of IA, Boise is the longest sets going west. No CA or OR. Still nothing much out of MN for being quarter end. 18 out of WI, six are the center drive cement mixers (I think) and the other dozen are straight truck, non-CDL trucks out of Monroe. Longest ones out of Monroe are two going to OR. Usually the Monroe are local, they have a number of plants around the country so usually the trips are 500 miles max. No call back from the local company, I will contact them tomorrow. Covid, deaths are 9 again today so staying down. We will be watching the numbers where we are heading but likely won't turn work down because of it. As we sat in the Culvers lot today we were noticing who was/was not wearing masks. A lot of 65+ were not wearing masks. Handicapped, slow walking but not taking precautions. Friday is likely the next day we might work. Maybe. |
