 |
|
|
|
|
...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
|
.. the trip continues from HERE 2024 04 20 KS-IL 1 box truck to Peoria IL ... spending the night at Springfield MO Good chopped ham patties for breakfast. But I should have had yogurt instead of the eggs. I'm surprised that all the food I ate last night did not bother me. Slept good. We pull out at our usual 7:30. 1st stop is for fuel in Russell KS. 24/7 is the name of the place. 2nd stop was in Newton KS for food at Freddies. I like Freddies because they have cherry malts. Or they did. I didn't see it on the list and got a blank look when I asked about it. So I choose a strawberry malt. (I looked online now and they do still have the cherry malt listed) I thought they used to have lots of fruit flavors like Culver's but they only have Strawberry, banana and cherry. And I got a patty melt. I only had a couple of sips of the malt and by the time I was done with my first half of my sandwich I was full. So instead of eating the rest like I usually do, I actually threw it. Malt was good, but you can get strawberry anywhere. 3rd stop was the shipper in Independence. Paperwork was in the box, only three other keys in the boxes. And one of those was picking up before we left. This is a refer box without the refer. So I took extra pictures there so I can show the refer was not on when I picked it up. BB has <> given me directions to get out of town. 160, 169, 166. So I head out without looking closer at a map. Made it. 4th stop is the Loves for fuel in Joplin MO. I don't plan on coming back here. Very crowded. There is only room for the trucks fueling. All other trucks form a single line which blocks all parking spots. I was lucky in getting in and out in 30 minutes, and that was because I was small enough to switch lines. Doesn't help when you have people working on their trucks in the fuel lane. This truck was getting 12+ mpg when I picked it up. It was already down to 11 mpg when I fueled so I put in enough to get to the drop but will most likely need to stop for more. From here BB made a hotel reservation in Springfield. It will be after 5 PM when we get there. 5th and final stop was the Comfort Inn in Springfield. We have stayed at this one a few times before. I know we've stayed here, not sure where we have eaten before. Today we ate at the Whole Hog Cafe. As we walked in, someone asked if we had eaten there before. Once inside and seeing the place empty, they decided to eat next door at Ruby Tuesdays. There were only two other customers when we got there at 6 PM, both eating at the counter. But as we were leaving an hour later, there was a line coming in the door. It looks like this used to be a Shoney's based on the sign shape and building style. Once we got back to the hotel, we went for a walk. We double checked my truck. It is another one that has a dome light that will not shut off. I don't see any of the camera's but they are likely there somewhere. As we started out the fire truck and ambulance went down the frontage road. We walked past where they were but didn't see any action. There also was a police man talking to a couple of drivers who had pulled into a nearby lot. ... we did get our hour walk in. Just walking the streets. This truck was using fuel faster than expected so I likely won't make much on the fuel but the base pay is better than most. Load board US - 227 IA - 2/0 MN -0- WI - 1 We have about six hours tomorrow to Morton, which is close to the drop. It is going to a dealer so they are usually pretty quick on signing off. Some don't even walk out to look at them. 2024 04 21 KS-IL 1 box truck to Peoria IL ... spending the night at Morton IL I have both yogurt and eggs this AM as I do not plan on stopping and eating. We have under 8 hours to go today so am break is not required. The pan-handlers are still sleeping as I drove past their cart before 8 AM. Both our hotel and the discount one next to it were pretty full last night. Unusual to see a no-name hotel with just about all the parking spots full. The Quality Inn on the other side of us was not as full but it did have a transporter with a box truck in the parking lot. Today I don't see BB other than at the hotel. She drops the key off and I am gone ahead of her. I am only driving 65 mph but she does not catch up to me before her first stop. I do notice that the no-name truck stop in Cuba next to the Blue Beacon is now a TA. Another place has upgraded to a one-9 in a nearby town. Coming into St Louis things aren't as good. At one exit the Burger King and Stake-n-Shake had gone out of business 10 years ago and are still empty. Next to the Six Flags, a lot of food places are either empty or have changed names since they were built. BB and I had talked about road construction in St Louis so we looked at a map and were going to take a different route. But I never saw those numbers on the exit signs so I kept going right through down town. No construction today. Worst I had to do was slow down for the exit ramp. Looking back now, I had missed the other turn because the freeway number I was looking for doesn't start until the IL state line. Same freeway, different number in MO. Oh well, I saved a few miles today. 1st stop for me was in Hamel IL at a Loves for a break. I thought I should get food but the lines were long at McD's and Subway and none of the roller food looked good. So I bought and ate a half a cookie. Back on the road I realize that I should have gotten DEF while I was stopped. Gauge is blocked by the steering wheel and it is not often we have to add any on short trips. 2nd stop was at a Road Ranger for DEF. I put in two gallons. I don't want to use my corporate card and pay the fee so I go in and pre-pay and then have to go back in to get a regular receipt. No an issue here, eight fuel island and I am the only truck. But that is why I picked it. Across the street I see the parking lot is packed for that restaurant. Early on I see a large group of motorcycles leave but the lot is still full. When I leave, I realize that 2/3rds of the lot is a car show. That is one way to pack them in. From there it is less than 100 miles to hotel and it is still early so I slow it down. From 65 mph to 62 mph. I have not been getting great fuel mileage today either. It has now dropped from 12 mpg to 10 mpg. And once I started heading north at St Louis it seems to have dropped to about 8 mpg. 3rd stop is the Circle K for more fuel. I am getting close to the 1/8th mark so I put in enough to cover the last miles to the drop. As I'm fueling, I notice one of those cars that has trash inside the car high enough that the driver can't see the right mirror. Then I see the driver ... yeh, he doesn't look like he has seen a shower in two months. Car is fairly new ... ?? Then across the street to the Quality Inn where BB is waiting. Once we check in, we go to a Mexican place across the freeway. Good (enough) food. I couldn't eat all mine but didn't want to take it with. At first the service was good, but then I had to flag someone else down to get my bill, then flag the waiter down a 2nd time because he forgot to bring me my receipt that he went to get. Before dark we go and take our one mile walk. We have been able to do that a few times this week. Saw our first baby geese today. Didn't pet them. No plan for tomorrow beyond dropping this truck. We are about 15 minutes from the drop. Shouldn't get lost this time. 2024 04 22 KS-IL 1 box truck to Peoria IL (delivered) ... spending the night at home Sheets were not made for this bed. They barely reached the sides before we got under the covers ... Breakfast was the basics. I'm guessing there were only a dozen or so guests last night. The computer says the drop opens at 8 AM so that is what time we decide to get there and it is <> less than 15 miles away. I find the drop, no problem. But every parking spot is in front of a door. Every congested, old dealership in town. I take my paperwork in to the service desk, they ask where the check off list is and when I tell them there is not one ... they just sign my copy right there. From there they can not even see there is a truck outside. And they did not want a copy. No problem on my end. We are free to go. And I do not need to have BB fire up the GPS to get out of town. I know the way from right here. We have time to do one more leg to our trip if it is in route. We had not planned on being home on Monday. We had talked about which trips could work and finally there is one heading back to MN that is almost in route. BB says I should call on it. But I want her to run the numbers first. What time will we pick up, where will we drop the rental car, when can we drop the unit. It suddenly becomes "I'm done." So we are just heading home. That happens. So instead I can get a couple of days in on the tractor before it rains. ... it's been a good trip. Two weeks work including one day off and a $500 rental car and we still made enough to cover this months bills. 2nd stop was at a rest area near Alpha. It had been less than an hour but ... And from here I texted that I can be ready on the tractor tomorrow instead of Wednesday. 3rd stop was the Flying J in Davenport. Usually it is the Loves but today their discount does not offset their higher price. And we didn't know this until we got here, the Flying J pumps are now working again. They ran slow for a long time. Somewhere on I-80 there was a highway truck on the side of the road saying slow traffic ahead. Slow ... as in stopped. Finally a cop passed us on the grass. A few cars were making U-turns and going up the entrance ramp backwards but other than that we did not move. For 15-20 minutes we sat. Then we started to move ... and everyone got right up to highway speeds. No sign of any issues anywhere. ??? 4th stop was the Chik-fil-A in Waterloo. To go. 5th stop was the shipper in Forest City to pick up our car. Lot is mostly empty. When we get there, BB gets to the door first. It is locked (?) So she looks up the code and I punch it in. Doesn't work the first time for me so BB tries it. It works. When we get inside, everyone is there. So I mentioned we were locked out ... but we were not ... I tried the door on the way out. It was not locked. No idea. Guess we were loosing it. We are early enough in the day that BB changes the drop location so that she can get a receipt. We rarely get a receipt at the airport and it is often days later when they check our car in. 7th stop is the grocery store so we have food for a few days. Then we stop at Dino's so we have food for tonight. 8th and final stop is home. After we were home a while, I decided to run down and get gas tonight so I don't forget in the AM when I will likely be in a rush. As I leave the driveway, I notice a large group of kind in the neighbors driveway. I don't know them at all and it crosses my mind that ... there goes the neighborhood. :) ... When I come back ... the whole group of kids ... are line dancing in the driveway :) ... rough bunch. Load board US - 222 IA - 2/0 MN -0- WI - 4 We will be either not working or working local for the next three weeks. 2024 04 23 MN Load board - Tuesday US - 236 IA - 2/0 MN - 3 WI - 7 Load board - Wednesday US - 205 IA - 2/0 MN - 0 WI - 7 Load board - Thursday US - 205 IA - 2/0 MN - 3 WI - 8 |
