STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 22489: Bonduel Balderdash

Another wasted day. Seems like there are too many of them lately. I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels out here. At least I’m in a nice little truck stop with food available. It is pretty good too. I had a bacon cheeseburger and fries for lunch. Then, I stocked up my ‘fridge’ with some chili, chicken w/ wild rice soup, a nice salad with chicken and some Caesar dressing, canned fruit, cottage cheese, and sundry other items from their store. I’ve been inside the store thrice over the course of the day out of sheer boredom.
I guess I’ll stop rambling now and tell you how I got here.

Wednesday, February 4th: The weather was even colder than last night, but without the rain. It got down to 16 degrees last night. That is cold for Atlanta. I finally received a PrePlan this morning. It’s about time. It picked up in Eastanollee, GA and delivered in Shawano, WI. I left the terminal at 0900 and drove to the shipper, arriving about 1130. It took about an hour for the ‘live load’. I left Eastanollee at 1230 and drove to Knoxville, TN. I took a break here for about an hour. I ran into some snow going through the mountains between Ashville, North Carolina and the Tennessee state line, but it didn’t amount to much. I left about 1715 and drove to Greenburg, IN, about 35 miles east of Cincinnati, OH. I encountered more snow going through Kentucky. I also discovered that my windshield washers were not working. I had to stop a couple of times to wash my windshield by hand. Fun, fun, fun in the snow.

Thursday, the 5th: I got a late start this morning. I decided to have a PM Service done on my truck. I could have had it done while I was at the terminal in Decatur, but there was a long wait just to get in the shop (as usual) and, in all probability, I would have lost my empty trailer while in the shop. I also fixed my windshield washers. I pulled both of the spray nozzles off and cleaned them with water as I was doing my morning toilette. They were both clogged. It seem like a molecule of debris is all it takes. I left about 1000 and drove to our terminal in Gary, IN where I stopped for fuel. I then drove to the consignee in Shawano and parked there for the night.

Friday, the 6th: I delivered the load from Eastanollee this morning first thing. That was pretty much it for the day. There was a loaded Swift trailer here and a couple of people asked if I was there to pick it up as well, but it was for pick-up by one of our drivers on a Dedicated Account, and I couldn’t take it. Too bad, it was going to El Paso. TX, good miles for a week-end. Instead, I drove the 10 odd miles here to Bonduel to wait. Late this afternoon, I recieved a PrePlan which picks up in Green Bay, WI and delivers in Cedar Rapids, IA (a whopping 300 miles). It isn’t scheduled for pick up until midnight tomorrow night and delivers at 0200 on Monday. I’ll stay here tonight, then call the Shipper in the morning. This customer preloads Swift loads, so it will probably be ready early. I’ll adjust my schedule for tomorrow accordingly. Unfortunately, it won’t deliver early, so I’m still stuck with the delivery in the wee hours of Monday morning.

Saturday, the 7th: I decided to just hang out here in Bonduel again today. No sense disrupting my serenity. Besides, I couldn’t get in contact with the Shipper. Every time I called, I got voicemail. There were no ‘prompts’ to the shipping department using the phone number that I had.  My load is probably ready, but it will be just as ready tomorrow morning when I pick it up. As a bonus, I’ll have enough consecutive hours off for yet another 34-hour re-start.

Life Day 22486: Decatur Doldrums

I’m sitting here at the Swift terminal in Decatur (Atlanta), GA, waiting for a PrePlan. I spent last night in Conyers (also Atlanta), after delivering there yesterday afternoon. Freight is obviously still slow everywhere. The weather is cold, windy, and rainy, although it could be worse. Last week, they had an ice storm here.
Now to update the chronicles.

Wednesday, the 28th (cont’d): In the evening, I called the customer and discovered that my load was ready. I headed to Van Nuys arriving about 2300. I did the drop/hook pick-up and headed out a little after midnight. I drove to Quartzsite, AZ, arriving about 0600. I stopped for the night/morning.

Thursday, the 29th: After sleeping for 5 or so hours, the MMM ganged up on me and wouldn’t allow me anymore rest, so I got out of bed. I called Donald and arranged to meet for lunch. About a half hour later, they picked me up. We went to the Mountain Quail Cafe. Donald and I had the Hot Meatloaf Sandwich special and Dawn & Lou split a Taco Salad. All was delicious. After lunch, Donald took me back to my truck and I moved over to their campsite. I parked on US-95 outside the campground and took the MMM over to their RV. We visited until about 1530 when I returned to the truck and headed out again. I drove to a Rest Area at mm-320 on I-10 (about 60 miles east of Tucson). I was going to continue on to El Paso, but by the time I finished walking the MMM, I realized I was too tired to continue. I stayed here for the night.

Friday, the 30th: I left the Rest Area about 0900. I drove to our terminal in El Paso where I fueled, walked the MMM, and showered. After that, I went to the Flying J truck stop for dinner. I then continued on my journey. I drove to Sanderson, TX where I stopped for the night.

Saturday, the 31st: I left Sanderson at 0900 and drove to Del Rio. I stopped at the Wally World here to replenish my consumables. I then walked over to the near-by Luby’s Cafeteria for lunch. I had chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes & gravy, and corn, and a couple of corn muffins for my entree, a carrot and raisin salad, strawberry shortcake for desert and sweet iced tea to drink. It was too much, so I took the strawberry shortcake with me for later. When I finished lunch, I drove on to Laredo and delivered the load. Amazingly, I received a  good PrePlan that was already sitting in our terminal that delivered in Conyers, GA. I was astonished because I while en route from Del Rio, I saw a number of “bob-tail” Swift trucks heading the other way. I thought for sure that, being Saturday, I would be waiting at least until tomorrow for a load. I left Laredo at 1845 and drove to Flatonia, TX where I stopped for the night. That pesky 14 hour rule strikes again.

Sunday, Feb 1st: I left Flatonia at 0900 (again) and drove to Crowley, LA. I took a short break. It had started to rain, but slackened long enough for me to walk the MMM without getting too wet. I then drove to Gulfport, MS. I had dinner, then finished my day by driving to Owassa, AL. Seems to me that there was some sport of sporting event going on, but I missed it. Must not have been too important.

Monday, the 2nd (Groundhog Day): A couple of hours after Punxsutawney Phil arose at sunrise and saw his shadow, thus indicating that there will be 6 more weeks of winter, I left Owassa. I drove to our terminal in Decatur for fuel. Next, I drove the 10 remaining miles to the consignee in Conyers, GA. After I did the drop/hook delivery, I drove the 1.5 miles back to the intersection of I-20 where I found a place to park and wait for my next load near a convenience store and a Waffle House restaurant. What more cold a guy ask for. I waited for the remainder of the day.

Today, Tuesday, the 3rd: Still waiting for a PrePlan. I remained where I was until about 1500, then got bored and drove back to our terminal in Decatur. I’ll still be bored, but at least I’ll be able to replenish the MMM’s water bottles and have a better internet connection. As of 1900, I still have no PrePlan.