FIRST 5 YEARS:(Saturday-Williamsburg, Iowa)
I wanted to have breakfast(steak and eggs) here but decided to hit the road and get moving. I was heading east on I-80 before 4:30 AM CST. Just after I got going I saw a really bright green and what appeared huge shooting star in front of me...a sign that things were going to go good today???? I followed I-80 around the quad-cities(Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island and Moline)into Illinois and found the Illinois state weigh stations closed. I am now in the state I consider the most boring to go through(at least the parts of it I go through) because of all the same looking farmland mile after mile after mile after mile...yawn!!!! After I passed I-55(I am continuing on I-80),the traffic became heavier. I-80/I-94, after the two join, I feel, is the busiest strip of highway in the United States. I stopped at the “Just a Truckstop” in Lake Station, Indiana(9:45 AM EST), for a break and breakfast. While I was in the truckstop, I had a short conversation with the gal polishing footwear about the BEAR standing by her(see “The Bear” below). I wasn't in any hurry so I went to the movie room and sat for awhile watching something that was on. About noon EST I left for my destination, Taylor(Detroit suburb)Michigan by following I-94 east from where it split from I-80 in Indiana. About 45 minutes after leaving the truckstop I entered Michigan and it wasn't long before I started hitting foggy patches. Glad I am not hitting this fog at night as it can get hard to see what's in front of me. Uneventful day and I found myself pulling into the Taylor terminal before 4:30 PM EST. I dropped the trailer as I was told that is what I was going to do when I got the load. Gave the paperwork for the load I brought in to the dispatcher and didn't go on the trucker's ready board...Watched TV in the trucker's lounge until about 9 PM EST and then went to bed...
The BEAR: In the “Just a Truckstop” in Lake Station, Indiana, there was a large Grizzly Bear in a glass casing. The bear was mounted standing on it's hind legs with it's front paws outstretched with it's mouth open. Close to it was a stand where this gal was polishing boots and shoes. To make conversation I just said to her,”Boy, that looks like my ex-wife.” To that comment I made she said,”You truckers are so stupid. You all married the same woman...”.
Side note: The bear really didn't look like my ex-wife and it probably didn't look like the other truckers ex-wives either....
I kept a day by day journal the first 5 years I was enjoying North America. While earning a living,I kept track of where I went, often what I did, feelings I had and various other details. I am writing this blog day by day as I lived it. The month/day I lived it is the same as the month/day I write about it. The years are obviously different...thus the days title: ie: August 30, 1989, 2009.
About Me
- The Protraveller...
- Starting as a preschooler, I remember my Grandfather bringing me rocks from his trips he took after he retired. Each rock had a story to tell. In the sixth grade, I watched a freeway be built and then wondered where all the trucks would go. I remember in high school looking at the mountains and wanting to travel. I did many jobs BEFORE trucking but I always wondered what driving would by like. I really wanted to see things and drive a big truck. So after almost finishing nursing school, a divorce and three cute little kids, I became a truck driver. While earning a living, I found myself enjoying North America and seeing the land and people. NO ONE ENJOYED TRAVELING MORE THAN ME. There are two things I have enjoyed in this life and they are traveling and writing. I use to call myself "Protourist" but my Mother-in-law and Wife would become upset with me as they know I really love THE "travel" and not THE stopping to see things. I now call myself "protraveller"(I like it with a double "L") and my Mother-in-law and Wife are now happy!!! I love to write and this blog gives me the opportunity to share my past and thoughts with the public.
About this blog's layout...BLOG UPDATED ONCE PER DAY...
I follow my journal daily by writing under the daily title, "FIRST 5 YEARS:" The first five years will strictly follow my 5 year journal. If I find the day I am writing about to be boring, I will either write about thoughts I remember(placed under the title of "SECOND 5 YEARS"), write a trucker tale(placed under "A Trucker's Tale"), give a helpful trucker hint, ask a "student driver" question or do something.....When a location appears after the day of the week after "FIRST 5 YEARS:", it is where I am at the start of that day((IE: FIRST 5 YEARS: (Sunday-Kansas City, Missouri))..... I would encourage those that find themselves enjoying North America to follow me day by day.....REMEMBER: THIS IS A BLOG ABOUT WHAT LIFE IS LIKE FOR A TRUCKER THAT DOES NOT HAVE A DAILY ROUTINE ROUTE(called a "dedicated" route). THERE WILL BE MANY TIMES WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE SIMILAR(boring???) TO PREVIOUS DAYS; THAT'S TRUCKING! THERE WILL BE DAYS WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE TOTALLY NEW; THAT'S TRUCKING. Frustrations? I mention the frustrations I had as a driver. I loved my job while earning a living and realized that all jobs have frustrations; truck driving is, and was, no different..... Many pictures on this blog can be left-clicked and made larger.....Questions?...Please E-mail PT at fabalt2000@centurylink.net
Blog Dictionaries...
The Trucking Dictionary...words in this dictionary will many times appear highlighted. If a word isn't highlighted or in the blog dictionary and sounds "different", check it out in this dictionary. Please note: Many times when clicking on these dictionaries anywhere in the blog, the first thing that comes up is an advertisement which I have no control over.
The Blog Dictionary...This dictionary contains words I use that aren't "trucker" words and thus not in the "trucking dictionary". I separate them--the dictionaries--in case someone wants to copy the trucking dictionary for personal use. This dictionary also contains names of people(not real names) that I dealt with many times through my trucking career. Blog word found in this dictionary often will be licked to it.
DAILY UPDATES SHOULD BE UP BY NOON CST...
March 10, 2010
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What's in my blog...???
- 666--Highway (2)
- A Trucker Tale-introduction (1)
- A Trucker's Tale (33)
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