FIRST 5 YEARS:(Monday-New Haven, Indiana)
I had my alarm set for 5 AM EST and after I woke up I went into the store and got some chocolate milk. Went back to my tractor and was at the tire factory down the road by 6 AM EST. The guard at the gate asked for my load number and I gave it to him. He told me to go around to the back of the huge building. I checked in with the night receiving clerk and he told me to back up to a certain dock door(don't remember which one) after I got my doors opened. I did and after I got backed in another truck pulled in from my company. He checked in and pulled in next to me. The factory's day shift came in and unloaded us. 44,000 lbs of rubber was taken off my truck first and the other driver have his load off shortly after me. We called in together and I got on the trucker's ready board for this area first. We both were told to call in later. We pulled our trucks out of the docks and parked them out of the way. We went into the building again and he called in to dispatch and he had a load to Michigan from the plant we were at. It was a sixteen stop tire load. He was upset as all those drops and not many miles. He complained and dispatch told him to live with it!! I should have had that load as I was number 1 on the ready board and when I called in I had no assignment. He said the the company was upset with him and I don't remember anymore of why. He went to another door to get loaded. I called in and was given a load of fenders to pick up in Marion, Indiana going to the auto plant in Kansas City, Kansas.
I left for Marion on Hwy 24 west and took Hwy 930 through Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Got on I-69 south and took Hwy 18 west to Marion. Found the plant on the west side of town and backed into the dock and then checked in at 10:30 AM EST. I was loaded by 11 AM and back on Hwy 18 east by 11:10 AM EST. Continued down I-69 to I-465 south. Got to I-70 and went west through Indianapolis and stopped at our fuel stop at Mooresville, Indiana. This fuel stop was good as they fueled us and we didn't have to log the fueling...we didn't do it. I got 138 gallons and then started west on I-70 again. Stopped in Effingham, Illinois to eat at 2:45 PM CST. I ate with a couple drivers from my company. After eating I left and continued on I-70. Got to I-270 over St. Louis and followed it into Missouri where I caught I-70 west again. I stopped in Kingdom City, Missouri for the night...
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...
June 4, 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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- animals (3)
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- caught-almost (3)
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