March 12, 1990, 2010

FIRST 5 YEARS:(Monday-Taylor, Michigan)
I was awaken by a driver knocking on my tractor. He told me that dispatch had a load for me. I got up and was surprised that it was 9 AM EST. Checked with dispatch and there was a trailer of empty racks in the yard that needed to go to Martin, Tennessee. Got hooked up and did a vehicle inspection. Everything was in order so I was gone by 9:45 AM EST. Headed south on I-75 into Ohio. Once in Ohio, I stayed on I-75 south but a short time when I went south on I-280. . Went to “Just a Truckstop” for bunch and a long break. The truckstop was close to the intersection of I-80 and I-280 in a community named Latchie. I was at the truckstop about 1 ½ hours and left about noon EST. I went south to Hwy 20 and then west back to I-75 south. Travel became more exciting after Findley, Ohio; I became part of a convoy. How many trucks in the convoy?? Don't know as I couldn't count them. The CB radios and radar detectors were on in all the trucks that had them. The Ohio speed limit for trucks was 55 miles/hour and the convoy was moving at 63 most the time I was with it. As the convoy got close to I-70, it started to break up with many of the trucks going to I-70. By the time I got though Dayton, Ohio I was on my own again. I stopped at the truckstop at the intersection of I-75 and Hwy 63 as they had a really great tasting bland of ice cream bar; I bought 4 of them and finished then in less them 20 minutes. I was again heading south on I-75 at 3:30 PM EST. Followed I-75 past I-275, north of Cincinnati, Ohio right down to the Ohio River. Crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky with I-71 having joined up with I-75. Shortly after entering Kentucky, I-75 separates from I-71; I took I-71 to Louisville, Kentucky. The Kentucky truck weigh station was open the they had me stop on the scale. After I stopped with the little weight(about 4,000 lbs of empty ranks) I had on, the DOT officer asked me to bring in ALL my paperwork for examination. I parked the truck and took in my logbook and load paperwork; he looked at the load paperwork for about 15 seconds and then said, “Thank you, you are free to go.”. I went!!! Since I stopped at the scale, and had to log at least 15 minutes by law, I decided to log it as a break also,which it was. Was moving toward Louisville by 5:30 PM EST. I-71 ends in Louisville when it meets I-65 south of the Ohio River. Took I-65 south to Elizabethtown, Kentucky where I grabbed the Wendell H Ford Western Kentucky Parkway west. This parkway has some of the prettiest greenery that one can find in North America-personal feeling. Followed the Parkway to where it meets I-24 and I follow I-24 west until I got to the Julian M Carroll Parkway(toll road in 1990). Stopped in South Fulton, Tennessee for a short break and ended up there for a half hour talking with the people in the convenient store. Took Hwy 45E to Martin, Tennessee where I found the receiver by 10:30 PM CST. The receiver was open and so I checked in. I was told this is a turn around load and that I should open my doors and back up to the dock. They would unload and reload me as I sleep, rest or whatever. I was laying down in my bunk as the day ended....