FIRST 5 YEARS:(Monday-Chicago, Illinois)
Bill(my oldest son that's riding with me for awhile) and I had to sleep in the same small buck and we succeeded. I was up at 6 AM and Bill slept. I checked in when the company opened but I didn't have an appointment. I waited for awhile and then the company moved me in to be unloaded. I was backing in when Bill got up and the place got me unloaded by 10 AM CST.
After unloading, I called dispatch and got a load to pick up in Chicago going to Port Allen, Louisiana.
I got to the pickup in the southern part of Chicago. The one dock had a truck in it and to back in I had to do it-the backing-off a busy street. It wasn't long and they had me back in. Boy, the dock was tight and built into the building. I got backed in in one try. Bill and I walked to the dock and found that we were hauling a whole trailer of McDonald Happy Meal Toys. The load weighed 22,670 lbs and they had me loaded by 12:15 PM CST. I couldn't call dispatch from this company and I had to move my truck. Since there wasn't a place for me to park and no phone to call from I went down I-57 to Morgan Park(Southern Chicago) and called when I got off the interstate.
Got Back on I-57 southbound and boy was that a boring ride!!! We took a short break after the Buckley, Illinois exit. Man, I thought we would never get through Illinois!!! We stopped at our fuel stop in Effingham, Illinois and fueled(128 gallons) and ate. Followed I-57 into Missouri and to where it met I-55. Took I-55 into Arkansas and down to West Memphis where we crossed into Memphis, Tennessee. Stayed on I-55 to southern Memphis and stopped at our Memphis terminal. Time was 10:15 PM CST and so I stopped 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 11, 2010
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- 666--Highway (2)
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