FIRST 5 YEARS:(Monday-Marietta, Georgia)
I was number 1 in a line of trucks at the gate at 6 AM EST. I was awake at 5:30 AM EST and watched numerous trucks go in and out of the companies gate.
Side Note: When delivering to company warehouses, the company trucks-preparing to deliver their produces-usually have priority at the docks; they are often loaded and dispatched before the new products-that's us-will be taken care of. Get use to it...
I and Quiet Man(the driver I've run with for the last couple days) were the first two trucks through the gate to be unloaded.
Once to the dock, I was unloaded immediately but Quiet Man was not. I told Quiet Man that I would meet him at the shopping center about a half mile south of us. I left the dock and went to the shopping mall. I called dispatch and had no loads assigned to me yet so I parked my truck in the middle of the parking lot. I laid down and waited. It wasn't long and someone was knocking on my driver's door. I answered the call and the guy knocking suggested that I move my truck. There was a VW sitting next to me with an engine fire doing nicely. I pulled my truck forward and grabbed my fire extinguisher to see if I could help. By the time I got to the VW, the fire was out. I just want back to my tractor and waited.
Quiet Man showed up about 9:30 AM EST and we both checked with dispatch. I had a load to pick up in Hartwell, Georgia.....and take it back to Ford in St. Paul, Minnesota. Quiet Man had a load from Atlanta to El Paso, Texas. I took off for Hartwell down I-75; east on I-285 and then north(now east) on I-85 just about to the South Carolina border. Went south to Hartwell, getting to the pickup at 12:30 PM EST.
Picked up a pretty light load, some kind of car interiors, weighting 22,860 Lbs. They loaded me and I was out of there 1:15 PM EST.
Looking at this routing, boy, nothing too exciting. I decided to take I-85 north into South Carolina and then I-26 up into North Carolina where I grabbed I-40 westbound. I got to our truckstop in Knoxville, Tennessee at 5:15 PM EST and filled my tanks(89 Gallon). I wasn't there long and then off I took. Followed I-75 north. The interstate is fun for me north of Knoxville as I feel it is a roller coaster going into Kentucky....LOVE IT!!! Interesting stories around this border area but no time to write about them.
Running tired now and getting close to my 10 hour rule. I stopped at Walton, Kentucky-our fuel stop-for a break at 9:45 PM EST. I went right to sleep...My day ended with snoring no doubt...
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...
August 6, 2010
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