FIRST 5 YEARS:(Friday-Piqua, Ohio I-75 rest area)
Not feeling rushed so I was up eating munchies by 8 AM EST. I got these 18 wheels rolling north on I-75 by 8:30 AM EST. Took in the scenery as I approached the southern part of Toledo, Ohio as the land lay out in Canada will be different. Went through Toledo and continued north on I-75 in Michigan where I stopped at our terminal in Taylor(Detroit) for fuel(82 gallons) and Canadian paperwork. Local dispatch informed me that this load was to clear Canadian customs at Sarnia, Ontario and was a "Barcode"(not broker load) customs clearance. I was at the terminal less than an hour when I left at 12:15 PM EST. I took I-75 north into Detroit and met up with I-94 which I took to the big & high Blue river Bridge. At Canadian customs I just had my paperwork scanned by a barcode reader and I was off for the Toronto area. I had thought I would be traveling Hwy 401 from Windsor, Ontario but I came into Canada at Hwy 402. Hwy 402 was heavily forested and Hwy 401 was heavily farmland. I followed Hwy 402 to London, Ontario where I got on Hwy 401 to the northeast. It was 4:45 PM EST when I got to the receiver's lot in Bramalea, Ontario(in the Toronto area). By 5 PM EST I had drop & hooked and was calling my dispatcher to let him know I was empty. He informed me that I had an assigned load and it was also a drop & hook at pickup. The load was insulation from Sarnia--I had been there--going to East Troy & Green Bay Wisconsin. I was on my way to get the load by 5:15 PM EST. I took Hwy 401 to Hwy 402 to Sarnia, getting there at 8:30 PM EST. I hooked to my load and asked if I could sleep on their lot for the night. Yeap was the answer so I slept and didn't even call dispatch until tomorrow...
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...
May 31, 2011
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What's in my blog...???
- 666--Highway (2)
- A Trucker Tale-introduction (1)
- A Trucker's Tale (33)
- abandonment of truck (1)
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- animals (3)
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- caught-almost (3)
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