FIRST 5 YEARS:(Monday-East Troy, Wisconsin)
I had great directions to the first drop of my two drop load. As I got close to the small warehouse I noticed the woods increasing. Sure enough, by the time I got to the small warehouse driveway, I could see only a small portion of the warehouse. The driveway was small also but straight(I could back out with no problem if I had too). I drove up the driveway and found a building with two load/unloading docks and the turnaround to back to those docks was tight but doable.
I was docked at 8 AM CST and five guys started unloading me. It didn't take long and I was gone by 9 AM CST heading for my dropoff in Green Bay. Traveled up I-43 through Milwaukee and then along the Lake Michigan shore line for awhile before heading inland to Green Bay. First time up here and it was a great trip!
I got off I-43 before the huge bridge and found the delivery point at noon CST. I was backed to the dock and unloaded by 1:30 PM CST. What was kind of pretty was that the skies were clear and the air was filled with cottonwood--that's what I was told that floating stuff was.
After unloading, I went to a small truckstop I had past earlier. I went inside and when I was paying for what I wanted to buy I talked with the female clerk. I mentioned the Green Bay Packers Football team and she lost her trend of thought. She started telling me about the football team and after a couple minutes she came back to reality.
I called Dispatch and received my next assignment; a load from Oak Creek, Wisconsin to Oklahoma City that picks up tomorrow afternoon. I took off south on I-43 back down toward Milwaukee. Boy, I enjoyed the trip south through Milwaukee to Oak Creek where I spent the night at the "Big Ball" truckstop. The truckstop was not any big deal!!!. I ate in the restaurant, talked to other drivers and then went to my truck. Just watched my TV before going to sleep...
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 3, 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 but... (2)
- caught-almost (3)
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