I really hated leaving Texas knowing that we were going back to a snowstorm. It was so hard watching the sunset on that Sunday. We had watched the miles of green grass and clothes hanging on the line, and the shorts and kids playing kickball. Oh, how Texas tugged at my heart. But work is work and duty called.
We worked our way up through Texas, Arkansas, into Illinois and then we started to get load offers. They were offering us trips into Minnesota or Wisconsin. But they weren’t wanting to pay us our usual amounts. I couldn’t believe that they just paid us to relocate 1000 miles away and then expected us to run through snowstorms for little pay. No thanks. We declined all of those load offers.
We chose to stop at a truckstop that was still in Illinois although within our distance limit of Gary, IN and we checked in. Pops was trying to nap and I cleaned the truck. As we waited we watched the ice build up on our truck and mirrors. After about an hour we were offered a load picking up that evening in Whitehall, MI and going to Hampton, VA for Tuesday. We accepted and received the load.
We headed out right away because we had 4 hours to our pickup. I was driving and Pops helped navigate me through Gary, IN and then he tried to go to sleep. It was snowing now and laying on top of the ice that had already come. I saw several accidents. And I slowed down and tried real hard not to be one of them. I did not see any road clearing vehicles. The roads were a bumpy washboard of frozen snow and ice. It was a slow trip.
I drove through the city of Grand Haven, MI which billed itself, The Coast Guard City, USA. That caught my interest, since my oldest son, Tom, was in the Coast Guard when he got out of school and one of the boys from his high school class had come to Michigan and served there for years. I texted Tom and left him know my location.
We soon reached our destination. It is right on the shores of Lake Michigan. I backed into the docks and Pops went inside to get our load while I took the dogs for a walk. By then we were loaded, that was quick. So off I drove again while Pops tried to sleep a little more.
The snowing had stopped and it was a little better traveling down out of Michigan. This was my first time coming into MI since working for FedEx. So I now have my fourth state colored in since leaving home last. My four new states this time are: Michigan, Rhode Island, Maine and Wisconsin.
Pops began driving around 12:30am and I went straight to bed. I have really adapted to sleeping in the truck. It has been pretty easy for me to sleep 6-7 hours without waking up. So when I did wake up the next morning we were somewhere in WV. Pops had just stopped at a rest stop for ½ hour so he didn’t want to stop right away, so I waited. We finally stopped at a rest area and I went in right away, nature desperately calling. I took the dogs for a walk when I came back out and then it was time to get moving. I realized that I had not started coffee before going inside so there would be no morning coffee for me. Oh boy.
The only way to make coffee in a moving truck is to sit the coffee pot in the sink. Well, our sink is full of dirty dishes. There was no where for me to put the dirty dishes so I very grouchily (is that a word?) tried to wash and dry dishes while the truck was moving down the road. Try doing that when you’re already grumpy. It was not good. ARRRR! And my First Place lesson this week is all about attitudes! I failed miserably.
I finally got the work done and coffee started, now I was beginning to feel my mood improve, but I was hungry. Yesterday we only drank protein shakes, so I was hungry, very hungry and we had no food except what needed cooked. No way am I cooking while moving down the road.Ugh!
We finally stopped for a fuel stop and before Pops had the truck shut down, I was out the door. I am getting something to eat and don’t anybody get in my way.
I had my mind set on a certain food item from Subway, but of course this stop had no Subway. So I spent way too much at Arby’s to get what I wasn’t wanting. But it turned out to be pretty good anyway. I even ate half of Pops’ sandwich later while he slept. Hehehe
Back on the road again and Eastern Virginia isn’t looking too bad. We made our delivery stop and was unloaded and out of there in no time. We were offered Alexandria, VA for our layover so that is where we are sitting now. Alexandria is just outside of Washington, DC. We have been offered a few loads but none that we are really interested in yet. So we wait.
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