Frustrating, Frustrating

This week so far has been a rollercoaster of frustrations. We began our week by being paid to relocate to Gary, IN.
I was certain that there was going to be a good load for us once we got there or surely they would not have paid us to come clear up from Nashville, TN. But once we got here late Sunday night we waited and waited and waited some more. All day Monday we were offered loads but at such a measley rate we just laughed. By Monday evening we weren't laughing anymore. It was pathetic. Why would they pay to bring us here and then offer us runs for less than $1.00  per mile? By late Tuesday morning we had had 35 load offers, and only 3 of those were "good" ones and someone higher than us on "dwell time" took those loads.
Right around noon we were offered a load and accepted. We were dispatched and getting ready to go. I had just finished filling out all of the paperwork, when the load cancelled. Ugh!
About an hour later we were offered another fairly good load and accepted. Again with completed paperwork in hand we set out. We drove 86 miles to our pickup and when we were within 1 block, the load cancelled. Ugh, again. That's two in a row.
Again I filled out the paperwork for a dry run. Then we get a phone call saying "No, wait, they want us back on the load." So we find a place on the interstate to turn around (which isn't easy.) But right before we do, they call us again and tell us no, it is cancelled. Oh, My, Goodness!
So we drive back to the truckstop and we are upset. We are tired, because we lost sleep waiting thru loads and then lost sleep driving for nothing. And me without sleep is not a good thing at all.
So right around suppertime, Pops was sleeping or trying to, it is harder yet when you are upset, I was reading and we were offered a load going to Atlanta. Usually Atlanta is not a good place to go because it is hard to get a backhaul, but one of the dispatchers (the one we like) called and took pity on us because of our 2 dry runs and told me that we could relocate to Nashville after delivery. I accepted the load without really talking it over with Pops, but after thinking about it for a few minutes, he was okay with it.
So we picked up our load and headed to Athens, Alabama. I started the drive, but late that night Pops took over. I went to the bunk.
When I woke up at 6am and looked out the windshield I saw a rocket. A rocket. What is that doing there? "Where are we?" I asked. He said we were about 6 miles from delivery. So I got up, made some coffee, went in to the bathroom, walked the dogs, and checked out the rocket.
It was an unmanned, test rocket, a saturn.  Wow! Wow! A real rocket, right in front of me. Who wouldn't want to see that when they woke up? It was brought here to display in 1979. Apparently, the Saturn rockets were built in Alabama. Cool.
So we unloaded our load and headed to Nashville. At least it was turning out to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining and it was warm and getting warmer and we were going to Nashville.
We got there and Pops tried to sleep a little. I cleaned the truck and walked the dogs. Then I settled in with my book.
It wasn't long before we got a load offer and I refused it. It was going to Iowa, which is another place that we are told is hard to get out of. I was looking it up on the map to see if there were any big cities near the delivery town. Somewhere we might get out of easier. (Even if you refuse a load, they will sometimes come back and try to persuade you to take it. So we always look for cities nearby and ask to be located there, or if no cities we will ask for more pay to cover the cost to relocate.) But before I could even research the trip completely, our friendly dispatcher called and pretty much made it hard to refuse. So I accepted. Pops really didn't want to do this trip so he was a little grumbly.
I started the drive and hadn't even driven 20 miles before we got a phone call, the load had cancelled. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME, RIGHT? Once again, I filled out paperwork for a dry run. Pops called our truck owner to see if he could get some insight on why loads were cancelling on us. We have been with this company since the end of September and had only had one load cancel on us before now.
Ok, so this is Wednesday, Noon and we have one relocation load, and 2 dry run loads and only 1 load that paid a little less than average.
I might as well make the best of it, it is still a pretty day. I took the dogs for a walk and took some pictures with my phone. The Titans football field is just one block away. Then I talked to Starla on the phone for awhile and then texted back and forth with Drew.
After about an hour a load opportunity came on the C-link computer. It was our load, the one that had cancelled, and they were offering it at a lower rate than before. I refused it!
In less than 2 minutes it came back through, this time paying $150.00 more than what was offered the first time. I accepted it this time and we got the dispatch. Well, I'm not filling out any paperwork until we are loaded.
I cannot understand why all this was happening. We now are getting $150 more for the load plus the money they paid us for the dry run. That is crazy. But oh well.
We drove to Russelville, KY. That is where the load was picking up. And we got loaded, so I filled out paperwork. We are Iowa bound.
While on our way through KY we past a tall tower. Pops and I both thought it reminded us of the story of Rapunzel. But we found out that it was a memorial to Jefferson Davis. "Who is Jefferson Davis?" I asked Pops. But he didn't know. I told him to Google it and he did. So he was reading to me all about this man who was born in Christian County, Ky and went on to be a great statesman and member of congress and later the President of the Confederate States. Neat. I love Google.
Who knew this job would be educational?
So we delivered in Iowa easily this morning and came to the truckstop in Omaha, NE for a layover. We weren't here long though before we accepted a dispatch picking up this evening in Lincoln, NE and going to Bartonsville, IL which is just outside of Peoria for noon tomorrow.
Man, I hope it doesn't cancel. hahaha