We got to the Fedex terminal early and then waited for the other truck to show up. He was a really nice guy, but not a team so he couldn't make the long run on time. We had to be there by the next day.
He had just picked up in Joplin, MO and was telling us all about the devastation that he saw. He said that the bearings plant was bearly touched while everything else is all gone. Pops and I had been to that plant before so we knew the layout of the area.
These are some pictures of the truckstop area in Joplin, Mo.
Anyway, we got the load transfered and got moving.
Pops drove all that night and then I started to drive as soon as I woke up in the morning. We found our delivery place without any difficulty, but they were busy and we had to wait. That is unusual for us because most places are waiting desperately for our loads. Even still we were out and away from there in less than an hour.
Now we needed some water and groceries. We had passed a grocery store and Walmart on the way into town so we tried to get back there.
Walmart parking lot was not made for our size truck so we had a hard time getting around. We finally found enough space to park near the garden center and Pops waited with the truck in case he needed to move it. I went into the store and bought what we needed.
I hardly even had time to put our groceries away before we were on our next load. We had a pickup in Philadelphia and going to Dallas.
We had an early morning pickup in downtown Philly, so we had the rest of this day free. We drove to a truckstop within 2 hours of Philly and shut down for the night.
As soon as we got parked I took the dogs outside for a walk. The grass was high behind the truck so I didn't let them go far. When we were walking back to the truck I saw something on Lucy and sure enough it was a tick. I got it off quickly before it had time to attach itself to her and then checked her thoroughly. I also checked Chuck and he had two on him. Ugh! Now I'm creeped out. I could hardly stand it. I just determined that we weren't going to leave the inside of the truck.
Huh, that thought didn't last long though, because I realized that since we were going to Dallas I had better get some laundry done. So I gathered all the dirty clothes and went inside to do laundry while Pops took a nap in the truck. I took a book along to occupy myself while in there.
We woke up in the morning around 5:30am, made some coffee and got moving.
Traffic into Philly wasn't too bad considering it was nearer to 8:00am by the time we got close to the city. We had to go right downtown. And drive into an underground parking garage. There were docks in there, but not very much room to manuever. And of course I was driving. I did get us wiggled into a dock and Pops helped to load our truck. We had 4 tall computers. Each one was on a pallet, 4'x4' and 72" tall.
It was much easier getting out of that city than going in, I guess everyone was to work by then.
However we were sent down through Deleware, and Maryland on I95 so traffic was heavy again going through Baltimore and on down to DC. And then again near Manassas, VA.
After that it thinned out and got more rural and open. So I made up some time. I drove out my 10 hours and then Pops started to drive around 7:30pm.
I stayed awake and talked to him to help pass the time until about 12:30am and then I went to the bunk. We had just come into Tennessee.
When I woke up we were in Arkansas and it was close to 8am. We pulled over at a parking area and I got some coffee going and then walked the dogs. Then I started driving.
I finished driving through Arkansas. I could not believe how flooded many areas still were.
Farmers everywhere were trying to get their fields ready or in some cases harvesting wheat already, but the standing water was causing a lot of problems.
I always like driving through Little Rock. It is a pretty city with quite a few tall buildings. But you are through it before you know it.
Then Texarkana. This town is on the border of Arkansas and Texas, similar to how Memphis is in both Tennessee and Arkansas. And finally we drove into Texas.
I have always said I understand Texas being the Lonestar State. Texas is big! It is like a nation unto itself. It really is. You can drive and drive and hardly get started into Texas.
We have been all over it and it has it all; mountains, deserts, prairies. It is hard to not like Texas. You can find a location that would suit just about anybody. But it is hot everywhere.
It was close 100 degrees today and very humid. It almost felt like you were trying to breathe under water.
We didn't get out any more than we had to that is for sure.
We stopped once for fuel this morning and found a litter of kittens living there behind the building. They were cute and I tried to make friends until Pops said, "leave them alone or they'll follow us back to the parking lot." I saw his wisdom because with over 100 trucks back there, it wouldn't be a good place for them. Besides you could tell someone was feeding them well and taking care of them.
Moving again, we rolled into Dallas around 3:30. Our delivery was scheduled for 7:30, but the guy was very glad to see us early. He was going to go home and then have to come back later, but now he could get us unloaded and leave to go home and be off for the whole long weekend. I love making people happy.
Then we headed to Walmart. It is Friday. Monday is Memorial Day so I am thinking there is a possibility of sitting for a few days.
I wanted to have picnic food if that was the case, so I bought some hot dogs and other stuff so Pops and I could cook on the grill and have a picnic just the two of us.
We also got our truck serviced and our tires balanced. I threw off a wheel weight this morning and then we had a horrible shimmy. That took up most of our evening.
We found a great parking place on an end spot of the Flying J. We have a BIG grassy area next to us with a shade tree! And behind us is a sidewalk. It seems like a good place to set up our grill and our chairs and settle in for the holiday.
How much do you want to bet that we get a load and won't be able to stay? Oh well, we'll see.
I miss you all so much. You would be surprized if you knew how often I think about you.
PS: We got a wonderful email from Will R. from the Redwings. It was good to hear from him again. Although, I seriously think he missed his calling. He should be a blogger too. It is so good to meet good people and get to know them and to know the places they call home. Thanks, Will.
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