Oh it seems like we sat in New Hampshire forever, although it is a very pretty place to wait. I did get tired of being there. We just wanted to work. What is going on? I cannot believe we are so close to Boston and not getting anything.
Then Monday late afternoon we did get a load picking up in Norwich, CT and going to Dallas, TX. We didn't really think going to Texas was a good idea for loads but at the same time we couldn't pass up this load and risk not getting one at all.
So I started the drive and of course, it was rush hour all through the state of Connecticut. And we all know that rush hour means you don't move very fast at all. So down through Bridgeport and again at New Haven we stopped and started and stopped again until we inched our way across CT. I did manage to get a peek at the ocean every once in a while as we passed through there.
Finally we got through the state of NY and into PA and there Pops and I switched driving. I stayed awake the rest of the way through PA and for the 12 miles of MD and the 26 miles of WV that we traveled through on I 81. Then I went to the bunk, exhausted.
When I woke up we had already gone down and then across the state of VA and we were near Crossville, TN. Pops got us to a Walmart and then after picking up a few items, I began my day driving again.
I drove through Nashville, I just love that AT&T building there, and then through Jackson, and then on into Memphis, across the Mississippi River and into Little Rock, AR. Somewhere around that time we switched driving again.
VA and TN take a long time to travel through, it seems.
When I woke up the next morning we were already unloaded at the place of delivery and Pops was looking for a truckstop for us to head to. We took our time and drank some coffee and read our Bible and prayed before we got moving.
I love it that we can read and study together and pray together finally after all these years. It is the most enjoyable part of my day.
So we found a truckstop at Rockwall, TX to wait out our layover. It was Wednesday morning. We were 12 miles from Dallas. Surely we will be out of here by noon. Hah, we waited and we waited and we waited and did not get any load offers until 4:30 in the afternoon and it was snatched up by another truck before we even got it read the whole way through.
We did not see another load offer that day or by noon of the next day. So Pops sent a message to our company asking if something was wrong that we weren't seeing loads. They replied that they were working on something for us. But by now we were one of 21 vehicles in Dallas, just our company, not to mention the competitors, waiting for a load.
We tried to be patient and keep busy. It wasn't easy to keep from irritating each other especially since the outside temps were 106- 107 and we had to stay in the truck.
By the next day at noon we had received another 3-4 offers but we watched each one be snagged by someone else even though we were supposed to be the top truck.
Then around 2:00 we did get a load, a pretty good one too. It picked up in Lewisville, TX (just north of Dallas) and was going to LaCrosse, WI. We were so happy to get moving.
We made our pickup in Lewisville and routed ourselves toward WI. Our Qualcomm computer in the truck wasn't working. The whole system was down we were told and no idea when it would be fixed. Great! So we had no idea about any of the details of our load or our trip. But it was a long way to Wisconsin so we could use a map and follow the interstates and then worry about when we got closer. It did help that we would be traveling Route 35N for almost the entire way.
I watched the dried up cornfields of Texas pass by and then watched the dried up cornfields of Oklahoma pass by and then we entered Kansas and again mile after mile of dried up cornfields. Wow, what is this going to do to our already messed up economy? How sad to see the farmers baling up the dried corn. At one point along the way we saw a wildfire burning up everything along the highway. You could see the smoke from miles away. Boy, do they need rain here. Pray for rain for Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Once we reached Iowa though the corn looked amazing. It was fresh and green and oh so tall. It was also good in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We saw so much good corn there. Of course we had to stop so I could buy some. Umm Umm, I love fresh corn. There's nothing better. Oh yeah, I bought some tomatoes and zucchini too.
The Mississippi River Valley around LaCrosse, WI was the most beautiful place we have been to in a long time. It was so green and fertile looking and the people enjoying the water and the parks made us want to linger there. But wouldn't you know it, when we wanted to spend some time we got sent away from there for our layover. We were going to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for layover. Oh well, LaCrosse I hope we get to come back here before winter.
But while we were there we needed a slight repair and went to the repair shop. While we were there Pops found out about their farm and the large deer that were there.
We had seen on the internet a picture of two very large bucks that had been fighting and got their antlers tangled together and couldn't get apart so that neither could eat or drink and they both ended up dying. Well, these deer were here. They were found on their farm and were here at the shop. So Pops and I tried to take a picture but the glare is pretty bad. You can see it a little bit. But what a small world that they were here.
Anyway we made our way back to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Along the way Pops and I saw several cropdusting airplanes and one helicopter. They are so much fun to watch. They swoop and dive and then climb into the air only to do it again, with long trails of smoky dust following behind.
And then finally to Walmart at Cedar Rapids. Pops was so tired that he fell asleep while eating supper. It reminded me of when my kids were small and fell asleep in their highchairs.
So I sit and wait.
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