Come along for the Ride!

I am so glad you are here. Stay with us as we travel everywhere. I hope you will enjoy the ride.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Pictures

I have many pictures I would like to post but since I have switched to Apple products I am having trouble figuring it all out. I guess I will have to go back to my computer to put those on, but first now then is getting them to my old computer. Technology is so great if you know how to use it.

Vacation

Well Pops and I ae now back to work after having 15 days off for vacation. He and my son in law Bill went to Ohio for a hunting trip and Starla and I had a jam packed 2 weeks of girl time. I don't want to bore you with too many details so I will try to be brief as I tell you how we spent our days.
Pops and I got home Wednesday afternoon. We were pretty close after we delivered in Kearneysville, WV so we headed home right away.
Pops and I had talked about trading his pickup truck in for a brand new one. Our logic in this thinking was, it is almost paid off and still has fairly low miles, but we are retiring in 3 years and Pops will not ever get another new truck if we don't do it now. So he, Starla and I went to Somerset for some new tires.
We hated to buy new tires but the ones that were on were in really bad shape so we decided to replace 2 of them. But when we got to the tire place we were offered a set of 4 used tires for a fraction of what I was going to spend on 2 new ones. So we took the used ones.
After that we drove directly to a Chevy dealer in Somerset and Pops shopped the trucks. He did find one that he liked and a deal was worked up. However Pops doesn't shop like that without comparing so we took the figures and left the dealership.
When we got home we ate some supper and visited with Bill P. for awhile before everyone went to bed.
Pops and I got up early the next morning and drove to Cumberland, MD. I needed to get some groceries and Pops and I also stopped at a Chevy dealership down there. Well, 5 hours and 4 deals on paper later we did leave the dealership with a brand new chevy silverado. We got a good deal. Pops seemed pretty happy with his new truck.
When we got back to the house I got busy preparing food and Pops gathered his hunting things together. He and Bill were planning to leave tonight sometime.
After supper the guys went to bed and Starla and I sat up watching movies. The guys got up and left the house by 2am. Girl time will now begin. Well, after we get some sleep girl time will begin.
On Friday girl time didn't seem like so much fun. We cleaned the entire house putting away every trace of man stuff. Then we went shopping. I wanted and needed to get some Christmas shopping done while we were home and I wanted to get stuff to make fudge too.
After getting all of our shopping done and carried to the car we stopped at Applebees for supper. Then back to the house for the evening.
Saturday was used mostly for just relaxing and hanging out. I got to catch up on several tv shows that Starla had recorded for me.
On Saturday evening it was game night at the church building. Wills Mt. has several game nights throughout the year and I really like this one in November because it is usually the only one that I get to go to. We had such a good time too. The kids and the adults played some really fun games and of course there is always good food. I had a great time.
Sunday morning Starla and I got up early so that I could attend the Ladies early Bible study at the church. After that was Sunday school and then church. Drew and Shelbie came to church today. It was so good to see them. I really like Shelbie. I think she brings the best out of Drew.
I stayed for the fellowship lunch after the services but then quickly ran home to let the dogs out for awhile.
Then I went back down to the church building because Shelbie was getting baptized today and Drew was baptizing her. I knew that this was going to be special for both of them.
Her mom and grandparents were there when I got back and it was nice meeting them. Drew was nervous but he did do a good job and now I have a new sister in Christ. Congratulations, Shelbie.
Starla and I stuck around after this because there was going to be a church financial meeting and then evening church.
Jeff came to church tonight. It was good to see him. I miss seeing him. His health hasn't been real good lately so I was glad to see him there.
When Monday came I was really excited. Last year my boys and Starla and I traveled to DC for a first time visit and enjoyed a fun time. This year we decided to go to Gettysburg. Starla and I had spent the last 2 evening at home watching the Gettysburg movie because I wanted a little background as we toured the area. And once there, I was really glad that we had done that.
We stopped for breakfast first in Cumberland then headed to Gettysburg. The day was warm and sunny and it was a really nice time. I think that all of us enjoyed it. We did the auto tour and stopped at many of the memorials along the way. Then we went into the visitors center for a little while. After we left Gettysburg we stopped for supper at Shoneys in Hagerstown. Then we decided to go see a movie before calling the end to our day. We looked to see what was playing and a Denzel Washington movie called Flight and a catoon movie called Wreck it Ralph were the 2 we settled on. We flipped a coin to choose between the two and Wreck it Ralkph won the toss.
I could not believe 4 full grown adults were sitting in a theater watching a cartoon movie and it seemed a little odd at first but then the movie actually got good and we had a good time.
Then Starla and I headed home after dropping the boys off at their house. It was a long tiring day and tomorrow is going to be another one. We have plans with my sister, Amy.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Military load

The next morning after breakfast and taking the dogs out, we drove the 9 miles to the military base. We didn't have to do anything at the gate because we have been here so many times, they know us and we know what to do. So we basically drove right through the gate and to the building that we load from.
We were only hauling 2 pallets so it didn't take Pops long to get it secured in the truck. By the time I had the paperwork signed and done he was done also.
We had both slept pretty well all night long so as I started the drive, Pops sat up and chatted with me and played on his Ipad. I drove us back southeast through Wisconsin and into Illinois. Pops then went to take a nap so that he could drive during the night. Although we figured we would get there around 2:30am if we drove straight through. But we couldn't get there early and we couldn't stop for more than an hour at a time with this particular load. So I drove and only took 2 breaks which meant that Pops would drive, take an hour break, drive some more, stop for an hour and repeat until it was time for our delivery.
Anyway, I drove until we were almost at the Ohio line and then he started to drive.
He drove until near Pittsburgh and thats where he took his first hour break. We both laid down and slept. When he got up he didn't wake me. I kind of remember him getting back into bed at one point but not really.
It turns out that he stopped at one point for fuel and lingered there awhile and then somewhere near Winchester, VA he did get into bed for another hour.
He called my name and woke me up when we were 15 miles away. Usually we both have to be awake at the gate. But this time I wouldn't have had to be. It was a Reserve unit and there was no security at all. We drove straight to the building and around back to the dock.
There was a young man there that was very excited to receive our load. He told Pops that today was his day off but he decided to come in and good thing he did because there was no one else there. So he and Pops unloaded the truck and we headed to Alexandria, VA for layover.
I was driving now and we were on a rural road. Pops was in the passenger seat. I looked over to the right into a field and there stood 2 eagles. They were closer than I've ever been to one, right along the road. They were huge. Pops and I both saw them and wished that we could've stopped and taken pictures but we had traffic behind us and there was no where to pull over. Oh well, that's the way it goes.
We got to the rest area near Alexandria and settled in for layover. We were offered many loads that were going into the storm damaged areas. We declined all of those.
Finally around 5pm we got a load that picks up in the morning near Dulles airport and is going only 50 miles away but it gets us less than 100 miles from home. And after that we are heading home for vacation!!!!
I can't wait to get home. I can't wait to see my kids. I can't wait to see my friends. I can't wait to get home.
But in the meantime, today is Election Day. Pops and I had already voted by absentee ballots. So we are listening to all of this on the radio just like most people I suppose.
Oh, I can't wait to get home!

Wisconsin Weekend

Pops drove us on to Illinois to our delivery. When I woke up he was not in the truck and we were backed into a dock. Someone was knocking on the door. I got up and looked and there was a young man. He told me that the truck was empty and I could go ahead and move it across the lot. So, ok, where is Pops?
I looked for his phone in the pouch beside the door and it wasn't there so I guessed he took it with him. Thank goodness. I called and he answered. "We are empty." I told him, so within a few minutes he came across the lot to the truck and we waited to see where Fedex was going to send us for our layover.
It took a few minutes but finally we were headed north toward Wisconsin for layover. We figured we would probably get a military load from Ft McCoy. We usually do when anywhere near there.
Pops was very sleepy so we stopped before we even got out of Illinois and checked into a truckstop. And slept. When I woke up I tried to be quiet so Pops could get some more sleep, which he needed. I went inside the truckstop which turned out to be a really nice one. They had everything including a hair salon, phone store and several other stores, a movie theater, a game room, and several restuarants. I wasted some time and money in there.
When I got out to the truck I read my book and played games on my Ipad. Then when Pops woke up we took the truck and got it washed and then decided to drive to Madison, WI. We found a church there that we were going to attend the next day.
During our drive we did get a load offer picking up at Ft. McCoy on Monday and it was going to Virginia to a Reserve Base. Monday is my birthday and since when you are doing a military load you cannot stop and leave the truck Pops decided to take me to eat today or tomorrow after church. I wanted to go to the movies too.
We decided to do all that tomorrow after church so after driving to Madison we got our showers and then just relaxed for the evening.
The next morning we drove to the church. It had a nice parking lot and parking was easy for us. We got out and went inside. We barely made it 2 steps inside the door before we were greeted warmly by a swarm of ladies. They were so kind and gracious. They showed us where to go to worship.
Worship service started with lots of singing. They sang many songs and all of the verses to each. The singing was awesome. There are some really good singers in that church for sure. Then a man named Terry gave the sermon after communion. The regular preacher there was not there today. He was attending an ordination service. Terry did a good sermon on "The cost of discipleship." It was a really good sermon.
After worship they have Sunday School and what they do in the adult class is discuss the sermon in more detail with the opportunity for people to ask questions and discuss. It was a good discussion with almost everyone participating.
They were having a dinner after services. It was a memorial dinner for a deceased member. We were invited to stay, but we really already had other plans in mind. So we said our goodbyes and left.
We were going to drive up to Sparta and stay the night then we would be there in the morning so we looked for an Olive Garden restuarant along the route. But of course we couldn't find one without going 30 miles out of route. So we just decided on a chinese place in Tomah. And naturally the theater there wasn't showing the movie that I wanted to see either so that was that. But the chinese place turned out to be really good and good priced too. We slept in the Walmart parking lot. We are 9 miles from Ft. McCoy.

Kansas to Massachusetts.

Once we got a load leaving Nebraska, we had to head to Kansas to pick it up. We had to drive about 4 hours to reach our pick up, so I was driving. It was mostly rural two lane roads, so it took longer than usual to drive there.
We reached our destination about 10pm. A man met us there and he was the person who was going to load our truck. It didn't take long for he and Pops to get the product onto the truck. While they did that I made a pot of coffee and filled the thermos for Pops. He was going to be driving now. I also took the dogs out and then rustled up some food for Pops too.
I stayed awake until we got through Kansas City, MO. It is awesome to drive through Kansas City at night time. It seems as if you are driving under the city. There are a lot of streets that cross over the interstate and they are all right in the city and close together.
Once we were through there I went to bed.
I drove the next day and it was now after Hurricane Sandy had destroyed the east coast. So as I drove across northern PA and into NY it was raining and it was cold. A lot of WV had received a lot of snow from the same storm. But we didn't see any of that.
Pops took over driving again and drove us to our destination in Massachusetts. It was around 2:30am so I was sleeping and didn't even hardly realize we were there. Then he drove us to a rest area to sleep.
We had a predispatch that was picking up in Nashua, New Hampshire the next day and then it was going to Dover, AFB. So after we slept for a little while we drove up to the rest area just inside the New Hampshire line. We often stay here and it is a good place for the dogs. We stopped at a Walmart for a couple of items before we got to the rest area.
We spent a quiet day at the rest area and then the next morning we made our pickup at Nashua. We were hauling a load of explosives and our company sent us some hazmat re routes. I was a little concerned that we might have trouble getting through the New York and New Jersey areas because of the storms. So Pops and Fedex were on the phone going over all of our options. It turned out that we were not allowed to go through that area at all with our load so we were turned around and sent back to our shipper. We had already driven to Hartford, CT. But we turned around and in less than 2 hours we were back at the shipper. Oh well, we were compensated but I sure hated losing that good paying load.
After unloading the freight back to the shipper we drove back the favored rest area and settled in for another layover.
But we didn't get to relax too long. We got another load offer that night. It was picking up the next morning in Vermont and going to Illinois. It was about a 4 hour drive through New Hampshire and Vermont to reach our destination so Pops decided to drive part way during the night and get closer and then sleep. So We drove until we only had about 20 miles to our place of pickup. Then we slept until morning.
The next morning I took the dogs out while the coffee was brewing. We weren't out long though because it was still raining, really hard and it was cold.
When we got to our pickup we were delayed a little while. So I fixed us some breakfast and in the meantime it quit raining.
I was going to be driving the first part of this trip and I was glad that it had quit raining. We had about 4 hours of rural roads and small towns until we would reach the interstate. It is a very beautiful, scenic drive though, so it is hard to dislike it. But it does seem so very long. And Lucy was getting restless and needed to go outside.
I was trying to wait until we reached the interstate where I knew there was a nice rest area and she could run free of the leash. She made it but I think she was about to let loose on the floor.
At the rest area I tried to make myself something to eat and another cup of coffee without waking Pops. That is not easy to do though because he is such a light sleeper. He did wake up but only briefly.
After a little while and a quick phone call to the house I got rolling again. I was so glad to finally reach the interstate but it was short lived. For some reason Gypsy changed and decided to send me off the interstate onto a non toll road. It was going to be slower and rougher roads and also add an extra hour travel time to the trip but it would save quite a bit on tolls. But after already driving 4 hours of rural roads, this route didn't make me happy. But I did it.
After about 3 hours I stopped at another rest area. I needed to stretch my legs and take the dogs out. Then right back to driving. After about another hour Pops woke up and talked to me until we came to another rest area. Then he was going to drive. We were almost to Erie, PA.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

oh Romeoville

On Monday morning many loads started being offered to us. We saw that most of them had a pickup location of Romeoville, IL. Well, it being Monday we knew what Romeoville had to offer...LG appliances. Every Monday many loads of appliances leave this location and go all over. It is a pretty easy but time consuming procedure and the pay isn't ever very good. However every once in a while they will pay more on one of these loads depending on who knows what.
We were fortunate enough to get a who knows what load from Romeoville today. It was going to Nebraska, Omaha to be precise.
So we drove south to Romeoville and waited our turn to be loaded. There were already about 14 trucks in the dock and it was 4pm so I know that most of the loads were already out of there.
LG has several locations that we have shipped appliances from. Some of those locations are in Texas, Alabama, New Jersey, and Georgia. It is always the same procedure no matter the location. Hurry to get there for your appointment(which means nothing), wait in line, back into dock, sit in waiting room while truck is loaded, wait for guard to seal your truck, go. It usually takes hours. And like I said normally the pay stinks. I don't know why anyone would do these loads for the normally low pay, but as I mentioned before we got a higher paying one. I think because it was going to Nebraska and no one likes to go there because you may sit there 2-3 days to get a load back out.
We got loaded, sealed and away we went. I was driving first and I drove us into Iowa to the Iowa80 truckstop. Then we switched over and Pops drove. I looked at facebook, done the dishes and then went to bed.
Pops did get some rest because we had an appointment to deliver at 2pm. I was driving again the next day and we got there a little around noon. They were waiting for our load and took it off right away. I don't understand appointments. Some times we don't have them and really need one and other times we have them and can show up whenever to be loaded or unloaded. Military appointments seldom mean anything. Strange.
So after that we drove to a truckstop that was past Omaha headed toward Lincoln. And we found a good spot since it was the middle of the day. We parked and got settled in and figured that we might be here awhile, at least until tomorrow.
I went inside to buy some postcards. Since my dad passed away I have decided to continue with the sending of the postcard tradition to my brother, Jim; my sister, Amy; and my grand-son, Zachary. So I try to pick up 3 postcards at each state that we go to. I have not yet completed my dad's set which now belongs to my daughter, Starla. Pops and I haven't made it to Montana yet. And I missed getting Rhode Island and North Carolina. Although North Carolina is proofing to be quite tough. We have stopped at many locations there and can't seem to find postcards. So when I do find them in that state, I need to get 5 for Jim, Amy, Zachary, Starla and my own book.
Our book has many that the others don't have because I have some from each of the Great Lakes and several cities and various locations that we have visited along our travels. It is always so nice to get them out and page through and "remember."
We have been following the news closely trying to hear what is going on with the big storm that is hitting the east coast, particularly New Jersey and New York. It is really sounding bad. I'm glad that we can't see pictures or videos.
We didn't wait long until we got a load offer. It was picking up in Kansas and going to Massachusetts. We did check the weather and the route for our destination and decided it would be okay to go there so we accepted the load. And once again we were on our way. We didn't even have to sit for 3 hours.
I would drive us to our pickup because it was about 5 hours away and Pops had only gotten a little sleep. So he layed down and I drove.