Toledo

Our load actually picked up in Sugarland, TX which is just southwest of Houston. It took me about 4 hours to drive there from Dallas. Pops tried to sleep and I think he did manage to get a little. I enjoyed the rural scenery as I drove along.
It has been real hard for me to relax and be at peace lately. It seems that every time I begin to then something crops up to steal that peace away. It is fair to say that both of us have been living with our nerve endings just tingling away. But I put it all out of my mind as much as I could.
About 35 miles outside of Houston the traffic got real thick. Travel was slow and at times even down to a crawl. It was dark now too and I hate driving in the dark. So I was starting to lose my patience.
Pops woke up and talked to me as we drove right through downtown Houston and then finally out the other side. Finally we reached Sugarland. Right away I noticed a huge sugar refinery and guessed that is why this was Sugarland. But it may be a coincidence.
We were going to a chemical company and hauling a hazmat load. There was a lot of security and then we were allowed to enter the premises.
It took about 1/2 hour to get the load on and then a few additional minutes to placard our truck and then we were on our way.
We would drive on a diagonal up to Texarkana and then on to Memphis and then north toward St. Louis but then diagonally again through Illinois and Indiana and then north to Toledo. It was now Friday evening and we didn't have to be there until Sunday morning so we didn't have to rush.
Pops started the drive and he drove us to Texarkana and then slept for awhile. I started to drive there the next day and drove us into Illinois. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it was a nice quiet drive while Pops tried to get some rest. He did get some, however no one can rest while driving Route 440 around Little Rock, AR because that road is the bumpiest road in the entire country as far as I'm concerned. So Pops sat in the front seat for awhile there and then just before Memphis he went to lay down again.
When we switched off later it wasn't long before I went to bed. When I woke up we were at our delivery site waiting at the gate until our appointment time. Security then moved us to a secluded parking lot on the other side of the plant and we were told to wait there.
And then they came and unloaded us right there on the spot. We didn't have to back into a dock or anything.
Then we drove over to a truckstop for layover.
It was Sunday but too late to go to church anywhere so Pops and I had our own service. We had our communion and then did several studies together throughout the day.
I was freezing. We had been in the south for about 2 weeks, wearing shorts and flip flops. It was cold and windy and misty and spitting some snow here. Yuck. I want to go back to Texas.
Since beginning to drive truck, I really have come to loathe snow and ice and I also have begun to hate mountain driving as well. I am now a warm loving flat-lander. Truly.
We spent Sunday night at the truckstop and then during the day on Monday we got a load that was picking up in Butler, PA and going to New Jersey just south of Philadelphia.
I spent the afternoon and early evening driving us across Ohio and into PA. We made our pickup. We were hauling bullet proof glass. And it was labeled with many "fragile" stickers. I wondered how good bullet proof glass could be if it was so delicate. Oh well.
Once we were loaded Pops took over the driving and drove us close to our location. And then he slept.
We got up early and navigated the Philly traffic to our destination. And got unloaded.
We already have a predispatch. It is a military load that picks up in PA and comes back to New Jersey so we headed toward that pickup although that trip isn't until tomorrow, Wednesday.
So once here we had the entire day to rest, relax, catch up on paperwork that is never ending, and just being still. I think the being still is what is good for Pops. So it was a nice day.
I have been listening to an audiobook and I am enjoying it. I promised myself that I would keep it only for when I am driving, but I sure would like to sit and listen. Oh well I'll keep my promise.
I got out the checkbook and wrote some checks to pay bills. That part made a funny feeling in my stomach because it seems like we have been having too much month at the end of the money lately and I am sure that is the way it is going to be for quite some time. But I can't dwell on that. We will manage.
We made an appointment for Pops to see the Dr. on Thursday so we will work our way by then. Just making that appointment has deflated both our moods. I don't know why. I guess we both want answers, but we want favorable answers and we aren't guaranteed that. Again, I can't dwell on that.
I try really hard to keep negative thoughts captive, but then when I sleep, I have bad dreams.
Will we ever go back to normal? It sure seems like a destination that I have been seeking but just can't seem to find.
Please, keep Pops' health and well being in your prayers. Please, keep my fragile nerves in your prayers too.