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| The Gulf |
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| Neat Bridge |
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| The Third Coast |
Friday, December 3, 2010
Not going home
I woke up early this morning, around 3:00 and found out from Pops that we were on a load. We had minutes to get moving and be on the road. Yeah, minutes! Well I needed to go into the restroom, fax a paper to FedEx, mail some bill payments, make some coffee, get dressed and take the dogs out (not necessarily in that order.) How was I going to do that in 5 minutes? So the day started with everyone involved being bright and cheerful........., NOT! Even the dogs got nervous.
We got going around 3:20 which I find pretty impressive actually. I was not feeling good either.
Pops was driving so I sat up and talked to him until my coffee was gone and then I crawled back into the bunk. When I woke up again we were at our pickup in Ohio. We were picking up glue. But they had 12 containers and we could fit no more than 6. I thought we may cancel but it turns out that the load we were hauling was not the 12 but 5 that were on backorder and should have been there a week ago. They got us loaded and moving. Off to Piedmont, South Carolina with glue that was still warm from being made.
We were given two choices of routing one was Gypsy's way the other was FedEx directions which were closer and we only had 9 hours to get there. So we went with FedEX directions. It didn't take us long to realize we made a wrong choice. It was nothing but small towns with low speed zones and lights (red ones.) We drove through Ashland, KY which is the birth place of someone famous, well maybe not famous, Pops was born there. It seemed like a nice place. I saw the Second Baptist Church and wondered where the First one was.
We grumbled and growled the whole long way. It took us 12 1/2 hours. We hurried the whole way. At one point we stopped to use the restroom at a small place and the mens room was occupied so Pops came in with me that was that.It was in this town at least 100 miles from Ashland, KY that I saw the First Baptist Church. I knew it had to be somewhere. hahaha
But we made it. It was a very easy place to find and easy and fast to offload. So 24 hours later, here we are at another Pilot in South Carolina on layover, waiting for a load. Honestly, I don't care if we don't get a pickup until Monday morning. I just want a shower and I need to do laundry.
And I am glad to be away from snow. Although it still isn't real warm here. It is 52 degrees at 10:15pm. And I also realized on the drive down here that I do prefer to drive the flat highways of the south than the mountains of the northeast. I think I might really be growing a heart for the South. At least for the cold months.
If we are still here tomorrow at noon and not yet under a load, we will look for a church to attend on Sunday. Keep us in your prayers. We love and miss you.
We got going around 3:20 which I find pretty impressive actually. I was not feeling good either.
Pops was driving so I sat up and talked to him until my coffee was gone and then I crawled back into the bunk. When I woke up again we were at our pickup in Ohio. We were picking up glue. But they had 12 containers and we could fit no more than 6. I thought we may cancel but it turns out that the load we were hauling was not the 12 but 5 that were on backorder and should have been there a week ago. They got us loaded and moving. Off to Piedmont, South Carolina with glue that was still warm from being made.
We were given two choices of routing one was Gypsy's way the other was FedEx directions which were closer and we only had 9 hours to get there. So we went with FedEX directions. It didn't take us long to realize we made a wrong choice. It was nothing but small towns with low speed zones and lights (red ones.) We drove through Ashland, KY which is the birth place of someone famous, well maybe not famous, Pops was born there. It seemed like a nice place. I saw the Second Baptist Church and wondered where the First one was.
We grumbled and growled the whole long way. It took us 12 1/2 hours. We hurried the whole way. At one point we stopped to use the restroom at a small place and the mens room was occupied so Pops came in with me that was that.It was in this town at least 100 miles from Ashland, KY that I saw the First Baptist Church. I knew it had to be somewhere. hahaha
But we made it. It was a very easy place to find and easy and fast to offload. So 24 hours later, here we are at another Pilot in South Carolina on layover, waiting for a load. Honestly, I don't care if we don't get a pickup until Monday morning. I just want a shower and I need to do laundry.
And I am glad to be away from snow. Although it still isn't real warm here. It is 52 degrees at 10:15pm. And I also realized on the drive down here that I do prefer to drive the flat highways of the south than the mountains of the northeast. I think I might really be growing a heart for the South. At least for the cold months.
If we are still here tomorrow at noon and not yet under a load, we will look for a church to attend on Sunday. Keep us in your prayers. We love and miss you.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Back to PA and Snow
We had to spend a whole day in Houston waiting around but that is okay. When you are patient the right load comes around. While we waited I cleaned the truck, Pops fixed the water pump so I don't have to carry water jugs anymore, yippee. I also got the tree lights going again. One of the bulbs got jarred loose. And then that evening we finished watching a movie we had started earlier. It is called Faith like Potatoes and it is a very good movie.
When we woke up in the morning we got a good load right away. It was from Kemah, TX to Maidsville, WV. Kemah is near Galveston. NASA space center is right there. It was a very easy pickup. Some metal thing on wheels with several big hoses, they called it a bearings buggy. So before going to far we stopped at Walmart in Kemah for groceries. It is a super nice area. I bet all the astronauts live there. As I shopped I looked around wondering if this person or that person was a real astronaut. You never know.
After leaving there and getting on the road as we drove about 3 blocks I pointed and told Pops, "Look water, it"s the Gulf." It was the Gulf of Mexico. So we have been to all 3 coasts now. We had to cross a very interesting looking bridge and it didn't even scare me. I think I'm getting better.
I drove until about supper time (7:00) and then Pops took over. I had put a piece of beef into the crockpot and planned to make baked potatoes. He decided he didn't want beef so after taking my piece out I chopped his up and added a can of mixed vegetables and a can of diced tomatoes and voila, he had vegetable soup.
I went to sleep soon after getting my belly full. I slept pretty good waking on and off as he got pulled in to weigh stations or for fuel. But I didn't really get up until almost Knoxville, TN. By then it was almost my turn to drive. I hurried and made us ham and cheese omelets and put it on deli bread for breakfast and then I took over the wheel. I bearly got moving before I started to notice snow laying in the wooded areas. Ugh! Let's go back to Texas. Please!
Pretty uneventful driving today but I did get to cross the big suspension bridge again at Beckley, WV. Again, no big deal. Yep, I'm getting immune to bridges. I hope.
Our delivery was through a very small town, like Hyndman, PA but up a huge mountain road, a narrow, dirt/mud, mountain road with 1000 cars coming the opposite direction. We off loaded it and back down the dirty road.
We got to layover in Pittsburgh, so we got our truck washed and I fixed a good supper of lemon chicken breasts with home fried potatoes. Now we wait for a load or we go home for the weekend. Wouldn't that be nice?
When we woke up in the morning we got a good load right away. It was from Kemah, TX to Maidsville, WV. Kemah is near Galveston. NASA space center is right there. It was a very easy pickup. Some metal thing on wheels with several big hoses, they called it a bearings buggy. So before going to far we stopped at Walmart in Kemah for groceries. It is a super nice area. I bet all the astronauts live there. As I shopped I looked around wondering if this person or that person was a real astronaut. You never know.
After leaving there and getting on the road as we drove about 3 blocks I pointed and told Pops, "Look water, it"s the Gulf." It was the Gulf of Mexico. So we have been to all 3 coasts now. We had to cross a very interesting looking bridge and it didn't even scare me. I think I'm getting better.
I drove until about supper time (7:00) and then Pops took over. I had put a piece of beef into the crockpot and planned to make baked potatoes. He decided he didn't want beef so after taking my piece out I chopped his up and added a can of mixed vegetables and a can of diced tomatoes and voila, he had vegetable soup.
I went to sleep soon after getting my belly full. I slept pretty good waking on and off as he got pulled in to weigh stations or for fuel. But I didn't really get up until almost Knoxville, TN. By then it was almost my turn to drive. I hurried and made us ham and cheese omelets and put it on deli bread for breakfast and then I took over the wheel. I bearly got moving before I started to notice snow laying in the wooded areas. Ugh! Let's go back to Texas. Please!
Pretty uneventful driving today but I did get to cross the big suspension bridge again at Beckley, WV. Again, no big deal. Yep, I'm getting immune to bridges. I hope.
Our delivery was through a very small town, like Hyndman, PA but up a huge mountain road, a narrow, dirt/mud, mountain road with 1000 cars coming the opposite direction. We off loaded it and back down the dirty road.
We got to layover in Pittsburgh, so we got our truck washed and I fixed a good supper of lemon chicken breasts with home fried potatoes. Now we wait for a load or we go home for the weekend. Wouldn't that be nice?
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Load refusal
Well we refused that load and also another. They were too low paying and one was a Hazmat load. No thanks, we'll wait.
I forgot to tell you some things about our trip here.
When we traveled in Louisiana before, we kept seeing signs for Boudin. I think I told you about that, anyway as we got closer to the Lake Charles area of Louisiana this past week we started to see the signs for boudin. Well I was driving so I pulled in to one place that was advertising it. I saw a woman and asked her if she worked there. Upon finding out that she did I showed her a piece of paper that I had written the word on. I asked her how to pronounce it. She told me it is pronounced, Bo-dan. She asked me where I was from and I told her Pennsylvania and that I had never heard of boudin until traveling through here. She told me that there are many varieties. So okay, I'm game, I ordered a pound of smoked, a pound of spicy and two jalapeno boudin balls. The smoked and spicy were cooked and wrapped up for me to take. It looked like sausage. The woman explained that it contained sausage, rice and spices, although as I said there are many varieties. The jalapeno balls were loose sausage, rice, cheese, jalapenos, and spices and shaped into balls then battered and deep fried. They smelled good.
Once we got back to the truck I put the smoked and spicy into the freezer to take home to share. But the jalapeno balls smelled too good to put away. They were about the size of a big peach, and they were hot already. I broke one in two and gave Pops half. We each took a bite at the same time and then looked at each other and went, "ummmmm." It was good. I wish that I had space in the freezer to buy one for each of you readers. But you will just have to take my word for it. They were really good.If you ever get to Louisiana make sure to buy a jalapeno cheese boudin ball. You won't regret it, until the next day. lol
Later when we reached Texas it was raining hard. We pulled into a rest area near San Jacinta. When I walked into the door, there "guarding" the door was a reptile. I'm not sure what exactly it was. Maybe a gecko, or little iguana. I don't know what the native reptiles are here. Anybody have any answers? It was small, maybe 6 inches total, brownish in color and bold. He was standing there with his front legs turned slightly inward and straight, and it looked like his little chest was puffed out. It surely looked like he was trying to be fierce. I was wishing I had my camera, but I didn't so then I was wondering how I could catch it and take it back to the truck to take it's picture but then I felt bad and didn't want to do that because I didn't want to relocate him away from his family. So you will just have to imagine what he looked like. hahaha
So we ate the other boudin ball today for lunch. Just in case you're wondering.
I forgot to tell you some things about our trip here.
When we traveled in Louisiana before, we kept seeing signs for Boudin. I think I told you about that, anyway as we got closer to the Lake Charles area of Louisiana this past week we started to see the signs for boudin. Well I was driving so I pulled in to one place that was advertising it. I saw a woman and asked her if she worked there. Upon finding out that she did I showed her a piece of paper that I had written the word on. I asked her how to pronounce it. She told me it is pronounced, Bo-dan. She asked me where I was from and I told her Pennsylvania and that I had never heard of boudin until traveling through here. She told me that there are many varieties. So okay, I'm game, I ordered a pound of smoked, a pound of spicy and two jalapeno boudin balls. The smoked and spicy were cooked and wrapped up for me to take. It looked like sausage. The woman explained that it contained sausage, rice and spices, although as I said there are many varieties. The jalapeno balls were loose sausage, rice, cheese, jalapenos, and spices and shaped into balls then battered and deep fried. They smelled good.
Once we got back to the truck I put the smoked and spicy into the freezer to take home to share. But the jalapeno balls smelled too good to put away. They were about the size of a big peach, and they were hot already. I broke one in two and gave Pops half. We each took a bite at the same time and then looked at each other and went, "ummmmm." It was good. I wish that I had space in the freezer to buy one for each of you readers. But you will just have to take my word for it. They were really good.If you ever get to Louisiana make sure to buy a jalapeno cheese boudin ball. You won't regret it, until the next day. lol
Later when we reached Texas it was raining hard. We pulled into a rest area near San Jacinta. When I walked into the door, there "guarding" the door was a reptile. I'm not sure what exactly it was. Maybe a gecko, or little iguana. I don't know what the native reptiles are here. Anybody have any answers? It was small, maybe 6 inches total, brownish in color and bold. He was standing there with his front legs turned slightly inward and straight, and it looked like his little chest was puffed out. It surely looked like he was trying to be fierce. I was wishing I had my camera, but I didn't so then I was wondering how I could catch it and take it back to the truck to take it's picture but then I felt bad and didn't want to do that because I didn't want to relocate him away from his family. So you will just have to imagine what he looked like. hahaha
So we ate the other boudin ball today for lunch. Just in case you're wondering.
New Week
Well, of course we survived the fasting. It wasn't so bad really. As a matter of fact, we talked about doing it once a week. We did get a snack just after midnight of leftover turkey and a couple pretzels.
The next morning was Sunday. We got up and went to Reidsville Christian Church. It was a newer built building holding 2 services each Sunday morning with a total of 400 people. We went to the early service because of our noon pickup. As soon as we walked in we were made welcome and taken to the fellowship hall where they had a nice table of donuts, biscuits, ham, bacon, tomatoes, coffee, tea. Wow. Free breakfast, cool. They had just built an addition to the building of new classrooms and a teen room. We were given a tour.
We then went into the auditorium. It was very spacious and decorated for Christmas already, how pretty. They started off their service with a praise and worship team in the front, consisting of about 20 singers, a trombone, keyboard, guitar and a bass guitar and drummer. It was very uplifting. At one point I felt tears in my eyes.
The preacher's name is Shannon Newsome. His message was entitled, "Grab a Bowl." It was about how Jesus humbled himself and became a servant and washed the feet of the apostles. Also how we as christians should be like Him and humble ourselves and be of service to others. It was really good.
We really enjoyed their service and will definately go back if we are in that area.
After church we headed over for our pickup. It was about 7 miles away. That went smoothly and we got moving right away. Off to San Antonio.
Traffic was a nightmare. I guess because of holiday travel. But it was 80 miles of stop and go driving. Pops could not sleep through that at all and kept getting up and coming up front. I was worried because I knew that he would have to drive tonight.
When my driving time was up he took over and he did have trouble because of no sleep so we used up all of allotted time taking rest breaks. We were not late for our delivery. We made it about an hour early. Our delivery place was a little confusing to find because it is a brand new location, but we found it and it was an easy delivery.
After making our delivery we drove up to home depot to wait for our owners. They were coming to meet us and bring us some truck parts and supplies. They are trying to get our water and tv and some other things fixed for us. They are really good people and good to work for. They treat us really well.
We were then sent to Houston for layover. So here we are. We got showers and got our laundry done and ate a good Denny's breakfast. We just got a load opportunity, gotta go. More later.
The next morning was Sunday. We got up and went to Reidsville Christian Church. It was a newer built building holding 2 services each Sunday morning with a total of 400 people. We went to the early service because of our noon pickup. As soon as we walked in we were made welcome and taken to the fellowship hall where they had a nice table of donuts, biscuits, ham, bacon, tomatoes, coffee, tea. Wow. Free breakfast, cool. They had just built an addition to the building of new classrooms and a teen room. We were given a tour.
We then went into the auditorium. It was very spacious and decorated for Christmas already, how pretty. They started off their service with a praise and worship team in the front, consisting of about 20 singers, a trombone, keyboard, guitar and a bass guitar and drummer. It was very uplifting. At one point I felt tears in my eyes.
The preacher's name is Shannon Newsome. His message was entitled, "Grab a Bowl." It was about how Jesus humbled himself and became a servant and washed the feet of the apostles. Also how we as christians should be like Him and humble ourselves and be of service to others. It was really good.
We really enjoyed their service and will definately go back if we are in that area.
After church we headed over for our pickup. It was about 7 miles away. That went smoothly and we got moving right away. Off to San Antonio.
Traffic was a nightmare. I guess because of holiday travel. But it was 80 miles of stop and go driving. Pops could not sleep through that at all and kept getting up and coming up front. I was worried because I knew that he would have to drive tonight.
When my driving time was up he took over and he did have trouble because of no sleep so we used up all of allotted time taking rest breaks. We were not late for our delivery. We made it about an hour early. Our delivery place was a little confusing to find because it is a brand new location, but we found it and it was an easy delivery.
After making our delivery we drove up to home depot to wait for our owners. They were coming to meet us and bring us some truck parts and supplies. They are trying to get our water and tv and some other things fixed for us. They are really good people and good to work for. They treat us really well.
We were then sent to Houston for layover. So here we are. We got showers and got our laundry done and ate a good Denny's breakfast. We just got a load opportunity, gotta go. More later.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Day off
Last evening we were walking through the parking lot on our way to the rest rooms when a FXCC truck pulled up to us and started to talk. Well, of course, the truck wasn't talking, it was the people inside. They asked us to go inside for a cup of coffee. That coffee lasted for about 4 hours. They were such a nice couple who have been driving this job for 17 years. They really like it. They were a wealth of information. We really learned alot from listening to them. And we really enjoyed their company. The wife was asking how long we would be here yet. We told her until Sunday morning. She told me about a really nice flea market that was to be Saturday right across the road. Cool. After we left the restuarant they moved their truck to right next to ours and stayed there.
This morning while enjoying our morning coffee and trying to figure out how hard it was going to be to keep our commitment to fast, we got a knock on the door. It was our friends. They wanted us to go in for breakfast with them. We told them we were fasting and why. So they went ahead in without us. In about 30 minutes the wife came back out and asked us to come in for coffee and conversation. I thought they had already eaten so okay we'll be in. Well, they had not eaten and proceeded to order breakfast. We ordered our coffee. It was okay, I wasn't even really bothered by the looks and smells of the food.
Again we talked for several hours. Before we parted we exchanged phone numbers and she gave info on getting really great discounts on hotel rooms. I hope that we meet up with them again. I have a feeling we will see more of them.
We did walk over to the flea market this afternoon. It was like a gigantic tent city with just about anything you could imagine. I bought a new Dolce & Gabbana purse (purple.) I got a really good deal on it. And then I picked up something for my dad for Christmas.
It was bright and sunny and 70 degrees but windy and the wind was chilly. It really cut through to the bone. Now I know that sounds whiny to those of you who woke up to snow, but I was cold! So after walking around in the air we came back to the truck, covered up and took a nap.
Later we walked back up to the shopping center (Petro.) There is a man there that engraves things and I wanted to get dog tags with our phone number on for the dogs. After seeing the abandoned cats at the rest areas I want to take precations just in case we would ever have to drive away and leave a lost pet. (I would die.)
I'm not sure how we will pass the remainder of the evening, but I know one thing,......I will be eating something at 12:01. haha
This morning while enjoying our morning coffee and trying to figure out how hard it was going to be to keep our commitment to fast, we got a knock on the door. It was our friends. They wanted us to go in for breakfast with them. We told them we were fasting and why. So they went ahead in without us. In about 30 minutes the wife came back out and asked us to come in for coffee and conversation. I thought they had already eaten so okay we'll be in. Well, they had not eaten and proceeded to order breakfast. We ordered our coffee. It was okay, I wasn't even really bothered by the looks and smells of the food.
Again we talked for several hours. Before we parted we exchanged phone numbers and she gave info on getting really great discounts on hotel rooms. I hope that we meet up with them again. I have a feeling we will see more of them.
We did walk over to the flea market this afternoon. It was like a gigantic tent city with just about anything you could imagine. I bought a new Dolce & Gabbana purse (purple.) I got a really good deal on it. And then I picked up something for my dad for Christmas.
It was bright and sunny and 70 degrees but windy and the wind was chilly. It really cut through to the bone. Now I know that sounds whiny to those of you who woke up to snow, but I was cold! So after walking around in the air we came back to the truck, covered up and took a nap.
Later we walked back up to the shopping center (Petro.) There is a man there that engraves things and I wanted to get dog tags with our phone number on for the dogs. After seeing the abandoned cats at the rest areas I want to take precations just in case we would ever have to drive away and leave a lost pet. (I would die.)
I'm not sure how we will pass the remainder of the evening, but I know one thing,......I will be eating something at 12:01. haha
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