Limbo

There is a reason most people do not move in January! It is cold and there is a lot of snow on the ground. In some ways we hope for it to warm up but if the weather warms up to much we will have mud! We were able to do our walk through of the house and the shed and the people still have a ways to go also to be out of the house and the shed. The house was not to bad but the shed really was a mess. You can get a lot of stuff in a 40 X 60 shed. Bob has all ready purchased several things to go in the shed so as they get their stuff out one door he will be adding his stuff in the other door!



Nicki our daughter has lots of friends she has helped move that will be helped us get the heavy stuff out of our second floor apartment and moved into the house. We will owe all of these guys and gals a lot. Nicki had a lot of stuff we do not use often packed and in the living room when we arrived home and Bob has that all loaded in the truck. He has all ready been up and down those stairs a million times.



Friday is our closing day and we want to get into the house and start cleaning. We will try and get some of the smaller stuff into the house on Friday so we will have a little more room in the truck for our larger items. Little less work to for all of our help.



We bought a new refrigerator that was supposed to be delivered on Saturday and now they changed the date to Sunday so that is kind of the pits. Other then that no snags as of yet we will see tomorrow when we get into the house and start making it ours.

Soon as we get into the house I will post pictures.

Homeward Bound!

We finally had a load offer that we could take! We had turned down a really really nice load offer to California from near the Atlanta area as we could not be home in time to sign the finale papers on the new house. We picked up 1000 lbs of printing plates about 8:00 at night and took them to near Nashville TN. Bob had fun inside as the company was running a calender for Harley Davidson with some really neat pictures of motorcycles with some very skimpily clad women beside them! I was all ready in bed so lucky me I was able to miss the excitement. That load put us with three hundred miles of the house so Bob went to bed and I headed home.

We are planning on doing the last walk through of the house and shop on the 28th and then the signing of the papers on the 30th! We are all excited for many different reasons. Bob is cannot wait to sweep the floor of his new shop, Nicki cannot wait to organize the house, and I cannot wait to just wonder around outside and enjoy the grass and the small forest we will have. Molly and the indoor cats I am not so sure are looking forward to the move!

The house is coming with three out door cats so that will be interesting. Wish us luck and good weather on our moving. We are also lucky Nicki has helped many of her friends move and now it is their turn to help Nicki out.

Texas Size Avocado

This has to be the biggest avocado I have ever seen! We purchased it down in Florida and I have it next to an avocado I bought in Saint Louis. I just finally turned the huge avocado into a salad and it has pretty good flavor. Seems as if it bruised easier then the small avocado did. The flavor also seems a little washed out compared to the smaller cousin! Over all though I would buy another one.

Jets

We delivered to Tyndall AFB in Florida and a great show of fighter jets. While we went through security and had the truck inspected we were able to watch jet after jet fly overhead. The noise was deafening but the site was amazing. Often we would look up and they would be flying completely on their sides. We had to wait in the escort area for awhile and so had ample time to watch all of the activity. Our escorts finally came and got us and another truck to go back to our area to unload. We had to go around the runway and keep stopping to check that no planes were trying to land. After we made it back to our area and Bob was talking to the guys he said before they could move us they had to let the towers know so they could put the planes on a bigger loop to give us time to cross the runways!

This had to be one of the slowest bases we have ever been to. We had very little freight but it took us over two hours to get unloaded. One thing we always have to keep in mind at a base and a nuclear plant is do not even think of trying to rush anyone as they will follow protocol and even if you do not get "it" they will do what they have to do.

What a view the people as this base have though. The weather was awesome and base is somewhat situated on an island. I know this not the correct term but being from Arizona it sounds good to me. Water on both side of the base and many of the military houses with a back door to the water. Really a nice base.

Slow Slow!

Molly is having a rough weekend! When I woke up this morning this is how I found her sleeping. She does not normally sleep on her back so it was kind of funny. She was so sound asleep she did not wake up when I took her picture!

We are in Birmingham Alabama and no load as of yet. We have been here since early Friday morning and are still hoping to get something out of here over the weekend. Every time I look at the weather though I think maybe here is not so bad. One thing about this job if the wheels are not turning we are not making any money. Right now the industry is in a slump and everyone is slow so we are just as normal as all of the trucks sitting around us. We are lucky in many ways as we have no consumer debt and the house payment that we are gaining is not huge. We did not buy over our heads so even in slow times we should be fine making our house payment.

Sitting is one of the hardest things we do out here. You are damned if you do and damned if you do not. In order to go entertain yourself you have to spend money. To get to a place we usually have to drive our truck which gets about ten miles to the gallon and then you have to find a place where they allow truck parking. Then you either go shopping or watch a movie. We can stay where we are parked and entertain ourselves in the truck without spending money. We have many movies we bought on discount, we have lots of books and magazines, we have the inter net, and we have our Wii for exercise. If the weather is good we go for walks or we ride our bikes. Again riding our bikes, going for walks, or watching movies or shopping can be tough or even sitting down to a nice meal in a restaurant. When we get a load opp most often it is an ASAP pickup. If you are a mile away on your walk you have to decide if you can get back in time and can you make pickup on time? If you cannot do this you could have to turn down a high paying load. That can make a good day bad real quick!

What a day!!

One of the un fun days in the life of a truck driver / expediter hurry up and wait. After we deliverer our load we found out that there were many FedEx Custom Critical trucks in Florida and so we were one of many. There were more then enough trucks in Miami and also in Orlando. We get paid a small amount to move to a location given to us be FCC and if that does not work we can sometimes get another location to move to. We sat at a Travel Center on the Florida turnpike most of the afternoon and then were told for a relocate fee we will move you to Birmingham AL. Well with that many trucks sitting in Florida we jumped on that chance and are on our way.

You might think boredom sitting in a small space for many hours but really there is not enough hours in a day to do all that you want. Bob had drove till about 3 in the morning and then I am sure while we were being unloaded he was awoken again. He then was able to go back to sleep while I drove to Orlando and he did not get up till almost one in the afternoon! He has always loved sleeping in and this is the perfect job for that. While he sleeps I get all of computer work updated and if I finish that I will listen to my IPOD as I have many books downloaded. Right now I am reading The Fountain Head by Ayn Rand. Once Bob was up and while he was inside I made the bed and cleaned up the truck. He then read a few posts on the computer and I played Guitar Hero for a bit. We then had a head to head battle on Guitar Hero and while playing received the call that if we wanted we could move to Birmingham.

Well that brought out another project that I have been working on crocheting a blanket. Great hobby for winter time. The day usually just flies by due to all of the activities we have in the truck and also in maintaining the truck on nice days. There is not enough time in the day to get bored.

Pigs In Florida

Has anyone heard of Florida having a wild pig problem?

I was driving up I95 and not in a remote area and a small brown pig with red spots was running in the median. I did think how odd but that was it. I turned onto the Florida Turnpike and started towards Orlando and here is another brown pig with red spots rooting along the highway about 30 miles from the first one. They looked to be related to me but what do I know.

We delivered just north of Miami but not even sure what we had 1000lb box. Was a long box and we picked it up at the manufacturer but still have no clue what they even make.

These light loads are really helping us to keep our fuel mileage up above ten miles to the gallon which really helps with our FSC. We need to stay above 9 miles per gallon to stay ahead of the fuel game. Our top speed is 56 to 57 mile per hour no matter where we are. In a couple states we actually are speeders! Our loads are figured on 47 mph so we have no trouble making our deliveries or our picking up a load. The secret is to keep the doors shut and get on down the road.

We are sitting at a Service Plaza now waiting for a load offer. I am considering going and buying a avocado as the thing is HUGE and I have never saw one so big. They cost $3.50 each so you can imagine how big they are.

Molly

Here is a new picture of Molly watching me reach for her snacks in the truck. Today on EO or Expeditersonline.com I changed my avatar from a picture of Molly to a picture of our painted tires. I had a couple of emails asking if she was all right so I had to put a picture of her back. She knows many people from our travels and many people recognize her then try to figure out who we are! When we go to the home office at Green OH some of the girls bring her treats and when they go on break they take something out to Molly. She loves all the attention! Hard to believe this year we have had her 13 years.

Nuclear Plant

We picked up a load of "clean tools" at a nuclear plant in North Carolina. The Nuclear Plants are so heavily regulated that you have to go through several hoops to pickup and deliver. We pulled into the first search area and had to open all of our side boxes, doors to the truck, and hood. We have to take Molly out of the truck and also stand away from the truck while the guard looks inside the truck and then in every box and then runs a mirror under the truck. The guard then told us we were very lucky as just six months ago they dropped the policy where you had to take everything out of your side boxes and from under your bunk for them to go through. We would have been there for hours taking all of our supplies out and then trying to put it all back in!

A forklift came from the interior of the plant with our barrel that weighed about 220lbs and was sealed to put on the truck. If we would have had to go into the interior of the plant Molly and I would have had to stay outside as no passengers or pets are allowed in the interior. If you go to the interior you also have to through an even more intensive search. We have been to several plants and we either pick up at a warehouse or a forklift will bring our freight out so us.

A new law that is going into affect or actually a old law that is going to be enforced is that if you deliver to the interior of a nuclear plant you have to have a Geiger counter run over the truck. If you do not have this done the company will put you our of service and they have a safety review to determine if they will terminate your lease.

We always enjoy going to the nuclear plants and seeing the cooling towers they are just amazing and huge.

We are now waiting for our next load and enjoying the warm weather in the south!

Odd Shower

On Sunday we finished polishing up the truck, then took a very nice walk down a dirt road into a wooded area by the truck stop. It is not often we have an area like that for a nice peaceful walk and not hear the sounds of trucks idling. There were little streams all over the place and lots of birds. Was really pretty.

After the walk we went into the truck stop for a shower. The Flying J truck stops have a large TV room and usually the showers are down halls from the TV room. I guess I should explain the showers. When you buy 50 gallons of fuel you get a coupon that lasts 5 days for a "free" shower or you can pay$8.50 for a shower. We had to pay as we do not fuel at the Flying J. There was a football on the TV and about 30 men and a couple women watching this game and screaming bloody murder. I am not a football person so I do not know who was playing or why it required all the screaming you could them outside. So the shower I get is the handicapped shower and you got it the door to the shower is from the TV room. So you are standing there taking your shower and not ten feet away you hear all the screaming! Well that shower did not take long at all. Not very peaceful.

Today we finally pick up our load and we get to stay warm in the south.

Sunday January 11th 2009 Waiting

We are in a waiting in a truck stop west of Raleigh NC on I40. We have been here since Friday and do not pick up our load until Monday afternoon.

We have done several things while here mainly clean the truck inside and out. We have been running up north and the truck was covered in road salt and we had tracked the salt into the cab. Molly has also added to the mess even though we keep her feet trimmed up to look like a poodles feet. We have been able to get our laundry done and cook a few things in the truck to get us prepared for the next week.

While we are sitting waiting for a load we keep pretty busy as we have many things to do in the truck. One of the ways Bob keeps busy is to keep the truck polished and waxed. This can take two full days to get done as people love to stop by as they walk towards the building to offer hints, ask if he will polish their truck or to just discuss ways to keep a truck clean. The inside of the truck always needs to be cleaned as black dust is always coming in off the road. When you live in such a small space it is much easier to keep the inside picked up and have a place for everything. For entertainment we have a Wii, Wii Fit and Guitar Hero that we spend time with, we have trucking forums we belong to and we have hundreds of DVD's as we do not watch TV. I also like to crochet and have a large blanket I am working on now. I also have an IPOD and I listen to books as often as I can. Right now I am listening to The Fountain Head by Ayn Rand.

I am reading a book called The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn which has some fantastic ideas and if I had this guide when the kids were small was a money saver that would have been. Really great book and if you can find it used you will really save some money.

While sitting yesterday towards evening a women approached the truck and introduced herself and she was wanting a hand out. She said her and her husband were going to have money wired to them but the money had not arrived yet. I have a very hard time understanding why in the world you would put two small kids in a truck and not have enough money to take care of them. It appeared that they owned their older Freightliner truck but they let the truck idle all night so they burnt up at least 12.00 in fuel and the weather was perfect last night to leave the windows open and use a blanket. I do not know if anyone gave her any money nor if the money they were expecting to be wired to them happened. We find that often in truck stops people asking for money as we are a captive audience. It is amazing the stories you hear and when you break down their stories they have made one bad choice after another and now they want you who are sitting not making money to help them out. When our wheels are not turning we also are not making money and I figure it they want money offer to do something I work for what I have and they are ALL that we see able bodied.

Day One

Hey Nicki what do you think?