Good afternoon from the TA Truck Stop on South 75 in Jackson, GA and it is going to be one of those days that you just SIT! Jeff got me up early after a late night run (I drove until 11:30 PM) so we could be at our Wal-Mart pickup at 9 AM and guess what, we have a trailer tire that needs replaced! And that means my virtual truckers; that we will be spending a hot afternoon in the truck stop as it can take up to 5 hours to get approval for one new tire. The company can be slow in responding for mechanical repairs, especially on weekends, even knowing that you have delivery deadlines.
And, as of yesterday, I have only heard an hour (max) of Jeff’s whine….cross your fingers that it continues but with this tire issue, which should have been caught and repaired by the previous driver if he had done his pre-trip inspection properly, he will vent throughout the day. My Zune is charged and ready! Give credit when it is due, Jeff did surprise me by letting me take over the truck to drop the trailer, pick up a new trailer and drive…….all before 10 AM! Now if I can get back on the road and get my hours running! I am two weeks behind of schedule in getting my truck and heading home between waiting for a trainer, Jeff’s punishment day, and his time off.
For those of you that didn’t know, I finally found my gator yesterday! We had a two hour wait at a truck stop back in Florida and I decided to go for a walk to kill time. As you can see from the pictures, I found some interesting flowers and a cute ant hill but what you don’t see is the “no trespassing” sign on a fence belonging to some Florida Utility company. Well, shucks, part of the fence was down and I couldn’t help but swing a leg over and amazing, the other one just followed! I could see a small marsh/lagoon through the trees and headed that direction.
While day dreaming along the shoreline, a loud splash, roughly 15 feet from me in the lagoon, popped my head to the left and nearly popped my heart out of my chest! I saw the tail of the gator as it hit the water with a warning thud and then dive under, causing small waves to wash on the shore I was standing next too. I knew I was pretty safe as it was midday and too hot for the gator to consider me as a mid day snack. I could see around the trees to a larger lagoon just a tad bit further in but due to the lack of proper shoes, the mosquitoes wanting me as their mid day snack and frankly, I was too nervous to find another gator, I called it good. I smiled all the way back to the truck, sweat dripping into my eyes as the sun roasted the ground I was walking on in the 90 degree heat. No deep fried gator on the stick for me but my very first encounter with an alligator in wild….AWESOME!
Now I want you all to remember, 90% of my scenery shots are taken when moving 65 miles a hour. Impressive isn't it!
3 comments:
That ant hill looks like a doughnut.. Mmmmm btw...this is Angela *waves* Hi sis.
That's pretty exciting that you got to see an alligator, glad you weren't lunch!
Waves back at my baby sis and hugs to my daughter in law!
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