Gads! I can't comment to comments!

Good afternoon from the company drop yard in Columbus, Ohio!  We have been sitting here for over an hour after dropping off a shag run from Grove City.  I had a chance to clean the truck (the dog hair is never ending).  Now, if I was Matt, I would wait until there was enough dog hair on the floor that they would start attracting each other and creating huge hair balls!  I should know… I have seen those monsters!  No matter how much I brush Gonja, it is an endless task that he is taking quite a liking to.  We then played Gonja’s version of fetch and now, just relaxing inside the truck with the AC on and one tired boy is getting a little shut eye.

I have only 5.5 hours left in my day and would rather be washing laundry than just sitting here.  I think that has been the hardest thing for me and I know for a few others……is the sitting.  Brian is ready to kill anyone as he hardly ever leaves his truck and Jim does get out and ride his bike.  I do have Gonja so we can go for walks but in a situation like this, where we are locked in a yard in a location where we are locked inside for a reason, it sucks!  I have never been one to sit idle and being a driver, idle means no income but on the flip side, if given the opportunity, walks/runs/site seeing can make the miles not quite as important as a needed break.

I did talk to Mom this morning and she stated she is having a terrible time trying to post comments and then Matt had no issues as all.  Please write me at rawinn@coill.com with any questions, jokes and stories I can share, etc.; and I can post them for others to read.  Matt made the comment about hating phone calls.  Well my virtual truckers, I love them!  All this typing and occasional texting is great but when the only person I have to talk to is my dog, the sound of a human voice makes a ton of difference after hours and days of nothing but a radio.  Do keep that in mind!  You can hear a smile….you can’t read one!

I also started my Spanish lessons yesterday and even asked Mom a question, which of course, she did not understand.  I am having some difficulty trying to listen to the CD player with all the background noise in the truck.  So, either I practice during down time and hope my new truck doesn’t creak, rattle and roll ;)  I did wonder this morning while listening and practicing Spanish this morning if Gonja is learning too…………….what do you think?

Off to do……..NOTHING!

Well, hello again!  We are now three hours from our last destination!  They gave me a shag for 158 miles and expected it delivered in two hours…………hahahahehehehehe!  They even tried to pre-assign a load at 8 PM for Canada……..not!  The shag took 3.5 hours and I don’t have any hours for an all night run to Canada!  That tells you a lot about the night crew at this company.  On a good note, I signed off stating I would be ready for a load at 7 AM Central….and they didn’t even notice.  So, my virtual truckers, I get to sleep in until 5 AM Pacific.  I know there won’t be a load waiting and I have showered so just a good teeth cleaning and Gonja walk is required before we head out.

Still no laundry as this truck stop as it does not provide machines but it does have 8.1% beer!  And it tasted so good with my truck made taco…….mmmmmm.  I am off to enjoy a show before I fall into a sweet slumber.  Enjoy your evening with loved one and friends!

I am sooooo bored of your camera!

Oh ya, oh ya baby, there goes one flea to his death in the Gonja "roll in the grass" dance!

Oh yes I did see that rabbit!!

And I remember that man in St. Cloud and the boy young enough to be your son who cut you off! 

As for Matt, you hate a clean room too!

To blog or not to blog.....ouch, that hurts to think about!

Good evening from some Pilot, somewhere!  LOL These truck stops, highways, days, and sometime hours, all run together into one big mess.  I get turned around and don’t know which direction I am going. I lose track of what day it is.  I get confused on what time zone I am!  Gads!  I am also becoming quite the early bird, getting up between 3 and 4 AM Pacific time so I seldom see the sunset any longer.  But I get great parking and first in line for a shower!

Bad news, everyone out of the truck except Mom and Mike!  Mike texted me (phone calls are greatly appreciated as I am tired of doing all the calling) and Mom is too old to hitchhike.  Good news…..you are making more money than me ;)  And……..it looks like I will be in Springfield soon to pickup my new truck as this one is sold and needs to be refurbished by the first.  Bad news, my return trip home is delayed by four weeks.  Good news, I might actually make it to a party when I do get home and get caught up with some dear friends.  All and all, it all comes out in the wash!

That reminds me; I got a load to wash and haven’t found a place yet with machines.  Looks like the terminal might be the place to get err done! 

Now don’t make me strike and not blog……..let me know that I have bored you to dang tears or you do REALLY like this stuff!

Back in the good ole USA!

Good evening from Burns Harbor, Indiana, at the Pilot off of 94 West.  It has been a long night and a long day after going to bed last night at 6 PM in Canada so I could leave at 1 AM.  I drove until I couldn’t legally drive anymore and was tickled pink that I get to sleep in and deliver this load two hours later than I had expected!  I can get up at 4 AM, back to my normal operating hours and drop this load at 7 AM.

Good news…….maybe!  I might be getting a new truck.  I was given a message to contact the fleet manager (weekend) and was told that I would be heading to a terminal for a new truck as this one has been sold.  I have picked up a load since then and haven’t heard a word so I will take it like I do the great pay.  Need I say more?

My last two paychecks have either been missing loads or reimbursements and I personally spent roughly $100 of my own money to cover costs to cross the border, scales, and to top it off, $110 non moving violation ticket in Canada for being on a toll road without a transponder.  Yuppers, I am still on vacation because I am paying to be here!  You would think the company would supply you with the required paperwork so you can travel legally and safely and if not, educate you so it would be your responsibility if you screwed up.  Nope, they just take the 5^th.  It is our job to learn  all there is to know about permits, tolls, restrictions, and more for a mere .26 per mile while on the road and not having a damn clue what you are doing except driving. 

On a good note, the plant that I picked up materials from yesterday was great!  Rich, the floor manager, let me park in the lot for the night, allowed me to shower and gave me a tour of the 100 year old building and what they do.  They produce the disks that fit all those plows you see in the farmer’s fields.  There is a crew of about 90 that work 24/7, 11 months out of the year.  They are union paid and seemed to be a happy crew.  I wish I could have showed you the robotic arms that did some amazing things but you will have to use your imagination and see the product before and after!

Enjoy your evening and see you all at 4 AM…..maybe!  I am thinking about kicking a few of you out of the sleeper and into the streets.  It is too dang quite, send me a note and let me know you are out there!

In the beginning....rolls of steel

Look up!

After the cutting............

After the shaving..........

After the 1600 degree furnace, shaped, cut, and painted

The 100 year old building............

What a find!

I just looked over Cathy's website..........my, I was a lucky one to find her!  Check her website out!  I really need to check out others before I post ;) 

2300 miles from Monroe, Washington to Monroe, Michigan, and I find Cathy.........sweet way to end my 34 hour restart!

Catherine and the Potter’s Wheel

My “in the street” interview with Cathy, the high school art instructor that never got over the love of making mud pies!

As you read previously, Gonja and I were out for an early morning stroll when I met Cathy while she was outside killing helpless vegetation (WEEDS).   As I never talk to strangers while out and about, this woman nearly knocked me down in the middle of the street to tell me her story!  Now……..if you believe this, you can make MILLIONS being a truck driver!!!

Seriously, she was such lovely company, I had to return to her country home, camera in hand, and spend more time with her.  She waved me in from the inside of her shop with clay up to her elbows and her two dogs at her feet.  She was working on a beer mug project for a friend whose husband broke his, I believe.  She wasn’t trying to recreate the mug but make what she wants and incorporate something from the broken mug.  She was on her 10^th mug or so when I arrived with another ten or more to go.

She was born and raised here in Monroe, Michigan.  Between herself, her brother, and her parents, they own 140 acres that support sheep, corn and soybeans.  Cathy has been with her husband Bill since they met back in high school at the sweet age of 16.  They have two children that still live at home in order to save for their future.  She figures with a home their size, the kids can take a little more time to decide what they want to be when they grow up.  I told her the story of kicking my own son out of the house at the ripe age of 18 and then following him back to Seattle a few years later.  I think she prefers to have everyone close to her here ;) and after seeing the property, I don’t blame her.

Cathy‘s love of art paved her way and paid her way into college and she now teaches young adults the joy of being creative.  She produces art all summer long, as many as 10 hours per day in her shop, for two shows a year while on school break  You can find her work at catherinerehbein.com.  She states that her art is her therapy after spending a school year teaching three art classes.  The woman is going to turn 50 this year and not a single high school student has done their job and aged her so I can honestly say, the therapy is paying off!

Thank you Cathy for a lovely morning and the coffee cup…….which I will pack away because between me and my lab’s tail in these confined quarters, it is an accident waiting to happen!

All her art starts on paper!

These fish were a amazing!

Even Gonja got to have a little fun!

Off for lunch, watch the rest of the movie, take a nap and we are back on the road at 7:30 tonight!

Clock starts over at 7:30 tonight!

Good morning from the same truck stop as yesterday!  We had a pretty quiet evening here in the truck after a nice walk to the state park (which we walked part of in the rain).  We didn’t make it all the way to the beach as it was a mile further into the park than we realized but Gonja got to swim in the lagoon before we headed back to our home on wheels.

For the first time since I have been on the road, I bought a movie!  The internet here at this location is great for uploading but the download speed is slower than some of these truck drivers walking across the parking lot!  So I bought “A Perfect Getaway” for $6.99 and watched half of it on my 27 inch flat screen monitor.  It was nice to lay back and enjoy such a simple pleasure as a watching a movie that we so take for granted at home.  I even made popcorn! 

While out for our morning walk, I met a lovely woman and spent a half hour learning about her, her home, and her pleasure…….pottery.   Talk about a perfect “in the street” interview and I didn’t have my camera!  She did mention I could come back and I just might.  I think you all would like her very much! 

I am off to call my fleet manager regarding my paycheck.  It was short and I need to know why!

No Comments - DANG NAB IT!

Besides stating the obvious in the subject line, we are now sitting in Monroe, Michigan for the next 34 hours I believe, off exit 18, on Highway 75 N.  The night dispatch was sooooooo wrong when he stated I would gain more hours at midnight!  I had only minutes left on the clock when I reached the Pilot truck stop.  It is a small lot and appears to be secure, great internet and 3 miles from the bay and Sterling State Park.  It looks like we will have our day planned if they don’t make me ran any miles I might get tomorrow.

The frozen food is slowly beginning to thaw so I will be enjoying pork steak, chicken, sausage and taco meat for the next week.  That is not bad considering it has been a week since I loaded this cooler!  It gives me some idea of what this cooler can do on the long haul.  Empty that section up and fill it up with more frozen goods and we will have another week! J

I am off to search the web before lunch and a walk.  Later!

The flooding Clark Fork River

My co-driver!

Engineers busy at work trying to prevent further flooding down south!

This is not a lake folks!