1/25/08

Well, it was a little easier of a day that I had anticipated. I guess sometimes that's better than a hard day though, right? I made the drive down to Suffolk this morning and it was a beautiful day in Virginia. I hadn't been down I-64 in a while, but it's a pretty peaceful ride. There were even quite a few boats on the bay. That surprised me a little. Then I dropped down across the bay and into town. It's always a little disconcerting when your customer is located off a street with "No Thru Trucks" posted, but it was all good. Of course I passed the place up and had to spin back around in a parking lot with about a foot to spare in front and back. Story of my life out here.

I got there a couple of hours early and the forklift drivers were not in the mood to unload me at that time. Whatever. I got backed into a dock at 2:30pm and they did what they had to do. Suffolk isn't the kind of place to start driving and then figure out a route as you go. I don't imagine I have to tell everyone how I know this, but let's just say that I learned it a while back. So I asked the forklift guy what would be the best route to get to US-460 outside the west end of the loop. He told me to go straight through a light where I thought I would need to turn, then follow that street up to US-58. As I passed through the light, I wasn't feeling too good about his directions, but it worked out pretty well. The street that he told me to take is actually the street on which QVC, our most common Suffolk customer, is located. I pulled into the truck stop about a half mile outside town a few minutes later.

Thirty seconds after I parked at the truck stop, I got my next load assignment. I was right about the picking up at QVC part. I was wrong about the going west part. This load will go to the Chicago area. The delivery is at a UPS facility, so there's a pretty good chance that will be a pain in my ass. Otherwise though, these loads tend to be light, I know it's a drop/hook, and it will give me some pretty good miles for the weekend. I was also wrong about the leaving Suffolk today part. In a perfect world the load would have been good to go today, but I have to pick it up tomorrow. That's where the easier than expected day comes into play. I drove about three hours this morning and that's that.

So I guess I'll watch some movies and do some reading and have another relaxing evening. One unanticipated bonus about my truck's dead batteries in Michigan is that my XM radio works again, so I guess I might catch some political talk for a while too. So many choices... what to do? It's funny that I'm 700 miles from home but the only real difference is the company I keep (or in this case don't keep). Boredom, entertainment, diversions, it's all the same wherever I go. Believe it or not, I'm not even thinking I'm ready to go home and have a beer (yet).

No chance to slap the cuffs on me this time around Scott. I'll definitely make sure I pop a wheelie the next time I pass through town though.