8/19/08

Yeah, we kicked off the day with another dickhead security guard, but that wasn't a huge deal. He got a little annoyed when I refused to leave his booth until he gave me, in complete sentences, instructions on where to go. Where to go - now that was a huge deal.

The road from last night, along the front of the apartment building, was the first turn. Okay, it was early and there was no traffic. Good enough. The next right turn... he said go where? Over there? Holy smokes. There was a wall on the left and a pole guarding the corner of the building on the right. It was like CDL school in the middle of Detroit, only my trailer is a little longer now. So I made that turn, having to essentially pass up the turn, back up to make an angle with the trailer, and then go back and forth a few times to swing the truck into the alley. I passed along the back of the building to a point where I was relieved to see the alley widen out near the loading docks.

I was empty in fifteen minutes and ready to find somewhere to park. Simply put, there were no good options. Pittsburgh isn't the most truck-friendly town in the world and I was right down in the middle of it. The lot where I spent the night was overfilled with trucks that arrived after I did. That wasn't an option. I decided to head eastward to the Turnpike and hope to find a spot at the service plaza. That way, wherever they sent me next, I could most likely find a reasonable route to head me in the right direction.

I don't mind telling you - I felt like a trucking grand champion when I slid into my parking spot at that service plaza. The people in the front row typically park a few yards forward of the lined spaces, leaving some room in front of the trucks in the back row. If both rows park within the lines, then the space in-between is impassable. I guess the lines must have been painted when trucks were twelve feet long or something. Anyhow, some folks (like the P Jax guy in the front row this morning) are not aware of this so they park all the way at the back of the row. I had to squeeze around his ass with about an inch or two to spare. There was only one available space and I was not too keen on the idea of wandering aimlessly down the turnpike when I may well have been picking up a load back to the west. So I was going to get in there. Oh yeah. I got in there.

About a half hour later I was assigned to pick up a load in Hermitage and head for Laredo. Yep, back in the wrong direction. Good thing I found a spot at the service plaza. It could have been worse. The ride to Hermitage took me up PA-60. What an awesome road that is. It's a toll road but there was nobody on it. Kinda like my own private drive. So I checked in up there and had some time to kill. Now I apparently own Notre Dame season tickets and a pass to the Joyce Lot for the Michigan game. (Sometimes it's best not to let me have too much free time.)

Once I was loaded and rolling south, things went pretty smoothly. I rolled down through Columbus and stopped off about an hour north of Cincinnati for the night. I think I'll crank up the A/C and try to refrigerate myself into sleeping tonight. As long as I can nod off pretty soon, I'll be able to get going before the roosters crow for the next couple of days and try to alleviate some of the aggravation that this route usually causes.