1/21/10

I can't listen to way people talk in Maine without thinking of this guy, so we'll just go ahead and outsource the first part of today's post...


I think he hit on most of the main points. When I left Kennebunk at 3am, things weren't too bad. As I moved further northward, Mr. Marley's observations were pretty close to the thoughts in my head. The turnpike was pretty damned icy once I got past Augusta. On US-1A from Bangor out toward the ocean things were even worse. Just a hilly, snowy, slippery pain in the ass. And yeah, there were a few times that I had to say, "This is bullshit."

After I got unloaded, the guys at the consignee suggested that I could park at the local grocery store. I turned out onto the main road and then, once I was moving (of course), my next assignment came over the satellite. Once I found a place to pull over, I saw that I needed to spin around and head back the way that I came. By this point though, the sun was out and the road salt was working on the ice and snow. Still a little slick in spots, but not nearly as bad as it had been on the way to Milbridge. As I made my way down I-95, I wound up getting to clean and dry roads for the rest of the day. Sort of like a mirror image of the earlier drive.

My next load is picking up tomorrow morning in Manchester, New Hampshire and heading to the Chicago area for Monday morning. Given the hours that I have remaining under the 70 hour rule, this was a pretty effective assignment. I wouldn't have realized that I could cover so many miles with what I had left, but it looks like it will all work out nicely. Beauty.

I cruised down to the T/A in Greenland, New Hampshire and parked for the night. Tomorrow morning's hop over to Manchester will hopefully be quick and easy from here. Once I get loaded, I'm hoping to get to the New York Thruway before my 5.75 hours run out. There aren't really any 'Plan B' options if I can't make it, given the route that I'll be taking, so I can scarcely afford to waste any time getting to the shipper.

As long as tomorrow brings no unforeseen issues, the weekend should set up nicely. I'll pick up plenty of hours to finish the trip before Sunday night and I'll also have enough time to get my truck's annual inspection done. Not bad at all. One more early morning to go...