6/17/10

I don't know.  What do you think?  Should I try dragging a trailer into that parking lot tomorrow?  I know I won't have any problems getting in there.  Just not really fond of parking tickets.  The little building on the upper left (with the orange "pin" by it) is a medical clinic where I can get my D.O.T. card renewed.  I have no idea what kind of business occupies the large building behind that big parking lot.  The clinic opens at 8am so, in theory, I could be in and out before the lot started to fill up tomorrow.  This is, of course, assuming that it ever does fill up.  The aerial view here is from Microsoft and I also checked an image from Google.  The lot is completely empty in both pictures.  I don't know.

If I decide against pulling a trailer into that parking lot, then I'm inclined to stick with yesterday's assessment and forget about stopping.  I would have to go to our terminal in Lancaster, drop my trailer, scoot across the 2-3 miles to the clinic, get the physical done, go back to the terminal, get my trailer, and head back out to the highway.  I haven't done the math yet to see if I would have time for this sort of diversion.  Possibly, I suppose.  A lot of the calculus would also depend on how quickly the clinic operates.  At the one back in Michigan, I was in and out within an hour.  Assuming that I'm ready and waiting when this one in Texas opens its doors tomorrow, it's probably not unreasonable to think that I could be finished in short order.  I don't know.

I knocked out a solid ten hours of driving today, getting me through Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.  By the time I got into Texas, it became clear that I wouldn't reach the Dallas area before my hours ran out tonight.  As I started this morning, I thought that I would end up somewhere in Louisiana today.  So in that sense I guess I was pleasantly surprised to see that my estimation was a little off.  In a practical sense though, it's the miles that count - not the states.  Still lots of miles to go from here.

The drive across I-20 was a pretty simple affair.  Traffic was fairly light and I had an afternoon ballgame to break up the monotony a little bit.  I'm not a big fan of interleague play, generally speaking.  As long as my Tigers can keep beating up on these National League tomato cans though, I may have to rethink my position.

Tomorrow's drive, once I get clear of the Dallas area, looks to be another long and boring one.  I probably can't get to El Paso from here in one shift, so I'll most likely end up spending the night somewhere in the mountains.  Then, Lord willing, I'll be able to complete one more ten-hour break and finish the trip to Nogales on time.  One thing's for certain - there won't be any of that cruising slowly to save fuel.  This is one of those runs where I wish my truck could still go 70mph.