5/4/09

46,659 pounds is pretty damn heavy. I-83 in Pennsylvania and Maryland is pretty damn hilly. I-95 is pretty damn congested. The weather today was pretty damn rainy. Weigh stations are pretty damn annoying. The last several chapters of Lord of the Rings have been pretty damn boring. Overall, I guess you could say that my drive was pretty damn shitty. When the construction area on the south side of D.C. has the lightest traffic of the day, something has gone terribly wrong with the world. Way too much stopping and starting for me today. I still didn't kill anyone though. So I have that going for me... which is nice.

My trailer was loaded and ready once I got out of bed and checked in with the shipper this morning. About the only snag there was a brief exchange between the yard dog and me. I started to back into a space and then hopped out to open my doors before proceeding the rest of the way. He pulled up next to me...

Yard Dog: "You dropping that empty?"
Me: "Yeah."
Yard Dog: "It goes in that row over there."
Me: "That row is full."
Yard Dog: "Well then you can drop it over here."
Me: "Yeah."
Yard Dog: "You need to open the doors."
Me: "Yeah."
Yard Dog: "Before you drop it."
Me: "That's what I'm doing."
Yard Dog (with a scowl): "Well, you're blocking the road now."
Me (under my breath): "If you would shut the fuck up, I would've been done by now."
Yard Dog: "What?"
Me: "I'm gonna hurry up and get done now."

From there I headed south and decided to trust my super-keen instincts (and my suspension gauge) with respect to my axle weights. With such a heavy load I probably should have stopped at a CAT Scale somewhere to weigh it. I didn't feel like it though, so I rolled the dice. First Maryland scale - in we go. Story of life. I must have been legal, as they stopped me on the scale and then sent me on my merry way.

Second Maryland scale - in we go. Those guys must like watching the trucks go in a circle or something. The scale was blocked but they were wheeling us in and out from every direction. The setup of that weigh station has to be one of the most bizarre that I've seen.

Back out to I-95 and into Virginia to their first scale - in we go. Not so fast, my friends. I blew that one off. The ramp was backing up and I wasn't about to stop in the traffic lane on a dark and rainy day. Sue me.

Virginia scale south of Richmond - green light on the Prepass.

Then, to round out the narrative, I got stopped on the first scale in North Carolina as well. Once again, I must assume that my weights were fine as they sent me on my way. I stopped in at the big truck stop in Dunn a while ago and headed inside for some dinner. The Quizno's Classic Italian with extra meat is a serviceable sandwich, but a SubWay Italian BMT with double meat it is not.

So what do we watch on the interwebs while we munch on freshly toasted bread and cold cuts? News from back home, of course...