190228
No breakfast this AM, we were headed to a safety meeting and they will feed us there. We get there before 8 AM and there are a number of people already hanging around, nothing is set up. Finally, a few minutes before 8, I go looking for the dispatchers. They are already in the room waiting for us bu...
190227
Still 'home.' Nothing on the board new yesterday that we wanted, roads were still bad. Last night they added about 50 trips to the board and then took about 20 of them back off. Even after they took the 20 off they later took two El Cajon runs off so we were down to two RV's to the place we wanted t...
190226
Home. These are off days due to the weather and needing to get my DOT physical updated. When I first started this line of work I could get the two year DOT card. But between my aging and them changing the rules I have been on a 1 year card for the last five or so years. The Dr can issue a six month...
190223 - CA-OH
No alarm but still up early waiting for the breakfast area to open. We had to scrape the ice off of our windows, brush the snow off our cars. It wasn't bitterly cold so that helped. Defrosters both worked good. Last night after we were to the motel I had chipped the ice off from around my wipper's a...
190222 - CA-OH
We hadn't set the alarm because we had already decided not to make it home on Friday. So we slept in and didn't leave the hotel until after 7:30 local. We eat our breakfast and hit the road. We are only a few blocks from the tollway so traffic is not an issue this AM. 1st stop is at a rest area near...
190221 - CA-OH
Basic breakfast, we were ready to roll by 7:30 local. Sun would soon be coming up. Did ask as we left how safe the area is. "No problem with safety, just no food to walk to" was the reply. I'm guessing if we walked it once in the daylight that we'd be OK to walk after dark. The building next to us w...
190220 - CA-OH
It's so rare I do a good deed, I'm surprised I forgot to mention this yesterday... Coming through OKC I noticed a cop standing on the side of the road with no one pulled over. So I put on my flashers and slowed down, when I did he ran out across two lanes of traffic and grabbed a log chain that was...
190219 - CA-OH
First a few things about yesterday. There were a few trucks in the ditch and one on it's side where it was snowing. Then at this motel right by where we parked was a little prairie dog patch. Just like the ones at the zoos, except this one didn't have a fence around it.... and in my 'spare time,' I...
190218 - CA-OH
Have to remember two things about this motel, pets and train noise. Train noise applies to all motels in Gallup. I asked about pets and they said they were assigned to random rooms. They do not try to keep them on one side or one end of the building. No issues this time, but one of the prior times i...
190217 - CA-OH
We had forgotten to print out our NM permits, so we did that on the way down to eat. They were still putting out breakfast when we walked by so it wouldn't have done us much good to get down there earlier. Good spread, a couple of kinds of eggs, bacon, potatoes, a couple of brands of yogurt, third k...
190216 - CA-OH
Up early, that's good I guess. Means when we get back to the east coast it won't be such a big adjustment. Found breakfast, this motel is being remodeled and breakfast is being served in a temp room. When I asked for juice, I had to walk into the kitchen area and help myself. One person just leaving...
190215 - VA-CA
Up before the alarm, but the alarm was set for 7 AM west coast time. Heard the sausage was good, but I stuck with yogurt and one egg. Looked out early this AM but didn't see any CA buses. Did meet a few yesterday. After my inspection, we headed across the street to Loves, the first line I picked did...
190214 - VA-CA
I think we are still on east coast time, we are up early again. Very small breakfast area, but the usual stuff, plus we got the 'Happy Valentine's Day' every time we walked past the front desk. Not sure what, but something took a little longer this AM so we got going 15 minutes later than we had pla...
190213 - VA-CA
These time jumps are wearing on us, as we head west we are up before the alarm goes off. After I did the write-up last night, BB had some 'fun.' We were in early so she washed some clothes. Not sure the whole story, but it sounds like they had to almost take either the washer or dryer apart so she c...
190212 - VA-CA
Good breakfast this AM, choice of ham or sausage. I often say, don't ask questions you don't want to hear the answer to. Seems to be true in motels also. The only places that ask are the good ones:) Rolling at 7:30 central, 6:30 local. This place has paved truck parking, six of us didn't use it, we...
190211 - VA-CA
Wow. Slept in. No early AM phone calls. For breakfast they had the usual, but their yogurt was the smaller containers so I had some eggs besides. They also had hot oatmeal, which is unusual. Plan was to be leaving at 6:45. Took us a little longer to get going in the AM so I was thinking we were goin...
190210 - VA-CA
Ring... ring... ring... ring 5:30 eastern and the room phone is ringing. I finally get in answered and there is just the sound you hear when the phone isn't working, no dial tone, no silence. I try to call the front desk but all I get is 'Ring... you are being transferred to the operator... Ring......
190209 - VA-CA
Lots of signs around the motel reminding the 'skiers to be quiet.' Not sure if all the younger people there today were from a ski group, but there was a lot of young ones at breakfast. Food was OK, I just had an egg patty and sausage patty. No one blocked me in, but the motel lot did fill up overnig...
190208 - VA-CA
No alarm this AM. Finally got going by 8:30. Breakfast was a little different. Very small breakfast area. First thing I noticed was no hot food. Instead they had omelette and sandwich’s in the fridge and a microwave. Upside with that is you know the food will be hot. I was still stuffed from last ni...
190207 - IA-VA
Motel - Breakfast was the usual fair, but hot food could have been warmer, fruit could have been fresher. BB wouldn't eat either the apples or the oranges... it takes quite a while for fruit to show it's been sitting out, and this did. Up and rolling by 7:30 eastern time. Still dark, but we needed t...
190206 - IA-VA
That didn't take long, I had planned on writing reviews for our meals and stays starting in January. Already running out of time to keep up. I guess it will have to be as time allows. That was the reason I switched to taking pictures of the places we ate, I can just hold on to the pictures and post...
190205 - IA-VA
Needed the alarm to wake us up. This is a MicroTel so not the same breakfast we are used to. That was OK by me, I was still stuffed from last night. One cup of yogurt was enough. All that was missing here was the hot food, eggs and sausage. Other than that, a full spread. We got going by 7 AM, just...
190204 - IA-VA
Finally... work. We need to work. So based on the weather and traffic we were planning on leaving our house about 8 AM. As I open our garage door I see our nice shiny driveway... shiny because of ice. But we can't get our suite cases in the car in the garage so we had to do it on the ice. Slower, bu...
190201 - MN
It's now a few days later so I don't remember the details of this day other than... We sat and hit refresh all day. Waiting for orders, knowing if we didn't take something we would be without income for another three days at least. But another nine hours later, we had not taken anything and would be...
190128 - MN
Didn't find anything on the load board to our liking so we are still at home. Plan was that we were to stop at the clinic before leaving town, so once we waited until Monday we had to wait until they were open... and wait until after rush hour... and neither of us slept well, so we slept in... and i...
190124 - MN
Really short day today, but I needed to go in and turn in my paperwork. Roads were bad so I had to wait about a half hour for the shuttle driver. Then it was only about 10 miles to the shop, no paperwork to sign, I've been to this shop many times. No issues starting the bus, this was the one I had d...
190122 - MN
Same trip as yesterday. This time there is seven plus the shuttle driver going up. As soon as we get on the freeway there is a back up, the traffic signs had been warning of it when I came to work. Turns out a truck had crashed in the oncoming lane before 7 in the morning, over two hours later it is...
190121 - MN
Once we were on our way home Friday, I called and got work for today. Just a local trip, shuttle ride 300 miles, drive 300 miles. Pulled out of our office at 9 AM. Six drivers going up today, two will head out from the customer, the other four of us will bring our buses back for other drivers to lea...
190120 - IA-TX
Was up by 7 AM, eating breakfast by 8:30 and on the road by 9 AM. If we would have thought more about it we might have stayed at the hotel longer. We don't want to return the car too early and get the higher, two day rate. We had thrown snow on the windshield last night when the windshield was still...
190119 - IA-TX
We had the alarm set for 7 AM, but we were both up before 6 AM. Ate breakfast, all was good, two kinds of fruit. The big debate this AM was if we were going to stop across the freeway so we would save $.40 over stopping down the road. Saving time won out over saving money and we didn't stop. Fuel mi...
190118 - IA-TX
Alarm woke us up this AM, not used to that after almost two months off. Breakfast eggs were a little off. Sometimes when dried eggs don't get mixed right, they are a little 'grainy,' that seemed to be the case here. All else was good. Got going about 7:30. Had to wipe the dew off the windows and mir...
190117 - IA-TX
With the storms coming in we didn't want to get going too early. Turns out it the rain / temp wasn't right to cause any issues. This morning we were doing our inspections when the garbage truck came to dump the dumpster. I knew he was right there, but when it went BANG, I know I jumped a little.:) W...
190116 - IA-TX
This has been the downside of driveaway. Work is slow and we have had reasons we needed to be in town. And this has been the rare time that my local company hasn't had any local work for me. We thought we'd be back on the road right after Christmas, then something came up near New Years. Then an app...
190103 - IA-MN
There is one return in MN going back to IA. So we grabbed it last night we just need to pick it up and drop it the same day. It is less than 250 miles so I will be getting a flat fee. Plan is that we will have something by the time we get to IA today and we won't need a motel in Forest City. I picku...