2 RVs to CA, 1 to Davis, 1 to Manteca (both delivered)

1 bus to Grand Rapids ... MI ... Michigan

... spending the night at Santa Nella CA

We can't make delivery by Friday even if we maxed out every hour, every day ... we would come up two plus hours short. So we are going to be taking it slow and delivering on Monday. Rental car home, home Tuesday. Unless we find work where we are.

Breakfast was the usual limited here. Yogurt and pastries, fruit. This place is right on any comments this AM anyways. Juice machine was missing it's drip pan and they went to look for it right away.

We wait until 8:30 to get going to miss the rush hour. I had parked tight to the curb along the drive area and I was also up near a couple of trees so I was watching the trees ... and as soon as I started to move I realized that any tail swing / sharp turn and I would be hitting a light pole. Opps. Didn't do it, but I hadn't thought about that when I did any of my walk arounds.

Traffic this AM is a breeze, is it Sunday AM?

On one of the cat walks across the freeway I see a man carrying three huge garbage bags ... and to bicycle rims. He must have lost his grocery cart. Lots of homeless every place they can stake a claim. Also lots of burn piles that look more like someones camp than a burn pit.

1st stop - 49er, is always a zoo. Now they are down to one gas pump, two sides. At a major truck stop. They are re-building the whole building but no sign that they will do anything with the fuel pumps. They are also old and hard to read. And ... after you swipe your credit card, it asks for your rewards card or "Push CNL." There is no cancel anywhere on the pump. So I found my rewards card and swiped.

And it seemed like just about everyone had to go inside for some reason before or after fueling or both. Lots of people left after sitting for a few minutes. When I was done fueling I pulled over to the RV parking ... just as a semi took the spot I wanted, and part of the next spot. I was able to get past them but I didn't want to park there depending on how straight they were going to pull out. This is supposed to be a car only lot.

2nd stop - the drop. Only two ahead of us but we are there two hours. Instead of the usual 2-3 inspectors they are down to one. One of the drivers we talk to later says the others have all quit.

When I get to the drop, just inside their lot there is a STOP sign. 'Do not go past.' So I walk to the front office but someone with the company name on their shirt says to go to the middle of the building, that is where the office are. They are re-building this place and every trip is different so I walk to those offices and wait. Nope, back to the front. Those doors are locked.

So I ask the next person I see ... 'drive around back as usual, STOP sign is for repairs.'

I pull up and park beside the RV that said they were going to West Sacramento. :)

I go inside and tell someone I am there ... they aren't involved in receiving so they say to just wait in line. An inspector is just signing someones paperwork and then takes the next persons paperwork. Theirs is a RoadTrac out of Canada. They brought it on a flatbed. Lucky for us they only had one. Once I saw the inspector outside without a mask, I knew him. He wasn't the 1st guy we met at this dealer but he's been here quite a while.

The other guy, from the motel, says we can go ahead but we still think we have plenty of time so we don't cut in line. We are 10 mile from the airport and he has a flight at 7 AM tomorrow.

We got some insight talking to this guy. Sounds like the used to be able to self dispatch. I didn't ask what that meant. Now they have taken that away and you must email dispatch when you see a load you want. So it sounded like they also have a 'loadboard' that drivers can look at. But now with the self dispatch gone, dispatch only puts 45 orders on the board max. They do that as a way of keeping the less wanted loads moving.

Sorry, doesn't work for me. If nothing is on the board that I want, I sit. And your loads sit, until you put it on the load board.

This drive said he had looked at driving for a different company at one point but the other company moved a lot of used trucks and was more 'dispatch' driven. That made him much happier with his current company :)

We talk and listen. BB is the only one who keeps her mask on at first. The rest of us put ours back on when the inspector comes to do paperwork with one of the drivers. Later one of our companies drivers come that is driving a flat bed with two RV's. He also keeps his mask on the whole time.

According to the other driver for our company, part of the reason the small ones are being flat bedded is miles. The dealers can sell them with (almost) -0- miles on them. They have asked about having the others flat bedded also but to do so would require permits and or pilot cars. Lots of extra money.

So we had almost two hours of indoor conversation. Longest so far. Usually we stand out side but it is already 90+ degrees.

I'm done, I pile in with BB and we are on our way. Because it getting late we decided to wait and eat until we had dropped. The next 60 miles was un-eventful.

3rd stop - Enterprise, Manteca. We park at the (closed) casino and BB walks next door to sign for the rental car.

After signing, BB pulls the car next to the RV and we move our stuff. From there BB head to final fuel and I head to ... In And Out :) Then we can eat our food while her inspection is being done.

4th stop - I pull into In-n-Out and am blocking the sidewalk, the line is long. So as soon as I can, I pull into a parking spot to go inside and order, and use the restroom. Opps. My mask is still lying on the dash of the RV. In those couple of minutes, not one else had gotten in the drive thru line so I got back in line. No mask required at the drive thru.

Two double-doubles and two cups of water/ice.

5th stop - A few blocks later I am at the dealer and BB has already gotten all of her stuff out and given her paperwork to the inspector. We are one hour early but they said they would take us in the next open spot if we came early. I was hoping we would have more wiggle room but this worked.

We sat and ate and waited. As soon as BB had her paperwork, I called the west coast dispatcher. He says I am early. Nope, I just like to confirm that I have dropped and am available. He says to call him back in 45 minutes.

6th stop - 45 minutes is what it takes to get to Livermore. Outlet mall is now back open and it packed. My phone locks up again and it is almost 10 minutes before I can call dispatch.

Grand Rapids ... Michigan. CNG (not diesel.) Must stop at the same five fuel stops as all the other buses. No picking my own range. First time we have had that request. 2,600 miles. Never quite sure what the pay is on these but we always do OK. Paperwork will be ready at 5:30 so we have two hours to kill. Too hot to walk.

7th stop - We get to the shipper a little after 5 PM so I can have my bus inspected by the time I get the paperwork. I am getting ready to dial security when another bus drives up and lets me in. Thanks.

We find my bus and am about half done inspecting it when the paperwork is thrown in to the bus. All checks OK so I give BB a 15 minute head start to stop and fuel and drop the rental car.

I pull up to the restroom and say hi to another driver ... was even able to do the 'knuckle knock' this time. One of the first things I ask is how to adjust my drivers seat. It is almost shaped in a 'V.' I had been hitting the correct button, but it is much easier to adjust if there is no weight on the seat.

We talked a bit about work and then a third driver wanted to know what to do with the paperwork. Still no security. They are to start at 5 PM and it is now after 5:30. The first guy I was talking to calls the local dispatch and he says where to put them. By now it is more than the 15 minutes so I get moving. Glad I didn't show up when there were no other drivers around, how to get in? and out?

Picking up BB is no issue, there are now two driveways next to each other in that area so I can get off the travel lane while I pick her up.

When we were heading to Livermore, traffic was backed up 15 miles heading east. Now it is closer to 10 and I turn off again after 5 miles.

A little windy but that is about it. One hour down to the motel.

8th and final stop. Quality Inn in Santa Nella. As we pull up I see someone parking in 'my spot.' There are nine spots open on that stretch and I need five. The person parks in the middle one. But I see another maybe spot at is five. We try for a while and then when I am almost in, the couple that had parked in 'my' spot comes back, gets in their car and leaves. It looks like they just parked in the motel lot, walked the length of the building, came back and left. Just to make my life difficult. They left, I moved to 'my spot.'

As soon as we are settled, we call down to the Split Pea Soup place. 'Sorry, we closed at 7?' Web says 10 PM :( One of the reasons we like to stay here is their food. BB and I talked about a couple of other places but when we walked outside we saw a food truck at the gas station across the street. We went there. I got four taco's and BB got a quesadilla, of which she saved half for breakfast.

Loadboard

US - 101

IA - 7

MN - 2

WI -0-