It's past midnight home time. We are safe in Indio. No issues, just a long day.

NOTE: It is now two days later and I am trying to remember.

Breakfast was someone handing us the food we ask for. No hot food, but food.

I hadn't asked what time the customer opens, but we head out at 7:30 and get to the customer a couple of minutes later.

1st stop. Pick up location. Dispatch had given me a truck number and mine was first in a line of four trucks. As soon we were looking at the truck someone from the shop walked over and said they could bring us the keys but we would have to wait until 8 to get the paperwork. We are doing the inspection when the shipper drives in, they talk to us briefly and then park and go get the paperwork. We are done with the inspection when she comes back out so I sign and we are almost ready to go.

We can't get any of the storage doors to open. The shipping person noticed there were not locks on some of the doors so then we got talking. Everything is locked by a master lock. The other locks are 'just for show.' The other locks are real locks, but even if you get them open, you can't get in the truck without opening the master.

They also said it is locked because every storage area is full. And there is stuff in the back of the truck that can't be secured (and that is where our luggage goes this AM. We hope it doesn't rain)

The truck is new. The wood chipper behind it is used. It no longer meets CA standards so they are shipping it out of state instead of junking it.

I had looked the night before on how to get from the pick up location to the rental car drop and even wrote myself some notes. I got lost. Not really lost, just not where I wanted to be. We have been in this area enough I knew where I was. Looking now, two days later I see where I missed my turn. And it was in my notes. Opps. Any ways I ended up back at the motel before I found a place to turn around. Then I let BB know I was now on my way. She switched sides of the road so it was easier for me to pick her up and we headed out of town on a different street. All of this added about another 2-3 miles. So more frustrating than anything.

Traffic wasn't bad leaving town this time of the AM. I get up to 60 mph and think that I will save some money of fuel if I keep it there. Then I remember, I am a truck. Speed limit for trucks in CA is 55 mph. Guess I am forced to save money. And I may have been the only truck on the freeway that was going 55 mph. For 550 miles.

3rd stop (after picking up BB) was at a rest area near Wesly.

Today wasn't the ideal way to run. Three of the legs were over 3 hours each. We usually like to stop every two hours, sometimes every 100-120 miles. Today at 55 mph we were doing 150 mile legs. That is just how the stops worked out and we needed to make time so didn't split the long legs.

4th stop is in Lost Hills for food and fuel. When we pulled off the freeway we saw that the AmPm / Arco was $.06 cheaper so we headed there. This place also has the largest, and usually empty, parking lot. The Arco's in CA are debit only. Fine. AFTER I swipe my card it says there were be a $.35 fee added to the transaction. ??? So there goes my savings, or at least some of it. And then BB decides she would rather have Arby's than DQ so we go across the street and park and walk into Loves. One plus. Arby's has one table outside so we didn't have to eat at the truck today.

While I am stopped I call for my AZ and NM permits. Then I call the dispatcher to let him know I did the pickup and ask how much fuel to leave in the truck. It was full at pick up. But I only need to leave 1/4 of a tank so that will help on our bottom line.

We have to cross a few weigh scales in CA but they have 'empty' lanes so I use those. I'm not really 'empty' and they can see the red safety cones inside my truck. But no one flags me in.

Once we get to the hills by LA the engine really down shifts. It wants to run at 4,000 rpms. I don't want it to. And it doesn't do anything good to my fuel mileage either.

5th stop is in Lebec part way up the hill at a rest area.

Coming down I have to use the breaks a couple of times. The truck hold me for a while at 10 mph over the cruise speed but then it starts tac'ing out at over 4,000 rpms.

6th stop - through 999,999 stop were on I-210/CA-210 :)

Miles and miles of stop and go. Lots of standstill. Lots of 10 mph or less. The only plus is that I am not blocking traffic by going the speed limit.

Somewhere while traffic was going 10-20 miles an hour, there were a couple of cars, convertibles, that we noticed where the drivers were holding both hand above their windshields as they were driving. Waving to the music or something. Then about 10 miles down the road we see one of those cars on the side of the road with a couple of other cars. Crashed. Opps. Maybe hands on the wheel when moving is a good idea.

We should have timed it. From where CA-134 joins on the west end until we crossed the I-15, traffic was mostly stop and roll. Sometimes six lanes of it. Not at all like a couple of days ago when I commented LA won't need any new freeways for a while. I'm guessing on that stretch we averaged about 15 mph. The sun was going down, it set, last light, all dark, on that stretch. We will be looking for options if we have to go that route again.

7th stop. We stop at the 1st rest area on I-10. BB uses the restroom, I call the hotel about truck parking. And I check the lights on my chipper I am pulling. I can not see it other than if there is a shadow.

It was only a few miles from the rest area to the motel, but long enough for BB to look at the reviews. Now she looks at the reviews. And as I am signaling we are deciding if we should stay, the last review says 'stay away.' We do.

On to Indio another 60 miles down the road and it is already hours after dark.

8th stop There is food along the highway other places but there is one burger place at a gas station at our exit. It is late and we don't want any extra stops. Sign says open, but building is closed. Tonight it is shelf food at the AmPm. BB gets a salad, I get two rib sandwiches because they are on sale 2 for something.

9th and final stop is the Quality Inn in Indio. As we get there I realize we have been here before, cars park in the center of the building. I didn't remember the truck parking outside of the building. I had thought of this place before as we were driving, but nothing BB said fit.

The 'inside' is full, but lots of parking on the outside and on the street. I hadn't wanted to park next to the road with my load, but that is what was open.

We check in, we eat, I get my permits printed. I re-do my log book. My log showed I was over my daily hours. But that was because I started my day on Pacific time and ended on Central time. We always have to log on home / Central time. Still a long day but I was not over my hours. By now it was after 10 PM local, midnight home time.

Didn't take time to look at the loadboard.