1 Bus, heading to Johnsonburg PA (delivered)

... spending the night at Maumee OH

Alarm goes off at 5 AM local, 4 AM our time. It is the last day this week we should have to get up early.

Breakfast, BB eats her leftovers and after I go down to get breakfast, I eat last nights left over banana bread. This hotel had one choice of breakfast bar and 10 oz bottles of water. That was there I idea of breakfast. I even went back twice to make sure everything was out. It was.

It is still dark when we pulled out. Then an hour down the road to the first stop.

1st I drop BB off at the rental car agent. It was next to a dead end street, but with light traffic I was able to pull into their drive and back out onto the dead end street. Helps to have a short bus.

The 1st stop is at the bus wash in Girard. If the line was short I would wash here, if it was long, I would go 10 miles down the road to the next one.

There is one semi tractor in line when I get there. But there is a truck parked in the center of the road before I get to their driveway. Once I get close to the truck it starts to move. At about 4 miles per hour. It drives down the rest of the street, and into the wash drive. It didn't look right, usually trucks that old and in that rough of shape do not get washed.

I have enough time to text BB to tell her where I will be and they are done washing the semi-tractor. The semi pulls into the bay but I am in no rush to move, there is no one behind me and it will 15 minute to wash the semi. But they motion for me to pull in behind the semi. Are they going to wash both of us at the same time? Nope, the semi drives through. I ask later, and the driver 'didn't have any money.' ??? I think he made a wrong turn and it was easier to go through the wash than turn around on the street.

When the boss comes out to talk to me, he asks if I am with (a competitor.) I say no, but the buses all get washed the same way, they go to the same customers. Then he asks if I wanted it billed to our account. It crossed my mind to bill it to the (a competitor) but I don't think they would see the humor in that.

BB still has not caught up to me, so I pull across the street to Mr Fuel. I can see there is plenty of room to park. By the time I am parked, BB is calling asking where I am. She is parked at Pilot next to the wash building. So I drive over there and we unload all of our luggage. All of this has taken a half hour, instead of three hours. We are ahead of schedule.

Two hours to the drop via freeway and side roads. I didn't write down how far on side roads or what towns I would go through. I am 7 miles from the drop when I see the first sign for my delivery town. Lots of 25-35 speed limits on this highway.

2nd stop - I get to the drop and my fuel gauge has dropped from F to 31/32. It could/should be at 3/4 or I am leaving too much fuel. I call my contact and he meets me in the lot, he has to shake hands both when we meet and when we part. It may be the first time I have shaken hands in nine months. I'm guessing he had some health problems as he only walked a few feet at a time and sat ASAP.

They do have a 2nd bus coming, it is / was ready but then they ID'ed a window issue and put it on hold. I'm sure the bus dispatcher would love to have me back to deliver the next one.

The guy who signs asks about my windows, sometime in the past someone when coming through NM had their windows shot out. Because we run all the camera's all the time, they were able to ID who done it.

Later BB looks at how someone else would get out of there. Bus? Hours to Pittsburg and fly back to CA. Flying back ... the cheaper flights take a day or more and have 10 hour layovers at up to four airports. The direct flight is $900 and there is a 'limo air' that would cost $34,000. Our way is easier.

Heading back the way we came is the fastest way to food. We didn't think about the Subway that was right across the street from the drop. Lots of hills.

And Amish. But the Amish places we see are on city sized lots mixed in with the other houses. We only saw one Amish farm.

We take the same route back as far as Brockway and then head west to Brookville.

3rd stop - Brookville at the Arbey's. We order inside and use the restroom. When we leave, BB realizes they gave her the wrong sandwich. She does not want to go back so she eats it.

4th stop - Girard. Across the freeway from the wash where we were this AM. Gas is $1.87 at the BP. While we are there BB faxes in my paperwork so I can get paid.

Onto the toll road. We decide we should get as far as Maumee earlier so that is what we do. It isn't dark yet but it has been a long day and no big towns before it will be dark.

5th and final stop is Maumee. 1st at Schlotzsky's Austin Eatery (Formerly schlotzsky's Bakery and Cafe.) They are now going to be serving alcohol ... once people can eat inside again. This time it is my order that is messed up. I order potato soup and get chili. Sandwich and cookie were still good.

Then to the Comfort Inn for the night.

We have just over 600 miles back to Forest City. Then another 30 back to drop the car. So we may get the car dropped off and only charged for two days.

BB got a phone call today from dispatch, they still have lots of runs. Customers really want the RV's sitting on the lot and are willing to take Saturday and (?) Sunday deliveries. ))) sorry, we have other plans ((( I've looked at today's date the last four years there were -0- three years and 8 the 4th year. It is supposed to be slow.

We are done working for our long haul company for the year. Any other work will be for my local company and BB will shuttle/chase.

For the long haul / RV company, I have driven 48,000 paid miles this year. And we did not work at all in April, May or September. I did over 90% of those miles in either an RV or a bus.

And over 90% of my income will be from my long haul company. By comparison, last year 3/5 of my income came from my long haul carrier. Biggest difference is this year I am not running local buses and riding in the shuttle because of Covid.

Covid. We had a company phone meeting today with the long haul company and they said that one of their dispatchers just died from Covid. A couple of days ago someone posted on FaceBook that the owner of the other company they work for had just died from Covid. Deaths in MN are back down from there high, but are still triple what they had been this spring.

Load board

US - 313

IA - 125

MN - 5

WI - 6

My local company said we will be getting hit hard with the MN trucks that the long haul company also moves. Haven't seen the increase on the long haul board yet.