1 truck to San Diego CA (delivered)

... spending the night at Escondido CA

Opps, not wanting to stop around LA cost me about $50.

Breakfast, BB had the rest of her burrito, I walked down and got juice and a pastry.

We got going at 7:30 AM. No problem dragging as I exited this parking lot with this truck. Then I headed across the street for fuel.

1st stop is the Loves for fuel. I notices a guy at the 1st pump that looks like he is ready to leave, but it looks like the far pump is open already. So I head to the far pump and find that it is bagged off. I start to back up but then decided to drive around and come at the pumps again.

Someone pulls into the now empty 1st pump so I pick another one that looks like the guy is done. Soon there is someone waiting for all the pumps. Finally the guy on the right side of me backs out and leaves, about the same time the person at the pump pulls ahead. So I go for that pump.

Yesterday I 'guessed' that I was getting 10 miles per gallon, and because I did not want to stop anywhere for fuel between LA and San Diego. So my goal is to leave the truck with 1/4 of fuel. That way if I was wrong on the mileage I will not have to stop again. But just in case, I have looked to see where the closest fuel is near the drop.

As I pull out, I follow the driver I had been waiting behind. He had been done fueling and never moved his truck when he was done.

And as I start to pull ahead, someone had been right in my blind stop a foot from the front of my truck. I stop. He never looks back at me. We always try to walk a ways in front of other trucks and try to make eye contact with the driver.

Nothing major on the first leg of the trip. I stop at my usual place, but at 70 mph instead of 55 mph I get there in an hour and a half.

2nd stop is at Lebec at the Flying J at the Wendy's. BB is already there when I get there. We go in and order food and go back to the car to eat. No indoor seating. And the self service area for most of the food has been roped off. You now have to make a request and staff will fill your cup or grab your donut.

When I stop, I look at my grill. Bee's. All the bugs on my grill are bee's. I wouldn't have guessed. It sounding like hard shell bugs hitting the truck. If I hit 100 bee's in the last 24 hours, and all of the other 1,000 trucks hit a 100 bees every day. How soon before there are none left?

Unlike the Ford RV's, this truck does not want to downshift to maintain speed. It takes most of the hill at 55 mph but does drop almost to 45 mph but RPM's never get over 2,000. Instead it lets the speed drop.

But it does not do a good job of maintaining speed going down hill either. Truck speed is supposed to be 40 mph going down hill. Those signs do not say '3 axels or more' they just say TRUCKS. Some of the signs are specific, others are not. I just kind of guess.

I end up passing another rental truck three times over two days. It is also being moved by a transporter, but he has his placard stuck in the window in such a way that his DOT # is not showing.

When I go past Sun Valley, north of LA there is a fire raging just a couple of blocks from the freeway. Thick black smoke, I can see down the street and don't see any fire trucks in front of the area. Asking BB later, she was ahead of me and had not seen the smoke. Now I looked online and see that it was personal cars in a recycling area that had caught on fire.

LA - We take I-5 right through LA. Eight lanes of traffic in both directions in some places. Minor stop and go, but nothing major. What should have taken us 2 hours and 45 minutes, took us 3 hours and 15 minutes.

I don't stop again, BB stops at the final rest area on I-5.

There are a few miles where we can see the ocean from I-5 just before San Diego. Traffic between the two towns was moving well.

I have to stop at the last scale in CA on I-5. All the rest of the scales have been closed so I've been lucky that way. I get to go in the empty lane and do not get stopped. I just have to cross.

I get to the drop and have to go into the rental area to enter the building. I ask for service but they want to handle it. I start to explain to the person what I am dropping off and someone comes up behind them. 'I talked to you yesterday and said the truck needs to full before you drop it.' I tried to explain that both my dispatcher and his service department agreed that it didn't, but he cuts me off saying they will bill us.

Not my problem, and no they will not bill us. I still couldn't get him to understand that this was not a rental return. The other person who helped me seemed to understand but didn't confront him.

They sign clear, and I am standing outside waiting for them to make a copy of the bill of lading when BB drives past. She is still texting me by the time I get to the car.

We have a couple of hours before dark but stop after a half hour. Tonight we are going with traffic in rush hour. Tomorrow morning we will be going against it.

But by stopping early tonight, we have 450 miles / 7 hours plus stop to get back to the buses tomorrow.

4th and final stop is at the Comfort Inn in Escondido for the night. Then we walk next door to In-n-Out Burger for food.

This hotel room has a little deck. Very little. One chair and a small table. But it is nice to have the deck door open when it is 65 degrees out knowing it is -0- at home.

We have decided to head straight back up to Livermore. Not out of route walks or stops.

Load board

US - 422

IA - 157

MN - 3

WI - 8

Plan for tomorrow is just drive.

Too bad we couldn't stay here. 65 and sunny today.