2 RV's, 1 to Reno NV, 1 to Manteca CA (delivered)
1 bus to Milwaukee WI
... spending the night at Rocklin CA
NEW YORK CITY ? ! ? !
(Written up two days later)
Eggs and sausage ? ... it was two days ago.
We pull out of the hotel at 7:30, we have about five miles to BB's drop. We are heading out of town, against traffic so it wasn't too bad.
1st stop is BB's drop - I park at the strip mall next door and walk over to the RV dealer. We have had issues of dealers wanting the RV's that we are not dropping for them so we now keep them out of sight.
This has always been an 'outside operation.' We just know where we are supposed to wait, no one greets us or asks us why were are there. Finally a little after 8 AM someone arrives and takes our paperwork. By 8:15 we are signed and ready to go.
2nd stop is for the rest area in Gold Run
3rd stop is at the Tesero for final dealer fuel. I had been driving flat on 'E' for the last ten miles so I put in an extra half a gallon that I won't get paid back for. I didn't want to drop the RV with the low fuel light still on. It wasn't. The range went up to 100 miles and the low fuel light comes on at a range of 55 miles so I would not have had to give them the extra $2 in fuel.
Fuel - $5.19 for regular.
Across the street from the RV dealer is the Hertz, I drop BB off there to pick up the car before heading to the drop. When I left the Hertz I was going to take a right and cross two lanes of traffic and be in the left turn lane ... but right then two cars heading left decided they were going to turn into Hertz so I had to quickly adjust.
4th stop was my RV drop. 2-1/2 hours early. I go inside and they will take it NOW. On their lunch, so they are inspecting by the time BB gets there with the car. They didn't tell me, but I overhead them talking and I am the last one of the day. So that's why they want to be done ... done for the day.
Less than a half hour and they have signed clear.
... and I call the bus dispatcher to let him know I have delivered. I had hoped that he would have one ready and we could be on our way...
"Do you have a problem with going 55 mph?"
'No, it just takes longer.' I said
"Are you OK with CNG?"
'I've done them many times.' I said.
"I have some buses going to New York"
'New York? or New York City? New York City is the only place I said I would not go when I started.'
... yes, New York City. So I am supposed to call him back in a couple of hours.
5th stop - We have delivered out west so we head to In-and-Out for our burgers. We have quit getting the double-doubles. Now it is just the regular cheeseburger. Too cold for BB, here in CA, so we eat in our car.
Inside the In-and-Out was the typical homeless person. Unwashed, layers of clothing, hard to understand, wondering ... even while he waited for his food.
45 minutes and we are in Livermore.
6th stop - we are at the Livermore Outlet Mall. Our place to wait for buses. It has lots of place to park, bathrooms that we don't have to access a business through and place to walk. And we actually did a short walk today. BB's foot is getting better.
Gucci - Not sure what it is, but they have a store at the outlet mall. There has been a line waiting to get into that store every time we have been here since stores re-opened after Covid. Today was no exception. There were also lines before Christmas before Covid.
I call the dispatcher, he doesn't know yet. He tells me to call him back. I do and he asks me to call him back again, I do. Then he says he will call me back.
Finally ... I am going to Milwaukee. So we start doing the math.
7th stop - the shipper - We get to the lot before I can get my paperwork, but that way I will be ready to go. I can't find my bus. I find eight other Milwaukee buses but not mine. I am ready to call dispatch when another driver asks what I am looking for. Then he tells me there are buses in the employee lot ... and in the past there were buses across the street in a dirt lot.
Usually there were about 10 buses when we got here, sometimes 20 but those wouldn't be all ready. Today there were about 45 plus another 10 battery buses that will be flat bedded out. And about half of those are going to Long Island NY. No wonder he wanted me to go to NY, or anywhere.
I find my bus and have it inspected by the time I get my paperwork.
It's going to be dark but the time we get to the hotel in Rocklin but I am still in the 'get out of town' mode. In the future, we should stay in town in the winter so we can check the weather before we leave in the AM, some trips we may head south before going north.
I give BB a 15 minute head start to get to the rental car drop. That was planned. It was good we planned that as I had to wait for security and my 15 minutes were up before I left the lot.
BB had got to the bus stop about two minutes before I got there. It is a bus stop so I don't want to be waiting there for her when the next city bus gets there but this worked out. We usually do Enterprise but they didn't show up as having cars this time. This location is about 10 miles out of the way but it works.
Now for two hours of traffic, mostly in the dark.
8th and final stop - Comfort Inn in Rocklin.
Opps - I hit the curb coming in to their parking lot. I haven't done that before here. Then I bottom out under the front bumper going across the parking lot. It is dark and raining and I didn't remember the parking lot was that steep. There is a trash truck where I often park but I get parked behind him. It is from Scranton IA, we have moved those before but this one they are moving with a company driver.
We check in and walk to Arby's. It is the closest and allows people to order in, but not dine in.
It is late, we are tired.
Load board
US - 272
IA - 66/64
MN - 14
WI - 11
Plan is to be out of NV by tomorrow night.