1 RV to St Louis MO (delivered)
1 box truck to Fridley MN (Thursday)
... spending the night at Janesville WI
BB had crashed early last night so she was up at 5 AM, I was up closer to our usual but still a little early. Breakfast for me was two cups of yogurt, when one will do. Big trucks are supposed to park in the back of the hotel which was right outside the breakfast area. There was a vac truck parked there being driven by a carrier I have not heard of before today. But now I can add it to my list. By the time we left a half hour later it was gone.
Must not have zipped my backpack enough. Halfway down the stairs and I feel it open and fall off of my back. Lucky I have all papers in pouches and am no longer storing my laptop in that area. It did fall slow enough that I was able to slide it off my back so there was no 'crash.'
Crops, yesterday and today. Most seem to be hurting for water. Even the areas that were flooded out. Lots of curled corn in IA yesterday. I didn't see corn covering the rows until we got into MO today. Some crops have just been planted and barely up. I saw a few bean fields today that looked like they were no-till and are a very poor stand so far. Can see enough beans on the ends to know they have been planted but the rest of the field doesn't look like they have come up. One field almost looked like only one row had been working but other areas all rows were coming up so the rest had been working at some point.
1st stop of the day was the Flying J in Wayland. My fuel mileage and range is going down. When I started this AM I thought I was going to be way over on range at the drop.
2nd stop was in Bowling Green at a Hardees, it is at a truck stop but not in the truck stop. I don't get any food as it is not noon yet but BB is hungry. They don't have what she wants from their 'Red Burrito' menu or her first choice of burger. So she orders something else and they asked what she wanted/didn't want on it so we thought it was correct. When she bit into it, it had bacon and cheese. Not what she ordered, but what she paid for based on the receipt in the bag.
So I left, she sat and ate part of it because it was too big to eat and drive.
No real issues in St Lois traffic. Easy route, the road we are on turns into freeway. Take one turn onto the beltway. One beltway ends, the other starts and then the next exit. Gas station is two buildings before the drop on all the right side of the road.
But I get to the drop at lunch so I do have to wait a little, and they do wash part of it so I have to wait a little more. But between the fuel and the delivery it was only about 45 minutes.
While I am waiting I call on two trips. The WI trip to MN and leave a message. And the MN to IL and find out some info but not how old the truck is. It is going back to the refurb place so I was thinking it was old. It may just be a rental.
We could head straight back to Dodge Center and then we would go the way we came, but we decide to take the fastest way to home, up I-55 and I-39.
I thought we would catch I-55 right here, one exit back, but the computer says to take the beltway to the east until we cross it again. There wasn't any food right by the drop that I wanted so we'll wait until we are out of the cities.
Food stop for me was in Hamel at a Loves. When we get there, I call on the WI to MN trip again. By now we have decided to take it no matter what the pay. See if it is worth it. I get the trip. It will be worth it :)
We wonder how much the shipper is paying for this move. I'm getting paid well, so the carrier is also getting paid well. And when I call the shipper and the drop, both places I get a 3rd party carrier so they are also taking a cut. $$$
I need to call the shipper two hours before pickup and they close at 4 PM and I want to pick up when they open. That all goes OK.
Then as I am leaving BB says she can't find the drop location from the address they gave us on the paperwork. So I call the drop. As we talk we realize the whole street address is wrong. At least now I know where I am going.
But we can't pick up until 8 AM and the drop closes at 4 PM. Not being able to pick up tonight changes what else we can do this week. IF we have not issues we should drop about 3 PM but that is likely too late for us to get to the next shipper and pick up the next trip.
We might be able to pick up the MN to IL trip but that would leave us in CGO on a Friday night. And that location leaves at 2 PM.
After all that, the only food I want is a chicken salad sandwich off the shelf :( I don't feel like waiting for a McD's or Subway and the only other things they have are roller food that is not ready yet.
Next stop is at a rest area that we have to go under the freeway to the rest area on the other side, not sure how that was cheaper to build.
BB needs one more stop before the hotel so we stop just south of Rockford at another Loves and this time get GodFather's pizza ... and a Oreo ice cream sandwich for me. We split the pizza, that is enough.
Final stop is the Quality Inn in Janesville. Nice new lot next door, between the Super 8 and the Quality. I ask. It is a local car dealer storing cars there as needed. There is also a Road Dawg restaurant across that lot, I guess it has been there. Didn't know until today and we have already eaten.
I try to print out paperwork in there business center but I can't get it to work. Hotel help can't get it to work even though someone else had just printed with it five minutes ago. Finally the help brings me behind their desk to use the main computer. (I'd rather they didn't, but it's happened a few times)
Loadboard
US - 116
IA - 1
MN - 4
WI - 14
MN load board has four trips, we would do them all. There had been a Proctor MN that was the one I most wanted to do but that one is now gone. What I am thinking is do one of the trash trucks on Friday after we get back and then do the tanker to IL on Monday.
IA only put out three RV's again today.
If we do head to CGO with the tanker, BB may ride with instead of chase. Not much work anywhere but if something shows up, then we can both drive ... or head further than our 500 mile limit for chasing.