2 RV's to Suamica WI (delivered)

... spending the night at Albert Lea MN

Both DELIVERED

Because of our revised plan, we did not get going at 7:30. Our new plan is to take BB's RV, if it starts, to the drop first and come back and get mine later. Before we had planned on taking both up to a gas station so we'd only have to go back a mile to get the 2nd one once the first one was delivered.

We eat breakfast, eggs and a cheese stick for me.

8 AM we go down to do inspections. Dead, 100%. So BB calls dispatch, they said to call a tow/roadside service. There is a Goodyear location across the street but they no longer do lite duty, only heavy duty trucks. But they gave us a name.

And then that person gave us a 3rd name. At that point BB decided to just call the road side number on our paperwork. Within the hour someone was there. For a jump, all tow trucks were busy.

First he tries to start it with a battery pack. That didn't work. Trying with the battery pack AND the house (RV) battery didn't work. So he also hooked it up to his vehicle. He tried many times and it would not start.

But finally it did. So he un-hooks his vehicle and when he comes back for the battery pack ... the unit has died. So he has to start all over.

Once he got it started the second time he left both jumps on it for a while. Not sure what he did, but he was able to rev the engine, I can't when it is in park. In park it is idle speed only, the foot feet is <> disconnected.

By now it has been an hour and a half. And BB's fuel range has dropped to 31 miles, and it is 20+ to the drop. So first stop is the Kwik Trip next door for two gallons of fuel.

Today was a cold ride, we did not turn on anything that used power. We wanted to get this thing dropped. So no heat, no fan, no turn signals, no lights, no radio.

From there it was only about a mile to the airport. I drop BB off as she always puts the car in her name. So I drove her until as far as the gas station.

Opps, to get on the freeway, I am going north so I think I will be taking a left. Not this time, lucky someone let me over as I had to cut over three lanes of traffic to barely catch my exit. Barely as in hitting the gravel because I was past where the concrete ended. I had been on the wrong side of a semi and hadn't seen some of the signs and then for a second forgot I wanted I-41 instead of I-43 and both numbers were on the same sign.

... the gas station. Another 'what was I thinking.' As I am driving I got it in my head that the gas station was at exit 173. And there was a station there, looked <> like the one on Google Maps. But not the same brand, but brands change often so I stopped and put in fuel.

THEN it clicked that I should look at a map. Wrong station. We will find out how wrong on payday. We are supposed to fuel within the same zip code. If the zip codes don't match, the center of the zip code where we drop needs to be within 10 miles of the center of the zip code where we fueled.

I fueled six miles from the drop ... BUT ... based on the center of zip code rule, I fueled 50 miles from the drop and may not get paid. (even though we left about a half a tank of fuel in for them) We'll see.

Once I realize where I am, and where we said we would meet, I head off to the correct location. Within a few minutes BB is there and takes the RV to the drop.

At the drop, we find the correct person, tell them we have another RV to bring. They want to check both at the same time so they shut off BB's RV and we head out.

An hour later we are there with my RV and we get them both inspected. Quickly. A quick walk around and then a quick walk through.

He does BB's first. We are both by our car but we can see him clicking the FOB to open the passenger door but nothing. So he just goes around to the drivers side and crawls into look around. I walk over and can the there are not dash lights. It is dead again, but he doesn't try to start it while we are there.

Then he checks mine, signs off and we are good to go. And we do, we get out of sight ASAP before calling dispatch.

It is almost noon. Next stop is Schlotzsky's. Today they talked us into getting the bigger size for an extra buck. Too much food. And too messy for driving, but good. Miss having them in MN.

Back tracking on the roads that got us here. Saw the Cole Watch Tower, something that I had to look up to know what it was. I thought it was built by some eccentric person. Actually there were a number of them built on fox farms in the 1920's-1940's in WI and this is one of the few (?) that remain. Seven stories high, built on top of a farm house. So the owner could view his fox pens.

Also where we saw all the turkey's yesterday, today there were none. So either they were all live or someone took down all the decoy's.

Next stop was the Road Ranger in Oakdale. Today was the first time I remember seeing trucks at an old truck wash at the exit. It used to be a truckstop, the fuel island's still stand but the pumps are gone. There is also a sign for a cafe inside. Today we saw five trucks at the wash.

This area is also cranberry bog area. They are adding new bogs. Some day I will have to look up to see why this is a hot spot for bogs.

Eagles. I wasn't sure we would see any so I / we did not have a camera ready. We did not see any flying or on the ice ... but we did see a couple of dozen plus in trees in one area, not sure if we could have gotten them all in one picture. Should have had the video rolling. (I'll make a note on my calendar. Maybe another year we will drive down here when we are not working, just to see them.)

Work. There had been 20+ trips on the load board this AM, Most were gone within the hour. When we delivered, there were still two for the same drop on the board we we didn't grab them. Then they were gone too.

Dispatch did put more trips out but not two to anywhere.

There is still one to WI, so we would use a chase car. Then maybe head down to Janesville getting a truck back to MN. The better paying trip to Fargo is gone.

There had been trucks in Bismarck. It is a long way to deadhead to a truck and my guess was they were not going to pay much. Wrong, just saw on FB what he was paid to move them. It would have been worth it. But we were waiting for RV's.

There was one truck close to our drop today, pay was OK and it would have only take a couple of hours to move. BUT that couple of hours would have meant that we needed the rental car another day, so the work would have netted us -0-.

Tonight we are at the Country Inn in Albert Lea, never been here before but today it is the cheapest of the good hotels. EconoLodge and Quality are cheaper but we have stayed there and sometimes the beds are saggy in the center. And on Monday nights their restaurant is closed.

From the Country Inn, we walk across the parking lot to the Green Mill. Don't think I noticed until tonight that Green Mill is <> a MN chain. Plus one in Hudson WI and Fargo ND, border towns.

BB and I split a meal.

Load board

US - 81

IA - 15/11

MN - 2

WI - 5

Tomorrow. We need to get this rental car returned by 9:30. We had hoped to be out of the drop early enough to get the car returned yet tonight and then we could have stayed in the hotel until we found work. Now we will have to find somewhere to park once we drop the car until we find work, or another hotel.

There is a trash truck going to Fargo we could do. Or the single RV to WI. We have talked about both.