1 bus to Fort Worth TX (delivered)

... spending the night at Alvarado TX

Today we did have hotel breakfast. Eggs, sausage, potatoes and yogurt. I wasn't planning on eating again until after I dropped today so I had a little more food than usual.

As often as not lately we are not making it out of the hotel on time. Today again it was 7:45 when I was doing my inspection instead of 7:30. Hadn't noticed when I parked or walked that there was a homeless tent a little ways from where I parked.

No beeping on the bus this AM, but one warning light still on.

Not much for AM traffic our direction, west bound has one lane closed already during rush hour so they are a little backed up.

1st stop is on the other end of Amarillo for CNG. Stand alone pumps, not even any outhouses. Our online safety video stated that walking 32 times around a truck is about one mile. We didn't walk that many times but we did walk until we saw the pump was stopped.

When we get back on the freeway, our lane becomes the exit to the US highway. For the next five hours we will be off interstate. There are a few small towns with lower speed limits and stop lights but they are 30 miles apart here instead of three miles apart.

Two memorable things from today ... One was the 'It Will Do' hotel in Clarendon TX and the other was the town of Chillicothe TX. Chillicothe still has a population of over 700 people but a lot of the buildings along main street have roofs that have fallen in, or sides that are falling down onto the sidewalk. Block after block of storefronts that are boarded up.

2nd stop for us was in Childress at the Loves for the rest room. I dropped BB off while I pulled around the lot. Then I had to have BB help me back out of the car parking spots I had pulled into.

3rd stop was the Pilot in Wichita Falls for another rest room break. Here it looked like they had re-claimed some of the street right of way and put in more long spots in the car area. So no problem getting in and out of here.

Big variety of what we see here. Trash places and estates with cement fences and locked gates.

If they had been spaced right, we could have stopped at rest area's. There were a few on this US highway. Today one was being used as a cattle inspection area. I've seen signs before but never seen one open. We didn't exit so not sure what they were doing.

The rental car place is in a former outlet mall in Denton. The mall was a little less than half full, but much better than other outlet malls that completely close down. I drop BB off at the door and then it is a mile to the wash. BB has been watching the computer all day and it has been less busy than usual. Way less, to the point she didn't know if the program was working today.

4th stop of the day is the Blue Beacon in Denton. Two bays open, two trucks in each line. Someone else follows me in so I have to pick a line before I can see which one will move first. I picked the right one. The truck behind me was in first but I was out first.

Road construction in this area plus a bad design and this area is congested. BB had mentioned bringing me food to the wash but I said stay away. Traffic was too backed up getting out of the wash and the Loves next door.

When I am done at the wash, I pull across the street the car area of the Loves so that we can move luggage from the bus to the car. From arriving at the wash to leaving Loves was a total of 45 minutes. Not bad.

Just a few easy turns from the wash to the drop. Knowing which lane to be in wasn't as easy. Lanes were either exiting or ending.

As soon as I am off the freeway, as I'm coming around a cloverleaf, there is a crosswalk. Someone is there but wave for me to go so I do, but I am watching them and not the street ahead. It had been empty but a light must have changed and now there was traffic and I had no merge lane. Lots of horns. Guess they could not see a big orange bus.

BB is following me AND has her GPS on and still gets lost. Not a real nice area of town. A lot of bus garages are not in the best part of town.

I find the gate and they open it for me without question. As I drive in, I can see a row of orange buses so that is where I head. 1 through 5 are already there, all in a row. I am number 6. None of their existing buses are orange.

Once parked, I call my contact and they say they are on there way out. They must be able to see me as they did not ask where I was. (big complex) They did ask about me breaking down. Not sure if that was me or someone had the bus before me. I never was stopped. Just had some issues. But not now ... the last warning light went off when I left the wash :)

The person at the gate had also let in BB so she was right there when I was done. Likely less than 15 minutes to inspect and sign.

Homeless. Now we got a much better view. Lots of tents near the tracks, which is kind of normal. But the side streets ... Were pretty much tent after tent after tarp. Also saw a group of teens in the area. Couldn't tell if they were part of the homeless or were there for other reasons. Not sure if this was near a soup kitchen or why so many in one place.

We wanted to get out of the bus lot and then out of this area so BB made a hotel reservation as soon as she found one. We were going to eat after we checked in but I saw a McCalisters sign so we stopped there. It was 4 PM and I hadn't eating since breakfast. Good food ... but ... as we were leaving we saw a Jason's across the freeway. We could have had their salad bar and ice cream there :)

7th and final stop is the Comfort Inn in Alvarado. I recognize it as soon as I see the building. BB doesn't until we are about a half a block from the hotel.

When we get to our first room, the toilet has not been flushed and does not flush. It's broken.

They upgrade us to a jacuzzi room.

Later we go for a mile walk around the parking lots. We are in a triangle with highways on all sides. So we dodge the cars but we do get our walk in.

On the load board, there are/were six trucks going from Forth Worth back to Sacramento. IF we had the time and wanted to do a repeat trip. But they are the electric pickups and they must be hauled.

Load board

US - 182

IA - 1/0

MN - 3

WI - 4

TX - 64