1 trash truck to Battle Creek MI (delivered)

1 box truck to Roseville MN (Wednesday)

... spending the night at Elkhart IN

Much better rest last night. We are ready to go ...

Breakfast, they had real ham ... and potatoes. But the eggs were not even close so I took a yogurt instead of the eggs.

Today BB and I go our separate ways.

I stop in the same town for DEF and fuel. The TA in DeForest. BB doesn't stop until she gets to IL and then stops for fuel at a Loves.

Still in WI we see a semi that is being lifted back on to the roadway. Not sure why they were not trying to drag it with a wrecker. But the cab was pretty much gone and it was a ways up the upside of the ditch bank.

Chicago was fun as always. This time I was able to find a truck that was actually doing under the speed limit so I hung behind him even though it was costing me time. In road construction where the posted is 45 mph people had to still be going 70 mph plus. Trucks are only supposed to be in the right two lanes but most of the time they are in all four lanes.

2nd stop for me was the rest area welcome center in MI, three and a half hours from fueling. BB had stopped about a half hour before that for her second stop at the Pilot in Burns Harbor for food.

I had thought by stopping in DeForest for fuel I would need to stop again. I don't. I'm going to come in with a little of the one quarter required at the drop.

Three scales today. WI is closed. IN and MI I have to exit the freeway but then get the bypass to get back on the freeway.

Overall not a bad ride for a cabover trash truck.

3rd stop was the drop. I see that two other drivers have just pulled in ahead of me. When I get a better look at their trucks I see they run for the same carrier as I do long haul for. The pair of them had gotten the two trucks from Indy to Battle Creek and back again. I did say a quick high but that was it.

This is my first time of having to take pictures of everything at the drop. Later when I send them to dispatch I find that the files are 10x the size they should be and everything is distorted. Not sure what happened. I know something has changed on the camera but I can't get it set back because I don't know what had changed. I will take pictures of my truck tomorrow even though I do not have to, just to see if the camera is working right.

Once I get signed off, BB and I have to decide where to go. Cell service is bad so it is taking forever to look things up. We think the truck on the load board from Battle Creek is at the customer where we are sitting. I didn't call, wish I would have just so we knew. IF the truck paid like most, it would not be worth it. Which is why we didn't call.

IF it paid great, we'd have made money ... we won't know.

Instead I call a couple of times on a truck from IN to MN and then decide to take it. It is a non-CDL so the pay is not great but it is a sure thing and could/should have us home tomorrow night. After I agree to take it, we find out that they close at 2 PM so we will be getting a hotel here for the night and picking up in the AM.

4th stop is a truckstop a mile away called Arlene's. Looks nice on the outside. Inside it has one set of shelves down the middle of a small room. The rest of the building is under construction. BB and I take turns using the one restroom. Then we look for something for me to eat. I haven't eaten since breakfast and it is now after 3 PM here.

We end up with an ice cream bar and a bottle of 5% juice. I take the first bite of the bar and then BB wants a bite. Bad. She looks and the bar is expired. And it tastes like very old ice cream. Even the texture isn't right, I throw it away.

Interesting place when we drove in ... there is a port-a-potty in the middle of the parking lot. At a truck stop???

BB doesn't want to take the back roads to Elkhart but then sees there is road construction on the main roads so back roads it is. It is just over an hours drive. Most of it on two lane, but it is all paved and all had a center line. Other than that it was the path less traveled.

5th stop is the Comfort Inn in Elkhart because that is what we know. It is still most of an hour to the shipper in the AM. Once we are checked in we go to Callahan's. BB isn't hungry so my choice. Chicken salad sandwich for me, plus fries and soup. BB has salad and soup.

After we sit at the hotel for a bit, we go for our one mile walk in the neighborhood. When we come back, there is a transporter out of FL that has picked up where I did at the hotel. Never see the driver. Just the truck.

BB checks the weather at home. Looks like the fields that I wouldn't be able to get in until mid-week next week are going to get another bunch of rain today and tomorrow ... and ...

... so not sure when or if I will get back up there.

Load board

US - 216

IA - 17/15

MN - 2

WI - 8

It is 500 mile home from the shipper tomorrow. We hope to make that. It would have helped if we had not stayed an hour from the shipper, there were closer hotels.