Finally Made It To Little Rock

My adventure started yesterday about 1345 leaving from Opelika, AL headed to Little Rock via Greyhound. Anyone that has been on a Greyhound knows the adventures that goes with it. Stop ten million times until you get to a big terminal then layovers for hours on end. I get on the bus in Opelika and it was a little shuttle bus, not the full sized Greyhound. I haven't used Greyhound since 2000 when I went home on Christmas leave from Basic, but the bus was nice and it wasn't crowded. The only downside was I couldn't get the Wifi to work, but oh well. Well after I finally made it to Birmingham around 1630 with the three stops we had for pick ups it was supper time. They had nothing good to eat in the bus terminal so I pulled up my gps on my phone to see if there was anything close to eat. I saw a Chick-fil-a a few blocks a way so a walking I went. Once I got there it was closed. I guess in downtown Birmingham they are just open for breakfast and lunch. There was a Subway next to it so I got me a sandwich for supper and one for my next stop in Memphis. My bus headed out to Memphis about 2000 with a quick stop in Tupelo, MS. This time I was on a full size bus and the Wifi worked. I have the cinemax go app so I was able to watch a movie on my Ipod on the trip to Memphis. Get to Memphis around 2325 and my bus to Little Rock was suppose to leave out a 0250. So back to the old army trick hurry up and wait. The chairs at the terminal are nothing comfortable to sleep in so I broke out my laptop and watched another movie and at my other Subway sandwich. About 0130 I look out side and noticed that is white outside. Sometime after making it to Memphis it started snowing. There was probably an inch or so on the ground and the parking lot was covered. I was hoping the roadways weren't looking the same way. Well they call over the speaker at 0245 that they didn't have a driver for us going to Little Rock. Once the in-bound bus made it here they would try to get everyone on that. So we had to go up and get our tickets changed out since this was a different bus bring us to Little Rock. We finally get loaded up and on the road around 0330 and the roads are covered. The bus was packed and it's final destination was Dallas with stops from Little Rock all the way down. The bus driver came on and said it will be slow going and he didn't know what time he'd get us there. With nothing but time on my hands I sat back and watched another movie and watched the traffic. The roads were completely covered and the driver acted like there was nothing on them. He was passing trucks and car left and right. I will say this. I never felt uncomfortable on there. You never felt the bus slide around or the tires spin any. I dozed off for a bit after my movie. I know traffic was stopped for a bit, but I don't know what for. I was in and out until we was about 20 minutes out of Little Rock. We were suppose to be there at 0545, but with the roads the way there were we made it in around 0730 or so. Gave the instructor on duty a call and he said they were going to try and make it out to us around 0900. The roads were bad here in Little Rock so that was understandable. I don't know if they don't own snow plows in Little Rock but if they did they didn't use them. There was three of us waiting at the bus terminal for pick up and around 0830 they made it to us. Since we was already out they took us to Wal-Mart to pick up any supplies and food that we needed. We got to Maverick about 1030 and got our welcome packets and rooms. I was glad the trip was over so I could shower and take a nap. The rooms remind me of old barracks rooms except for bigger beds. The facility is nice and the wifi works so I'm good to go. Now it is time for a sandwich and a good nights sleep.

 

That was the first thing they told us once we pulled in the gate. I'm use to it coming from the army. Walk on the grass and some grumpy ### First Sergeant coming yelling at you.

 

Made it through the physical and abilities testing today. Everyone worries about it including myself but the abilities test isn't bad at all unless you don't weigh as much as the weight. We did lose one guy due to the abilities testing. He didn't look to weigh as much as the weight was. I do have to test for sleep apnea. No worries there if I have they'll help me get the equipment I need which is good. The VP for Safety came and talked to us today. His brief was good and I learned some things from it. Anyone worried about taking the abilities test it is very easy. I'm a rather large guy but had no issues with the weight or the climbing you have to do. There were a couple guys in my class that are well into the 50's that had no issue with it. The next couple of days are going to pretty busy with academics. Map reading, trip planning, logs and such. I'm hoping to get that job offer on Thursday. I think I've made it passed the hard part. I'm not worried about the test since they are open book. If I fail those then I don't deserve to be here anyways.