Heading For Little Rock! Maverick

Happy Thanksgiving to all as well and welcome back Rick!

 

Welcome to the Team!

 

Well made it home this morning...asked to be home last night...but I am not complaining...lol
I delivered up in Elyria Oh Monday morning by 0700 when they opened. Was informed that an unscheduled truck had arrived before me and it was going to take up to two hours to get them unload. So I just sat out in front...made coffee...read...all the fun stuff you do when you are waiting...lol
The forklift driver came out to me and told me that he really appreciated my patience.
He said that he really likes Maverick because most of the drivers are polite, we have good equipment...and we know what we are doing. I thought that was nice of him to say. He said he tells the shippers to always use us....
Finally got mt by 1000 and got my next load for Charter Steel...at 1400.
So here is another three hours of sitting....lol
While I am sitting a get a call from a lady from Maverick...can not remember her name.
She asks me if I will do a swap down in Henderson KY for a load going to NY.
This way he can get home and I will only be 300 miles from home.
I asked if it was NY city and she said no...Buffalo. She said as long as we make the swap by noon I will be able to drive a couple of hours and then get up early the next morning and make it....so I said OK.
I got over there an hour before my appointment as they allow and was sent over to the staging area. Was given a map and directions that said I could proceed to the loading area 30 minutes before my appointment...but the guard told me 15 minutes before. So at 30 minutes I called shipping and asked if I could come over and they said yes.
Only sat a short time and was called on the cb to back into the door.
Sat there for about 45 minutes and no one said anything to me as to what type of load I was getting. I talked to the TMC driver next to me and he said he was getting a suicide load....he then proceeded to load it for shotgun. I figured I just misunderstood him.
When the forklift driver came up to him with his coils, he told him he had it set up wrong...so he changed it.
After he was loaded the forklift driver came up to me and said " You are not ready"?
I said I did not know what I was getting. He said ...Same as the TMC driver.
So I got set up very quickly and got loaded.
Secured my two straps and noticed that the papers were in the rear stake hole on the trailer...I did not look at them...will not happen again...
I went around back to the tarping area as the front was packed with trucks coming in.
Got tarped and went to put in my info....The carrier was TMC and the load was going to IL. I thought great!
Beat feet over to where I had last seen the TMC driver and he only had one of his Tarps finished. I explained that he had my paperwork ect and we swapped.
Got out of there and had time to make it to my home Pilot and was able to have dinner with Carolynn, Melissa and the dogs.

Left out by 0300 and met up with the other driver. We met at the Flying J off of 42 n and I64.
We did the swap very quickly and I was back on my way. I made it all the way up to the rest area in Florence KY. I had about an hour and 15 minutes left, but did not want to take a chance and get hung up going through Cincinnati, Montgomery and then Kings Mill on the way to the next rest area.

So I got up at 00:00 ct and got rolling at 0100. I made it to the first turn out of the rest area and it was blocked by trucks. At first I thought they had parked there for the night but then I noticed the red lights at the exit.
I walked down to find a passanger van had run off the road and rolled and almost came to rest next to a semi that was parked there.
The driver was ejected and taken to the hospital. Three other occupants took off on foot through the woods and were suspected to be foreign invaders.
So I went back to the truck and put myself back off duty and ended up waiting for 2 hours until they opened up the exit.

So I made it up to the receiver by 11:20. Was told I could not check in until 12:00 as they were going to lunch. So I wait until 12:00 and check in. I am then asked to drive around the block and take it to a warehouse.
I get there and am told that I can get untarped ect...but they will be at lunch until 13:00
There were 12 bundles of shinny bar and it was a painfully slow process. My 14 was ticking away and I was wondering just how far I could get before it ended.
I had already been told I was going to dead head home, so I knew where I was going.
Finally got out of there and had enough time to make it to the rest area just inside ohio on I-90. Set the alarm for 0500 but awoke at 0300....so off I went.
About an hour from home I decided to pull into the rest area and take a nap as I was feeling a bit tired...sleep debt.....I believe.
Made it home by 0915 and will not be heading out again until Monday Morning.

Have a great Thanksgiving! God Bless!