Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Yep. Been 9 months since the last time I went to Calfnordia. Furthest west I've been since then is San Antonio. I stay east of the Mississippi River 95% of the time.

 

Been to Texas once since the end of summer,furthest I've been.

 

Thats cheating. You get to start your west coast turnaround from Richmond, I only start mine from Omaha.

 

Been Northeast to Hartford, CT
Been North to Wisconsin
But only West as far as Austin, TX

But my next home time is going to AZ to celebrate my daughter birthday so that will result in my first trip west.

 

Well home time is over!
Coming out again tomorrow morning; and hopefully, I will be out for about two months this time.

 

Hanging out in FT.Pierce deliver to Costco in West Palm Beach in the morning,been running good this week.

 

Back today from a 4-day weekend with the kids. Asked dispatch if they had any loads to Califnordia since I haven't been out that way since July. Apparently they did not.

Current load assignment: Take load of vitamins from Ashland, VA to Lakeland, FL. 13 hours of drive time for the trip. Due Thursday. No appointment time, just a 24-hour delivery window.

Drove up to Ashland to pick up the pre-loaded trailer. This is a new customer of ours, apparently. Trailer is ready and waiting, I am told. Got there, one of our local dudes was also there, coming out of the shipping office.

I go in to the shipping office, get told that my trailer isn't ready. I haven't been asked what trailer I'm picking up yet, nor have I been asked for a pickup number. But he knows my load isn't ready.

After a small amount of additional conversation, the truth comes out. The trailer I am there to pick up IS ready. But the local guy is about to grab it. Because the local guy came to pick up a trailer that ISN'T ready, so dispatch told him to go ahead and grab my trailer and bring it back to the yard.

Apparently the computer doesn't have a way to let dispatch know that another driver is en route to pick up that trailer.

So I go catch the local driver and let him know that I'm here to pick up the trailer he is currently inspecting. He's paid by the hour, so it's no skin off his nose to let me have it. He gives me the paperwork and rolls out, then I hook up and I also roll out.

Plenty of time on the load. At least 9 hours of extra time. And that's if I roll in at 12:01am Thursday, which I ain't gonna do. Gonna swing by tomorrow afternoon and roll the dice and see if they can unload me early. If not, I'll see if I can park there on their yard until Thursday.