Will have to be on our A-Game RNC Update

To all my friends here in Philadelphia on the east coast and to all my friends here in Ohio.
Right now we've got a big job ahead of us and we all have to be careful. This week kicks off the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and I was driving around down town today and Cleveland really did clean up the city really well and put it together really nice. Actually I went down town today and it was pretty calm really lots of charter buses and tourists and usual down town people, and of course police and what not, but it wasn't bad however the real fun starts tomorrow.

Ohio Department of Transportation has been rolling on patrol with there snow plows (In the middle of July?) Yes, since yesterday that's when I started noticing them, there using the snow plows to shove debris off the highway quickly. They have there dump trucks and other trucks strategically parked on the Interstate system right outside the down town areas and near major interchanges for fast dispatch. Actually working for ODOT looks like dare I say fun?

Downtown has some major roads closed you can't get to the best parts of down town not really not where any of the "action" is, but that's alright actually I did my exploring yesterday night and today. I don't know what the company is doing for down town deliveries, the trucks that go down town tomorrow the two routes have been combine so were sending 2 drivers in one truck down town tomorrow they have to clear security check point and then have a limited time window to get the stops off. I don't know if the down town stops are going to be doubled up all week or not. Actually I know a lot customers are not even going and I was doing some hotel work on Thursday and the one hotel said the security detail for the delegations that are staying at there hotel won't let them take deliveries sooooo.... I don't know if this week were going to be creamed or not. I don't know what the Tuesday down town situation really is I've never really ran that route I know some of the places on that route are not going.

At any rate though there's lots of motor cycle traffic, Black Chevy Suburban Traffic all with Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia License Plates, Police Traffic, Charter Bus Traffic Barons Bus Lines out of Cleveland, Ohio has a lot of there buses parked over kind of near our yard they must have buses stationed for strategic dispatch. Lots and lots of charter buses here I've been noticing them from all over.Lakefront Lines had a sign up Now Hiring CDL Drivers that means they need people to drive charter bus, I can do it have the endorsement, lots of charter bus traffic. The charter buses are all over down town. Limo traffic to, and some rental cars as well.

Actually all the bus traffic is good keeping the 4 wheelers off the road from renting cars. Will see how it goes, this week during RNC madness here in C-Town.

So if any of you guys are all coming into Cleveland or just where ever you are lets all be extra careful we've got a big job to do and this weeks going to be not bad, but sure different. I tell you what though I know we hear a lot of negative press and what not, but none the less for a city like I live this convention is a once and a lifetime thing so I wanted to see the sites, and actually pleasantly surprised they really did clean up the city very well.

Now the rest of the week I have work and my life to live, but anytime you can witness or even be part of history and I don't mean be part of history from some kind of ideology like I'm on the right side of history as people go around saying, but you know the guys working for ODOT keeping the roads cleaned, or our trucks going down town or to the other hotels where delegates are staying (which was me last week) or your a charter bus driver your certainly part of history as a charter bus driver bringing in delegates, or maybe you are an LTLer and you are bringing in freight that they need doing those jobs makes us all part of history and that's actually one of the cool things about trucking is when there's a big event getting ready to take place were the one's who bring in the goods so the event can be built and then maintained and properly supplied . I can't tell you how much bottled water I delivered to a hotel last week it was case after case after case must have been 20 wheeler loads, and you watch the news you'll see the bottled water I brought in.

Anyhow to everyone out there this week as they said in the show Hill Street Blues "Lets all be careful out there."

 

Right there in living color city of Cleveland's brand new Western Star Snow Plows they just got this winter. They bought 30 of those guys bill was probably in the several millions of dollars so the new snow plows are now being used as road blocks.

 

So day one of the RNC is well under way our down town guys made it in and out okay. Tomorrow I have a stop down on the east bank of the flats first stop of the day. All the bars and stuff are open till 4am so someone should be there, the stop isn't technically in the "hot zone", but it's right next to the "hot zone" check point I don't know how exactly I am going to get there yet. I have a couple ideas though wish me luck.

 

The Holliday Inn today was full of nothing but Black Ford Expeditions with strange New York State License Plates must be a political group or Secret Service or something.

Charter Buses as well 400 of them in the city good luck getting a McLane truck into a hotel parking lot this week. I hate to say this, with that much hotel hassle I would probably just opt for a sleeper cab. Does your McLane use sleepers?