ROUTE: Newport, MI to Windsor, CT: 740 miles (693 loaded + 47 deadhead)
I got an assignment that would enable me to be home on 10/02 in the afternoon. The delivery was scheduled for 10/01 at 16:30, but that was going to be tight because the pickup was at 17:00 and though the consignee receives until 17:30 they prefer we arrive by 15:30.
I made the pickup on time but I was starving as I only had eaten a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. There’s a nice diner, The Fifth Wheel, across the street from the shipper that has good food and parking for trucks. I stopped for a Greek gyro, fries and a diet Pepsi. The drive requires about 11hrs and I only had five left on my 14 clock. My go-to truck stop, Petro in Girard, OH, is about three hours from there and the Indian food truck is open until 02:00.
I arrived at the Petro Girard at 22:00 so I would start my day at 08:00, as DOT Regulations require a 10hr break. From there it’s an eight hour drive to the consignee which will force a 30 minute break to comply with DOT Regulations. Without any delays I would arrive at 16:30, it was going to be tight. I had my typical Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner.
I started my day on 10/01 at 08:00 but I was delayed for an hour in road-work traffic on I-80 so my delivery was changed to 10/02 at 09:00. That meant I didn’t have to kill myself to get there on 10/01 and I could take my break at I-84 Diner in Fishkill, NY, which is about 90 miles from the consignee.
At the diner I had a Cesar salad with grilled chicken and a diet Pepsi for dinner. It’s hard to find good salads on the road and here it’s very good. The next day I had a Western omelet for breakfast and a large fresh squeezed OJ.
BOOK REVIEW: Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan (2024), Fiction – RATING (*****)
Highly entertaining. Very well written as it had plenty of vivid descriptions but not overwhelming. It’s a cute story, typical of a summer read book.
The characters are well defined and meet expectations perfectly. Ali and Ethan are very likable and Pete, the ex-husband is not. Good descriptions of mother-teenage daughter relationship and a warm relationship of the Ali with the memory of her mom.
Nice messages about married life, parenthood, divorce and new beginnings. Fun narrative of Ali talking to her dead mom in the car.
The storyline is predictable but still suspenseful enough to maintain my interest all the way to the end.
