ROUTE: Blissfield, MI to Plymouth, MA: 877 miles (800 loaded + 77 deadhead)
This assignment can be done in one-a-half days but I was picking it up on a Friday and the delivery was scheduled for Monday at noon so I could push the hours and do a 34 hour reset at my home base in Connecticut or drive at a casual pace. I choose to let my body clock made the decision for me and it chose the casual pace. It would be nice to see the kids but I had a scheduled home leave for November 14th weekend so I would see them then. I needed to pick up my mail though because it had been a month since the last time.
I picked up the load on Friday at noon after taking a shower at our terminal. The shipper was located next to a big field that was quite pretty. Afterwards I stopped at a nearby truck stop that featured a McDonalds for a Big Mac lunch. From there it was three hour drive to the Petro in Girard, OH that has ample parking and an Indian food truck across the street. I did laundry and had Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner. My third time this week, but truckers eat what we can when we can.
Saturday I slept in, as I was in no hurry, and started my day with a steak and eggs at the diner in the truck stop. I scheduled my 30 minute break at the Sheetz in Buckhorn, PA which was four hours away. From there it was another four hour drive to the Pilot in Milford, CT which I use as home base. However, that four hour drive to the Sheetz was brutal and I had to stop for a ten minute break. The Fall foliage was vibrant in Pennsylvania. The book I was listening to was not distracting, au contraire, it was boring. I had plenty of sleep the night before but the previous week was exhausting and my body was still recuperating. I arrived at the Sheetz around 18:00 and it was starting to get dark, so if I pushed on it would be night time driving and I would arrive at the Pilot around 22:00 so would need to reserve a parking spot. I decided to spend the night there.
Sunday I decided to drive to the Service Plaza in Darien, CT. It is much closer to Rye, NY where I had to pick up my mail and do some shopping. The problem is that I can’t leave the truck unattended there for long periods of time for risk of being towed, but a couple of hours during the day should not be a problem. I calculated the drive time so I could do my shopping, have dinner at Rye Grill & Bar and catch the second half of the Bills-Chiefs football game. Their NY Strip is quite good.
Monday I will still have a four hour drive to the consignee, but the delivery is scheduled for noon so it wont be a problem.
BOOK REVIEW: When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry (2019), SCIENCE FICTION – RATING (**)
The writing is good and it started interesting enough, but then the pace slowed down to a trickle.
Six teenagers have an encounter with a crashed spaceship and it’s alien occupant, or it seems. The most important moment of the story, the contact with the alien is brushed over so quickly that I was left astonished. Definitely could have been explained better while other parts were described in detail.
There were side stories that didn’t seem to add much to the plot but it dragged down the pace. Having six important characters and a bunch of secondary ones did not help to keep the narrative going.
The twists introduced did not add much excitement. The ending was weak. Was it an alien or not? It’s happened before so what was the explanation? There’s so many alternatives available at that point and the author chose the lamest one.
I couldn’t wait to finish it, but the writing was good. If the ending was a little better it would have been a three stars rating from me.
