ROUTE: Baltimore, MD to Elkhart, IN: 687 miles (595 loaded + 92 deadhead)
This was a frustrating assignment at the start. The previous assignment ended in Martinsburg, WV and Baltimore is only 90 miles away, so many times the following assignment involves a shipper from there. I had my assignment and was driving toward Baltimore when I got a call from my dispatcher. He informed me that they had changed my assignment to a different shipper still in Baltimore that had a more urgent delivery. The pickup was scheduled for 10:00 while my original one had a 12:00 pickup. I arrived at the shipper at 12:30 and was rejected because I had arrived past the 90 minute window allowed. Not my fault, this was not my original assignment. Just the nature of the beast.
I received another assignment, technically my third of the day. This one had the caveat the trailer had to be weighed before and after the loading. Somewhat strange as that is customary for bulk transport in a tanker trailer but not dry-van. The CAT Scales in the Baltimore area are a pain in the butt. There are only two TA Truck stops in the area and both are packed and annoying to navigate. I weighed in at 34,180lbs with half a tank of fuel. When I arrived at the shipper he said we did not need to weigh in empty, so I wasted an hour of my time. My day had started at 08:30 and ended at 22:30, the full 14-hour DOT Maximum Regulation workday.
On the 16th I started my day at 08:30, after the minimum 10-hour DOT Regulation break. I drove five hours to make the delivery. They closed at 14:00 and I arrived at 14:15. Fortunately, they were nice enough to unload the cargo. If not, I would have had to wait to make the delivery the next day after 06:00.
BOOK REVIEW: In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming (2003), FICTION – RATING (****)
Entertaining and suspenseful. Enough to want to read the next book in the series: A Fountain Filled with Blood.
I was apprehensive at the book start when I realized that one of the protagonist was a clergy person but there’s no disrespect to any religion so I kept on. One of the criminal acts, as a sub-plot, was offensive but fortunately it was not dwelled onto for much. There’s very good chemistry among the two main characters though they have completely different personalities but both care deeply about the welfare of the community. Secondary characters are well described. They are either very amusing or annoying. Good winter scene descriptions and life in a small upstate New York town. The investigation is logical and no major new undisclosed elements come to play late though the twists and turns are fairly subdued.
The final resolution is more practical to the narrative than realistic but not completely absurd.
