ROUTE: Flint, MI to Charlotte, NC: 683 miles (676 loaded + 7 deadhead)
Monday April 13th, the previous assignment was scheduled to deliver on Tuesday but I could deliver it early. However, I was only given this assignment in the late morning and the pickup was scheduled for 9:00pm though I was told it would be ready a little earlier. I had spent the night at the terminal and there was no point in making the delivery if I could not pickup this one until early evening. Truckers need to manage their DOT clocks. Once our day starts the fourteen-hour clock starts to wind down, so important to be efficient with it. I walked over to Panera that is half a mile from our terminal and had a healthy Mediterranean salad with chicken for lunch. I started my day at 4:15pm completed the pre-trip inspection and drove an hour-and-half to the consignee for the delivery. Then drove thirty minutes to this shipper where I arrived at 7:30pm. The trip requires eleven-to-twelve hours and DOT Regulations only allow truckers to drive eleven hours per twenty-four period so despite the late start I needed to advance at least two hours so I could I maximize the driving hours the next day. The delivery was scheduled for Wednesday at 6:00am but it’s a drop-and-hook facility so time is flexible. I left the shipper at 9:30pm and drove two hours to a Sheetz Truck Stop in New Baltimore, OH, that normally has parking even late at night. I shut it down at 11:30pm.
Tuesday April 14th, I started my day at 12:30pm and drove a total of seven hours that day and shut it down at 9:00pm. I stopped for lunch at the TA Jackson, OH, but it seems the diner there has changed ownership three times since I started frequenting and this latest version has a very simple menu. I shut it down at 9:00pm at a Travel Plaza in West Virginia as the truck stops closer to Charlotte fill up early and I was tired.
Wednesday April 15th, I started my day at 9:30am and drove three hours to the consignee. I arrived at 12:30pm as it’s only important that we arrive before they close at 2:30pm.
BOOK REVIEW: I’m Not the Only Murderer in my Retirement Home by Fergus Craig (2026), MURDER MYSTERY – RATING (****)
A murder mystery that happens at luxurious retirement home where a convicted serial killer resides and immediately becomes the prime suspect. Told in a very amusing manner which saves the paper thin plot.
Carol Quinn has recently been released from prison convicted of seven murders and promptly acquires an apartment at a retirement home. How she managed to be released from prison and have the money to afford such a residence is not addressed and does not derail the plot as it’s fiction after all. Two weeks after her arrival there’s a murder at the retirement home. She knows that she needs to find the real killer or she’ll end up back in jail as all eyes are on her. Three other residents have become her friends despite the knowledge of her past and are also trying to solve the crime. Then there’s a second murder and a third. Carol helps solve the case and picks up three friends along the way.
Entertaining with the off-humor from the POV of a serial killer.
