ROUTE: Detroit, MI to Statesville, SC: 595 miles (580 loaded + 15 deadhead)
Friday May 8th, I arrived at the shipper at 4:30pm. This is a drop-and-hook facility but dropping the empty is always a tight squeeze but I managed. The drive should only take around ten hours and delivery was scheduled for Monday morning. I could either push it hard on Sunday or take it easy and make it a two day drive. I choose the latter. I needed to stop by the terminal to fuel so might as well spend the night there and do laundry. I had dinner at a Mexican restaurant nearby for my Cinco de Mayo meal, three days late.
Saturday May 9th, I left the terminal at 2:00pm and drove five hours to a truck stop in Kentucky that has easy parking. I spent the night there. I stopped at a truck stop to scale the load as my cargo was engines which are very heavy. The total weight of the truck was 75,400lbs of the maximum 80K allowed by DOT Regulations.
Sunday May 10th, I started my day at 3:00pm and drove another five hours to a mom-and-pop truck stop that I had not been to before but was only thirty minutes from the consignee. I was pleasantly surprised to find a Cracker Barrel across the street and had a delicious Camp Fire Beef stew for dinner.
Monday May 11th, I started my day at 10:00am after the pre-trip inspection of the truck. I drove the thirty minutes to the consignee and made the delivery.
BOOK REVIEW: Night Shift by Alex Finlay (2022), THRILLER – RATING (*****)
A suspenseful thriller with many twists-and-turns and subplots that kept me glued to the pages. Logical with methodical police work.
Two almost identical mass murders occur in Linden, NJ, with fifteen years separation. In both cases a knife wielding perpetrator kills three teenage employees of chain establishments as their nightshift is ending. In both cases the perpetrator leaves a sole survivor.
Chris Ford is the younger brother of the suspected killer of the first incident who fled and hasn’t been seen since. He’s now a lawyer and works for the Public Defender. Ella Monroe is the sole survivor of the first massacre, she’s now a social worker. Special FBI Agent Sarah Keller, eight months pregnant with twins, is brought into the investigation for the the second massacre. Jesse is the sole survivor of that one. There’s a slew of other minor characters. The six victims of the combined massacres. Chris’s brother and his parents. Ella’s overpowering wealthy mother.
Overall entertaining with a solid ending.
