ROUTE: Newport, MI to Cranbury, NJ: 617 miles (590 loaded + 27 deadhead)
Wednesday May 13th, the first assignment was bringing a load from Wilminton, IL to our yard in Canton, MI. It was only 280 miles but I had started my day at noon and this load needed to be picked up by 9:00pm. I got to the shipper at 8:45pm. The facility is drop-and-hook but it still takes time to drop the empty trailer and hook up to the loaded one. Fortunately, the parking area is relatively easy to maneuver. I left the facility at 10:00pm and was hungry since I had breakfast at 11:00am. I’m familiar with a Petro truck stop in Perrysburg, OH, that has easy parking and their diner closes at 11:00pm. I left the shipper at 10:00pm, arrived at the truck stop at 10:45pm and barely made it to the diner before they closed. I had the chicken parm with a side Cesar salad and since they recognize me they allow me to finish my meal while they are cleaning the establishment. It’s a far cry from what I’m used to in New York but good enough.
Thursday May 14th, I still had the bulk of the trip since I only advanced the load about 35 miles the previous day. There was no need to scale it as these loads are fairly lite. I could deliver it on Thursday early evening as the consignee is a 24/7 facility or Friday morning as I wasn’t going to get another assignment until then anyway. I had planned to spend the night at our terminal and take a shower in the morning but because I had to rush in-and-out that was not possible. Fortunately, the Ohio Travel Plazas on I-80 have free showers for truckers. Basically, anyone can use them but most people are unaware of them as they are part of the Trucker’s Lounge. I started my day at 11:00am with the pre-trip inspection of the truck then drove two hours to the Ohio Travel Plaza and took a shower. I didn’t have vouchers for a free shower at the Petro truck stop and why pay $15 when there was one for free a short drive away. From there I drove three-and-half hours to a Russian restaurant, Kavkaz, in Loganton, PA, that has truck parking. Food is great. I had a hearty beef vegetable soup and a Greek salad. I could have shut it down for the night there since I had arrived at 7:00pm but I ate quickly and drove another two hours to the Allentown, PA, Travel Plaza. I know where the spots to do Creative Parking are as it tends to be full later in the evening. I arrived at 10:30pm and parked in my usual spot that truckers that are not familiar with the place don’t know about.
Friday May 15th, I started my drive at 10:00am after the pre-trip inspection and arrived at the consignee at noon after a two hour drive. It’s much easier to do the parking in the daylight and this facility has tight spots that require careful maneuvering. The empty trailer that I picked up needed to be swept as we are required to arrived to a shipper with a clean trailer.
BOOK REVIEW: Red Sky Mourning by Jack Carr (2024), THRILLER – RATING (****)
Not just a bad-ass former Navy SEAL doing his thing but a good backdrop of the political workings of Washington and possible future conflict with China.
Retired Lt. Commander James Reece is back in action. A US super computer that has gone dark will only interact with Reece as they have history. The Chinese want to take over Taiwan and have an elaborate plan that includes some high power Washington politicians and a billionaire tech mogul. Their mistake is trying to kill Reece and awaken his revengeful nature. The first third of the story is slow paced but then picks up and is very dynamic. The action scenes are quite realistic as the author is a former Navy SEAL and his knowledge of weaponry is outstanding. The possible conflict over Taiwan is thought provoking.
There are various side stories to keep it interesting and mentions to previous books give it continuity. The new romance interest and the pain remembering his late wife and child seem contradictory but does not derail the narrative.
Overall very entertaining.
