SHELBY, NC to WILLOUGHBY, OH: 605 miles (543 loaded + 62 deadhead)
Tuesday June 9th, I arrived at the shipper at 3:30pm and it took two hours to load the cargo on the trailer. I left at 5:30pm and the delivery was scheduled for 11:00am the next day but I had until 5:00pm. The drive should take ten hours plus I needed to fuel, scale the load, take a thirty minute DOT Break and then a minimum of ten hour break at night so that should give me enough time to get there around 3:00pm. The weight of the truck came to 76,560lbs out of the maximum 80,000lbs allowed by DOT Regulations. I drove four and half hours and shut it down for the night at 11:30pm.
Wednesday June 10th, I started my day at 10:00am but unfortunately the weight of the load slowed me down and I encountered some heavy traffic along the way. I drove six hours and got there just before 5:00pm but I was rejected by the consignee as they said it would take at least an hour to unload the cargo. I drove half an hour to the nearest truck stop to spend the night and make delivery the next day.
Thursday June 11th, I started my day at 10:00am and drove back the thirty minutes to get to the consignee. When I got there the boss was upset at his employees that I was sent back the day before. The unload was unconventional as I was asked to park by their driveway and they did it using a mobile forklift and with personnel in the trailer moving the cargo to the back of the trailer with manual forklifts. Good thing because getting into their driveway required a blind side maneuver and it was very tight. The unload took less than an hour but I did not have my next assignment so I had to wait there for several hours until I got it.
BOOK REVIEW: The Baby Group by Jade Lee Wright (2025), THRILLER – RATING (****)
A slow burn thriller that reminded me on my time spent in Lamaze class.
Darcy and Alex are the protagonist. She’s expecting their first child and they moved to a small sea coast town five hours from London because he had an affair and they wanted a fresh start. She’s holding to a dark secret that is sabotaging their relationship. They are not married but plan to wed after the birth of the child. Darcy joins an Antenatal group to make friends and for the necessary knowledge that she seeks. The five other women in the group are the secondary characters: Cora, Lucy, Violet, Carmen and Rachael.
There are some interesting twist-and-turns that keep the story going at a good pace. Darcy is not the only one with dark secrets from their past. There are some inconsistencies in the plot but not enough to derail the story.
Overall entertaining.
