MAUMEE, OH to LA GRANGE PARK, IL: 242 miles + HAZMAT + TANKER (+$100 +$0)
Tuesday August 11th, I arrived at the shipper at 3:00pm, which happened to be the same as the previous consignee. That makes my life easier but the rain did not. Trucking is rain-or-shine and it sucks when it’s raining. I dropped off the loaded trailer and picked up this loaded one.
This load was being transported in containers with a capacity greater than 119 gallons so the driver must have a tanker endorsement on their CDL, which I do. Unfortunately, I didn’t get paid any extra for it but I did get an extra $100 because the cargo was hazmat. I left the shipper at 5:30pm and drove three-and-a-half hours to a rest area an hour east from Chicago. I’ve done similar trips recently so now I am aware where to park. The food is decent-enough there too. I shut it down for the night at 9:00pm EST.
Wednesday August 12th, I started my day at 7:00am EST after the minimum break to comply with the DOT Ten-Hour Regulation regarding rest after a day’s work. I did the pre-trip inspection of the truck and drove an hour-and-a-half to the consignee arriving at 8:30am. Dock doors, where we have to back into, vary enormously in degree of difficulty. This facility had to be in the top 10%. The area to make maneuvers was tight and I had to back into a building barely tall enough to not scrape the top of the trailer. The walls of a building are one of the challenges, the other is the change in light distortions. The back of the trailer is sixty-feet from my window so the back of the truck is in darkness as I’m backing up.
BOOK REVIEW: What Lies in Darkness by Christina McDonald (2024), THRILLER – RATING (****)
An entertaining thriller with many twist-and-turns that kept me glued to the pages.
The Harper family is driving home from Christmas Eve dinner party and get into a car accident. Alice, sixteen year old, is the sole survivor but her parents and little sister, Ella, are no where to be found. Alice recalls very little of the accident or what occurred afterwards on that night.
A year later, Ella’s bloody backpack is found next to the remains of a body in an uninhabited house that teenagers were raiding to hold a party. Police Detective Jess Lambert is called to investigate and discover the identity of the body. Jess was off duty a year ago for personal reasons but recalls some details of the case. Jess also discovers that Alice’s mom and other family members were holding on to secrets that may be a factor of the events of that night. It’s a complicated case where things are not necessarily what they appear to be and Jess’s own grief could be a factor.
Book 2 of Jess Lambert series but can be read as a stand-alone.
