ROUTE: Atlanta, GA to Pontiac, MI: 911 miles (745 loaded + 166 deadhead).
This load was supposed to be picked up on Thursday afternoon but there was a delay with the previous assignment at the shipper and the domino-effect forced me to pickup this load on Friday morning. The delivery schedule was for Monday morning but they asked if I could deliver it by Saturday at 14:00. It was going to be tight because I left the shipper at 13:00 and it requires about thirteen-drive hours. I had driven two hours to get there so only had nine left to drive that day. It was a live load and it took over two hours so I had a Split in case I needed it. My day started at 08:00. This was a hazmat load so I could not drive it through Cincinnati and forced to use the outer way surrounding the city.
I stopped for lunch at a mom-and-pop’s truck stop which I had visited in the past. There’s a small diner with good BBQ food but last time I was there it was being remodeled. I was starving since I rushed out in the morning and did not have a proper breakfast. I arrived at the truck stop at 15:00 and to my dismay the BBQ diner was now a Mexican restaurant, which I love but I wanted a Southern BBQ. Afterwards, I fueled up at the truck stop I was assigned.
After lunch I drove as much as possible keeping in mind not to exceed the DOT Regulation 11-hour and considerate that the later I drove the harder it would be to find parking. I shut it down at 22:30 marking a 14-hour workday, which is the maximum but since I had done a split then I had wiggle room. I had to do Creative Parking at a small Casey’s Truck Stop somewhere in Kentucky.
On the 20th I started my day at 08:30 abiding by the minimum 10-hour DOT Required break. I was still five hours from the consignee but I hit traffic and had additional mileage because the hazmat detour around Cincinnati. There was no way to make the consignee by 14:00. I informed our dispatch and they instructed me to bring the load to the terminal and a Local Driver would deliver it on Monday. I already had my next assignment that would get me home for Christmas Eve.
BOOK REVIEW (1): Mother’s Instinct by Barbara Abel (2023), FICTION – RATING (**)
DNF.
I got mid-way and could not continue. It was dark and depressing. It was not entertaining or relaxing. The death of a child tears apart the friendship of neighbors. Not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t this. There’s probably other ways that a friendship can be torn without using such a horrific incident. There were other dark secrets that added to the anguish.
At least Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven is a heart warming song depicting a parent’s anguish for that reason. That’s an uplifting tribute and this book was far from that.
BOOK REVIEW (2): Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson (2024), FICTION – RATING (****)
A fun and entertaining story with enough twists and turns to make it suspenseful. The writing describes well all the characters so there’s no hidden smoking gun that magically appears toward the end to solve the crime. The chemistry between the main characters is jovial. Madeline, the protagonist is very likable and easy to root for. The secondary characters are described well and easy to like or not. The continuous references to Jazz were getting annoying but to each their own. The comparison of big city life versus small rural town are well done.
The conclusion does have some surprises but they fit logically into the plot. It has a Hollywood happy ending, how could it not.
It’s good enough that I’m looking forward to listening to the next audiobook in the series; All My Bones.
