ROUTE: Canton, MI to Windsor, CT: 743 miles (716 loaded + 27 deadhead)
This assignment was intended to bring me home for Christmas. The load was ready on Friday and sitting at our yard and was supposed to be delivered on Monday 12/22. Christmas fell on a Thursday this year so I knew I would not get another assignment after delivering this one. I requested to change the delivery for Tuesday 12/23 that way I could spend the weekend at our yard and take care of some errands. Also my diabetes medication was due for refill but the insurance company would only refill it on Monday. It renews monthly so I wanted to make sure to have it as I could be on the road for weeks.
I ended up leaving the yard at 11:00 as the pharmacy only opened at 09:00 and then they needed to do the paperwork to complete the refill. I’ve done this route many times so know how to pace myself, unless some unforeseen traffic delays. The I-84 Diner is just over 600 miles away so I was planning to spend the night there. Because I left too late I would not make it for dinner at they close at 22:00 and need to get there by 21:30 in order to eat, but I would have a hearty breakfast the next day. I grab a burger at Sheetz truck stop that I frequent regularly.
The route consumes about half a tank of fuel so normally I refuel after delivery but the station we normally use, Pilot Milford, CT, is refurbishing their pumps that will not be ready until February 2026. In order to avoid the hassle of being low on fuel before the next assignment I requested a fuel stop before making the delivery.
The Pilot in Milford, CT has plenty of free parking but they fill up quickly. It’s best to arrive between 09:00 and 12:00. Between 12:00 and 15:00 it’s risky and after that only paid parking is available, which costs $25.00 per night. On the Thanksgiving break I had to pay for parking for five nights setting me back $125.00. This break I would be there for six night so that would cost $150.00. I arrived at 12:30 and was fortunate to find free parking. An early Christmas gift.
I rented a car from Wednesday to Monday as my son is using mine. I stayed at a hotel from Thursday, Christmas Eve, to Sunday as I would be getting a new assignment on Monday.
BOOK REVIEW (1): Morgan is My Name by Sophie Keetch (2023), FICTION – RATING (**)
TEDIOUS!!
A trilogy by definition is: “a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be either as a single work or as three individual works.” (Google)
This reads like a romance novel set in medieval times with a hint of traces to King Arthur’s Court. I was looking forward to reading about Morgana, the most powerful and evil sorcerer. The mention of her immense power came in Chapter 53 out of 58, just past the 90% mark of the book! Possibly it is explained in book two or three but I did not sign up to listen a lengthly book subdivided in three parts.
The pace is so slow that halfway through I stopped and listened to a more entertaining book. I went back to it hoping the pace would pick up in the second half but it did not. Maybe book two and three clear up the story and it is very good but I’m not willing to endure more of this narrative in hope of clarification.
BOOK REVIEW (2): Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham (2025), FICTION – RATING (***)
The plot is interesting and within the realms of reason. It is well written but with an excess of vivid imagery that slows the pace to a crawl. It starts picking up more fluidly in the second half but I was tempted to put it down several times before that.
A woman in her early thirties comes back to her rural town in South Carolina to help her mom that had broken her leg. She recently quit her journalist job following police stories because did not get a deserved promotion. Memories of 15 years back when her sister disappeared and presumed dead start haunting her. She’s determined to find out more regardless of the consequences and despite the case closed with the killer behind bars.
Some unexpected twists and turns but hard to imagine a woman of her age and experience living in New York City for the past ten years would put herself in those dangerous situations. It’s fiction so permissible. The end gets very convoluted but manages to stay logical by a shoestring. Obviously it has a Hollywood happy ending.
