ROUTE: Elkton, MD to Taylor, MI: 697 miles (549 loaded + 148 deadhead)
The previous assignment was to start on the Thursday the 19th, drive 462 miles and deliver on the 20th. However, when I picked up the trailer it was damaged and I had to bring it back to our terminal for repairs. Fortunately, the distance was minimal but it resulted in delaying my departure one day.
Friday March 20th was another fourteen-hour workday. I started at 9:30am and shut it down for the night at 11:30pm. I drove eight hours to make the delivery of the previous assignment then drive two-and-half hours to reach this shipper. That meant I had used 10.5 of the 11 drive hours available according to DOT Regulations. I arrived at the shipper at 10:00pm. This is a 24/7 facility and all loads are drop-and-hook. When all goes well it can take a mere 45 minutes but that would not be the case. First of all it was hard to find the entrance as there were several shippers all located in the vicinity. The paperwork was not ready, so I had to wait for it then the trailer was not where it was supposed to be so I had to chase it down. Fortunately, there is a truck stop down the street from the facility and I barely made it before my fourteen-hour workday expired. The other good thing is that there is a Waffle House across the street from the truck stop so I was able to grab something to eat after I parked the truck. Truckers eat what we can, when we can. Also, I’m Latino so late dinners is something common for me, just ask my kids that are used to it as well.
Saturday March 21st I started my day at 2:00pm. The delivery appointment was for Tuesday morning so I would drop off the trailer at our terminal in Canton, MI then a Local Driver would deliver it on Tuesday. I was in no hurry, therefore the late start. The trip would require around nine-ten hours of drive time so I would need to take a minimum 30 minute break at some point to comply with DOT Regulations. There’s a Middle Eastern restaurant in Breezewood, PA that I enjoy so I planned to take my break there. I also needed to refuel and scale the load as it was heavy. I was instructed to use the Pilot truck stop in Hagerstown, MD which was roughly a two hour drive from my starting point. From there it was roughly 45 minutes to the restaurant and there are several truck stops from walking distance to it. After the delicious lunch I had six hours driving to our terminal where I arrived at 2:00am on Sunday.
BOOK REVIEW (1): Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston (2026), FICTION – RATING (*****)
I thought this was going to be a simple alibi for murder plot but it was much more than that. There were so many twist-and-turns that my head was spinning, in a good way.
Camille Everett Bayliss is one of the main characters. She married her high school sweetheart and now is trapped in a nightmarish marriage with an over-controlling husband, Ben, who is killed in their home. The other main character is Aubrey Price, an orphan at sixteen when her parents were killed in a hit-and-run car accident. These two women’s lives overlap in several ways. One as the simple scheme of a fake alibi and the other as their pasts are somehow intertwined. The fake alibi seems fairly straightforward but who is setting up who? There are other characters that play a pivotal part of the story. Ben’s business partner, the chief of police of the small town where Ben and Camille grew up and where the accident that killed Aubrey’s parents occurred. Aubrey’s roommates. A convicted killer. A Baton Rouge police detective in charge of the investigation of Ben’s death since that’s where they live. Camille’s family and a few others.
Aubrey provides the alibi for Camille but she has a hidden agenda. The lives of several of the other characters are also intertwined and gives the story its suspense. Overall entertaining with an unexpected ending with several ramifications.
BOOK REVIEW (2): The Wedding People by Alison Espach (2024), FICTION – RATING (****)
Mostly amusing with funny banter between the two main characters, Phoebe and Lila. Many sublime messages about living in the moment and self-care.
Phoebe Stone’s marriage falls apart during COVID and she loses the will to live. She travels from St. Louis to Rhode Island to spend her last evening on this world at a fancy boutique hotel by the shore. Lila Winthrop is planning an extravagant six-day wedding event at that same hotel. She bumps into Phoebe in the elevator and is appalled of her intentions which most definitely will ruin her wedding plans. Things don’t pan out for Phoebe but she and Lila develop a strange friendship resulting in Phoebe spending the week at the hotel as Lila’s guest participating in the festivities as Maid-of-Honor.
There’s a slew of other characters that add color to the narrative. Lila’s overwhelming mother, the groom, Phoebe’s ex-husband, the groom’s family including his eleven year-old daughter, memories of his late-wife and brother-in-law.
Overall entertaining with many self-revelations by many of the characters.
