Gibsonia, Pennsylvania: Walmart

Yes, I am still here, one episode of Private Practice and three episodes of Life on Mars later. I am about a four hour drive to home from here, and my fourteen hour clock is up at seven-thirty tonight. So unless I leave at three-thirty I will definitely not be home tonight. Of course I still don't have a load so that is fairly definite anyway.

In a little while I will be moving to a truck stop in Youngstown, Ohio. Closer to home, but still will be stuck waiting for a load. At least I will be able to get that far, since I have about an hour drive to any truck stop at this point. The area around Pittsburgh has very few places for a driver to stay at, and a Walmart parking lot doesn't count.

I just realized something, if I stayed here till eight tonight I will have had an ten hour break, with little to no sleep, but a legal break none the less. Not that I will stay that long, I am heading to a truck stop as soon as they let me go.

Gibsonia, Pennsylvania: Walmart

The drive up to my delivery this morning wasn't to bad, until I got onto I-279 through Pittsburgh. It is a two lane road that moved at basically a crawl for most of the time, until you got to the tunnel. Then the speed picked up a lot, until I got out the other side and found out that I needed to be three lanes to the left to not get off the interstate and continue going north. The signs to tell you this were basically right over the exits, so tossing on my blinker, and slowing way down was my only option. I am still not sure how I managed not to exit at that point. After negotiating through several more poorly marked exits and on ramps I got to the place in Indianola at 7:15 AM.

Parking there was a treat in its own right. I took the pictures after I was parked, the cars to the left of the RAV4 were not there, good thing too since I needed that space to get to the dock.

After getting unloaded I discovered how truck unfriendly the town was, and all I wanted o do was go to Denny's and eat some breakfast. I hid myself next to Target's loading dock for a while, before needing to move. I had to drive fifteen minutes West on the turnpike to find a place I could park at, a Walmart. I thought there was a truck stop here, but it is either south on SR-8 or has since been torn down for more profitable retail establishments.

Now I am just playing the waiting game, hoping for that final load towards home. Someone mentioned that I was starting to sound a bit like the beginning of a Quantum Leap episode when I say it that way. I have no idea what they mean...

Valley Grove, West Virginia: TA

I am about an hour and a half away from my 8 AM delivery tomorrow morning in Indianola, Pennsylvania. There was one more truck stop about fifteen minutes further down the road, but I was felt like stopping here instead. There was really no advantage in going that extra bit today. Apparently it was a good choice, the buffet has a lot of good stuff on it today.

When I hooked back up to my trailer in our drop lot today I was a little surprised to find out that the seal had been broken and that someone had been in the trailer. Fortunately they only opened one box to see what the load was, otherwise I could have had some real troubles delivering tomorrow. I could still have some difficulties tomorrow, but a lot of times they don't even check the seals on loads. Of course with my luck it will be a place that will freak out that the seal was broken.

On the way inside, I stopped by the IdleAire shack to see what their hours are. They are lightly manned like the rest of them, but an option has been added to the sign out screen to have a copy of the bill sent to your email. So I will no longer have to worry about getting a copy in person to get my reimbursement. It will be nice to be able to use it again easily.

Columbus, Ohio: The Old Bag of Nails Pub

I just got back from meeting some friends for dinner at The Old Bag of Nails Pub. The food was reasonably priced and really good. In fact if there was a way to get this chain up in the Toledo area, I think it would do fairly well. It isn't a franchise, but they do have a lot of locations in the Columbus area. It was a lot of fun getting to see some old friends and make a few new ones. It also got me out of the hotel for a while, which was more than greatly appreciated. Now I just need to make some friends in the other random spots I get trapped in hotels at and I will be all set.

Reynoldsburg, Ohio: Red Roof Inn

It is another exciting day in a hotel for me. Fortunately I got rid of my trailer so I was able to easily run to Andersons right down the road. It is hard to describe what the Andersons is to a non-Toledoen, but it just seems to be the best of the local hardware store, with a great deli and a fantastic meat market thrown in. It has a little of everything and is a lot friendlier than a Walmart to shop in. The deli makes these fantastic sub sandwiches, which I got for lunch. As well as some other food for in the truck the next couple of days.

I was hoping to find a cord to charge my razor today, instead I ended up picking up a package of razors and some shaving cream. I have to admit, I get a much closer shave when I do it this way, it just seems to take forever though. I was just feeling too scruffy to let it keep growing.

Netflix is once again my friend, as well as getting caught up on the network shows that are available online. I already let them know that once I unload this I am expecting a load home on Monday. If I wanted to be out on the road for long periods of time, I wouldn't have gone with this company. I know at this point I should just feel lucky to have a job, but it is still aggravating not getting home this weekend.

Reynoldsburg, Ohio: Red Roof Inn

I am checked into the hotel, even though it says truck parking in the guide, it really doesn't have any. I dropped my trailer in the local yard about fifteen minutes away from here as a precaution, and it turned out to be a good one. Even bobtail my truck takes up four spots in a parking lot. I also wanted to be able to get around if I wanted to, and that is a lot easier without a trailer. There is an Andersons just down the road, so I will be able to pick up some lunch stuff for tomorrow, and fresh food for in the truck, as well as some batteries for my mouse. They might even have a spare cord for my razor.

I prefer to bring what I can to save money on food while on the road, but there is not a whole lot of room in the truck I am driving when compared to some of the other ones out there. So I can't fit in everything that I did in the past, while driving for Werner. Otherwise I would have frozen meals that I could heat up in my lunch box oven. I would also be carrying a gallon jug of milk with me. Both of these things would save me a huge amount of money. If I keep going over the road I think I will find a way to squeeze it all in there, just to save the money.

Tonight I am staying in, but tomorrow I will be reconnecting with an old friend, at what looks to be a really good restaurant at an affordable price. I can't wait to see what the food is like since the menu already has me drooling.

Jeffersonville, Ohio: Flying J

I stopped here because I was hoping for a relay in Columbus to get me home this weekend, instead it looks like I will be spending it at another hotel. Rather than drive over towards the Pittsburgh area and spending the weekend there, I will grab a Red Roof some where near Columbus. Probably the one in Reynoldsburg, since it seems to have truck parking. I will make a reservation after I eat lunch.

Coming up through Kentucky was extremely pleasant this morning. The rain that I went through yesterday turned to snow along I-65. Fortunately it didn't leave any on the roads so it was just a nice white layer hiding all the ice storm damaged trees that still line the road. That early in the morning the traffic was extremely light and the early dawn twilight gave it a bit of a glow.

Two weekends away from home does not make me happy, and my next load will be to home. I have things that need to be done and am getting a bit too furry. I am really regretting not bringing the charging cord for my razor this time. Since I was only planning on a week out, I figured it would have a good enough charge.

At least I will be getting caught up on sleep, I have been running a bit sleep deprived since doing laundry in New Caney, Texas. Even though I stopped early that night and slept in a bit, I just have been dragging a bit on my get up and go.