Shreveport, LA

Well we dropped our load in Odessa yesterday and this morning we drove up to Lubbock, TX to pick up 42,000 lbs. of bird seed. This will deliver in Kissimee, FL on Thursday. The route we're taking doesn't go through New Orleans but we will pass through Biloxi and Mobile as we come across on I-10. We could have taken I-49 out of Shreveport and hooked up with I-10 just west of Baton Rouge but I have to get fuel in Monroe, LA which is on I-20 about 3/4 of the way across the state.

I think we'll stay on I-20 to Jackson, MI and then drop down to I-10 just before Biloxi. I wanted to see New Orleans but it would be back-tracking so I can't this time. I'll take some pictures if I come upon anything of interest in the areas we will be travelling through. Tomorrow we will be stopping in Pensacola, FL which I'm looking forward to. I've always wanted to check it out. Once we deliver this bird seed I have to take the truck over to our terminal in Ocala, FL for regular maintenance and do a restart on my logbook.

Thor is laying next to me asleep and he's twitching and smacking his lips... he's sucha freaky dog.

Knoxville, TN

Still headed for Odessa, TX by Monday sometime. Nothing much to report. I found a picture I took of my daughters' teeth a couple of weeks ago... nice Ali!

Clear Brook, VA

On our way to Odessa, TX to drop a load of crap at Family Dollar out there. Heh heh... I don't much care for the Family Dollar folks as I've had several episodes with them on prior deliveries. Admittedly, I've not ever been to the Odessa facility, so in fairness I can't judge them yet. I just know that in the past they've all been unpleasant to deal with at best. We'll see how this one goes, I'm prepared to be unpleasant to deal with as well. Perhaps not the most professional attitude, but one can only tolerate just so much shit without making a stand.

We hit snow and ice coming through Pennsylvania last night. Nothing too serious but there were quite a few cars and SUV's wiped out on the shoulders. It always amazes me how crappy people drive. I can only imagine how many more accidents there would have been if the weather was more severe. Once we got into West Virginia and then on into Virginia the snow was gone and roads were dry again. Wet or not it's damn cold here... windy too.

We had turkey and all the trimmings at the friendly neighborhood Flying J Truck Stop. Not as good as home cooking but it was fine. I took a doggie bag out to Thor so he could have his Thanksgiving dinner too. I'm sure he was thankfull as he swallowed his turkey without hardly chewing it.... hmmmmm... guess it's just a dog thing huh?

Schodack Landing, NY

Right now I'm backed into a dock at a grocery outlet or rather a distribution center. I'm waiting to be unloaded. It's 1:00 AM local time, this place is 24/7 though. Speaking of 24.... The season 4 DVD set will be released this month I heard. I didn't get to see any of the season 4 episodes when they aired, although my daughter told me about a few. Anyway... I'm looking forward to seeing them - commercial FREE!

I ran into some snow and ice coming through the mountains on I-88 here in New York. Nothing too bad but slowed me down a bit. It's cold, about 23 degrees outside right now. Thor is bundled in one of his fleece sweaters... heh-heh.

After I'm unloaded I'm heading over to Albany, about 10 miles, and find a truck stop to crash in. Tomorrow I'll get another load.

Gary, IN

Laying over at the terminal here in Gary until 3 AM when we'll head out for Toledo, OH to drop this load of empty aluminum soda cans in the morning. Toledo is about 200 miles east of here so it'll take about 3 1/2 hours.

It's cold here, not sure what the temp is but it's gonna get a whole lot colder before winter ends. No snow here yet, but I saw a bit in Wyoming when we came through. It was very windy and rained some in Nebraska but once we got into Iowa it cleared up.

After we drop the cans I'm not sure where we'll be headed but I have some scheduled time off at Christmas so as the 25th approaches I'll be worked back towards California.

Red Bluff, CA

I'm spending the weekend with my daughter Allison. I left my truck at the terminal in Lathrop, CA and rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee to get around in. Saturday we visited Turtle Bay and the Sundial Bridge in Redding. It was pretty cool, Thor received quite a few compliments. Most of these were due to his Fido Fleece sweater... geez... After that we returned to Red Bluff and went to a late showing of SAW II. It was pretty good. Tied up a lot of things from the first movie and of course introduced some new horrific situations for us to contemplate. People were saying it was even better than the first movie. I thought it was well done but lacked the ability to scare you the way the first one did since you kinda knew what to expect. Still I recommend it to anyone who liked the first movie.

Sunday will be spent driving Ali back home to San Jose and then driving back to Manteca to return the rental. After that I will return to Lathrop and have some laundry to do. I need to clean out my truck as well.

It was good to get together with Ali. I haven't seen her since August when she rode with me for a month during her summer vacation. She just brought me the CD with pictures from that trip and I will be posting them soon. I keep on promising pictures and the Photo link on my site never seems to change, but I assure you, I'm working on it. It's taking me a lot longer than I expected to get it all together.

Reno, NV

We're headed to Lathrop, CA to drop this Home Depot load we picked up in Minneapolis on Monday. My terminal is next door to the Home Depot facility, so after we drop this trailer we're gonna park at the terminal and then take a few days off to go visit my daughter Allison who will be getting her driving permit next week... yikes.

I haven't seen her since August when she rode with me during her summer vacation. I'm looking forward to getting together with her. Thor is always excited to see Ali as well.

Des Moines, IA

I stopped in Nebraska on Friday night and stayed until Saturday afternoon to visit my girlfriend. I drove from there to Des Moines last night and shut down at a small truck stop north of the city. I have to deliver this load in Menomonie, WI tonight. There's about 300 miles left.

It's getting colder as I move north and I've had to bundle up when outside. Thor has short hair and gets cold very easily. I purchased a couple of sweaters made out of polar fleece for him, he really likes them.



Last winter he didn't have anything to help keep warm and would shiver a lot. He's a digger as well and his little foot pads were cracked and sore from exposure. It wasn't severe, but I had to limit his outdoor activities. I have since picked up some boots for him but have my doubts about them.

Most dog clothing is designed for smaller dogs in order to make them look 'cute' but not as a practical application. Consequently these cheap items tend to disintegrate after a short period. I have looked for quality apparel and not been able to find any until recently. This winter will be the test.

Houston, TX

I spent most of the day at Budweiser here in Houston waiting to be unloaded. I have a Wal-Mart load waiting to be picked up going to Bentonville, AR in the morning. Tonight Thor and I are spending the night at our terminal here in Houston and we'll head out at dawn.

I'm going to take a shower and then watch Star Wars III before I go to bed.