And the Adventure Keeps Coming
After I left Jeff at the LA/TX I20 state line, I bounced back to the house. On my way I ran into a driver that I have not seen in about 4 years. We ran together from around Shreveport to Jackson and caught up on what has been happening in all that time. I had forgotten a little about how life on the road can be…good and bad. It was nice to run into an old friends, but the long days in this hotel or that can be tiring. I think I liked life on the road better when I was driving a big truck…sometimes. At least I didn’t have to haul my stuff in and out of a hotel every morning and evening. I just had to turn around and there was home. But on the good side, I don’t have to eat truck stop food, I have a hot shower of bath right in the room with me.
Anyway, on Monday I met a driver in Slidell, LA and escorted him to Anniston, AL. The driver had to wait a bit before we could leave because he didn’t have his MS permit yet. Two hours after I got there we pulled out. The driver was nice and it was an uneventful trip. I had planned to stay with an high school classmate for the night but got a call that I was needed back in the Meridian area the next morning. My friend, Tressie, also called to tell me that her husband and one of her daughters were sick. I opted out to stopping by to see them and went to see another friend in the area. We had dinner at a little BBQ place there in Jacksonville, AL and I headed back toward MS. Around 2200 I was tired and looking for a place to grab a room. At 2330 I pulled into the last rest area in AL on I20 west, moved things around in the back of the Jeep, laid out my sleeping bag and went to sleep. I was rather surprised that I slept so well. Other than dealing with the crack where I had the back seats folded down, I was comfortable. I think I will get me a small memory foam or egg crate thing to lay out back there in case I want to do that again.
The next morning I meet the two driver and I and other flag cars that were going to escort to them AL/GA I59 line. Well, Darlene and I escorted them to the AL/GA line and the other two took them on up to MD. I talked to Kellie, the daughter of the lady I have my Jeep listed with, about going on up to VA and getting my certification for that state. At that time, they really didn’t have anything happening so I started that way. I was half way between Choo Choo and K-town when Mrs. Pat called. They had several requests for cars the next day. Since I was already headed north and that far along, I went on up. I got a room in Bristol, TN for the night. The next morning I was standing at the door when the VA DMV unlocked the door. I took the test and only missed on. I got that one wring because of the difference between FL and VA. (That course in FL helped me pass the VA test.) As soon as I was done I let Mrs. Pat and Kellie know that I had passed and asked if there was anything up that way. I was told that I there as nothing up there and that I was needed back in MS the next morning. So, I hammered on it to MS.
The next morning Darlene and I were supposed to meet two drivers at the Kewanee T/S. When we got there, there was only one driver. We waited till 0630 to call them since that was the time we were told to meet them. Leroy had not made it to Kewanee, he was over at the Cuba, AL T/S. So, I went and escorted him to Kewanee while Darlene woke up Black Jack. They grabbed breakfast to go and we got rolling. Darlene had told me that Leroy was somewhat of a pill and that he and Black Jack would raise a little hate and discontent between themselves. As HARD as Black Jack tried, he could not get Leroy to take the bait. I don’t think I have laughed that hard in a very long time. They were fun to run with even though Leroy was quite most of the ride.
I had been told that there was a driver over in Laredo going to Macon, GA and would I be interested in the run. Of course, I was. Even though Mrs, Pat and Kellie had to tell the driver that he had to get permits. Yes, he did not know that. I had been given the drivers phone number and gave him a call after I dropped Leroy, Black Jack and Mrs. Darlene at the MS/LA line. The driver told me that this was his first oversize load. He didn’t have the Oversize Load & Pilot Car Directory and I don’t think he had ever heard about it. He also told me that the woman getting his permits was new…this was her first time as well. I told him to give me a call when he got his permits or around 1700. I have a cousin that lives in the Baton Rouge area so I shot her a text and headed that way. She didn’t get off work till 1600 so I had to find a place to sit for about 4 hours. I found a park, fired up my Macbook and worked on my Gear Jammin’ Radio show.
When she got home we went out for dinner and I called the driver…he still didn’t have any permits…not even the TX permit. I told him to give me a call that next morning some time and let me know how things were going. I also looked up the sunrise time for the area for him in case something happened and he got his TX permit. Kellie also called and told me that they had a short one going from New Iberia to the LA/TX I10 line that would give me something to do the next day.
I got up this morning, hugged my cousin bye, and told he I would probably be seeing her often now that I am doing this. she said cool and I headed toward New Iberia. I got there before noon, but the driver was not going to be there till around 1300/1400. I found a McD’s and sat int he parking lot and recorded everything for my radio show. The driver called and said he was not sure about the directions he had gotten. I got them from him and went and scouted it out for him. they directions were dead on. Yes, they sounded squirrelly, but they were right. I went back to the McD’s and emailed the show to the studio.
I then went back to the place where the driver, Jim was going to get loaded. We talked as he strapped down his load and then we tried to get him out of there. The gate he had entered the yard with was not big enough for him to go back out being that long. So I drove around and found him another exit. I wasn’t sure that he would make it out that one either so I went back to his truck and asked him to please come take a look at it himself. He said it would be tight, but he could get out it better than the other one. He was a very nice man and we had an entertaining conversation on our ride to the TX line.
Oh, I forgot, the Laredo driver called me about 1130 and said that he had truck problems this morning and was just now leaving Laredo. I told him that I didn’t figure that he would make it to Orange, TX by the time he was required to shut down for the night. Course, with having a 4 to 7 pm curfew in the Houston area, that was going to make it real hard for him to make it to Orange. I told him to all me when he stopped for the evening and let me know were he was. I dropped Jim at the state line and driver into TX and got a room. As I was checking in my Laredo driver called. He was going to make it to Baytown and then shut down. He also wanted to know what time he could roll in the boring. I got to my room, looked up the sunrise time, did some math and called him back. He told me that he had been told that his permit service had his LA permit, but not his MS. I made a call and found that if he didn’t have it tonight, he would not get it till Monday morning. When I called him back he apologized for the thousandth time about all the mess. I told him that he would have to stop in Slidell, LA till Monday morning. If he can get his MS permit Monday, he already has his AL so we should be able to make some miles that day. I hope that he will have his GA permit by the time we get there.
Anyone that thinks the pilot car biz is easier than trucking needs to think again. To do the job and do it right, there is a lot of work and expense involved. But with that said, I am still loving it!
