Saturday, March 16, 2019

Left Carlisle at sunrise this morning.  Stopped in Scranton to top off my fuel tanks.  As I was getting back in I-81 had another good one for you.

 I get cut off every day, but I only show you the really good ones.  

Now it's time to start to deal with the stupid regulations in the New England area.  Stopped for the rest of the weekend at a truck stop in Lake Ariel, PA.  Will be here until Monday morning.  Can't drive in New York on weekends.  Also can't go over the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge that crosses the Hudson River until 10:30 Monday morning.  Can only cross the bridge twice a day Monday through Friday.  They close the Interstate and then escort the oversized loads across the bridge, then reopen the Interstate.  Once across they charge us $100 each PLUS the bridge toll to do that.

Friday, March 15, 2019

The weather front caught back up with me again but this time it was much weaker.  Just a little rain.  Didn't take long for it to clear and become a beautiful day.  Temperatures in the 70s and sunny. Left at sunrise this morning.  When I got to the West Virginia / Maryland state line on I-81 I picked up my Maryland escort car.  He followed me for a whopping 12.2 miles (19.6 km).  He dropped off as I passed into Pennsylvania.  Continued on up to the Petro truck stop in Carlisle, Pa for the night.  Tomorrow will be a very short day.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

The weather front that I was outrunning yesterday caught up with me.  I left very early this morning in the rain.  It was still pretty windy.  After a while I drove out of it and I was ahead of it again.  Had a very good day on the road.  Was behind another truck when one of his trailer tires blew.  Sounded like a bomb and rubber went flying all over.  That was the extent of my excitement for the day.  I stopped for the night after driving 533 miles (858 km) at the Flying J truck stop in Wytheville, Virginia.  Felt good to be done for the day before noon!  For the rest of the trip I have to plan a lot more (which I have done already) because of curfews and restrictions.  I hate going up into New England!! 

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Had to wait this morning.  There was a construction curfew until 10 am on I-30 between exit 54 and exit 63.  I timed it so that I would get to exit 54 as curfew ended.  The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.  Cloudy and very windy all day.  I was able to stay ahead of the weather front that is following behind me.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Denmark, Tennessee.  Going to bed now so I can get started at 1 am.

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

It was foggy again this morning but I decided to go anyway.  Left just before sunrise.  After an hour or so the fog had lifted enough to where it wasn't a problem anymore. Had a pretty good day on the road.  Had several marker lights on the trailer and my rear beacon went out.  I could tell there was a short in the wiring someplace but couldn't find it.  When I stopped for the night at the Flying J truck stop in Texarkana, Arkansas I had  the mechanic come over and look at it when he finished changing a tire.  A truck pulled up to the fuel pump and his tire blew.  Sounded like a bomb went off.  Scared the crap out of a lot of people.

This is why I stop early every day.  It is only 4 pm local time. Fortunately I got here an hour ago.  This place is a zoo!!!

The Flying J mechanic came over and tried to figure out my electrical problem.  He couldn't.  So I went next door to another repair shop.  They couldn't look at it, they were too busy.  They recommended another place just down the road.  I called them.  They came over and found the problem.  Had a couple wires rub together and shorted out the lights and blew the fuse.  He fixed it and now everything works fine.  Glad that is done!!  Supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow.

Monday, March 11, 2019

Couldn't leave when I wanted to this morning.  The fog was too thick.  Couldn't see across the parking lot.  Permit loads can not move in dense fog.  So I went back to sleep for a couple hours.  When the fog lifted enough to move, I left and drove the rest of the way into Corpus Cristi and delivered the excavator.  Then drove back up to Victoria and loaded a Caterpillar 336 Excavator that is going up to Milford, Massachusetts.

Left there but didn't go very far.  Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in  Schulenburg, Texas.  Went to the resteraunt across the street for dinner.  Was much better than "truck stop food".

Very tired tonight and my back really hurts.  Glad to be in bed now.  Hope it isn't foggy in the morning.