New Orleans

We only had to drive for a couple of hours this morning to get to our next stop in New Orleans.  We were hoping that we could make this delivery early and be on our way.   So much for false hopes.....
The people of New Orleans march to beat of their own drummer, so to speak.  We have been waiting for over an hour and just saw everyone leave for lunch.  I don't think.we will be on our way anytime soon.

Ronnie will complete this run.  Our next and final stop on this run will be in Opelousas, LA.  We will drop the trailer there and will pick up another one bound for Springfield, MO.  Ronnie will drive out the rest of his time and I will finish the drive.  This means I will be driving through the night.  I will be heading into the sleeper bunk so I will be well rested when I start to drive.  I will write more in the morning after I have finished driving.       ............Tom

The Superdome

The Superdome

Driving into "The Big Easy"

Driving into New Orleans

Commingle in to Biloxi, MS

Biloxi, MS at a distance

The Gulf of Mexico

Our first glimpse of the Gulf of Mexico

Driving Ronnies truck

Ronnie and I got an early start today.  We were able to cover quite a bit of ground.  We got on the road at 6:00am.  I ended up doing all of the driving today.  We dropped the first part of the load in Geneva, AL.  From there we went south into Florida and picked up highway 10 heading west.  We went through the Florida panhandle and stopped four miles short of the Mississippi border in Alabama.  We drove past a town where I worked and lived with Sandy and JC.......Defuniac Springs, FL.  We got to drive along the Gulf of Mexico for a while.  We even got to drive under it!  There is a tunnel under the Gulf just as you come into Biloxi.  I got to complete some of the manuevers needed in order for me to graduate into a truck of my own.  I backed into a shipping dock for the first time.  I also backed into a truck stop parking slot for the first time.  It may not seem like much...but it is a pretty big deal...
It isn't easy to put a 53 foot trailer in-between two other trailers with only a foot to eighteen inches of room on either side.  One of the hardest things is to deal with all the peer pressure.  There really isn't a whole lot to do when you are stopped and parked in a truck stop.  One thing that is done all the time is to watch and critique the other drivers skill at parking these big trucks.  So when you are starting out and just learning ....... it can be a little intimidating knowing that all eyes are on you when you are struggling to learn how to do something they can do in their sleep!

Yesterday I saw another unique water tower someplace in North Carolina.  The water tower was painted and shaped like a giant Peach.  Unfortunately I was driving at the time and didn't have my phone ready to take a picture.  Maybe next time.

OK it is time for me to crawl into my bunk.   BE SAFE OUT THERE.......GIVE BIG TRUCKS LOTS OF ROOM TO MANUVER

FUN FACT or FOOD FOR THOUGHT.......
A tractor trailer traveling at 60 mph takes over two football fields to come to a complete stop........think about that when you are on the highway and cut in front of one......

New mentor

Today I feel pretty lucky.  I was let off at the Swift terminal in Greer, SC and was there for only five minutes before my new Mentor came up to me and asked if I was waiting for.a.mentor.  I told him that I was and within a few minutes we were on our way.   A few hours later the company called Ronnie and asked when he was going to.be picking up his trainee.  It was then that they figured out that he had picked the wrong.guy!  There is some poor guy that had been waiting for a mentor.since 7:30am.  He may still be waiting for.all I.know. Both Ronnie and myself feel.pretty lucky that we ended up.with each other.  So, I am still rolling and that is a good thing.
Ronnie and I left South Carolina and headed into the Smokey Mountains.  We dropped a load off in Dandridge, TN.  It turned out to be the Bush Brothers company.  They make the barbaque beans that are so good.  We then picked up 43,000 lbs of beans and will be delivering them to Alabama, Slidell,LA and New Orleans.  We have untill 6:00am on Wednesday.to.deliver the first part of the load.  I have a very good feeling about driving with.Ronnie.  I will write.some more tomorrow .......

Ronnie spears

Ronnie Spears my new mentor

Smoky Mountains

View from the Bush Brothers driveway

Smokey Mountains

Driving through the Smokey Mountains with must new Mentor

The only thing that is constant is change

We were supposed to pick up a load and deliver it to Memphis.  When we got to the shipper they informed us that the load had been cancelled.  This has never happened to Jason before!  The load was cancelled by the shipper but somehow never got cancelled in Swift's system.  So we were dispatched on it.  So now we just accepted a load to go from Detroit to North Carolina.  From there we will "Deadhead" to the Greer Swift Terminal in South Carolina. There Jason will drop me off and wait for his wife. (Sabrena) to complete her orientation as a new Swift driver.  I will be waiting to be assigned to a new Mentor.  The new load is scheduled to be delivered on Monday at 10:00am. I will write more as things develope ........ Tom

Bent Rim

Bent Rim

Praying Mantis

Praying Mantis at truckstop in Nebraska

Cofee Pot watertower

Coffee Pot watertower at Sapps truckstop in Nebraska City, NB just off highway 80

Brown down in Kalamazoo, MI

We ended up picking our load in Jonesboro, AR at midnight on Thursday.  I drove through the night on good old Highway 63 into Missouri.  I would have loved to have taken some pictures of the Ozark mountains, but it was the middle of the night so all you would have seen was blackness.  Since I now have my 50 hours in, Jason can sleep while I am driving.  He woke up right as we got into Kansas City.  We delivered our load in Topeka and got another one going from Omaha, NB to New London, MI. (a suburb of Detroit)  Jason drove the first leg of the run while I slept.  I started to drive about 2:00am this morning until 6:30am.  I started to get sleepy, so I pulled off the highway to take a walk around the truck to wake myself back up.  I pulled into a closed Saturn dealership so I would be out of the way.  I thought it would be the perfect place to stop......completely empty......what I didn't count on was a curb that I didn't see.......I felt a bump and then heard a loud hiss........I bent the rim on one of the trailer tires and lost all the air in the tire.  So here we sit.....we have to wait for someone to come and replace the rim.  It should take a.couple of.hours before we are on the road again.

Lesson learned....beware of very dark parking lots.....there are things out there that can get you!

I also included a couple of pictures I took while we were refueling in Nebraska ...... I thought my brother in law, Gary Bureau would get a kick out of the coffee pot picture......

Still with Jason for the time being

I thought I would be sitting in the Swift terminal in Memphis by now.  My how things can change in a day.  We got to West Memphis about 10:30 last night.  Jason decided not to deliver the load until this morning. We spent the night and delivered the load this morning.  While we were waiting for the warehouse workmen to unload the trailer, Jason asked me if I wanted to do a.few more runs with him.  I said that I would, so we got assigned to.a.load that picks up in Jonesburro, Arkansas and delivers in Topeka, KS.  So, we are in Jonesborro, sitting in a truckstop parking lot.  I am in the sleeper and will be getting some sleep before we pick up.at 9:00pm.  I am going to be doing the driving tonight.  It should take around eight hours to get there.  I will write more later....

A view of the mountains in West Virginia

I hope you like it

Came in the night like a thief

I got so involved in what was going to happen yesterday, that I forgot to post about it.  We picked up a load in Chesapeake, VA yesterday morning about 10:00am.  The load was to be delivered today by 3:00pm in Eldon,MO. Needless to say, I was very excited since I knew that the load had to go right by Saint Charles...... Jason drove first and drove through all of VA and West Virginian.  He then drove into KY and stopped.  I started driving in KY, then into Indiana, Illinois and then finally Missouri.

Diane was kind enough to pick me up and take me home for an hour.  She picked me up at 2:30am.  Lucy came to be part of the welcoming committee too.  I was able to pick up couple of things and drop off some others. I also woke up Al & Nick to say Hi and Bye......then it was back to the truck.  I drove to Eldon,MO and arrived by 7:00Am.  It was then that I learned that Jason was intending to take a few days off and was going to drop me off at the Memphis, TN terminal after our next loaf had been delivered on West Memphis either this evening or tomorrow.

So we are in Granite City, IL waiting for our trailer to be filled.....that's all there is for now.........

Still in Virginian Beach, VA

It is Monday afternoon and I just woke up.  We left jason's house yesterday around 6:00pm.  We drove from Smithsville, NC and delivered to our first stop in Newport News, VA.  We got there at 1:00am. It was good that we got there before our scheduled delivery time of 3:00am, however the people who worked there didn't get there until exactly at 3:00am.  So we had to wait around and then it took another hour and a half for.them to unload their portion of the trailer.  We then drove to Virginian Beach to finish delivering this load. We were able go leave around 7:00am.  So we found a Walmart parking lot and crawled onto the bunk.  The most interesting part of the drive was going under the Chesapeak Bay in a tunnel.  There is a major naval base some where close to here.  There are naval aviators flying around here and it can get pretty loud.

We have put in a request for a new load.  So far nothing has been available.   So we will sit and wait.  The last 24 hours have been quite different than the last couple.of days. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.........I will write more later.

Beach Pics3

Beach Pics2

Beach Pics

Carolina Beach

The Carolina Beach is located in Wilmington, North Carolina. Driving in and around the beach area reminded me of where my sister and mother live in Panama City Beach, FL. The beach was beautiful. We went to two different beaches. Both of which we paid a fee so we could legally drive on the beach. Jason has a Lincoln Navigator the handled well in the sand. We each took turns driving. I had never driven in deep sand like that before. It reminded me of driving in heavy snow. There is one obvious difference between the two. If you take your foot of the accelerator or hit the brakes.....you stop immediately in the sand! It was an overcast day, so the temperature was great. Not too hot, but even though I hid under an umbrella the whole time, I still managed to get sunburned. We relaxed and took naps. Went into the surf. Barbequed some chicken, brats, pork and hotdogs....we weren't hungry on the ride home. All in all a spectacular day. I would highly recommend a day at the beach to relax, to anyone that is within a two hour drive of one.

I will start driving again this evening around 6:00PM. We have around 300 miles to cover by 3:00AM tomorrow. We should make it with a couple of hours to spare. I will write more about Virginia City Beach after we get there. That's all for now,,,,,

Pictures

Heading to the beach

I only drove for six hours yesterday.  Our load can't be delivered until 3:00am on Monday morning. Rather than getting there today and hanging out there in the truck, we ended up going to Jasons home, since it is not that far out of the way.  Jason lives in North Carolina. We are currently on our way to the.beach.  The beach is only an hour or so away.

I drove through Georgia and South Carolina yesterday.  I got to see some Spanish Moss on the trees.  There doesn't
seem to be as much on the tree's as i remeber from when we used to drive as a kid, back and forth fron Chicaco.  We traveled north on I95 yesterday.  The highwwys look different in this part of the country.  There are lots and lots or trees on both sides of the road.  There are even lots of trees in the median!

I have included a picture of the highways.  I also took a picture of an attraction called "South of the Border".  This has to be one of the most unusual and unique places I have ever seen.  The place is huge! There are places to eat, games, fireworks store, demolition derby,  you name it and it is probably there...... I took a picture of it as we were driving past it.  There is a giant sombrero.   I think it is covering a water tank.

__

I am writing this from the back seat of Jason's car.  Jason and his wife, Serenade are taking me to the "Carolina Beach" today.  I will take some pictures and post them later.......

Got our marching orders

We just received a message giving us the opportunity to pick up a load in Jacksonville and deliver it to Virginian Beach.  We accepted the load and will be on our way soon.  I had to include a picture of at least one Palm Tree, just to prove I had been in Florida......

Hello from Florida

We covered many states yesterday.  We started in Kentucky and dropped our load in Florida. It's hard to recall all that I saw pass by the window.

I would say that my geography knowledge of this country is poor at best.  It is certainly going to get a lot better.  I never realized that western New York and northeastern Pennsylvania had so many hills.  They call them hills there, in Missouri we would call them mountains!  Everything was so green and the weather was perfect.  High of 83 and lows on the mod to low 60's. 

West Virginia, western Maryland and Virginian all have those same "hills".  Up and down the hills all day.long.  Some of the grades exceeded 9%.  That is steeeeeep!  The thing I will remember the most is how tall the bridges are off the ground.  Rather than bringing the road down the hill, they would build a bridge from peak to peak.  Long way down when you look.  Kentucky is also very green. Lots of agriculture. I did see a couple of fields full of some type of crop I hadn't seen before. It took a moment before I realized that I was looking at a field of tabacco.  We did driveb past a couple of whisky distilleries.  No time to stop and sample.......too bad.

Going through Tennessee we had to drive through Nashville and Chatanooga.  In Nashville I recognized the Tennessee Titans stadium, Opryland and a building that had an ATT&T logo on it.  It looked like it belonged in the movie "Ghost Busters".  It looked like the tallest building in the downtown area.  It has two huge spires or antenna on the top.  Kinda Gothic looking.  As soon as you head south out of Nashville the signs start "see Rock City" and come see "Ruby Falls".  Occasionally there would be the obligatory "come see Lookout Mountain".  Just north of Chattanooga the mountains begin.  Very curvy highways with lots is steep grades.  Here they have the run away truck ramps. I hope to never have to use one.  With the advances in the truck technology,  you would really have to screw up to have to use them. There is another sight to see in Chattanooga. The Tennessee aquarium is located there.

Heading south out of Chatanooga you run right into Georgia. It is less hilly there.  We got to Atlanta around 9:00pm.  You wouldn't believe how much traffic there was!  My mentor Jason tells me that we were lucky to go through in the evening. During the day it is much worse. Since it was dark, the thing that caught my attention was how many and how tall the billboards were there.  I thought Missouri was bad with the sight pollution,  but it isn't anthing close to what I saw in Georgia.

The rest of the drive was mostly two lane country highways all the way into Florida.  All in all another long day ...but just look at what I got to see.....

I'll write more later.......Tom

Sorry no pictures today

It was a long day today.  I logged 10.75 hours behind the wheel today.  We started the day driving to York, PA.  We picked up a load going to the Walmart distribution center in London, KY.  I believe it was 586 miles or something like that.  While I am in the truck with a trainer I get paid a flat rate per week.  After I get my own truck I will be paid by the mile.  For now my trainer and I are concentrating on getting me up to 50 hours of driving time.  Until I log the 50 hours, my Mentor has to sit in the passenger seat while I drive.  The quicker I get there, the quicker he can go into the sleeper and get some rest while I drive.  If he is well rested, he can drive up to 11 hours and then I can drive 11 hours.   We can get better, longer loads to haul.  I get more experience and he can make more money.

It is now 12:30 am and I am waiting to do some laundry.  I just ate a meatball sub from Subway.  I am looking forward to.crawling into my bunk.  As soon as the laundry is done, I will be too.

We don't have a load as of now, but will in the morning when we get up.  OK, time for laundry and then off to bed.

Oh yea, I forgot o mention that I am in a truckstop that is very close to the Cumberline Gap.  It is also the birthplace of Colonel Sanders of the Kentucky Fried Chicken fame.

In PA and on our way to York, PA

We just dropped a load near Allentown, PA and will be heading back to York,PA tomorrow to pick another one.  This load is scheduled to be delivered in London, Kentucky.

The pictures are the truck I am driving and the view from the truckstop we stayed at last night.
I will write more later........Tom

Driving in New York is beautiful

If I have done this correctly, you should be seeing three different pictures at the beginning of this post.  I have been teaching myself how to create posts just using my smart phone. 
The first picture should be of Jason, my Mentor (Trainer) standing next to his tractor.  He is an owner operator so this vehicle is his baby.  He has had it for only a few months.  The next two pictures were taken while running down the interstate.  The pictures don't  come close to the beauty you see in this part of the country while running down the road.
Yesterday we delivered our load to Ononeta, NY.  We were able to get dispatched on another load that picks up in Boonsville, NY and delivers to a small town in southern, PA.
So far, I have enjoyed this endeavour thoroughly.  I will write more later.......Tom

First day on the road

My first day on the road was long.  It spanned two days and covered many states.  My first load is scheduled to be delivered to New York state.  My Mentor ( Jason Turpin ) and I drove 20 hours yesterday between the two of us. I ended up driving through most of Ohio, all of Pennsylvania and into New York.  We still have another 140 miles to go before we drop this load.
The state of New York is beautiful.  Lots of very green mountains. I will get to see more later this morning when we get underway.  I had lots of fun yesterday driving.  It has been a long time since I have been able to say that when I have been working.
OK......I have been in the bunk for almost seven hours now.  Time to.get up and moving to see what the day will bring.  I'll write more later.......

Tom

My first day as a Swift driver

Today started out nicely.  We didn't have to report to the terminal until 9:00am.  I spent most of the morning waiting to hear if I had been matched up with a Mentor (trainer).  There were four other people from our orientation class in the same situation.  We were able to get some of the online courses completed.  I was even able to set up my direct deposit. 

Lunch came and went and still mo match up with a mentor.......

2:30pm......I have been matched!  His name is Jason and he is based out of South Carolina.  He is on his way to drop a load in Ottowa, KS and then will be coming to the Edwardsville, KS terminal.  He tells me that he will get here sometime between three o'clock and four o'clock tomorrow morning.  So, I went ahead and got a "bunk room" here at the terminal.  I am going to try to get some sleep in anticipation of the early morning departure.

So the Big Adventure is finally about to begin in earnest...... I will post again whenever time and sleep permit.....

That's all for now.....Tom

Orientation - Day Three

Today started early.  We had to pack our bags and check out of the hotel.  Today we were scheduled to complete our orientation.  We met the safety Manager for the terminal.  We met the Terminal manager.  We received some additional instruction on how to keep the vehicle running by doing some minor repairs on our own. If we are unable to do the repairs by ourselves, we then have to contact the company.  The company then has to contact an outside repair firm and have them come to the truck to make the repair.  This all takes time.  We might have to wait up to four hours until the repair truck arrives.  Since we only have so much time to drive during each day, losing this time means loosing money.  If the truck isn't moving, we aren't making any money.   We get paid by the mile. 

We also spent time going over the Qualcom system.  The Qualcom system is a computerized communication system that is installed on every Swift vehicle.  This is how the company knows where we are.  It is how we let them know that we have delivered our loads.  This is how we receive our instructions on the next load to pick up.  The company is also upgrading the system, so we will be doing all our  logging electronically.

All in all it was another busy, busy day.  During the course of the day, someone would come into the room and announce that this driver or that driver had been officially hired and would receive their drivers code.  It was very tense for the drivers whose name wasn't called.  They were sitting there trying to concentrate on the information being presented to them while still wanting to find out that they had been hired.  By the end of the day, many of us still hadn't received their driver codes.  I was lucky.  I didn't have to wait all that long until my name was called.  They were able to match many of us with a trainer and we were told when they would be meeting with them.  Unfortunately I haven't been matched with a trainer as of yet.  I was told that I should know who my trainer will be sometime tomorrow or Friday.

My room mate Linzie got his driver code and was told the name of his trainer.  He doesn't know when he is supposed to meet up with him as of yet.  So Linzie and I are at the hotel again tonight.  Hopefully we will both be with our trainers soon.

That's all for today.....Tom

Orientation - Day Two

Another fun filled day at the Swift Terminal in Edwardsville, KS.  If Swift wanted to drill home just one thing during this orientation it would have to be compliance.  As the driver of a fully loaded 80,000 lb "Lethal Weapon" I have to be responsible for not only my safety, but the safety of the general public that I come into contact with during my travels.  Since this is such a great responsibility, the federal government (the Department of Transportation) has come up with some very stringent rules and guidelines that I have to learn and follow.

We were treated to some very scary statistics in regard to accidents and when they happen.  Most of the accidents that involved Tractor Trailers happened between the hours of Midnight and 6:00AM.   Most of these accidents are caused by some type of driver fatigue.  We spent several hours today going over how we can stay in compliance with these rules.  The rules have been put into place for our safety.  They also protect the driver from becoming a liability to themselves and the public traveling on the roads with them.

I have been given a federal license to drive a commercial vehicle.  If I don't follow the rules that go along with that license, I will be in violation of federal law.  Federal law violations result in federal prison time.

So here are some of the rules:

CDL holders have three key limits when it comes to time spent driving and working.  They are only allowed to drive 11 hours in one single 24 hour period.  They are only allowed to be on duty, driving and not driving for 14 hours during one 24 hour period.  They are only allowed to be on duty, driving and not driving for no more than 70 hours in an eight day period.  In order to reset the 14 hour clock, we have to spend ten consecutive hours off duty or in the sleeping bunk of the trailer.

We are required to keep a log of our time and how it is being spent.  We have to account for every minute of every day.  We have to log this time in four different categories.  1.) Off Duty  2.) Sleeping in the sleeper berth of our tractor  3.)  Driving  4.) On Duty not Driving   We have to account for our time not only on the days we are working, but also on the days we are not working.  We can and will have these logs audited at any time.  If we are found not to be in compliance with proper logging, we can be ticketed.  The fines associated with the tickets are not the companies responsibility, they are the drivers to pay.

One example of how to spend the day driving and stay in compliance would be to start your day driving at 6:00am.  Drive for four hours until 10:00am.  Go off duty for one hour.  Have something to eat.  Let your tires cool down.  Then start to drive again at 11:00am for four hours until 3:00pm.  Go off duty for two hours.  Eat some more food, go for a walk, get some other type of exercise. Start to drive again at 5:00pm for three hours.  Stop driving at 8:00pm. Go off duty for one hour. Relax, read a book, catch up on email.  Crawl into the sleeping bunk at 10:00pm for eight hours until 6:00am.  Stay off duty for another hour, eat breakfast get ready for the day.  Start the next day of driving at 7:00am.

All in all, I am glad that I ended up with Swift.  They are one of the largest training fleets in the country.  This is a good situation for someone like me.  New to the industry.  I am glad that I will have all the resources of the company to rely on while I am learning.

Thats all for now........Tom

Orientation Day One

The Swift Transportation company definitely has done this orientation thing more than once.  It is a process that must be followed in order to get their new drivers on the road safely.  The day starts with another DOT (Department of Transportation) physical.  I am still here, so I must have passed.  After the physical is completed we got to watch videos for the rest of the morning.  The main thrust of the information is make sure that the drivers are safe and courteous on the roads while representing the company.

The company bought our lunch.  Then back to the classroom for paperwork and lots and lots of informational handouts and manuals.  I expect that we will be going over all the manuals and handouts tomorrow and Wednesday.  The most difficult thing about the day was trying to stay warm.  The AC was turned down to combat the heat we have been having lately.  Today the high was only in the 80's.  It took all day for the AC units to react.  It finally warmed up a little later in the afternoon.

This is the first evening in about a month that I haven't had to do some type of homework or study for a test.  Nice to just kick back and rest.

I will see what the day brings tomorrow.....until then.........Tom

The "quick" bus ride to K.C.

I wasn't looking forward to today's trip.  The bus ride was supposed to be an "Express" from St. Louis to Kansas city.  I was scheduled to  leave St. Louis at 7:40AM and arrive around noon.  So much for the best laid plans.  Greyhound oversold the first bus.  We didn't get on that one, but not to worry....the next bus would come in from Indianapolis around 11:30AM and then we would be on our way..........11:30AM came and went....They announced that it should be in and out again by 1:00PM.  1:00PM came and went........  We finally got on the bus at 2:00PM.......One stop in Columbia, MO to drop off one passenger and then off to Kansas City.   I finally got checked into the hotel at 8:00PM......


You can really see a vast cross section of humanity while sitting in a bus terminal for six hours.  Many different languages, and cultures.   The best part of my day was when Shannon came to rescue me from the bus terminal.  She treated me to Sunday Brunch at Mocabees.  Shannon is a regular there. The food was excellent.  The company was even better.

I get to spend the next three days in orientation.  The Swift terminal I will be reporting to is in Edwardsville, KS.  I will  have a roommate for the next three days.  His name is Linzie and he is from Hazelwood, MO. He is a very likable guy and has had some trucking experience previously.  It will be good to have someone who has been around the block before to learn from.  We will start our day with another DOT physical.  Then we will get to learn more about Swift Transportation. Starting Thursday I should be hitting the road with my trainer.   Lots to learn and lots to look forward to.

I survived the trip on the bus.  We will see how the next few days work out.