Frozen Seafood & Taxes

Our next load we picked up in Newport News, VA.
(I just like the sound of that name... Newport News.)

At first I didn't want to take this load because there was going to be 6 stops... but it was going to get us home.... so we said OK. However, at the pick up and looking at the BOL (Bill of Lading) there turned out to be 7 stops. Three in the Salt Lake City area, three in the Las Vegas area, and the final in Riverside, CA. (Close enough to get us home.) So we took it.

We were routed from Virginia on the I-64, then across the I-80 through Nebraska and Wyoming, into Utah.

I don't much care for Virginia. Too many up/down - up/down of little to medium size hills, and hardly any truck stops. (We ended up stopping in a Mall that had a McDonalds in it.)

And we hit another Snow Storm in Wyoming. I stopped in Little America, WY because visibility was getting very poor. It was a good thing I did... because just 30 miles ahead.... they were requiring "Chains", for all of 9 miles. Mile marker 30 to 39. Also, the 511 road condition phone line said there was Black Ice on the road, so we stopped for the night. We would have been in Salt Lake City a day early, but because of this delay we ended up being 7 hours late.

I would still rather be safe than sorry.

It's better to get there, than be in a ditch.

But that meant that all of the stops had to be rescheduled. Bummer. And it meant getting home a day later, and missing seeing Desiree before she left. Double Bummer.

We finally made all the stops, and ended in Riverside, CA, when we get a message.
"Go to the Terminal in Rancho Cucamungo, and call the Safety Dept before you go home". Oh no. that doesn't sound good.
I messaged back... "Are we being fired?" Dispatch says: NO!!!
OK. Anything else can be fixed/corrected.

Come to find out... my name had been randomly chosen for a random drug screen test. Oh boy.
OK. Get it done, then head home. Finally!

We took 6 days off. It was more of a working vacation for me. Doctor visits, pharmacy med refills, eye doc appts, and three days of paperwork getting taxes done. But Finally - Done!!!
And we are getting a Refund!! First time in the last three years! yeah!!! This is our first tax year that we were in Trucking. At LCT, they pay part of our pay in "Per Diem" pay... we'll see how that plays out next year for taxes.???

Back on the Road 3/6/08. Took a Fedex load from Anaheim, CA to Orlando, FL in just under 3 days. (11pm on the 6th to 9pm on the 10th). I know some teams could have done it faster, but I am still having issues with not being able to sleep while the truck is moving, so we had to stop a couple of times for me to sleep a couple of hours every now and then.

Now... 3/10, we are at our yard in Okahumpka, FL for some minor repairs, then we are hoping to catch a load going out tomorrow. It is getting late... so, TTFN. Ta Ta For Now.

Good Night and God Bless,
Laurie