Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Adventure Continues
When we last met, our mild mannered Jill Adkins, (also known as M A R I N E T R U C K E R.....) was telling all of you a little about her travels in this here United States of America. Now, Marine Trucker has moved on, finding herself in the very popular city of West Memphis, AR. HUH?
Yep, I am here in West Memphis. Arrived yesterday afternoon after a very pretty drive from Dover. The sun was bright and most of the way was light traffic. Seems like I-40 near Memphis is always under repair. Guess that is good. Anyway, I arrived here and was given the keys to my new truck. It is actually older than my first truck. But it is nicer. It has very nice upholstery, simulated wood dashboard, and the cupboards have doors on them. My last truck did not have doors. It also has an upper bunk and I am going to look into having that taken out and a shelf put in whenever I get back to Joplin. My radio is not able to get XM, so I want to get that fixed, too. My radio provides great company. If I had arrived a day earlier I would have been one of several drivers sent up to Joplin. But, alas, did not get here for that. One day I will get back up to Joplin to get some work done on my truck.
It took me quite awhile to get all my stuff into the truck. I was not able to park my car next to the truck, so had to walk back and forth from car to truck. I also had to climb in and out of the truck many times. I am not complaining, though. It was good exercise. The weather was warm and dry. Very nice. And, even though I miss my Millie, I am glad she stayed home so she did not have to deal with all the moving of stuff.
After I got my truck all squared away I went to dispatch and was put on the board. My number at the time was 9. This morning I have moved up to 5. It does not look like there is much going on around here, so I am not sure I will get a load today or not. When my number does come up I will be given a few choices and where I would like to take a load. The only time we get a choice is when we are at a terminal. Otherwise our fleet manager, located in Joplin, looks for and finds our next load and tells us where we are going next. It is nice to get a choice once in awhile.
Well, after getting on the board I was free to do what I wanted. So, I drove my car over to Walmart. I do not have an inverter in my truck yet, and won't have one until I can get up to Joplin. So, I was looking for some items I could eat that do not need to be refrigerated or cooked. I also needed to get a pillow and pillow cases because with all the stuff I brought with me I had forgotten to bring a pillow. Oh well. Finished shopping, and came back to the terminal. One of the problems with not having an inverter is I cannot use my computer much because the battery does not last very long, and I am not able to recharge it in very many places. That was a big concern. So, I talked with a couple drivers and asked about the inverters that plug into a cigarette lighter. Sure enough, those type inverters are powerful enough to run a laptop. So, I headed back to Walmart. They had the inverter I wanted and now I am able to use my computer in the truck. I am pretty dependent on my computer because it is a huge help in my trip planning. My atlas will give me the big picture, but not much of how a town looks. The truckers of the past had a lot of different town maps in their trucks. Don't have to do that with a computer. I am blessed to have this laptop.
One thing that was difficult yesterday when I got here was this sensation of needing to call Rich. Whenever I arrived at a destination, or stopped for the night, I would call Rich to let him know where I was and would get to talk to him for awhile. I don't think I have missed him more than I did yesterday. Life is strange not having him here to talk to. But, I made up for it by calling my Mom and talking to her for awhile, then talked to my trucking buddies, Tim and Flo Bennett. I met them in Laredo way back in August or September. We have become pretty good friends and we get to see each other every now and then. Tim is the driver. His wife, Flo, rides along. That works out real nice for them. A few months ago we were in Laredo together and both of us got loads to take up near Dallas. So I followed them up I-35. We got just north of Waco and stopped for the night. I was invited over to their rig for a pot roast dinner. Flo had that going in their crock pot while we were driving. That pot roast and vegetables tasted so good. I sat in the passenger seat and Flo sat in the back. Was a very nice party.
I went to bed about 10 last night and slept pretty well. It was a warm night, so had my windows down some. Got up around 6 this morning. Came in to get a shower. That felt good. Then decided to go for a walk. I walked for about 30 minutes, walking around here at the terminal. Then started working on my truck. I washed the windows, checked the oil and fluids, made sure all the lights were working properly. Everything is good to go. I still need to check the air pressure on the tires. Nice thing to remember. Well, after that I tried out my new inverter and the computer works just fine with it. I had a lot of emails waiting for me to read. Took care of all of that. Then it was time to come into the terminal. I have my computer in here with me. I am able to use the wi-fi in here and not use my air card, saving my time. I need to be online to update my blog. And here I sit, with other drivers, watching a movie, talking a bit, and waiting for a load. I might decide to go out to breakfast. Why not?
It is nice having my car here. Otherwise if I wanted to go anywhere I would have to use my tractor. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is better not to have to do that. Parking is easier with my Jeep.
Well, family and friends, that is about all I have to report for now. Except that it is cloudy outside and there is a rumor we are in for some much cooler temps. Here I sit in shorts. LOL!!! You all take care and I will let you know where I will be going when I find out.
Blessings to all of you. Be safe out there.
Yep, I am here in West Memphis. Arrived yesterday afternoon after a very pretty drive from Dover. The sun was bright and most of the way was light traffic. Seems like I-40 near Memphis is always under repair. Guess that is good. Anyway, I arrived here and was given the keys to my new truck. It is actually older than my first truck. But it is nicer. It has very nice upholstery, simulated wood dashboard, and the cupboards have doors on them. My last truck did not have doors. It also has an upper bunk and I am going to look into having that taken out and a shelf put in whenever I get back to Joplin. My radio is not able to get XM, so I want to get that fixed, too. My radio provides great company. If I had arrived a day earlier I would have been one of several drivers sent up to Joplin. But, alas, did not get here for that. One day I will get back up to Joplin to get some work done on my truck.
It took me quite awhile to get all my stuff into the truck. I was not able to park my car next to the truck, so had to walk back and forth from car to truck. I also had to climb in and out of the truck many times. I am not complaining, though. It was good exercise. The weather was warm and dry. Very nice. And, even though I miss my Millie, I am glad she stayed home so she did not have to deal with all the moving of stuff.
After I got my truck all squared away I went to dispatch and was put on the board. My number at the time was 9. This morning I have moved up to 5. It does not look like there is much going on around here, so I am not sure I will get a load today or not. When my number does come up I will be given a few choices and where I would like to take a load. The only time we get a choice is when we are at a terminal. Otherwise our fleet manager, located in Joplin, looks for and finds our next load and tells us where we are going next. It is nice to get a choice once in awhile.
Well, after getting on the board I was free to do what I wanted. So, I drove my car over to Walmart. I do not have an inverter in my truck yet, and won't have one until I can get up to Joplin. So, I was looking for some items I could eat that do not need to be refrigerated or cooked. I also needed to get a pillow and pillow cases because with all the stuff I brought with me I had forgotten to bring a pillow. Oh well. Finished shopping, and came back to the terminal. One of the problems with not having an inverter is I cannot use my computer much because the battery does not last very long, and I am not able to recharge it in very many places. That was a big concern. So, I talked with a couple drivers and asked about the inverters that plug into a cigarette lighter. Sure enough, those type inverters are powerful enough to run a laptop. So, I headed back to Walmart. They had the inverter I wanted and now I am able to use my computer in the truck. I am pretty dependent on my computer because it is a huge help in my trip planning. My atlas will give me the big picture, but not much of how a town looks. The truckers of the past had a lot of different town maps in their trucks. Don't have to do that with a computer. I am blessed to have this laptop.
One thing that was difficult yesterday when I got here was this sensation of needing to call Rich. Whenever I arrived at a destination, or stopped for the night, I would call Rich to let him know where I was and would get to talk to him for awhile. I don't think I have missed him more than I did yesterday. Life is strange not having him here to talk to. But, I made up for it by calling my Mom and talking to her for awhile, then talked to my trucking buddies, Tim and Flo Bennett. I met them in Laredo way back in August or September. We have become pretty good friends and we get to see each other every now and then. Tim is the driver. His wife, Flo, rides along. That works out real nice for them. A few months ago we were in Laredo together and both of us got loads to take up near Dallas. So I followed them up I-35. We got just north of Waco and stopped for the night. I was invited over to their rig for a pot roast dinner. Flo had that going in their crock pot while we were driving. That pot roast and vegetables tasted so good. I sat in the passenger seat and Flo sat in the back. Was a very nice party.
I went to bed about 10 last night and slept pretty well. It was a warm night, so had my windows down some. Got up around 6 this morning. Came in to get a shower. That felt good. Then decided to go for a walk. I walked for about 30 minutes, walking around here at the terminal. Then started working on my truck. I washed the windows, checked the oil and fluids, made sure all the lights were working properly. Everything is good to go. I still need to check the air pressure on the tires. Nice thing to remember. Well, after that I tried out my new inverter and the computer works just fine with it. I had a lot of emails waiting for me to read. Took care of all of that. Then it was time to come into the terminal. I have my computer in here with me. I am able to use the wi-fi in here and not use my air card, saving my time. I need to be online to update my blog. And here I sit, with other drivers, watching a movie, talking a bit, and waiting for a load. I might decide to go out to breakfast. Why not?
It is nice having my car here. Otherwise if I wanted to go anywhere I would have to use my tractor. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is better not to have to do that. Parking is easier with my Jeep.
Well, family and friends, that is about all I have to report for now. Except that it is cloudy outside and there is a rumor we are in for some much cooler temps. Here I sit in shorts. LOL!!! You all take care and I will let you know where I will be going when I find out.
Blessings to all of you. Be safe out there.
# posted by Jill @ 9:15 AM 
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