Better Late Than Never....
I forgot how much I loathe the state of Texas. And honestly, I'm adding Louisana to the list too. People there were so friggin rude! Sheesh, whatever happened to southern hospitality? Or does that cease once you cross the Mississippi border into Louisana?
Let's just say I've had a tough day. It started off with the cashier at the Petro I stayed at last night being just downright RUDE while processing my purchase of coffee. Then, I get on the road and get close to Baton Rouge where I-10 takes a detour for whatever reason. I start on the detour route and turned on the FM radio to look for some tunes to get my day going better and shit if the National Weather Alert system wasn't fogging up the airwaves.
Yep! Severe thunderstorm warnings for most of my Louisana drive... including possible Tornados. Frick... frick.... frick.
Ok... so I am following the detour along with all the other traffic and the rain starts. Just a light sprinkle at first... then a full blown freak storm with wind, rain, lightening...the works. And apparently people in Louisana are not only rude, but they're also afraid of driving in rain. So traffic nearly stopped...everyone afraid to go more than 20 mph. WTF... hello!!!?!?!?!
I made it through without more than a little frustration, safe and sound back on I-10. Only to realize after passing two exits that my designated fuel stop was back on I-10 somewhere in the midst of whatever caused the detour in the first place. Frick.
So I pull out my handy dandy fuel map and my pocket truck stop guide and start looking for the next possible fuel stop where I might be able to purchase fuel for my truck who was now dying of thirst. I found a listing for Pilot station in Sulpher, LA and figured that was gonna be my best bet.
Of course, I should've known I was gonna be wrong. I pull in and go into prepay with my company card only to find out that this is not an approved Pilot fuel stop. A rarity actually. I was frustrated. Not able to really travel very much futher on the fumes that were left in my fuel tanks I got on the phone to my company.
After sitting on hold waiting for someone to assist me for nearly 45 minutes I finally get this guy who puts me on hold for another 15 minutes only to tell me he can't approve my card for that location but that I could use a ComCheck. Which, by the way, comes out of my paycheck and is then reimbursed at a later date.
So we agreed on a price that I was to not exceed for fuel and I get the check processed by the cashier and pump my fuel. I am then on my merry way.
Since I was only allowed to get a set amount of fuel, I still had to stop on down the road for additional fuel to fill up my tanks. By the time I made it to Baytown, TX where the next approved fuel stop was my idiot light was flashing and my computer screen on the dash was flashing "Warning Low Fuel". Thank goodness I made it! I filled up and was off yet again.
I didn't make it nearly as far as I'd hoped to have made it today. I would've made it further south in TX if it hadn't been for the detour for the whole I-10 thing back in Louisana. That took me nearly 80 miles out of the way. But what can ya do? Nada.
So I am breaking at a TA here in Ganada, TX and will get up in the morning to drive the rest of the way to Pharr, TX. I think I've got about 5.5 hours of driving yet to do. Maybe six. I'm just hoping that this place I'm going to is easy to find, easy to navigate through and that I get an empty and a return ticket to West Virginia ASAP. I'll probably be in TX for at least two more days... then I swear I'll go all postal cowgirl on someone.... haha
Anywho... I'm beat and hungry. Gonna get grubbage and then rest. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow I just know it! Toodles for now folks...
Let's just say I've had a tough day. It started off with the cashier at the Petro I stayed at last night being just downright RUDE while processing my purchase of coffee. Then, I get on the road and get close to Baton Rouge where I-10 takes a detour for whatever reason. I start on the detour route and turned on the FM radio to look for some tunes to get my day going better and shit if the National Weather Alert system wasn't fogging up the airwaves.
Yep! Severe thunderstorm warnings for most of my Louisana drive... including possible Tornados. Frick... frick.... frick.
Ok... so I am following the detour along with all the other traffic and the rain starts. Just a light sprinkle at first... then a full blown freak storm with wind, rain, lightening...the works. And apparently people in Louisana are not only rude, but they're also afraid of driving in rain. So traffic nearly stopped...everyone afraid to go more than 20 mph. WTF... hello!!!?!?!?!
I made it through without more than a little frustration, safe and sound back on I-10. Only to realize after passing two exits that my designated fuel stop was back on I-10 somewhere in the midst of whatever caused the detour in the first place. Frick.
So I pull out my handy dandy fuel map and my pocket truck stop guide and start looking for the next possible fuel stop where I might be able to purchase fuel for my truck who was now dying of thirst. I found a listing for Pilot station in Sulpher, LA and figured that was gonna be my best bet.
Of course, I should've known I was gonna be wrong. I pull in and go into prepay with my company card only to find out that this is not an approved Pilot fuel stop. A rarity actually. I was frustrated. Not able to really travel very much futher on the fumes that were left in my fuel tanks I got on the phone to my company.
After sitting on hold waiting for someone to assist me for nearly 45 minutes I finally get this guy who puts me on hold for another 15 minutes only to tell me he can't approve my card for that location but that I could use a ComCheck. Which, by the way, comes out of my paycheck and is then reimbursed at a later date.
So we agreed on a price that I was to not exceed for fuel and I get the check processed by the cashier and pump my fuel. I am then on my merry way.
Since I was only allowed to get a set amount of fuel, I still had to stop on down the road for additional fuel to fill up my tanks. By the time I made it to Baytown, TX where the next approved fuel stop was my idiot light was flashing and my computer screen on the dash was flashing "Warning Low Fuel". Thank goodness I made it! I filled up and was off yet again.
I didn't make it nearly as far as I'd hoped to have made it today. I would've made it further south in TX if it hadn't been for the detour for the whole I-10 thing back in Louisana. That took me nearly 80 miles out of the way. But what can ya do? Nada.
So I am breaking at a TA here in Ganada, TX and will get up in the morning to drive the rest of the way to Pharr, TX. I think I've got about 5.5 hours of driving yet to do. Maybe six. I'm just hoping that this place I'm going to is easy to find, easy to navigate through and that I get an empty and a return ticket to West Virginia ASAP. I'll probably be in TX for at least two more days... then I swear I'll go all postal cowgirl on someone.... haha
Anywho... I'm beat and hungry. Gonna get grubbage and then rest. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow I just know it! Toodles for now folks...
Comments
Did you stay at the Hammond, LA Petro? If so, you could have fueled at the Pilot across the street. I've fueled there a few times without a problem. Have a good trip!