Snow-fuddled
I'm looking through my log book to figure out the sequence of events since my last blog. You see, everything at this point is running together in a snowy brain fog. I've been though quite a bit the past few days... or has it been weeks?
Ahh yes...now I can remember better. Thank goodness for good log keeping!
I was last blogging my heart away in Johnstown, NY where I was breaking for the night among a little snow squall. The following morning I took my empty trailer to Ft. Edward, NY where I picked up a load of scrap paper bound for Montreal, PQ. (Quebec Canada) Of course, it wasn't as easy as it sounds. No way! Why should it be?!
I arrived at what I was told was the shipper at the appropriate time and went to check in with the main office. Only to receive looks of complete dumboundedness at the fact that someone was at their facility to pick up a load. They weren't sending out any loads that day! Sheesh!
After much ado and sitting on hold with my company for what seemed like hours (but was really more like 45 minutes) the conclusion was made that I was at the wrong shipper by the companies admitted error.
UM DUH!
They figure out where I was really supposed to be, which thankfully turned out to be just a few minutes from where I was, and the nice lady that I had been dealing with at the shipper-that-wasn't-correct drove ahead of me to show me the way to the right place. It was very tight and very scary and had I had to do it on my own I'd have probably cried the whole way. haha
But I digress...
I made it to the right place and after a little more ado I got docked and loaded. I even learned how to take care of inbound Canadian shipment paperwork, as most shippers do this sort of thing, but this one didn't. I like learning new things! I've learned lots of new things lately!
Anywho.
I got loaded and got rollin' towards Montreal. I took I-87 north through the Adairondak Mountains which was completely breathtaking and ended up landing in a little town called Lewis, NY for the night. At a truck stop, and I kid you not.... called "Betty Beavers". Complete with a busty female beaver dressed in the American flag as its logo.
It was a dump to say the least. They wanted to charge me $10 for a shower room that was abhorrent at best. Not to mention that I think the night clerk wanted to cut open my head and eat my brains. I could have been imagining that part but it was a pretty shady place nonetheless. But I slept and awoke and got coffee and left. That was the extent of my relationship with Betty Beaver, thankfully.
That morning it was on the road again towards Canada.
But of course not before a little run-in with the law.
Yup. I had my first DOT inspection that day. A DOT inspection station had been set up in a rest area along the interstate that day, oh my lucky day! I was flagged into a parking spot by a rather handsome NY State Trooper and was asked to perform a series of tasks with my truck: signals, horn, brakes, license and registration and logbook.
I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect. No one warned me about these things. I knew they existed but never thought it would happen to me! haha Famous last words, right? But honestly it wasn't that big of a deal for me. Sure, I was sweating a little because I was afraid they'd run my license and there would be some insane warrant out for my arrest over parking tickets or something like that. But in the end, I was shuffled off with only one truck violation, not a ticket with a fine, but what I learned is called a "fix-it ticket".
There was an issue with the electrical wiring on my trailer that had to be fixed before I could cross the border. So I called Schnedier and they found a place for me to get it taken care of.
Which of course took entirely too long, as I had to drive nearly 60 miles in the wrong direction (away from the border) to get it taken care of. But that's what happens. I did eventually make it into Canada that evening and all was well with the world.
It snowed that night also. About 2 inches. It was a nice snow though. I didn't mind at all. And the truck stop I stayed at was nice enough, and the gals that were working there that evening let me take a shower for half price! It pays to be female!
Finally in Canada and well rested I woke up rearing and ready to go on the 12th of December ready to take on Montreal and deliver my load. I made pretty good time thanks to the well prepared Canadian's and their well manicured roads. I got a little lost and a little scared during a frightful snow squall which made me miss my exit and drive about 20 miles in the wrong direction. But I found my way after taking a deep breath and calming down and looking at a stinkin' map!
I made my way to the consignee and arrived only 25 minutes late for my appointment. Of course, upon my arrival I learned that it was first come first serve, appointment times are only a "suggested" time of arrival. There were at least 13 trucks ahead of me, two docks which were being utilized to unload the trucks, and it was taking approximately 45 minutes to an hour to unload each truck. I was in for a LOOONG wait. And wait I did... 5 and a half hours. It was dreadfully cold, there was no bathroom around, and did I mention that it was cold?
But I did finally get unloaded and was on my way to pick up my next load just a few miles away.
I found that place with much greater ease, no getting lost that time! I arrived ahead of schedule and they graciously took me in right away and started loading my truck. They let me come inside and 'watch' and stay warm. I'm telling you, I've never been in such a frigid climate before in my life. Staying warm was a stretch though, it was probably only about 40 degrees in the building. But it sure beat the -6 degrees that it was outside.
By the way, I decided that Canada is Hell frozen over in the winter time. haha
Anywho, I was loaded in about an hour and on my way to make it as far as I could to the border. I was going to be crossing at a different location than where I had crossed into Canada the day before. I made it a fair ways into the journey when I started to get fatigued and needed to find a place to stop. I found a very nice truck stop in Summerstown, Ontario and shut down for the night there.
I woke up to a truck that didn't want to start. It didn't like the -18 degree temperatures that's for sure. And I didn't either. But I got'r going after a little manipulation and after letting the truck warm up for about 20 minutes I was on my way back to the good ol' US of A.
I crossed the border at 1000 Islands, aka Alexandria Bay, NY. It's so beautiful there. I'd crossed in and out of Canada there before, on my last trip back in October. And it's just as beautiful snow covered as it was in full fall technicolor. And boy oh boy, I was so happy to be back in the states! The sun was shining, and I swear it was shining just for me. :o)
So I drive on, like the good driver that I am. Anxious to get to Carlisle, PA for my required 10 hour break. Things were going really well until about Syracuse. Then the sun went away and the snow and wind came. It was just nuts the crap I had to drive through today. Thick slushy roads, slippery as hell, but thankfully people in the state of NY know how to drive in that stuff. If I'd been in Ohio or West Virginia or Kentucky... I'd probably had seen at least 15 idiots in the median with tell-tale skid marks in the snow and at least 5 tractor trailers jackknifed along and/or blocking the highway.
Today I only saw 1 car that had freaked out and skidded into the median and I never actually saw a tractor trailer jackknifed, although apparently two collided together in PA on I-81 just north of Scranton long before I drove through. So honestly... not too bad of a day. It was a little stressful, but if you can drive with a brain and some common sense you can survive it just like I did.
I did make it to Carlisle, which is where I am bloggin' from at the moment. I have the pleasure of leaving out of here tomorrow to head to Mount Crawford, Virginia to deliver my load. Which reminds me that I need to see if I can deliver it earlier than scheduled so I don't have to search for a truck stop in the dark.
So there you have it, more schtuff in the life of Gi-Gi the Driver. Here's to hopin' winter ends early! haha
Ahh yes...now I can remember better. Thank goodness for good log keeping!
I was last blogging my heart away in Johnstown, NY where I was breaking for the night among a little snow squall. The following morning I took my empty trailer to Ft. Edward, NY where I picked up a load of scrap paper bound for Montreal, PQ. (Quebec Canada) Of course, it wasn't as easy as it sounds. No way! Why should it be?!
I arrived at what I was told was the shipper at the appropriate time and went to check in with the main office. Only to receive looks of complete dumboundedness at the fact that someone was at their facility to pick up a load. They weren't sending out any loads that day! Sheesh!
After much ado and sitting on hold with my company for what seemed like hours (but was really more like 45 minutes) the conclusion was made that I was at the wrong shipper by the companies admitted error.
UM DUH!
They figure out where I was really supposed to be, which thankfully turned out to be just a few minutes from where I was, and the nice lady that I had been dealing with at the shipper-that-wasn't-correct drove ahead of me to show me the way to the right place. It was very tight and very scary and had I had to do it on my own I'd have probably cried the whole way. haha
But I digress...
I made it to the right place and after a little more ado I got docked and loaded. I even learned how to take care of inbound Canadian shipment paperwork, as most shippers do this sort of thing, but this one didn't. I like learning new things! I've learned lots of new things lately!
Anywho.
I got loaded and got rollin' towards Montreal. I took I-87 north through the Adairondak Mountains which was completely breathtaking and ended up landing in a little town called Lewis, NY for the night. At a truck stop, and I kid you not.... called "Betty Beavers". Complete with a busty female beaver dressed in the American flag as its logo.
It was a dump to say the least. They wanted to charge me $10 for a shower room that was abhorrent at best. Not to mention that I think the night clerk wanted to cut open my head and eat my brains. I could have been imagining that part but it was a pretty shady place nonetheless. But I slept and awoke and got coffee and left. That was the extent of my relationship with Betty Beaver, thankfully.
That morning it was on the road again towards Canada.
But of course not before a little run-in with the law.
Yup. I had my first DOT inspection that day. A DOT inspection station had been set up in a rest area along the interstate that day, oh my lucky day! I was flagged into a parking spot by a rather handsome NY State Trooper and was asked to perform a series of tasks with my truck: signals, horn, brakes, license and registration and logbook.
I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect. No one warned me about these things. I knew they existed but never thought it would happen to me! haha Famous last words, right? But honestly it wasn't that big of a deal for me. Sure, I was sweating a little because I was afraid they'd run my license and there would be some insane warrant out for my arrest over parking tickets or something like that. But in the end, I was shuffled off with only one truck violation, not a ticket with a fine, but what I learned is called a "fix-it ticket".
There was an issue with the electrical wiring on my trailer that had to be fixed before I could cross the border. So I called Schnedier and they found a place for me to get it taken care of.
Which of course took entirely too long, as I had to drive nearly 60 miles in the wrong direction (away from the border) to get it taken care of. But that's what happens. I did eventually make it into Canada that evening and all was well with the world.
It snowed that night also. About 2 inches. It was a nice snow though. I didn't mind at all. And the truck stop I stayed at was nice enough, and the gals that were working there that evening let me take a shower for half price! It pays to be female!
Finally in Canada and well rested I woke up rearing and ready to go on the 12th of December ready to take on Montreal and deliver my load. I made pretty good time thanks to the well prepared Canadian's and their well manicured roads. I got a little lost and a little scared during a frightful snow squall which made me miss my exit and drive about 20 miles in the wrong direction. But I found my way after taking a deep breath and calming down and looking at a stinkin' map!
I made my way to the consignee and arrived only 25 minutes late for my appointment. Of course, upon my arrival I learned that it was first come first serve, appointment times are only a "suggested" time of arrival. There were at least 13 trucks ahead of me, two docks which were being utilized to unload the trucks, and it was taking approximately 45 minutes to an hour to unload each truck. I was in for a LOOONG wait. And wait I did... 5 and a half hours. It was dreadfully cold, there was no bathroom around, and did I mention that it was cold?
But I did finally get unloaded and was on my way to pick up my next load just a few miles away.
I found that place with much greater ease, no getting lost that time! I arrived ahead of schedule and they graciously took me in right away and started loading my truck. They let me come inside and 'watch' and stay warm. I'm telling you, I've never been in such a frigid climate before in my life. Staying warm was a stretch though, it was probably only about 40 degrees in the building. But it sure beat the -6 degrees that it was outside.
By the way, I decided that Canada is Hell frozen over in the winter time. haha
Anywho, I was loaded in about an hour and on my way to make it as far as I could to the border. I was going to be crossing at a different location than where I had crossed into Canada the day before. I made it a fair ways into the journey when I started to get fatigued and needed to find a place to stop. I found a very nice truck stop in Summerstown, Ontario and shut down for the night there.
I woke up to a truck that didn't want to start. It didn't like the -18 degree temperatures that's for sure. And I didn't either. But I got'r going after a little manipulation and after letting the truck warm up for about 20 minutes I was on my way back to the good ol' US of A.
I crossed the border at 1000 Islands, aka Alexandria Bay, NY. It's so beautiful there. I'd crossed in and out of Canada there before, on my last trip back in October. And it's just as beautiful snow covered as it was in full fall technicolor. And boy oh boy, I was so happy to be back in the states! The sun was shining, and I swear it was shining just for me. :o)
So I drive on, like the good driver that I am. Anxious to get to Carlisle, PA for my required 10 hour break. Things were going really well until about Syracuse. Then the sun went away and the snow and wind came. It was just nuts the crap I had to drive through today. Thick slushy roads, slippery as hell, but thankfully people in the state of NY know how to drive in that stuff. If I'd been in Ohio or West Virginia or Kentucky... I'd probably had seen at least 15 idiots in the median with tell-tale skid marks in the snow and at least 5 tractor trailers jackknifed along and/or blocking the highway.
Today I only saw 1 car that had freaked out and skidded into the median and I never actually saw a tractor trailer jackknifed, although apparently two collided together in PA on I-81 just north of Scranton long before I drove through. So honestly... not too bad of a day. It was a little stressful, but if you can drive with a brain and some common sense you can survive it just like I did.
I did make it to Carlisle, which is where I am bloggin' from at the moment. I have the pleasure of leaving out of here tomorrow to head to Mount Crawford, Virginia to deliver my load. Which reminds me that I need to see if I can deliver it earlier than scheduled so I don't have to search for a truck stop in the dark.
So there you have it, more schtuff in the life of Gi-Gi the Driver. Here's to hopin' winter ends early! haha
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