BBQ, Cool Truck Stops, and Night Driving
Yesterday was a long day. I nearly ran out of hours again. Ran tired and pressed for time—at night.
After pre-trip, we headed on our way. Raphine, VA was only two hours away. I decided not to eat breakfast so that I would be hungry for BBQ when we got there. On the way, a dump truck in front of us blew a tire. I maneuvered around the debris. A short while later I noticed the air tanks were not filling and then a low air warning alarm came on. I pulled the truck to the shoulder and we got out to investigate. Immediately we heard air leaking. My trainer was quick to find the issue. Apparently some debris from the blowout knocked open the air release valve on the air tank. My trainer closed the valve. Problem fixed. No other damage to the truck was found. This, combined with road construction, made our trip to Raphine take over 3 hours. I was beyond hungry and wishing I had eaten breakfast.
The BBQ was good. A little BBQ joint nestled inside a small truck stop. I had a Texas pulled pork sandwich with macaroni and cheese. We ate outside with views of mountains in the distance.
After lunch we walked across the street to a very large Petro truck stop. This truck stop had numerous restaurants, a gym, showers, and a mercantile that sold everything from truck accessories to cowboy boots and clothes. There was even a nice park area with trees, flowers, and a gazebo. It would have been a great place to take pictures had I brought my camera with me.
After this we took a 30 minute nap before heading back out on the road. We didn’t get very far when traffic came to a complete stop. A semi had overturned a couple miles down and was blocking all the lanes. We sat there for an hour.
I drove a long time. I was tired and getting hangry. I needed some coffee. We can only stop for fuel at pre-approved truck stops (usually Love’s). So I pushed myself to keep going until we reached our pre-approved fuel stop at Hagerstown, MD. Somehow I made it. We fueled up the truck. I ran inside and got some coffee. I grabbed some chicken nuggets at the Wendy’s there and scarfed those down in the truck before getting on the road again.
The remaining two hour drive turned into over three hours due to more road construction. I only had two hours left of my work day. I was tired at the wheel and risking falling asleep. So with 50 minutes left until we reached our destination for the day, I turned the wheel over to my trainer. We drove through Philadelphia—in the dark. So I still haven’t seen the city.
We got to the receiving facility in Breinigsville, PA at 00:30 (30 minutes after midnight). They didn’t allow people who are trading to back up to the docks. So my trainer had to do it. But I helped lower the landing gear and disconnected the air lines. We then picked up an empty trailer. The receiving facility allowed overnight parking so that is where we stayed for the night. Today the plan is to pick up a load in Pennsylvania and take it to Kentucky. So another long day and driving at night. Hopefully we can get back on days again…