An eventful week

Remember in the last post we had 4 deliveries in the states. This was just some of the houses in one of the towns in New Jersey. Do you see a theme here.

Well we got our reload. Not straight back to Woodstock, but Toronto then one to Woodstock getting us back at 6am, so got a taxi home. Saved getting Emma and the kids up. They did hear the garage door opening, so was met by the kids as soon as I got up stairs. I had a great few days off, with them. It always seams longer, as we spend good quality time together and do so much in a short space of time. After getting a couple of hours sleep as I had been driving all night. We then went over the US border to Houlton in Maine. Its only 10 minutes drive from home, but Emma likes me to take her there first before she ventures out on her own when I’m not there. My eldest was off school a couple of extra days, as it was potato picking time and thanks giving weekend also. So it was great to not have to rush around and be back to meet him off the school bus. We had a real good look round the town. Found a big store where everything is sooooo cheap it was great. Could have spent a fortune. For you UK people. If you think Primark is cheap. This store beats it easy.

The following day we went down to Fredericton to one of the bigger shopping malls to have a good look round. We expected everywhere to shut at 5:30 just like they all do in Woodstock. Even the restaurants are shut by 9 or 10pm at the latest in Woodstock, so expected the same in Fredericton. So was surprised when they said 9pm and 10pm. We must have been in there 8 hours including the trip to Dairy Queen for tea.

Sunday was our first Canadian Thanks Giving. So it was turkey dinner. First time Emma had made Yorkshire puddings before. They was great. One the Monday was the actual holiday and I was due back on the road. Bernie had gone out on the Sunday, taking a load down to New Jersey. I was told he should be back on the Monday to pick me up. Bernie new different with knowing where all the collections are in that area and where they normally get taken to. Monday came and I rang to see if he was on his way back to find out he was off to Pennsylvania for a collection going to Toronto, and that he would probably not get back for me till Wednesday. So I went and cut the grass for the last time this year. Have you ever tried to cut one acre of grass with just a petrol push mower? Most exercise I have had since I have been in Canada. Lol mind you it did not take me long without the grass box on. But I was covered from head to toe in grass lol

Anyways while I;m cutting the grass. The phone rang. Joe the owner wanted me to take 801 to Toronto leave that there and join Bernie back in 833. No problem I said. So after cutting the grass. I get my gear ready. I take so much, it only just fits in the boot. I gets to the shop and says “is 801 ready” they said yes it was over there. OMG. It was a day cab sat there. I’m thinking, where on earth am I going to fit all my stuff for one and two, where am I sleeping that night as it is more than one days drive. So I went in to dispatch and said” there is something missing off the back of the truck” they said “it’s a motel room, here is $100” so off I went. It took some doing getting all my gear in the truck, microwave as well, but I got it in. I didn’t set off till evening so it was 1:30am before I found a hotel with truck parking. I had driven past this place many times and always wanted to take pictures of the monster trucks and dinosaur’s around the property, so here is a couple I took the following morning.

Because of the time I was going to meet up with Bernie in Toronto, we both knew what our first reload was going to be, and we was right. A midnight collection going to Vancouver, but ended up with a Winnipeg instead. I was soooooo glad to get out of that heap of a day cab. After driving that for 2 days then getting back into 833, it makes you appreciate what luxury I drive round in. getting out of the day cab and getting into 833 is like getting out of a old farm tractor into a Rolls-Royce. I could hear myself think again. lol

Well we dropped off in Winnipeg. We was then suppose to take our original load from the other team and continue to Vancouver, but Bernie had to renew his licence. By the time he had done that our BC load had already gone. So we got a reload to Minnesota. We collected it and went down to the border. There was several trucks waiting so I pulled into one of the queues. We sat there waiting, so I got my passport out ready and thought, my I-94 was ready for renewal. This is a Visa waiver that allows me to go into and out of the US to work etc. you have to renew them every 3 months. Anyway, so I’m looking at the I-94 stapled in my passport looking at the date to renew and it said December, when it was only the other day when customs reminded me it was up for renewal. As I’m thinking what’s going on, I then notice Emma’s picture in it. OMG I had her passport. On the Monday just as I’m getting my stuff ready, I remember Emma saying, “I will just put your passport in your pocket while I remember” when I got dressed, I pulled it out to see it was there, so thought all was good. YEA RIGHT. I gets to the window of the customs officer. Explained to him what had happened. He did not want to make the decision, so sent us through x-ray to buy some time one of the officers in there said I would be ok, as we mainly cross the border there anyway. We then went into the office. After a very long wait. We find out they was not going to let me cross. For admin purposes they had to take my mug shot and finger prints. They said just go home and get your passport and we will let you straight over. I said I would if home was not over 2000 miles away lol. Joe the owner of Ayr Motor was spitting bullets. Bernie could not take the load as 1 man would not have gotten there in time. So we had to re book it back into Canada before we could move. Four hours later we was back on the Canadian side. I was ready to fly home to fetch it till I seen the prices lol, so they put me up in an hotel, so they could figure out what to do with me. If I had been paying for the hotel, I would have flatly refused. Heath and Safety would have closed it down back home. Joe was not about to let Bernie sit about too, so he got is re-load straight away going into the states for delivery by midday the following day. The problem was even though I had been driving all day, Bernie had been up all day to, so needed some sleep. He figured he could get 6 hours and still make it on time, so dropped me at the hotel, and off he popped. Next morning I got Emma to take my passport to work so they could fedex it over to me for Saturday delivery. I was expecting to be in the hotel till at least Monday. Then the phone rang. It was Bernie, I said “what you doing?” He said “get your gear ready and meet me out front in 10mins” he had only gone and over slept, not even hooked onto the trailer. Joe through fits at him, then gave him an urgent reload back to Montreal telling him to pick me up on the way. So both of us was not the flavour of the month. I had got a nice message waiting for me on the satellite from Joe when I got in the truck. He was not a happy bunny. When we got to Montreal, we then got a reload going back to Woodstock so I could get my passport. When we got there I was hoping dispatch would just give Bernie my passport, but Joe had took it off them and wanted to do that personally. Emma and the kids had picked me up, so I could go home for a shower and spend half hour with them while the truck was been serviced. When I got back, I went to get my passport. Joe basically said what he had said on the satellite, I apologised and that was it. Phewwww

It was great spending that little time with Emma and the kids as it is really hard been away from them all the time. Once the truck was ready off me and Bernie went. For the rest of the trip we just stayed in Canada, mainly just going between Montreal and Calgary. We seen a couple of snow storms. Only when Bernie was driving though. It would be bone dry when I got up. So if I hade not woke up and seen the snow with my own eyes, I would have thought he was telling me porkys. I videoed some so when I get round to it, I will put it on.

Anyway I have a very busy weekend off now. I will tell you more next time. Till then. Have a great day!

Snow still around this afternoon on way back home

Street in Downtown Winnipeg

One Frosty Morning

See how the trees had turned colour before they fell off

Rush hour in Toronto

I bet you know what they are fitted to the truck.

Snow chains

There is only one province that requires you to carry them compulsory. British Columbia. They must be carried by any truck that need to enter BC between the dates of October 1st and April 29th so guess where we are going lol.

First Moan

Bernie's Salad

Some pics of Minerva

Look at them legs lol

I only asked for a turkey Drumstick

Must have been one big ass Turkey lol

Well I had my four plates full of buffet and Bernie had salad. It was that big he could not finish it.
We then set off to Minerva. Stopping on the way a couple of times. Ended up getting there 1 hour later than we would have liked. But it would have made no difference. They still left us till last for some reason. Which then made us very late for our collection in Canton Ohio. Which was just 10mins down the road. I was in a little rush going back through the town with us been very late so went round a couple of really tight corners a bit quicker than I should. One I had to turn one way then the other straight away to allow me extra room to get my trailer round these tight bends. As I did it I heard a thud in the back. I thought it was something dropping off the top bunk where we keep our baggage etc. It turned out I had woke Bernie up, by pinning him up against the side of the truck as I went round the bend. He didn’t say much as he was still half asleep. Had he been fully awake, he would have just moaned in a playful way like I did a couple of days before, when he did it to me. I could not stop laughing to myself each time I thought him sprawled over the side of the truck. I did feel bad for waking him up though.
Well we got our collection and off back to Toronto we went. Dropped the trailer and bobtailed down the road for our collection which was going to Winnipeg. When we was on our way to Winnipeg. I was driving over night, and was about 10 miles outside a place call Dryden, when I came round this bend and my headlights shone on a truck on its side in the ditch and a pick up truck with its lights on parked in front. So I jammed the brakes on expecting Bernie hitting the floor in a big snotty heap lol, thinking it had just happened. I jumped out the cab to find I could not see a thing, so jumped back into the cab for my torch, which took me ages to find. All this time Bernie was awake, but he never let on. I could not see anyone in the pickup, so I run up to the truck on its side to see crime tape and frost all over it, so panic was over. In the mean time another tuck had pulled up to assist, but I said all was good. The pickup must have just been guarding the load till rescue arrived. I then set off again. When I got into Dryden, I pulled in to go to Tim Hortons for my Mocha. I normally get one if I driving in the night. Good thing they are open 24hrs. The guy that pulled up at the wreck did the same. While in the store, he said he was impressed that I stopped as there was a few that just drove by, and he bought me my Mocha. He then asked if I mind him keeping with me as I was going at a decent pace and he was a little tired. It really takes it out of you driving at night, round all the winding roads with no street lights expecting a moose or deer to be stood in the road at anytime. So it makes it easier to just follow the lights in front of you. So we set off. For the next 200km’s. the roads are constantly winding and going up and down hill, on a single 2 lane road. This guy stuck so far up my backside most of the 200k I could not see his lights lol. We chatted on the CB for a while. When we finally reach just outside Winnipeg. He wanted to stop for the bathroom and another coffee. So I pulled in with him. He expected us to be going round the perimeter road, but we did not have time to go round so was going through the city. On the way back to the truck. He gave me is Number and said, “when ever you are looking to change, give me a call as I like the way you drive. If I can drive 9 feet away from your rear bumper all that way, on those roads, and never feel uncomfortable or unsafe, that’s the kind of driver I want working for me” he was an owner operator, doing flatbed work. I should have said, if you ever do the ice road, give me a call lol.
We dropped our trailer at the customer, bang on time and bobtailed over to the yard. We was then supposed to collect a load going to Edmonton, Alberta, but when we got there it changed and we had to take an empty two and half hours down into the states, St Cloud Minnesota, for someone else, as he had run out of hours. We have never had to run empty like that before. When we got there, we was suppose to switch for a preloaded trailer going back to Toronto. Now this is where the problems start due to one cock up in despatch.. Our trailer was missing. Not where is was suppose to be. Nearly seven hours later, it was found. In someone else’s yard ten miles away. The day dispatch had not told the night dispatch which in turn was not told to us. I wake up thinking we are not far from delivery to find we had only been on the road 2 hours. This caused a knock on effect. We was then late making the delivery back in Toronto. We then had to bobtail up to our Brampton yard and collect a trailer going to St Apollinaire, Quebec. We was going to be too late by minutes to make the delivery before they went home for the weekend, so we just had to drop it at our Dorval Yard. We was then suppose to collect something to bring back to our Dorval yard, had we made the delivery. Then by that time, we would not have had to sit around too long before picking up our midnight collection going back to Winnipeg. But instead we have had to sit around for 12 hours, doing nothing, which meant not getting paid because of one cock up. So I was not an happy bunny. By the time we had made the delivery in Winnipeg, it would have made our pay week the worst to date really, with all the hanging about we had to do this week. In actual fact. If a single driver was to do his 3500 miles for the week which is the norm. He would have earned the same as me, and he gets to sleep and rest for at least 10 hours in a bunk that was not been chucked around with the bad roads of Canada. Anyway that’s my first moan out the way lol not that it will make a difference, as no-one in the office reads this anyway. Maybe that’s a good thing hay Mike lol
So we are due home this week so our next load was 4 drops in the states. One in Maryland, one in Pennsylvania, and two in New Jersey. Its 1500 miles just to the first one, so should be there sometime tomorrow. Hopefully after that our reload goes straight back to Woodstock. So till then, Have a great day.