Back in Canada

Well it was great seeing the family back in the UK, but it was a massive rush all the time to get and see everybody. We stayed at my brothers so a big thank you once again for having us. Now stop been such a tight ass and get your backside’s over here next year. No is not an option. That goes for the rest of you too. You will all be pleased you did. There was a lot we wanted to do while over there and just could not fit it in. we needed a month to do that. There was only one day where we kind of had time to ourselves, where we took the kids to Drayton Manor Park. They had a great time.

We set off back to the airport early Sunday morning. Landed in Toronto, then drove the 13 hours back home. We was travelling for 28hrs solid. The kids did really well. We was still in the airport and not off the plane five mins when I rang work to see where my truck was. Emma was not pleased. She thought I couldn’t wait to get back to work. Well two weeks solid with her is enough to drive anybody back to work lol. Only kidding baby xxx. I had to check if my truck was on schedule to be back in Woodstock the following day ready for me. Its not like other companies where you get to take your truck home and park it up while you are off. While they are stood, the trucks are not earning. That’s why Joe puts spare drivers in while you are off, to make sure the truck is earning him money 364 days a year. (they get Christmas day off lol). So they asked me to call the minute I was off the plane, both for them to see I was back and to give me an approx time I will be getting the truck back. It turned out it was 7 hours ahead of us. So by the time we got back home, I had time to chuck all the cases out of the car and put all my gear back in and straight to the truck. When I booked the time off, they moaned because I had not given them enough notice and made me feel that I needed to be back in the truck the second I stepped off the plane, so I did not think it through and said I would go out the day we was back, which was my birthday too. What I should have said was I would take my birthday off so we could recoup and go out the following day, but I did not realise it was my birthday at the time. Seeing as we have had to celebrate everyone else’s birthday on a different day when I have been off. Its not going to hurt to do mine when I get home next. Thank you for all the cards everyone gave me. I will be opening them when I get back. On the way back to work my truck was parked at the truck wash down the road, so I picked it up and took it back to the shop. It was a mess inside. Joe collard me thinking it was partly my mess as he was the one that personally took it to the truck wash. I pointed out that the truck is immaculate at all times when I have it. I cant stand messy trucks. So the team that was in it while I was away, where going to get an ear bashing. After cleaning it out again. I had to sit about waiting for my load to arrive in the yard. Over six hours later it turned up. Emma was not happy I had rushed around to get there early in the morning then sat around all day waiting when I could have been at home waiting. This had never happened before. Longest I have ever had to wait in the yard was about an hour. It turned out I was so glad I had waited all that time, otherwise I would have made it to my delivery in Anderson, South Carolina, the night they had a massive scary storm. Hailstone’s where as big as a quarter, (10 pence piece) massive trees where just ripped out of the ground and landing on several houses.

I was that shocked the following morning when I got there in clear blue sky’s with temperatures in the nineties, I missed a load of pictures I should have took. The clean up was already well on the way. So at first I though it was just a tree chopping crew going round with loads of debris on the roads, then I started to notice trees on top of houses ripped clean out of the ground etc. it was bizarre. The lady at my drop said the wind was that strong it nearly took roofs off the houses. Lot of people lost power and allsorts. They was warned it could happen again that night. My reload was in Florence, South Carolina so was hoping to get loaded and get the hell out but when I arrived, there was ten trucks plus four on bays in front of me waiting to be loaded. Been in a queue meant I could not go to sleep either while I waited, as we kept on having to move forward each time a truck went to load, just to allow others turning up behind us to get in the queue. Seven and a half hours later at 3am I was loaded. That broke my record for loading time. Ayr is going to charge them extra so hopefully I will get a bit extra too. Luckily no second storm. I was well tired by then so just parked up outside and got a few hours sleep before setting off to Toronto. Once dropped I picked up another load and took that back to the yard. Then bobtailed down towards my reload which was a 1am pickup. I did a bit of shopping in Walmart and Ikea. By time I had done shopping at midnight. (Ikea had a massive sale on so they was open late.) I had an hour sleep then went for my paperwork to be told come back at 5am so back to bed I went. 5am hooked up and set off to Winnipeg. At Winnipeg I expected to go to the US, but nope, my reload was back to Toronto. So that’s where I’m off to now. It is a very picturest route, so it’s nice to do from time to time, but I still prefer driving in the US.

Anyways bed time for me till next time, have a nice day.

look at these next two pics and tell me which is the UK and which is Toronto

Both are very highly populated thats why I guess alot of UK people go to live in or around Toronto.

The top one of the two is Toronto, the road gives it away.

Inmates cleaning North Carolina's Highways

My new hobby....Butterfly collection

When I first fitted the flag

6 Days later. I guess they are as good as the team, won't last till the end lol

New Drivers starting Delay

Hay people. This is just a quick note to all the drivers applying to work for Ayr Motor. Some of you have not heard anything for a while and are thinking that they are not interested. Firstly if Ralph did get back to you for the rest of your paperwork, you now have your foot in the door. What is holding things up is the LMO’s. a lot of you have applied so they are going to take you on in the order you got all your paperwork in. the government are really taking there time issuing the LMO’s at the moment. So the ones in the front of the queue are still waiting for theirs. That means the rest of you are having to wait even longer. it’s a pain, but its out of Ralph’s control. So just sit tight for now. Ralph will be in touch with each of you when its your turn. It did take six months from start to arriving over here for me, but some of that was me taking two months to get all my paperwork in. so don’t worry, you will get here in the end.

I will tell you more about the vacation next time. Sleep time for me as I will be delivering in South Carolina later today. Bye for now.

Check out what’s new on my truck

I dont like Football but I just had to get them

First Canniversary

So what a funny trip I have had this time. Normally everything just flows one load after another. Not this time. something must have jinxed me. I took a few wrong turns and some how everything looks really funny, and everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road.

Weather is nothing new

Dam it, how the hell did I end up in the UK….yep you read it right. Don’t worry, we are only on vacation. I could not post it before as we was surprising some of the family. We only booked it a couple of weeks before we came out. That’s why I think I was jinxed for the last couple of weeks with going back to bad luck UK. well for me anyways. Like I said, nothing flowed right when I went out last time. I went out on the Holiday Monday late afternoon. So by the time I was getting to my deliveries and collections, there would be no one to load me, I would have to wait till the morning. So I was doing some short days at first. As the days went on I managed to put some extra hours in when I could and catch up on mile. One of the reloads got me back to Woodstock five days early. Because I had been delayed the day before I thought I would do them a favour and do thirteen hours straight to get the load to the yard the same night. While I was fuelling on the way back I got a message, saying when I was back in Woodstock they was going to put a team in my truck. So I had a go at them on the phone, for taking me out of the truck five days early for my vacation. I understood why. They had a team available and they wanted to get as much time in my truck as they could while I was off. It was the fact that they did not ask me or explain why. I had to figure it out for my self. They did give me a brand new Freightliner Cascadia, just a week old to use till it was time to catch the plane though. So over the eight and half days in both trucks, I managed to do 4800miles.

My Son hiding in one of the truck cupboards

Still a place for my pop

Once back home we then had a thirteen hour drive to the airport the following day. We used to get direct flights to and from Fredericton but they stopped it last year. Now we have to fly from either Halifax, Nova Scotia, five hours away or Toronto, Ontario thirteen hours away, or take an internal flight to either airport which cost a fortune. With Emma never seeing anywhere other than New Brunswick, we decided to fly from Toronto. With the kids it was best to set off at supper time so they could watch a few movies on the laptop before going to sleep and sleeping all night. Emma drove for the first six hours. Longest she has ever done in one stint, and I drove for the rest. Not that I got any sleep before hand. We arrived at 7am so had all day to shop around, before getting on the plane.

Since we have been in the UK, it has been one rush around after another. Trying to visit all the family as much as we can. Not having time to ourselves, but thats ok, we don't come often. It is really great to see our family and friends, but as for the UK. We now know moving to Canada is the right move. Its just a pity our friends and family didn’t come with us, then life would have been perfect. When Emma first came over to Canada. We was not the sensible people that normally visit somewhere before deciding to move there. Neither of us had ever been to Canada before. So it was a shot in the dark. We did as much research as we could on the internet though. For me it was easy. I had lived away from my home town before, and I adapt really easy. Emma on the other hand, had lived in the same town all her life, so moving to Canada was a big shock. At first she just wanted to come back to the UK, then over time she as adjusted to the way of life over there. It has took some doing, she improved more these last few months where she has met more and more friends etc. Coming back to the UK on vacation, was partly to see if we had made the right decision moving to Canada. There are many things we miss about the UK, mainly family and friends, but if we was to make a list of the good and bad points on both countries. Canada would win no problem. When you live in the UK. Its just a way of life that you are used to. You don’t know any different, till you go and live elsewhere. Canada is such a laid back place. Nobody rushes around, people just drive at the speed limits, no traffic on the roads, a very easy relaxing place. They are in no rush to do anything. The only queue you see is at Tim Horton’s. (I think they cant work a kettle) Once you have lived like that for a year, then when you go back to the UK, you realise what a rat race it is to live in the UK. Everyone flying about as though there is no tomorrow. Cars speeding around, loads of traffic on the roads, queues everywhere you go like shops, supermarkets etc. Emma said when we drove to Toronto. We arrived the start of rush hour. It was the first traffic jam she had seen since we lived in Canada. When we lived in the UK, I’m a really laid back person, but I was a workaholic. I had three businesses to run so worked 18hrs a day seven days a week. I had time for nothing. Just trying to give my family a good way of life, even though I had no time to spend with them. Even been back now, all I hear from other people is they have no time to do this, that and the other. Its just not the way to live. The recession was finishing me off, so moving to Canada, was cutting my losses and starting afresh. So glad we did. I have never been so relaxed in my life than I am now living and working in Canada. Even though I’m out for two weeks at a time, then only have two or three days off. I have spent more quality time with Emma and the kids than I ever had the chance all the time we was in the UK. While I’m out on the road. Sometimes Emma gets bored though, but that is mainly because things are so much more apart in Canada and she feels like she might get lost, but after the drive she did to the airport. I think she will start and venture out abit further now as there are not that many roads to go on anyway. To give you an idea. Driving in the UK between the two furthest parts, mainly Land’s End to John O’ Groats changing from one road to the next, is more or less the same distance from Woodstock NB, to the airport in Toronto. Other than a couple of road changes in Montreal. It is one road all the way. So its so much quicker and easier to drive in Canada than the UK, so I think she will be better now.

Anyway I have rambled on wayyyy too much. Conclusion is, exactly one year to the day. Canada is a great move, So now I will shut up till we get back next week. So till then, bye for now.

Some of the places I drove through on my last trip.

One of the many yard sales you see