I-95 Southbound

Well, I spent the better part of my day heading South on I-95. It was exciting to be heading in a direction that would take me back home to Florida. Sadly, I'm only going as far as New Jersey tonight, and heading into The Bronx, NY tomorrow for a delivery.

It's rather funny that I should end up in New Jersey on my birthday, since I was born here.

No telling where our next load will take us...I'm hoping it will be further South. Hey, I know it's a long shot, but I can hope...right? ;)

An afternoon in Methuen, Massachusetts

Well, we arrived in Methuen today, with a few hours to kill before our 8am delivery appointment. So, we took a short walk to grab a bite to eat and mail a letter. Saw the Nevins Memorial Library (established 1883) and the Spicket River Falls Dam. It has been years since I was up North in the fall...the colors of the fall foliage are even more spectacular than I remember.

Nebraska to Connecticut

We picked up a load of beef in Nebraska a couple of days ago and headed for the East coast (CT, MA and NYC). It's been quite a journey, to say the least. Passed by the PayPal home office in Omaha, NE. Got to stop at a truck stop that was right next door to the gas station I worked at back in high school (the gas station is gone and the truck stop has been completely redone), just outside of Dupont, PA (the scenic shot was actually taken a few hours earlier in Lamar, PA). And then we took a short break in Wallingford, CT.

Looks like we're going to be sitting here for a few hours as the dock doesn't start unloading until 11:00pm and we've been here since 5 o'clock. :(

Dallas to Denver

After completing my Orientation II classes in Dallas, my training partner (Blake Carrol) and I picked up our tractor and a loaded trailer then headed for Denver. That's Blake at the wheel of our tractor, a Kenworth T2000.

Not sure where we'll be heading next...but I do know that we'll be on the road for 3 weeks and 7,000+ miles.

Orientation II begins tomorrow...

After having a week off, and returning to Texas for a few days of workshops and review boards, I'll be back in classes tomorrow morning for Orientation II. Since I had the day off, I took a nice long walk...found a few geocaches along the way...and had an early dinner at Chili's. As usual, I had the ribs...with broccoli and cinnamon apples, so Jane will be very happy.

I've attached a few pictures from my geocaching adventures. Saw some wildlife and a few flowers along the way.

Baker's Ribs

We had pizza for lunch today, so I decided to get some BBQ for dinner. There's a Baker's Ribs just a couple of doors down from the hotel, so that's where I headed. Figured if I ate dinner early enough that I could head to Dairy Queen for some ice cream later tonight. :)

Their menu is a little different than I'm used to, having spent my fair share of time at Sonny's and Woody's back home. Since they only had pulled pork, I prefer mine sliced, I finally settled on the pork ribs. The girl at the counter put a bottle of BBQ sauce on my tray, I'm used to having a selection of sauces on the table, so I asked, "Is that hot or sweet BBQ sauce." To which she responded, "It's just regular BBQ sauce." Gee, that was real helpful...thanks. ;)

The ribs were great...and the sauce turned out to be a little on the sweet side, just how I like it. So, if you find yourself in Garland, TX...and are in the mood for BBQ...stop by Baker's Ribs just off I-30.

Back in Dallas, TX

Well, after five weeks on the road I took a week off to spend time with Jane and the cats. It was so nice to be home! ;) Things weren't all peaches and cream on the road and my travel plans to get home kept falling apart...but everything worked out in the end. Got to visit with a few of my friends while I was home...btw, next time lunch is on me. :) And got to spend a day with my Mom, too!

Found a few geocaches, including an FTF (first to find)...and was able to help one of the travel bugs I was carrying meet one of its goals by visiting Daytona International Speedway.

Now that all that's over, I jumped on an AirTran flight and, after a brief layover in Atlanta (where I got to play Scoop's "Island of Atlanta" game) I'm back in Dallas...actually staying in Garland...to complete my training. I'll be taking a few classes while I'm here, then I'll be back on the road for three more weeks.

After doing a little 'administrative' stuff at the office today, I was given the afternoon off to relax...so I went back to the hotel and configured my laptop & iPod for the FREE WiFi at the hotel, then took a walk (which for me means that I went geocaching...yes, I found one). I've heard the pool is much nicer here than the HoJo I stayed at last time. If any of you know how to use Google Maps, here are the coordinates for my hotel: N 32 50.331 W 96 35.645

Oh yeah, while I was taking that walk I ate at Whataburger for the first time. I must say, what I've been hearing is true...that was a great burger. I've always felt Wendy's was better than McDonalds or Burger King...now Whataburger may have Wendy's beat.

Well, it's raining now...so I'm glad I took my walk earlier.