NORTH EAST AND BACK

Picked up Louis at Seville on the last day of APRIL. Met his girlfriend and after their goodbyes, settled into the preliminaries/paperwork/expectations. Retiring for the night, HE IN THE UPPER BUNK, we got a decent night's rest and headed to deliver our load. Prior to delivery we got our next assignment headed to VERMONT for a 1430 pickup. All went to HECK in a handbasket about an hour before we were to get to the DROP (we would have been on time--BUT). We hit heavy construction traffic about 30 miles away. Three lanes to one. WE called the next shipper to say were stuck in traffic, could be there one hour late. NO PROBLEM, but the load has to be in Vermont by the 2nd at 4 P.M. We got to the DROP at KC a day early, made our drop, and were routed to SEARS to pick up an empty.

Finding the EMPTY with a slashed tire, we looked for another to substitute. Now we're going to be even later. NONE available, we were directed to take the TBOd trailer about 40 miles north of our pickup point, switching it for still another trailer. MORE phone calls, and told that if we can be there by 0730 on the 2nd, we could still load. HUM??? Not much time to deliver 306 miles into vermont by 1600. IN THE MOUNTAINS YET. WE got our trailer and drove to about 4 miles from our morning pickup. Staying the night at a PETRO, we finally got supper, and needed rest.

Headed to the SHIPPER, guess who got LOST. Lucky that we left early!! about 20 miles in a circle, we found the shipper, printers making sixpack cases for microbrews.

EARLY that mornig , we got out of the dock by 9, and on the road, still needing to scale 35,000+ pounds. We found a scale enroute and headed further north to BRIDGEWATER CORNER, VERMONT. SHIFTING, BRAKING, STOPPING ON HILLS, etc., etc., Louis is getting a lot of shifting practice. The grinding keeps me awake. We arrived at the delivery about 20 minutes to spare. At the delivery, live unloading, casees for LONG TRAIL BREWERY, we had time to get supper. They had a great restaurant, with SAMPLES of their PRODUCTS. Sorry to say I couldn't have any. We finished our meals, took a tour of the brewery, and waited for our next assignment.

NEXT LOAD: Deadhead to SKOWHEGAN, MAINE (WHERE???) to pick up 43000# of rolled paper, going to OBERLIN, OHIO, Menominee Falls, WI, and Lomira, WI.. 3 stops, LOTS of MILES, heavy through the mountains. Louis is realy getting to practice shifting. DOing better, Louis is really determined to get things down, and evaluating his accomplishments and errors. Driving hard not to waste time, we spent the next night at a PILOT, and the 4th at a rest area in NEW YORK STATE, making it to SEVILLe, OH (where we hooked up) last night.

It looks we may have a LAYOVER/RESTART today. I need to call in to my HANDLERS to determine if we may relay the load here, or sit on it till morning. While here, if we sit, I'll work with Louis on backing and more paperwork. Assuming we sit, deliver at all points, I may be able to release him for SQT this week. I need to call Green Bay to see what the possibilities are.

So having had my shower, getting my laundry done, and about to have breakfast, it's sit and wait until my people are at their desks. More later, including FOTOS.