Lakeville, MN

I'm in Lakeville, MN. I dropped off a load in Green Bay this morning, picked up a load at the Schneider operating center in Green Bay and headed to MN. I'm to del this load tomorrow morning at 10:00 am. There is a good chance I'll be done after that.

In Green Bay at the operating center I met someone I went through training with. His daughter was traveling with him for 2 weeks. He's really smart. He was frustrated though that he was only getting 2,000 - 2,200 miles a week. He was somewhat envious of my 3,000 miles a week. I told him about being in the Home Run program and he seemed interested.

I then met a man who is just starting his training at Schneider. He asked how I liked driving. I mentioned I did. Also that I was part of the Home Run program. He wasn't aware there was such a program. He was my age and talking to him brought back memories of my training. I'm glad I'm 7 months into driving and not starting the process now.

Also saw some of my trainers helping others. I don't think I could or would want to train. So, it was an interesting day. I'm shifting my focus from driving to my upcoming week off. I'll be heading to SF with Kathy and Jim to visit Gene for a few days. We are looking forward to it.

I hope your week started out well and will continue that way. I'll let you know when I'm done tomorrow. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Memphis, IN

I stopped in Memphis, IN for the night. Memphis is just 16 miles north of Louisville, KY on I-65. This morning I drove from Charlotte to Patterson, NC to pick up a full trailer of tissue paper. It only weighs 8,000 lbs. I'm taking it to Green Bay, WI and need to have it there by Monday morning at 7:00 am. I'm about half way there. I need to drive anothe 500 miles tomorrow. So, I'm heading toward home. Hopefully, I'll be back sometime on Tues.

I made it to Charlotte last night around 6:00 pm. Marc, Rachel and Julia picked me up at the Schneider operating center and took me to their new home. It is really nice. Little Julia gave me a tour of the whole house. She is very cute. She had made some peanut butter bars with chocolate chips with the help of Rachel. She let me eat 2 of them and had to put two more in a Baggie for me to take back to the truck. I was fortunate to be the first one in the family to see their new home. I spent time trying to talk Marc into getting a Blackberry and Rachel into getting a computer at home, but with no success. Rachel does scrap-booking and I was telling her how much fun it would be to do it on the computer and develop a web page. My words fell on deaf ears.

The accident I talked about in my last email was a auto-transport truck that had gone into the median of an interstate and I think tipped over. 2 or 3 of the cars had fallen off and were burned. The truck itself was charred with 2 or 3 cars still on it. No one was hurt, but I was stuck in traffic for 3 hours.

I hope you are all having a good weekend. I'll let you know where I go after Green Bay. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Charlotte, NC

I'm sitting in traffic on I-59 in Alabama north of Birmingham. About a mile ahead of me there was black smoke billowing into the sky and I could are flames. I haven't heard anything for sure about what happened, but um guessing it was an accident. Cars are stopped ahead of me and well behind me. People are out of their cars trying to see. Kids are running up and down the highway. I'm guessing I'll be here for awhile. Some cars have crossed a wide grassy median.

I have to drive up to Scottsboro, AL and picked up a load and drop it off in Charlotte, NC in the afternoon tomorrow. It's what they call a relay. Someone will pick it up in Charlotte and take it to CT. I hope they start sending me back to the Midwest tomorrow.

There is a birthday party for Marge Hove on Sunday in Decorah (her 80th). It would be something if I were sent through Decorah.

Oh, it's now 7:10 pm CDT. It is in the low 80's and humid. I'm listening on the CB but there isn't much of value about what has happened. In the next email I'll let you know what happened. Hope you all had a good day! - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Arkadelphia, AR

note from James on previous (subjectless) email: I forgot to put anything in the subject line. I was trying to eat and type at the same time. If better stick to one thing at a time.

I'm in . After dropping off the load at the Oklahoma State Fair I was sent to Paris, TX (200 miles away) to pick up a load at Kimberley-Clark to take to a WalMart Dist Center in Cullman, AL. (560 miles away). I realized I couldn't make it all the way without going past my 70 hour limit, so I arranged to take a 34 hour break beginning at 6:00 pm tonight. I'll begin driving again at 6:00 am Thursday morning. Instead of staying at a truck stop in the truck, I did decide to splurge and I got a motel room for 2 nights.

I think I'll watch TV, sleep, eat, work on the computer and take a nice long shower. And then repeat.

Baseball Report: Tristan had a very successful last game, even though his team lost 4-1. He made a running catch of a fly ball in left field. He asid he even had to jump a little to catch the ball. He was also called in to pitch. The starting pitcher didn't make it through the first inning. Tristan got the third out in the first and then pitched 2 more scoreless innings. He also got one hit in three at-bats. He did make contact on all 3 at-bats. He was thrilled with the game. I thought it was a great way to complete a season. I asked him if I could let you all know about it and he replied, 'Sure, you can let the whole world know.'.

During this first week of trucking I drove 3600 miles. Not bad. It will be interesting to see how the 2nd week goes.

I hope you had a nice day. I'll let you know how my day off goes. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Braman, OK

I spent the night in Braman, OK. There was no phone signal, so I couldn't send an email until this morning. Since I wrote last I've been driving. From Bismarck I took I-94 east to Fargo and fueled up and then drove down on I-29 to Sioux Falls, SD and spent Sunday night. Yesterday I continued down I-29 to Omaha and then traveled west on I-80 to US Hwy 81. I took that south into KS and eventually got on I-135 and then I-35. I've driven 1200 miles in the past two days.

I need to get to Oklahoma City by 9:00 am this morning. I'm not sure where I'll go after that.

In the midst of all of this I continue working on the website www.facemask.biz. We hope to officially launch it tomorrow. So, I've been editing, getting an email list together, coordinating tasks with Frank, etc. It's amazing what one can do while trucking.

Tristan's last baseball game was last night. Greta, her birth parents, her sisters, and Tom's boys were planning on going down to watch. I'll find out soon how the game went.

I'm guessing Wednesday might be a day I take off. I'm getting close to working 70 hours in 7 days. I was thinking I might splurge and get a motel room. Luxury!

I hope you all have a good day! - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Bismarck, ND

I'm almost to Bismarck. I was detained at the border last night and needed to spend the night in Portal, ND. The border guards unloaded the whole trailer while I waited in their offices. It took them 2+ hours to unload and load the trailer. I guess I looked suspicious. They asked me 3 different times if I was a US citizen. I think the problem was that I didn't have the right seal on the back door of the trailer. It was an uncomfortable experience, to say the least.

This morning I woke up to fog and for the first 2 hours averaged 40 mph. It has burned off now and I'm back to 65 mph. I'm not sure how far I'll get today. I have plenty of time to make it to Oklahoma City. I'm hoping everything goes smoothly from here on.

Have a great day. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Deadzone, SK

I'm heading into the deadzone. I won't have phone contact or email for the next 8 hours or so. If you need to reach me you'll need to send a message by Telepathy, channel 1. I'll let you know when um out of the deadzone. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Edmonton, AB - 2

Good evening - I had a full day. I had to get to my delivery point by 2:00 pm today. It was tight. I arrived at 2:30 pm. I was delayed getting fuel in Saskatoon, and then was given the wrong directions to the company. Fortunately, I was able to call them and get everything cleared up. I next needed to get to the pickup location in Acheson before they closed at 5:00. Otherwise, either I would need to wait until Monday or they would need to send me 300 or 400 miles to get a different load. I arrived there at 4:50 pm. I had to drive across Edmonton to get there.

I finally got a phone connection around 11:00 am today as well as my email connection. I had 18 emails waiting and 8 phone messages. It took me awhile to get through them all.

I'll attempt to cross the border tomorrow sometime late afternoon. I've already faxed the paperwork to the broker. Hopefully, the crossing will go smoother than yesterday. I need to drive 1700 miles with this load of wood chips and arrive at the OK State Fairgrounds on Tues 7/24 by 2:00 pm. That shouldn't be any problem at all.

I'll be without phone connection probably from 10:00 am tomorrow until 7:00 or 8:00 pm tomorrow night.

Baseball report - Tristan had three hits last night in his baseball game and he scored 2 runs. He was pleased. He really likes playing on a team.

Well, I think I'll get to bed. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Lumsden, SK

Good Morning! - I lost a phone signal just north of Minot, ND and haven't had it since. You'll be receiving this after the fact. I had to wait in Portal, ND 5 hours and I tried to get my paper work cleared. Quite frustrating. Finally, I walked into Canada to the Customs office there and they said I was cleared to cross. I drove for 3 hours after that and got as far as north of Regina. I'll be leaving soon and hope to make it to Edmonton by 1:00 pm MDT.

I parked across from an Esso gas station last night. They offer full service. There was a young woman out there washing windows and pumping gas for customers. I haven't seen that in a long time. And across the street from the gas station was the Royal Canadian Mounted Police station. But it was closed. Interesting.

Well, I'm heading out now. I'll keep writing these and will send them when I get a phone signal. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Edmonton, AB

I started out again this afternoon with a wonderful surprise. As I was driving to Blaine to pick up the truck I received a call from Schneider. They needed someone to take a load to Edmonton and then make a return trip to Oklahoma City. (3,000 miles total). I quickly volunteered. I haven't been in that part of Canada, and that is where Kathy et al lived for many years.

I'm currently in Fargo, ND for the night. I needed to fax papers for the border crossing and get fuel. I'll be crossing the border at Portal, ND. I'll be traveling part way on Hwy 52, my favorite hwy. I need to deliver this load by Friday around noon. And I'll be delivering the one to Oklahoma City sometime on Monday or Tuesday of next week. I'll be delivering to the Oklahoma State Fair.

I had a great week, but didn't get enough sleep, so I'll have to catch up on it during the next week. I did see Erika and Family, Tristan twice. I didn't have Jury Duty on Monday, thank goodnessl and I fed Greta's dogs which I enjoyed.

I bought some things for my computer. See if you can figure out what they are. I bought a sleeve, a skin, an airport, and a case. The one who guesses them all correctly gets a Snickers bar.

Well, I hope to cross the border tomorrow and get 200 miles into Canada. But we'll see.

I hope you all had a good week. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Red Wing, MN

Well, I'm about to begin my final leg. I'm in Des Moines. The load I had of pallets I dropped at the Des Moines operating center. Someone else will finish the del. I'm now waiting for a load which I will take up to Shakopee early this evening. It should arrive in Des Moines at 5:30 pm. After delivering that I'll bobtail to Blaine, drop off the truck and drive to Red Wing. I should be home by midnight. This is all working out perfectly. Thank goodness!

I'm sitting here now working on a couple of websites.

I don't know if I mentioned, but I'll have driven about 6300 miles these past 2 weeks. I think that is a record for me. I didn't drive at all one day so my average miles per day is (6300 / 13 days) 484.61 miles. When I was little I kept stats like this for our trips all the time. I'm a little weird in that way.

After today, I won't be in the truck again until best Wednesday 7/18. Have a great week! - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Des Moines, IA

After delivering in Champaign, IL, I was sent south to Olney, IL to pick up a load of pallets at a Walmart Distribution Ctr. I've picked them up and am now heading north again with the eventual destination of Des Moines, IA. I have an appt to del these tomorrow at 6:00 pm. I'll be getting there tonight so I'll check on getting an earlier appt for tomorrow.

I arrived in Champaign yesterday aft and went right to the company I was to del to. My appt wasn't until today at 6:30 pm, but I was able to get it unloadedat 8:00 this morning. I'd like to get home tomorrow night if possible, but we'll see .

This coming week I'll be taking care of Greta's dogs (they're going to Chi to see a Nascar race.) I'll also watch one or two of Tristan's baseball games, and drive down to Madison to see Erika, Payand the girls for a day. I'm also on Jury Duty on Monday. I doubt I'll be called in. Not much happens in Goodhue Cty.

Tomorrow, Pat defends his dissertation, so after that I'll need to call him Dr. Cottrell. He's getting his Ph D in Political Science. Despite being a Padres and Chargers fan, he's a wonderful son-in-law.

I hope it's not too got where you are. I'll keep you informed about my travels.
- James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Champaign, IL

Well, it's been quite a day. I overslept this morning. First time in 6 or 7 years. I set the alarm for 2:30 am, but it either didn't go off or I didn't hear it. Anyway I woke at 4:30. I was an hours and a half late for the del. Fortunately, another Schneider driver was early. He took my spot and I took his.

After delivering in Lachine, PQ I was sent to Varennes, PQ, northeast of Montreal to pick up a load of Plastic Bags at Johnson & Johnson. The lady who have me the paperwork spoke to me in English, and when a french Canadian driver came in she spoke to him in French. She went back and forth between the 2 of us. Speaking English, then French. I was impressed.

I had to drive back through Montreal into Ontario and I crossed the border at Alexandria Bay, once again. Both border crossings went smoothly which was a pleasant surprise. I dropped off the load of plastic bags in Syracuse and am now at a truck stop in Syracuse right where I-81 and I-90 intersect.

Tomorrow I pick up an empty trailer in Syracuse and then drive east to Utica, NY which is about 50 miles away and picked up some vegetable oil (about 40,000 lbs of it) and head to Champaign, IL. This load needs to be dropped off on Monday. It looks good for me getting home on Tuesday.

I must say that reading the road signs in Montreal was an adventure. They were all in French. At first it was disorienting, but after awhile I got used to it. It certainly helped to have the little pictures alongside the French words.

Also, I bought coffee and some rolls at a coffee shop, paid with a 20 dollar bill and got Canadian money in return. Before I crossed the border back into the US, I stopped at a service area and bought candy bars with the Canadian money I had left over. The woman behind the counter thought I was nuts as I was figuring out how many bars I could buy. (6).

I will drive about 500 miles tomorrow, and drive the remaining 400 on Sunday.
I hope your weekend is relaxing and enjoyable. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Alexandria Bay, NY

I'm in Alexandria Bay, right at the Canadian Border. I'm in a fairly long line of trucks waiting to go through customs. Once through, I'll drive about another hour northeast towards Montreal.

I took a 34 hour break from 3:30 pm Tues to 3:30 am today. Otherwise I would have been driving only 3 and 4 hours the last two days and I would have needed to start driving again at midnight tonight. I'm learning that I don't like to drive through the night. I should have only an hour left to drive tomorrow (from 5:00 am to 6:00 am).

I don't know yet where I'll be going after this load. Hopefully, they'll send me back toward MN. I spent the Fourth at a truck stop in Greenville, VA. I hope yours was more eventful. I'll let you know where I'm headed when I find out. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Lachine, PQ

Well, I think this is in Quebec, though I can't find it on the map. Probably somewhere near Montreal. I first need to deadhead (drive with an empty trailer) to Covington, VA, drop it off and pick up a trailer full of paper and then head north on I-81. I will eventually ease my way over to I-87 and head up to Champlain, NY where I will cross the border. I need to have it delivered by 7/06 at 6:00 am.

So, another border crossing Thur night or Fri morning. Not my favorite. I do like Canada, but getting there is another matter.

I'll have to communicate with the Schneider people that they start sending me back towards Red Wing. After that.

Yesterday as I was driving in AL I came across a semi stopped on the right lane of a bridge. His air hoses became disconnected and the emergency brakes came on. He couldn't move the truck. I gave him a ride to the next exit so he could get help. He was from Mississippi and thanked me even though I was a 'Yankee'. His son went to college with Brett Favre. I told him I was a Bears fan. He was a nice guy despite liking Brett. I gave him a bottle of green tea and I headed north.

I believe this is my 101st entry. And I'm wondering if I'll turn into a Lug Nut. In case you haven't checked it out, my trucker website is www.101st-lugnut.com.

James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Mobile, AL (the 100th post!)

I got as far as Mobile last night. I was hoping to get farther, but discovered before I took off yesterday that one of the tires on the trailer had lost all of it's tread. It had fallen off the day before. I had to stop at the Houston operating center and get a new tired. It set me back an hour and a half.

I have 900 miles to drive before 10:00 am tomorrow. 700 today and 200 tomorrow morning. I should be able to make it fine. I am approaching the time, however, when I may need to take a 34 hour break.

It's been warm and muggy these last days with the threat of thundershowers. The AC works great in the truck which is a relief.

On the website front, I'm working on 2 websites simultaneously. Frank's (FaceMask) and Frank's colleagues (JungNYC). I've just figured out how to put a forum/bulletin board on the sites, so that has been fun.

I'm either on the computer, driving the truck or sleeping.

I hope you all had a great weekend and that you have some time off this week to celebrate the 4th.

By the way, I'll be heading north out of Mobile in I-65 and pick up I-85 in Montgomery and head northeast into GA, then SC, then NC, and finally into VA.

James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Richmond, VA

***note from Crish: Woops. Guess I was wrong. This is the 99th post. The next will be 100 (although in the inner workings of the blog it does say there are 100 posts, but, alas, the public display area says 99)***

I got to Laredo, TX on time (12:00 pm) and dropped off the trailer of 'popcorn'. They then assigned another load that needs to be in Richmond, VA on Tues morning 7/03. That's 1600+ miles. I'm transporting 'bubblebath'.

I left Laredo by 1:00 pm and made it just shy of Houston this evening. I drove 620 miles today. Tomorrow I'll drive 11 hours (hopefully 700 miles) and probably the same one Monday. Texas is really big. I-35 is 540 miles long. I-10 is over 800 miles long. I'll be driving on I-10 most of the way east and angle up on I-85.

The Cubs got creamed today so I'm not going to mention them anymore. I jinxed them.

There were only a few scattered showers today, so the driving went well. I hope you all had a nice day. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )