Labor day week

Two weeks, first week, what we did labor day week and then home for a week.

We did have Monday off, so we decided to do some laundry. While doing laundry we met another FedEx Custom Critical team driver. We started talking and found out that they also carried bikes on their truck with them. They drive tractor and trailer and have recently kept their bikes in the top bunk in their truck. As we were talking about riding, she shared that they have fold up bikes. Jim and I asked if we might be able to see them, so we met up at their truck a little later.

The bikes were really neat and we appreciate that they allowed us to take a look at them and I was even able to test drive one. We talked to the team for about an hour, about the bikes and about expediting in general. It turns out that they own their own truck and had a lot of knowledge about saving money on fuel. We shared with them about rideandroll.me which is a site that has a map of bike trails that have truck parking close and also the rideandroll facebook page where drivers share their bike riding experiences. We have been curious about the folding bikes and their durability. The team had their bikes for about 6 years and they have not had any problems with them. They ride about 1-2 times a week and are fair weather riders, just like us. The bikes take up a lot less room for storage. Currently, Jim and I have our bikes in the box of our truck and even turning handlebars, they still take up quite a bit of space. We were curious to see how small their bikes folded up and where we would store them on our truck. After some great visual spacial skills being applied, we found out that they could actually fit in the storage box under the truck, both of them. Something we will definitely keep in mind for the future.

Currently, Ohio doesn't have any dealers that carry folding bikes so when and if we decide folding bikes are the way to go, we'll need to look at them while we are out on the road. We all exchanged numbers and emails. We find that the people we meet are wonderful, but the chances of us running into the same people again won't happen for quite a while if ever so exchanging information gives us a way of staying in touch and building a network of people. We appreciate the network of people. It is so helpful to be able just pick up the phone or email someone with experience and ask questions. Our small network has been so helpful as we have gotten started.

After meeting with the other team, we decided that it was time to try the Space Alien Restaurant across the road. It looked pretty interesting from the outside. The restaurant is a local chain. I believe they have about 6 locations all in North Dakota and Minnesota. Jim has a picture of the outside, hopefully he will get a chance to post it. When you walked in there was a dome at the top with stars and outer space kinds of things inside. They also had a game room and prizes. The main dining area was an area that mostly families and kids sat in and they had a lounge where mainly adults without kids hung out. It was lunch and labor day so there were many families there, so we decided instead of taking up room in the cool part that the kids obviously adored, that we would eat in the lounge. The lounge had a bar and they also had a machine at each table where you could play games, cards games, word games, mind games, etc for $1.00 for 4 credits, each game was about two. We decided on a word game and found out all too soon that neither of us must be smart enough to play the games, it was a word scramble and we couldn't even get the first one at the easiest level, now that's bad.

The food was good and they had quite a variety. Afterward, we decided to look around and headed off to the game room where we witnessed some jackpot winners, 10,000 tickets...boy did those moms look excited (not) as they were standing there waiting for all of the tickets to come out, but the kids were extremely excited. As we were going outside, there were two teenage boys that stopped at a couple of tables. The place was packed and there wasn't any room to get around them. My first thought was...if you are going to talk, could you let enough room for people to go by...then I heard their conversation and thought, boy am I a jerk. The boys had won a lot of tickets and were stopping by the tables to give them away to young kids and telling them that they just liked playing the games and didn't need any of the prizes and were hoping that someone else could use the tickets. The smiles on the faces were just amazing, the kids were smiling and it made everyone around them smile. It was a wonderfully positive thing to witness in a place of lots of happiness, two boys brought even more happiness! Love abounds even from stranger to stranger!

No more time off, we left for a load that picked up in Minnesota and delievered in Illinois. A quick short load that just took us the day to get there. After we delivered we were waiting on our next load. Jim and I were both surprised that we didn't have a load offer before we delievered. It had been the norm for the past couple of weeks that before we delivered we were offered a load because we were so close to the pickup. We waited for a little while and Jim decided to check and see what our layover option had in regards to the amount of trucks on dwell time and how many had been dispatched. As he was checking, he found out that our truck was out of service. We knew we hadn't put the truck out of service so we called to find out what was going on. After talking to FedEx, we found out that our truck was due for inspection.

At first, we were confused and then we realized that at orientation they had told us that our truck would need inspected soon. The date was over a month after orientation so I think we both put it out of our minds because it wasn't now and partially I think we both figured we would be reminded about it either through FedEx or Expediter Services, well obvioulsy that wasn't the case. After our frustration with ourselves, we called Expediter and asked them where we could have one done and it turned out that we could have it done at a TA, so we headed for Bloomington, Il. which was the closest. While we were at it, we had the service maintenance done on the truck as well as maintenance done on the APU. We chuckled a little afterward. We thought, you know how many times the truck had been in the shop the first couple of weeks, that if we would have thought about it, we could have had the maintenance, the inspection and the fixits all done at the same time. From now on, we put the dates in our calendars and have put a reminder for our next inspection which should be done in six months, so reminder comes in March:)

Afterwards, we went in to service and received a load opp as soon as we went back into service. This load picked up in Indiana and went to Arkansas. By this time we were starting to think about how we were going to get home because we wanted to take some time off. This load would have been great if it had delievered in Indiana but of course it picked up, so we didn't get to go home with this load. This load was a non-hazmat load but was classified as chemical, non-hazardous. We delivered it to a paper plant in the middle of nowhere. The drive was really neat and on some two lane state highways. It reminded us of the way towns were back in the 50s.

The roads ran along the Mississippi River flood plain, so there was nature and preserve areas all over. Of course being in the 50s, all that the towns had in them were just little small convenience stores with very limited parking. We were able to use a couple of them for food and restroom but had to make our own space along one of the sides of the small parking lot. The people were friendly and always spoke to you first and they asked how you were doing and shared that they felt the day was beautiful and how much they appreciated it.

We arrived at the plant and Jim and I knew from our own experiences that this type of plant can have a strong smell and once we drove back towards the dock, you could really smell it. I think that we both decided that it smelled like a port-a-potty that hadn't been cleaned out for at least a year or two. Thank goodness the smell only lasted through just a small portion of our drive back to the dock. The man who help unload our truck discussed the weather and the flooding in the spring and what FedEx CC is and how the team concept worked. We unloaded and were off to our next load. As we were leaving the plant, we noticed a big machine that was unloading rail cars. Jim or I had never seen a rail car being emptied. The machine literally picked up the car and turned it over to empty it. I guess I have lead a sheltered life although it hasn't been without trains, I wonder why I never witnessed this type of machine before, it was pretty cool. I'm not sure what it was called, I may have to figure that one out and find a picture somewhere.

Our next adventure took us to Memphis where we picked up a load of shower curtains that were headed to Minneapolis (Minnesota was starting to feel like home). The pickup was our usual pleasantries and the smile that I have when I hear the southern accents. The trip was pretty normal for us, starting to get in the swing of our sleep schedules and working on those. Then as we were following our wonderful GPS, the highway sign shared something different.

There was construction going on in downtown Minneapolis and where the GPS wanted us to exit was a small problem. There was a sign at the exit that said trucks use next exit. So...being the good sign followers that we are, we thought, we'll just go down and hit the next exit. There is probably a very good reason why they don't want us to take that exit. Well, come to find out, there was no way to get there from here. Once we found where we were supposed to be, it was just on the other side of where the road was closed, the complete opposite the other exit brought us out to. We were surrounded by small streets that we weren't sure were even suitable for a truck. Jim decided that we'd park and he'd walk and see if he could find someone who might be able to help us get around it. After a nice long walk, he found the dock and talked to the person at the dock who said, you would be better off going back to the highway and getting off on the original exit. He didn't have any idea of why they would route the trucks on the other road. So we went back to the highway, now going in the opposite direction as before and got off the exit. This time there was not a sign that said please use the next exit. We both found it strange that on one side of the interstate they had a sign but on the other side you were able to use the exit. Who knows, we did get there and unloaded.

The dock person the whole time kept saying, I don't know where these go and the person that we said was the contact was a neuro biologist or something. Somehow we got on the topic that usually the freight we haul is freight that is needed quickly, many times it has to do with an order that someone forgot to place or something that someone needs yesterday. He thought for a minute and then said, Oh...I bet I know where this goes. They were evidentally opening up a new portion of the hospital somewhere and he even made the connection of the person who was on the bill. He had been afraid that he was accepting freight that they hadn't ordered and then realized that probably wasn't the case. I wasn't sure what we would have done if he would have said, "Sorry we didn't order this." Actually I know what we would have done, we would have called dispatch and they would have handled it, but thank goodness we didn't have to do that:)

We decided to put ourselves out of service for a couple of hours, so that we could get showers, eat and nap. Once we came back into service, we received a load opp for the next day, which was Saturday. We were hoping for a load that went out on Friday and delievered on Sat but this one worked out even better mainly because Jim really needed some sleep and since the load was on Saturday, Iwas going to be the one who was driving and it turned out that it was a short load and it paid pretty good. This was a new type of load for us, it was being picked up at an airport and then taken to northern Minnesota. FedEx CC has their own air dispatch so we were working with a different set of regulations that we needed to follow. It was pretty interesting to pick up at the FedEx airport terminal. The load weight wise is probably about the lightest we've had at 270 lbs. The paperwork was a little different and we had to do dispatch a little different than what we were used to. We were there a little before they opened on Saturday so we were able to see the planes taking off which is something we both really enjoy doing.

We loaded up and then headed to northern Minnesota. Jim and I were both excited to go to Northern Minnesota, we figured we would get to see some different scenary and Jim was excited because the place we were going was the home to the fishing shows where they catch the big walleye and muskies (Go Muskies!!). As we were driving we were a litle disappointed because we were on a four lane highway all the way there. We were in the plains and drifting into the pine area. One of the coolest things we saw along the way was a helicopter working on power lines. We were warned by construction signs to watch out for low flying working helicopters, now that was a sign I had never seen before. The helipcopters actually lowered the worker from the helicoptor and as it was hovering, the person did their work. Talk about a risky job, I don't think that I could do it, if you fell, you would not be here to talk about it. Of course they had harnesses and helmets and all the safety equipment but still.

The hospital we delivered to was in a small town (nothing like Minneapolis) and the dock was very small. Jim mentioned that there was no way they could have gotten a tractor and trailer in it. It was pretty tight on both sides and at the top. The directions from FedEx were great and we found it right away. We found out that what we were hauling was IV tubing that they needed. This load was an easy delivery, pulled off freight, signed paperwork and we were off. I was able to share with the lady who had helped us take off the frieght that we knew all about IV tubing because of our nephew Reese who had a multi-organ transplant when he was about 1 year old. He had been through plenty of it, not sure whether it was more than what we hauled but it must have been pretty close.

From there we got a load offer that picked up in Iowa and delivered to Indiana. Yipee, we knew that was close to home so we would be able to go home from there. We enjoyed being out but were also excited to be able to go home and see all of our family. Bonus was that it was fair week too so we would even get to see friends that only come home for that one social event. The load picked up and delivered without any story to go along with it, I guess, they knew we wanted to get home. After delivery, I drove until we hit the Ohio line, at which time I started to sneeze. I told Jim that I must be allergic to Ohio:) Jim then drove the rest of the way home.

We spent time with family the week we were home. Much of it was spent in Upper. We were able to go to the fair on Thursday where we met up with my sisters, mom, dad, my nieces and nephews. It was a lot of fun spending time with all of them. Katie, one of our daughters, was able to come too. Kira and Casey are still working at Put-in-Bay and Disney, so they couldn't come. We have two nieces and a nephew that couldn't be there and my brother and his wife. My nephew had to work, my niece is in college and my other niece was at her mom's. We try to spend time with our family, all of the cousins are getting older and will be moving in their own directions. We especially want to get to spend some time with our nephew who has joined the marines, we know we will not get too many more opportunities to spend with him before he heads off to boot camp. We are proud of him and will miss him when he goes.

That is the same for all of them, once the kids go to college or get jobs, they might wind up somewhere other than Tiffin or Upper, so we want to cherish these times that we can all get together even if it is for just a short period of time. We also have younger nieces and nephews and a great nephew who are just a lot of fun to watch at the fair and the way their eyes light up when they see the animals and the rides. They make us laugh and we all have such a good time together. The hardest part about being on the road is that we can't just stop what we are doing and go visit. Thank God for cell phones and skype, we can keep in touch while on the road. It really beats long distant phone calls and pay phones.

My two nephews are being homeschooled so we were able to see them and work with them on their school work this last week. Kira, just came home last night, so we were able to see her before we went back out on the road. Mom, Katie and I were able to go shopping on Saturday. This last week we kept busy, while I was out visiting, Jim hung around and did some work on the truck. He was able to catch the football games at Dad's which is something I know he'll miss this fall. He has always enjoyed watching the games with dad. We were also able to go to our home church, both Saturday and Sunday and were able to see our church family and hear two great messages and sing some of our favorite hymns as well as go to our small group class, which we miss.

After church we went to our favorite place to eat, Bob Evans in Upper, actually it is our favorite place to eat because of their wonderful manager and great servers. (a little bias, my sisters, niece and nephew work there and all work on Sundays). A early happy birthday to my niece, Jessica who will be 21, sorry we won't be here to help celebrate. Happy belated, re-birthday to Reese, September 17th was the 8 year anniversary of his multi-organ transplant. We thank God for the family who was able to share the gift of life and give us the opportunity to spend these past 9 years with a great boy! Organ donation is the gift that gives and gives and gives. Our family has been so blessed by doctors, nurses, family and friends who know how much organ donations and transplants can change people's lives. Give the gift of life, if you aren't already, please consider being an organ donor.

It was so nice to see everyone and catch up. We are not sure when our next trip home will be but for sure we will be heading home for the Burks Thanksgiving at my cousin Jack's the weekend before Thanksgiving, can't wait to see everyone there. We may be home before then, depends on the load opps and our need to be home. As we head out tomorrow and head to Michigan (wish we were heading to the part of Michigan where we have family) and make our way to Texas, we give thanks for the opportunities we have daily and for the love we witness each day.

We are so blessed and thankful to have such wonderful and supportive people in our lives! God bless you all and watch out for those special blessings that God gives you everyday! Stay positive and look for what is positive in our world!

Peace and blessings to you all,

Judy