On the road again . . .

After completing orientation, we got our first call to go to Wellington, Ohio to pick up a shipment and take it to Holly, Michigan. It came during my hours to drive, so I drove the first trip. I got a little bit worried going through Toledo in heavy traffic, but we made it and even got there an hour before our scheduled time. Next, we took the dispatcher’s advice and relocated to Lancing, Michigan. From there, we got our second load going from Comstock, MI to Detroit. We didn’t have to be there until 3pm the next day for the pick-up, so we drove on up, found the place, and waited until 2:30. Then we found out they had asked for a truck with a 24 foot box, and ours has a 22 foot one, so Jim called the shipper and they told him no problem, it was only a couple of pallets and that they just always asked for 24 footers by default. But then dispatch called and told us they had sent a 24 foot truck for the load and they wanted us to deadhead to Goshen, Indiana. They paid us to move, then sent us on a load from Goshen to Windsor, Ontario. We arrived at the shipper for an 11pm pickup, but it was a big automotive parts plant, and they had had an equipment breakdown, and didn’t get us loaded until 2:30am. It was my turn to drive again, so I drove the rest of the night enroute to Windsor, and Jim took over after daybreak. It was an experience getting through customs on both sides of the border. It’s generally much easier to cross from the US into Canada than it is to get past US Customs to get back in the States – the same thing is true on the US/Mexican border, but I’d rather get stuck in Canada than Mexico almost any day. Anyhow, we got the load delivered and moved to the Detroit area to await our next call. We are both pretty tired after the last few runs, so I personally hope they wait until late tomorrow or Monday morning before they call. I’m including some pictures we took along the way, including some of the Ambassador Bridge between the US and Canada. I’m also including one of a barn that is in the middle of a WalMart SuperCenter parking lot in Ionia, Michigan – the just built it the parking lot around the barn – weird. They also had “covered parking” for horses and buggies – still in Amish country. :O) By the way, I noticed I had several typos on the blog, so feel free to edit at will. Remember, I’m typing inside a bouncing truck most of the time. More to come . . . love and miss you all.