Upstate New York is filled with beautiful rural scenes of gently rolling hills and quaint little farms that have a look of days gone by about many of them. One prominent thing you see over in the Western portion of the state is vineyards. I assume that the weather and soil in this area must be conducive to the successful propagation of grapes. There are small little wineries here and there, some of them with signs advertising "free tastings". Here's a shot of some grape vines on a small farm that I passed. Of course this is winter time and the vines look dead and dried up, but come spring time these vines will burst forth with green growth and renewed life. What an annual reminder and affirmation God gives us in nature of how the power of His indestructible life can burst forth in anyone, no matter how dead and dried up their spirit may seem.
It's funny how the thought of "New York" brings up thoughts of a busy city with people hustling about to get to Broadway productions and over priced restaurants with uppity atmospheres, but for the most part the vast majority of the state of New York looks much like this.
I'm here a lot, and to be honest with you, if it weren't for the difficult winters I wouldn't mind living here at all. It is very pretty up here, and the people are always friendly. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm looking for somewhere else to live, it is just that my stereotypical opinions of New York have been shattered by my many visits to the state.
I made it into Cressona today with two minutes left on my clock for legal driving time today. Hows that for trip planning and timing? It was a beautiful drive through a mountainous area of Pennsylvania, which made the roughly 300 mile trip take much longer than it would have if I could have traveled on interstate highways. On a good day of driving on interstates I can do about 600 miles legally, but today I did about half that and was exhausted at the end of the day. The constant attention and vigilance required when commandeering a vehicle this large through two lane roads curving their way through steep mountain passes is exhausting at times, especially when you are dealing with snow, freezing rain, ice, and heavy fog. It's all in a day's work for me, and this time of year I get more than my share of stressful, yet satisfying days.
I ate some crackers and lunch meat for my meal tonight, didn't really get a lunch break - just snacked on some almonds, and started my day with two Pop Tarts while driving. This is my third day of sleeping at a customers location - I am starting to look forward to a night at a truck stop where I can get a shower and a maybe a decent meal.
I will leave here in the morning for the first leg of this trip which has it's first stop in Nashville, Tennessee. I can't quite make it that far due to the regulatory restrictions I must abide by, so that will give me the chance to find a truck stop to sleep at for my next ten hour break. From there I hope to deliver in Nashville on Monday morning, then make a second stop in Selmer, Tennessee, followed by the last leg of this trip down into New Albany Mississippi, where I hope to make it to my receiver on Monday night so that I can once again sleep in their parking lot for a Tuesday morning delivery. That allows me to turn in my paperwork for this job by the cut-off time for the week's work which will give me another week of doing over three thousand miles, which means a good solid pay-check for my efforts. This trucking career is completely performance based pay - if you can figure it all out and be willing to make the sacrifices necessary, it can really be worthwhile, but if you don't then it can really wear you down and keep you in the poor house.
This is an adventurous job, but it takes it's toll on many of the people who attempt it. I can't tell you how many truck drivers I come across that moan and groan about how it's killing them. I really enjoy what I do, but I realize how difficult it can be on someone who doesn't really understand what you have to do to succeed at this stuff. I am doubly blessed with such a wonderfully patient and gentle loving wife at home who also makes the sacrifices necessary for this to be a successful career for me. My love of this career is a drop in the bucket compared to how much I love and adore the gentle woman God so generously blessed my life with.
It looks like you spent the better part of your Saturday driving the 300 miles to Cressona to pick up your load; you were driving empty. Do you get paid for those miles, even though you're not hauling anything?
ReplyDeleteYes Pete, I get paid for all my dispatched miles, be they empty or loaded.
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