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NEW INTERNATIONAL WITH REFER TO IL
NEW PETERBILT WITH TANKER TO PQ
Friday - 3/18/11
8
AM, much better than the prior 6-7 AM but it is still going to take days to
recover from that all nighter.
The shuttle driver has two names on his
list, but dispatch says it's just me. He checks again, just me … 45
minutes down the road, dispatch calls. It's not just me. Back we go, 1-1/2 hour
delay … here we go again.
Truck is ready and starts when I get
there. ½ a tank of fuel so I can get a few miles down the road. Opps,
I'm two miles down the wrong road before I realize I'm going the wrong highway.
Still the right direction so only about a mile lost, the two roads run
parallel.
When I pull on the four lane, one of the first things I see
is a bear, dead in the ditch. Still haven't seen a live one, but this is not
the first dead one I've seen.
I have plenty of time this trip, I can
drop the first truck 24/5 and I have three days to get 950 miles in the second
truck. So I try and call my brother who lives right en-route. Haven't talked to
him for a while so don't know if he's working or off on Saturdays. I'll be
there just past noon so even if he's only working a ½ day we might meet
up. I leave a message, no call back.
Someone on the message board
wanted to know if RoadRanger would do the 'pump start,' I adjust my trip to
find out. 1st one does, 2nd one does. So yes, but you can't pay at the pump,
still need to go inside to pay. The second location says this is only the 3rd
transaction they have done with 'pre-pay.' Doesn't sound like this is a very
big hit, hope they don't drop it.
I call todays drop and leave a
message, no one picks up or returns my call. Then I call tomorrows pickup, our
contact is no longer with the company. Yes the truck is ready, it is already by
the security gate and he'll leave the paperwork at the shack. Then I call the
taxi, they want a call back in the AM to make sure I've made it to my Rockford
motel. I don't call my 2nd drop as I didn't want to deal with the 'French'
issue.
I told dispatch that I would call them before they close with
an ETA. I do it as I'm leaving my second fuel stop. As I'm talking, waiting for
the stop light to change, my low air (brake) alarm goes off. Just from holding
down the brake while stopped caused it to loose enough air to lock it up, it
takes another light change before I have enough air to move. Great, this should
be fun. Trying to get through Chicago rush hour without using the breaks.
These trucks are supposed to be delivered full of fuel, I've stopped
about 35 miles out as it's the last truckstop I know of. And I watched after
last fill and the gauge should still be on the 'F' but not quite laying on
full.
I dropped at this location a few weeks ago so that makes it a
little less stressful, traffic isn't too bad and I use the brakes sparingly.But
I still can't hit all the lights green and I watch as the pressure d-r-o-p-s
… But it is regulated so it won't kick on until it gets to a set pressure.
Doesn't matter if I rev the engine or not.
This time I go in the
correct direction to the drop, last time I went in the exit. Sign off is
painless, I don't recognise the name of the taxi we used last time so I pick
one that looks like it's based close. It'll be 15 minutes, I call after a
½ hour and he's 'close.' I've missed the first bus, but the taxi would
have had to be sitting here. Later I'll find the business card of the taxi we
used last time … in my wallet.
I get to the airport a ½
hour before the next flight, my driver has never dropped anyone by the busses
before and I don't remember ever coming in on the ground before. Had we settled
up before we got to the airport I could have just jumped out the left door, but
the crossing guard was motioning him to keep moving so we had to go around the
Hilton and come back past the correct loading/unloading area. I should check
and see how much each fare was.
$20 to Rockford, bus is about ½
full. They run these every hour. This one only goes to Rockford, a different
one goes to Janesville, Madison and beyond.
1st stop is the Clock
Tower resort, don't see any activity so I don't know if the fleeing WI
congressmen are still there or not. The bus only stops at the Holiday Inn by
request, I didn't request it but someone else did so I hop off there and walk
to the Motel 6. Price has gone up to $32, sometime in the last month.
>>>>>>>> TRIP ADVISOR - Motel 6, Rockford, IL
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
"Still an OK
motel"
3 of 5 stars
Date of review: Mar 27, 2011
I say still
because it has the signs of a good motel lacking upkeep. First, the water was
hot, the room was clean and warm. The only issue I mentioned to the desk at
checkout was that when I used the sink in the AM for about 5 minutes, it then
took 10 plus minutes to drain the half a sink of water.
Signs of lack of
upkeep included, doors that looked like warehouse doors because they had been
hit so many times with cleaning carts, no inspection notice posted in the
elevator, wallpaper, carpeting and tiles coming loose.
The posted price
went from $29 to $32 in early 2011, and is likely still the cheapest motel in
the area. Because of the price, I'd recommend this motel, but with caution.
Also large vehicle parking is limited.
* Reviewer ratings for this
hotel:
o 3 of 5 stars Value
o 3 of 5 stars Rooms
o 3 of 5 stars
Location
o 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
o 3 of 5 stars Service
o 3 of 5
stars Sleep Quality
* Date of stay: March 2011
>>>>>>>> TRIP ADVISOR - Thunder Bay Grille, Rockford,
IL <<<<<<<<<<<<<
"Yep, I'll be
back"
4 of 5 stars
Date of review: Mar 22, 2011 - New
Closest
food to the Motel 6 where I was staying
After two similar not so good
meals on the road, I reluctantly tried their Chicken Alfredo.It was good, the
helping looked small but it was all I was able to eat, the buns were great too
but I was too full to finish all of them. M-mmmm.
They wanted to
charge me an extra $1.90 to sub soup for a salad and I was too cheap tonight to
do that, so I had a salad with 1,000 Island. Again, very good, everything
fresh.
Service was prompt, and frequent enough. It was closing in on 9
PM and was surprisingly quiet. One big group was just leaving and were taking
family pictures against the rustic background.
Yep, I'll be back.
* Reviewer ratings for this restaurant:
o 3 of 5 stars
Value
o 3 of 5 stars Service
* Date of visit: March 2011
*
Member since: November 28, 2010
* Would you recommend this restaurant
to a friend? Yes
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Saturday - 3/19/11
I likely should have called the taxi again
last night when I got in but … didn't. I call when I wake up at 6:30. Taxi
says they were expecting my call or they were going to call me. They are most
of an hour away so need to get rolling. I didn't think that it may be a 1-2
person operation. A call last night would have helped.
The taxi driver
has her husband with, they talk between themselves as much as talking to me.
They know the place I'm going to, that helps, as it's not the place I was
thinking I had been too years ago. We go past the nuclear power plant and the
driver says they took someone 'home' last night from out of town that is here
working at the plant. I would guess with the goings on in Japan right now these
places are re-checking everything.
No title. On the outside of my
paperwork it says in big letters that I must have the truck title before I
leave the customer. OK, guess I should have asked about that yesterday too, but
I would think some of this stuff should be routine? Now I have an hour plus
before dispatch starts to answer their phone. Prior weekend dispatch used to
just turn it on when they got up, guess the new one does not. Another reason
that I wasn't going to get up early this AM.
The guard gets someone on
the phone, who gets someone at home, who says that the title has been sent to
the broker and that they would 'never give the title to a driver.' And this is
news to dispatch why? Something that was important enough to write on the
outside of my paperwork was not important enough to cover with the shipper?
This does give me time to get a much needed walk in, back and forth,
back and forth. I know it's getting close to 10 AM as the weekend crew is
leaving, must be working ½ day Saturday.
While I'm waiting, I
text another driver that his buddy 'Murphy' (of Murphy's law) has found me. No,
I guess he's mutated, as he had both this driver and the one he was with shut
down last week on a run to PHX.
Once dispatch calls, it's only a
couple more minutes before I get a second call clearing me to go. 2-1/2 hours
into my day … good thing I only have 444 miles to go each of the next two
days.
I was expecting no fuel so I was happy to find the gauge not on
'E.' I have enough to get to the freeway and to the next exit where there is
another RoadRanger / Pilot. Pump start works here also, and the guy at the fuel
desk asks me how the drivers set these things up …
I also buy and
add two jugs of DEF, 5 gallons, that should get me to QC. As I'm pulling out of
the truckstop, my brother calls. He's gotten a new phone, and yes, he was home
all day yesterday … but I forgot to charge my phone last night and as soon
as I started making dispatch calls, my bars dropped.
With a stick
shift I really didn't want to take the toll road but I've never been on this
stretch of I-88 so I go for it. Computer says it's the shortest route, bumps me
into I-294 near Chicago and more tolls. I pass five fire trucks at the toll
booth, I should have gotten a picture when they were all stopped, I did take
one later, the second time they passed me. They were doing a real convoy, they
all waited for each other at every toll booth, that's going to add some time to
the trip. No info on the trucks so I don't know where they were going.
Chicago was quiet for a Saturday, same with IN and MI. No scales open, not much
traffic. I want to fuel once more before getting to Canada and hope that will
be enough. There is a Flying J that I can never find up here. I almost miss my
turn where the freeway splits and just as I make it I see that I should have
gone the 'wrong way' to get to the Flying J. This is not the first time I've
taken a U-turn to get here. I don't think I have ever made it from the south
and gotten there correctly.
I top it off good and roll again, I'm
about an hour or two from the border, I could have fueled later but this was
the last name brand truck stop. I've checked the corp lodging site and found
the Comfort Inn in Port Huron is still the cheapest, I've stayed there a few
times before.
The host at the Bob Evans seems friendly when I walk in
and when I'm paying she thinks she knows me, she's worked there for 10 years
and knows it's been a while since I've been through … didn't know I was
that memorable.
>>>>>>>> TRIP ADVISOR -
Comfort Inn, Port Huron, MI
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
"Last chance
before the border crossing"
3 of 5 stars
Date of review: Mar 22, 2011
- New
I prefer to cross the border into Canada in the AM when more
people are available if I have issues. This motel gets me within a couple of
miles of the boarder. A corporate discount gets it into my price range.
Check in was pleasant and quick, large vehicle parking is on the street. I'm
the only one tonight.
Room is clean, water is warm, heater works, WiFi is
free. My room is on the ground floor, the lot is fairly full of cars but the
area is still quiet. Pictures are included to keep the comments short.
Bob
Evans is within walking distance, about a ½ a block. But across the
highway and there is road construction so some may prefer to drive.
Breakfast included both waffles and hard boiled eggs, plus the usual cereals,
donuts and breads. And it is from 6 AM to 10:30 AM one of the longer ranges
I've come across.
I don't post this on every motel, but I rarely turn on
the TV when in a motel so I have no comment on if they work.
*
Reviewer ratings for this hotel:
o 4 of 5 stars Value
o 3 of 5 stars
Rooms
o 4 of 5 stars Location
o 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
o 3 of 5
stars Service
o 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
* Date of stay: March
2011
* Visit was for: Business
* Solo Traveler
* Member since:
November 28, 2010
* Recommended by this reviewer? Yes
Was
this review helpful? Yes
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday - 3/20/11
I'm learning, I don't get to the border
more than an hour before dispatch opens. What are the chances things will go
correctly? Only one truck waiting to come into the US … the perks of
running on the weekend. NO ONE waiting on the Canadian side, two bays open.
They ask the usual …
"Where do I live?" … (it says on my
passport you're looking at)
"How long am I staying?"
"Do I have any
firearms?"
"Have I ever been fingerprinted?" (That's a new one) …
'no.'
"Do I have any firearms? (you asked that one aready)
… but
I still have to go inside 9
I think I've been across this border a
dozen or more times, and have never been inside this building. Lucky I guess.
I get lost, can't find the broker even with help. Finally I find it,
after a few minutes I have my paperwork, then it's down to customs. "This is a
duplicate" they tell me almost as soon as I sit down. The broker doesn't know
(at first) what is a duplicate. But back down I go, this time I'm cleared
… another 1-1/2 hours because ???
Rolling, first scale is closed.
I've been this route before. Been this way so many times that I've posted the
route online.
http://sites.google.com/site/travelbasicsexit101/trip-guides/port-huron-to-quebec
Too bad I didn't think to print it out before I left. So I make notes
of where the scales and truckstops are. Last night I checked online and found
that Mapquest only includes the 'paid' motel listings of Best Western and
Holiday Inn for Canada. I had to go to the Days Inn / Super 8 Motel websites to
find what I was looking for. 15 minutes for the border, QC/ON, there is a Super
8 for $100 or an hour plus from the border there is a couple of motels for $70.
I want to be as close as possible without hearing French so I'll pay
the extra tonight. Not much new in Canada, only one scale open. I had thought
of running the full eight hours without stopping, I have the fuel. But then the
driver I text yesterday calls and texts so I stop to reply, 'Hands free only'
in ON. I stop at the 'new' Trenton Rest Area / Oasis and am not impressed.
Trucks need to back into their spots, and the cars (or people driving them)
can't read. So as the trucks are backing the cars are pulling into their way.
And the spots are not at a good angle for the big rigs.
Inside this
Oasis is a Tim Horton's with about two dozen people in line.
http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/index.html
An A&W with a dozen and
a sweet shop with only a couple of people. Didn't know that eating at the Oasis
was that big of deal. I'm not going to wait but do want something to drink. I
didn't bring anything across the border, but they didn't ask any questions this
time about food.
I go to the convenience store and get a bottle of
juice for $2.59. I have enough Canadian change from last time. As I walk out I
see a vending machine with the same juice for $2.25.
I call the driver
who called and texted. He's trying to move a truck I picked up a week ago
Friday. That was is losing air so fast he can't move and the driver he was
going to run with, that truck won't start at all, dead as a door nail. Worked
fine when I had it for the two hours.
Rolling again, three more hours
to Cornwall, my stop for the night. I check the price at the Super 8, they will
give me the CAA/AAA discount which will keep it below $100 … before the
exchange rate adjustment. There is a 'food court' next door but it looks vacant
so I ask before shutting off my truck, otherwise there is a Husky truckstop
with a restaurant across the freeway.
It's open, or at least the Tim
Horton's is. Not sure if they have changed or I'm in the wrong place. I thought
it was a Tim Hortons I had stopped at a few years ago and they had a cafeteria
style line with all kinds of food. This Tim Hortons, and their website, shows
they are now basically a coffee, donut and sub shop. ???
I'd like a
chicken salad sandwich, but they are hard to predict, there are so many ways to
make them. So I decide to order BOTH a chicken salad and a turkey bacon
sandwich, then went next door for my juice. I get a little surprise at Tim's
when I get my change back … didn't expect to only get $18.20 for my $20
bill, but that is the current exchange rate.
No rush to get to bed
early tonight, I've decided to head in behind the rush hour instead of before
it. I got an email from dispatch giving me a persons name, number and that he
would give me a ride to the airport. I had planned on taking the city bus, I'd
have plenty of time.
>>>>>>>> TRIP ADVISOR -
Super 8, Cornwall, ON <<<<<<<<<<<<<
"It's the last English speaking motel before QC"
3 of 5 stars
Date of review: Mar 22, 2011 - New
I choose this town because it was
as close as I could get to the QC/ON boarder without crossing it. I choose this
motel because of price. I would have had to stay an hour west to find anything
much cheaper.
Front desk was pleasant and helped me find the best rate, in
this case it was the CAA / AAA rate. They do have a couple of spots designated
for large vehicles but tonight that was not an issue. There is a large lot next
door but it is clearly marked everywhere that the owners of that lot WILL TOW
YOU. The next closest parking is across the freeway at the truckstop.
Room
was clean, water was warm, heater worked. WiFi was free and worked. I was at
the end of the hall by the stairs and didn't hear a thing. Pictures are
included to keep the comments short.
There is a 'food mall' next door, but
all that is open now is Tim Horton's, across the freeway is a restaurant at the
truckstop.
A rare time I want to watch TV and they don't have the channel
I want. HBO, maybe it's not as big in Canada as in the US. This location does
have movies on innvue.com, I didn't check it out. I had the time but not the
interest.
Breakfast was the usual including waffles.
No issues,
fulfills all my basics, I'll be back.
* Reviewer ratings for this
hotel:
o 3 of 5 stars Value
o 3 of 5 stars Rooms
o 3 of 5 stars
Location
o 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
o 3 of 5 stars Service
o 3 of 5
stars Sleep Quality
* Date of stay: March 2011
* Visit was for:
Business
* Solo Traveler
* Member since: November 28, 2010
*
Recommended by this reviewer? Yes
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday - 3/21/11
First night in a long time on the road
where I didn't sleep well, slept five hours, was awake four hours, so was sound
asleep when the alarm did go off.
I call the customer at 8 AM, my
contact is not there yet but I left a message. Gave them the two hour notice
they had asked for. But I'm draggin' this AM so it's another ½ hour
before I'm ready to roll.
Fuel gauge looks a hair lower than last
night, I had hoped I'd make it without buying fuel. Not likely.
The QC
scale is open but I get the go arrow, more new highway for me, 540 and 40
through Montreal. Traffic is still heavy enough now, glad I wasn't here during
rush hour. I've been debating where to/ if to stop for fuel. Then I see a
Flying J and I'm there. No sense in trying to find a convenience store in
Montreal later. I try to use pump start, half is in English, half in French. I
give up and go inside, I try to buy $20 in fuel but that will cost me $21.05
??? Not quite the same math as last night.
I fuel, I roll. I don't
have my map out when I need to exit, so I take a wrong turn. Not in the wrong
direction, but it takes two more turns than the other way would have. I miss
the customer on one side of the building because I'm looking for the sales rep
name, the name on the building matches the name on the paperwork.
I
ask for my contact by name but they don't know who I'm looking for, so I give
them another name … hmmm, when I called this AM they knew who the guy was
??? They inspect the truck, sign off, make copies. Then I decide I should call
my contact, yep. It finally dawned on me that my contact was with the rep
company, he'll be right over. He was waiting for my call.
I pull the
truck out so he can take pictures of all sides and then re-park it. And he is
willing to give me a ride to the airport, really was not expecting this. I
hadn't heard that from any other drivers.
The guy says he's been
waiting two weeks for this truck but the boss is out of drivers ??? I didn't
know we were that short.
At the airport there is no line at the
counter, nor at security. Last time I was here there were 100's of people in
line and we were finally pulled to the front of the line so we could make our
flight. Sure, when I have six hours to spare … no line.
I ask
customs how to declare my license plates, no problem, and he only asks if I
drive 'stacks' (of trucks). "Similar" I say, that's the only question he asks.
But I get hung up at the door, after security, there are three people
who scan my ticket. The last one doesn't work, so they have to back track to
the middle person. Nope, not him, so back to the first person and start over.
This time it works. I'm cleared.
Missed a good picture, all the
Montreal snow plows going across in the runway in line. Then the snow let up,
(now, four hours later it's snowing heavy again, right before takeoff)
Food is a little pricey here. I didn't want to spend $7 for soup and $14 for a
burger at a bar so I got it from a stand where a burger, onion rings and juice
cost me $17.99.
24 flights on the CN / US board when I looked. 4 have
been canceled, 8 are delayed … and it's snowing.
Yep, snowing
enough so that we need to get de-iced, that's going to cost about a ½ an
hour. I couldn't even see out my window most of the time they were de-icing, my
window was snowed in. Thick wet snow. |
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