Trucking

View Larger Map
If you zoom out you’ll notice this is Brooklyn. This is where I delivered today. I’ve said before I’m not going into NYC ever again. Oh well. I get in just fine, found the place, actually drove right by it because it’s literally a hole in the wall and went around the block. Had to drop the trailer and let the crew unload while I parked a mile away and tried to sleep.

This is from google maps, street view. Just imagine a big 53′ foot trailer dropped where the white car is.

View Larger Map
I had to drop the trailer because the tractor was blocking the intersection right in front. The problem I have is getting out of New York. Manhatten is the worst, I really, really don’t go into Manhatten anymore. Brooklyn is almost truck friendly, in a New York City kind of way.

One major problem with driving a semi around New York City is the low bridges. The problem is overpasses are not properly marked. I couldn’t find a quick example in google map street view and usually I’m a little too busy to be taking pictures. Maybe next time. Anyway, a bridge marked 12′ 2″ is usually a problem. Not always in NYC, it has something to do with the lack of snow removal or so I’ve heard. I know places that are definitely marked 12′2″ and they’re on the expressway and they’re safe because I’ve followed other trucks. That’s just one of the many challenges that face big trucks in New York City.

I’m sure I would get better if I did it more, but I really don’t want to do it more to find out. Between the traffic, the construction and the traffic through the construction, I don’t know why people would live there on purpose. I’d like to go back and take a car around, it’s definitely an interesting place.

Once you’re in, you would never have to leave. It’s incredible how each neighborhood had absolutely everything you would ever need within a few blocks. Every few blocks is like a different country. It’s no wonder almost every movie made has been in made or sometimes made to look like New York City.

Happy New Year to everyone. I had this brilliant idea to see the fireworks down on the strip this year. A popular place to view the fireworks is along Industrial, which is now Dean Martin Dr. Since I can’t park the truck close to our house, it’s parked at the Wild Wild West truck stop which is at Tropicana and Dean Martin Dr. We drove down there very early, pay for parking, load some things in the truck, clean the inside, watch TV, gamble a little, take a nap (we got there early), get up and watch the fireworks. It was a good plan to avoid the traffic and the struggle to find a place to park along Dean Martin Dr.

Las Vegas fireworks are supposed to be some of the best and can be seen from almost anywhere in the valley. Usually more than one hotel rooftop is the launching point and they are synchronized with each other and music. A very big deal. This year launched from three hotel rooftops simultaneously lasting for eight minutes.

I must be getting old, I’ve been to Industrial to watch them before and every hotel on the strip had fireworks, from Mandalay Bay to Bellagio. At least five or six groups of fireworks going at the same time, even from Industrial Drive you could feel the booms exploding. This year, not so much. Three rooftops, the new City Center construction blocking most of the strip, they didn’t seem high enough and not very loud at all. It didn’t seem like eight minutes and you couldn’t even tell there was a finale.

Back in the old days, the fireworks were for the entire city to see, now it seems they are only for the drunken hordes that are clogging the strip.

First picture is looking toward the City Center construction with the fireworks probably coming from Planet Hollywood with more to the left that you can’t see, probably fired from the Paris or the Flamingo.

The second is New York New York with the fireworks behind being fired from the MGM Grand.

Happy New Year to everyone. I had this brilliant idea to see the fireworks down on the strip this year. A popular place to view the fireworks is along Industrial, which is now Dean Martin Dr. Since I can’t park the truck close to our house, it’s parked at the Wild Wild West truck stop which is at Tropicana and Dean Martin Dr. We drove down there very early, pay for parking, load some things in the truck, clean the inside, watch TV, gamble a little, take a nap (we got there early), get up and watch the fireworks. It was a good plan to avoid the traffic and the struggle to find a place to park along Dean Martin Dr.

Las Vegas fireworks are supposed to be some of the best and can be seen from almost anywhere in the valley. Usually more than one hotel rooftop is the launching point and they are synchronized with each other and music. A very big deal. This year launched from three hotel rooftops simultaneously lasting for eight minutes.

I must be getting old, I’ve been to Industrial to watch them before and every hotel on the strip had fireworks, from Mandalay Bay to Bellagio. At least five or six groups of fireworks going at the same time, even from Industrial Drive you could feel the booms exploding. This year, not so much. Three rooftops, the new City Center construction blocking most of the strip, they didn’t seem high enough and not very loud at all. It didn’t seem like eight minutes and you couldn’t even tell there was a finale.

Back in the old days, the fireworks were for the entire city to see, now it seems they are only for the drunken hordes that are clogging the strip.

First picture is looking toward the City Center construction with the fireworks probably coming from Planet Hollywood with more to the left that you can’t see, probably fired from the Paris or the Flamingo.

The second is New York New York with the fireworks behind being fired from the MGM Grand.

Originally uploaded by Adventures In Trucking

I realized I hadn’t put our Alaska pictures online since I moved Adventures in Trucking to it’s new home. I was going to split them and get them organized a little, but they would never get up here.

There are 44 pictures, some of British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska all from the Alcan Highway and back. Anchorage, Whittier, where we took a tour of the glaciers and our fishing trip from Homer. For those new to Adventures we took a load of store fixtures to Anchorage back in July 2005.

Originally uploaded by Adventures In Trucking

It was the most incredible trip we’ve ever had. The Alcan is not an easy road and even harder in a big truck. Next time we’re taking the ferry!

Here’s the link to the picture page and it will be listed on the sidebar with the rest of our pictures. There are 44, so it may take a minute to load They don’t have descriptions or titles, I’ll get around to doing that soon, maybe. Here’s the link for the posts we did back then. I’ll have to check and see if there are any more pictures I don’t have listed here. The new top banner is from our Alaska trip.

Rest area at the top of Vail pass on I70
Originally uploaded by Adventures In Trucking

From the 17th of this month. On my way from Denver to Las Vegas on I70 I stopped at the rest area at the top of Vail pass so Willie could play in the snow. He’s not a Snow Dog. We need to get a coat for him for when it really does get cold.

Colorado changed their chain laws so we have to start carrying chains starting on the 1st of September, now I know why.

Rest area at the top of Vail pass on I70
Originally uploaded by Adventures In Trucking

We’re at the Flying J in Houston, about 15 miles north of downtown on I-45. Across the street is a small shopping center with a movie theater. Great! We walk across the street and went in and saw a bar. I’m a little disoriented looking for the popcorn and candy counter.

We’re in a Movie Tavern. Not very many around, but it’s a really cool movie experience.  Very comfortable chairs on rollers instead of stadium seats with a small counter in front of every row for drinks a food. We’re handed a menu after we pay for the movie. Mostly sandwiches, hamburgers and appetizers. Mixed drinks, beer, just about anything like a regular restaurant with a really big screen.

Wait staff running around before the movie. After the movie started you really didn’t notice them much. We already ate before, expecting a regular movie theater, we take in a few snacks and pop. The nachos were looking pretty good, if we’re still here tomorrow.

Willie checking out the bug.
Originally uploaded by Adventures In Trucking

We made it to Houston, we stopped at a rest area between San Antonio and Houston that had a nature trail for a short walk. We have no idea what this is. It looks like a giant grass hopper, but it has a long stinger for a tail.

We might have something else right away, but won’t know till later today. Maybe things are beginning to pick up.

The Gaudette Monster Truck sitting in center field.
Originally uploaded by Adventures In Trucking

After visiting family, it’s always nice to get back into our own routine. We might have a load tomorrow and we may not. But our home truck is back from the shop and ready to get back to work.

We had a blast with the kids at the BMX races in Isanti, there were older kids and really older kids racing. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was a lot of fun.

Willie was a handful with a house full of kids, another dog and a cat. He was a blast to watch, when he wasn’t being bad. We would be in the yard and he can run so fast, when he turns he tumbles over or slides on his side. He definitely a tease when it came to the other dog. We could have ten bones on the ground, but both dogs would fight over the same one. If Willie had it, he would tease the other one by getting close to the other dog with the bone in his mouth until the little Boston Terrier would start chasing him, which is what he wanted. I left the movie camera in the truck and we didn’t get any pictures of the two of them because they wouldn’t stand still long enough in the same place.

We are back in the truck and at a truck stop next to I-94 waiting for orders! They changed one of our favorite independent truck stops into a Petro 2. Hopefully the restaurant and the bakery are still the same.

I’ve got the pictures here along with a link to the Youtube videos of the kids racing.

A little boring as we are staying in the truck for a few days while waiting for our freight that we delivered to Texas A&M on Wednesday morning.  We will be returning it to California after we reload on Saturday.  Since trucking has been slow we are not looking for a hotel to park the truck.  We will stay in the truck and take lots of walks with Willie. 

We found a Mexican Restaurant next door and we had some strawberry margaritas and dinner.  I wish we would have brought the TV and some DVD’s but books, word puzzles and playing solitaire helps me with my day.  Wayne has been working on this editing and writing on the new site he has been hired at “Life on the Road“. 

Next week we will be in Minnesota for my nephew/godson’s Wedding.  We will be staying with my daughter and her family and Willie will even have a playmate.  She has a Boston Terrier named Zsa-Zsa.  I will try to get pictures of the two playing if we can get them to hold still for a moment. 

We picked up empty plastic tomato bins in Florida that a farm was moving to one of their other farms in Mappville, VA which is on that little piece of peninsula across the Chesapeake Bay from Virginia and Maryland.

We crossed the 15 mile long Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel ($35 for big trucks), parts of it is a bridge then there are parts that go below the water into a tunnel so that large ships can go above the tunnel without having to make a tall bridge or mess with a draw bridge. It would have been cool to see a large freighter go by in between the bridge spans because the bridge parts are right down on the water.

We don’t pick up our next load until Monday, so we’re here for a few days. It’s hot and muggy, but not as bad as Florida. At least we’re going back to Southern California and I’ll be able to get to Vegas and take care of a few appointments before hitting the road again.

More Improvements

On the old site, I had placed Flickr badges on the sidebar when we had a new bunch of photos. That was getting kind of long and it would take awhile to load them all.

Now, I have a listing under Photos of our photo albums, (still in progress, so check back often) which will take you to a separate page with a list of thumbnails at the bottom of the page. Clicking on a thumbnail brings up a pretty cool effect (I didn’t make it, I just installed it here) to view photos. I’m putting any youtube videos on that page also for the same reason. Because it was starting to take a long time to load up all those graphics on the main page if you’re only coming by to read the latest post.