Wow what a great way to finish a fantastic week. Me and Wolf took a steady run up to Lethbridge. Just before we got to the yard I said about going to the golf driving range for a laugh and it would give us something to do he said 'why the f--k not' lol (that’s Wolf for ya)
We got back to the yard at 2pm and dropped our trailers. Wolf’s job got changed he was going back out with another load....it will probably be 2-3 months before I see him again. I went off and did my washing and popped up to the bank to transfer some money from one account to the other, so much easier to do all this when you have a car.
I finished my washing and went back to the yard only to find Wolfs job had changed again so he was having a 36 hour reset as well but now he had to go and do his washing, we agreed to meet in the Lethbridge Lodge. As I was putting my washing a way a car pulled up behind me it was my friend Shona. She had just done her air brake test and was about to go back to her place when she spotted my car. I have not seen Shona for a couple of months and she's learning to drive a truck herself now.
I followed Shona back to her place so she could drop off her friends car and then we went to the Lethbridge Lodge. I went upstairs to shower and change and she went into the bar where there were 4 new H&R drivers. She knew them because she has just done the air brake test with them by the time I had showered and changed Wolf should have been at the hotel but he wasn't so me and Shona went to a Chinese buffet. We went back to see if Wolf was in the hotel but he wasn’t so I went up the yard to pick him up. He was watching a DVD so I dragged him down to the hotel there was me Shona Wolf and George (the big trip) and 4 of the new drivers we had such a laugh all night. 1 of the new drivers was an Irish lad, I think the best teller of Irish jokes is an Irish man....we were rolled up with laughter it was a great night.
Because I don’t drink and I have a car it was my job to drop them off so we dropped Shona off first then a new driver back to the Sandman then me and Wolf grabbed a pizza.
George always tells me there is nothing to do on your reset so the next day me Wolf Shona and George all went up to the golf driving range and whacked about a few balls. Me and George were killing ourselves laughing at Wolf (we say he has anger management problems lololol) he was whacking the balls so hard they were going out of sight lol I just think he was thinking of all them car drivers that had cut us up on the way back lol.
At the golf driving range they have a go-cart track as well so the 4 of us jumped on them for 20 laps it was great fun. We went back to the truck to pick up Wolf’s little dog because we were going for a walk by the river. Like a dim wit I said about a BBQ they have BBQ pits there so you just need food and some charcoal. Well the lot cost $60 so it would have been cheaper to go to Wendy’s at the top of the hill... never mind! Then we walked down by the river and saw a baby deer having a drink. Not far from us we saw a few people on what look liked big air beds just floating down the river it looked great fun but I would not of liked the walk back!
I have found out since you can go on a trip to this river where you jump on one of these big air beds that take up to 6 people, you float down river for about 10 miles then you get met at the other end where they have a big BBQ waiting for you. Shona will be finding out all about this so when my family come over for a week we can all do it together lol. We had such a great day out there are plenty of things to do on your reset if you can be bothered to get up and go and do them.
Well it was time to drop everyone off then I went back to the hotel and had a shower before bed. It was a tiring day. Wolf woke me up he had left some stuff in my car and wanted me to drop it off the next morning. I got up early to drop his stuff off to him and the bloody git was still asleep!! I went and did some shopping and got ready for my trip to Nebraska. I went and picked up Shona because she has no car I said she can use mine. Its sat in the yard just collecting dust so a quick trip into the insurance company to stick her name on it and take Mick’s name off. Then we had a bite to eat then off on to my next trip. This trip I will be able to add 2 new states to my list (thanks Wayne).
Tuesday 30 June 2009
Friday 26 June 2009
What a great trip
I was sat waiting for my escort to turn up when another H&R truck turned up I was busy doing my paper work to notice who its was then I saw a smiling face walking towards me it was Wolf. I've not seen him in a couple of months and after we got loaded we ran back together.
I told him about the truck show at Las Vegas he had plenty of time so he said he would come with me. We went and got fuel and had showers then got as far as Barstow California. The next day we stopped in Peggie Sue's for breakfast and made our way to Las Vegas. The truck show had its own free truck parking.
We parked very close to the entrance and a good job we did when we got out of our trucks the heat hit us it was over 100f.
I went over and picked up my pass because I had already booked on line but Wolf tried to fill out the form but the lady who he spoke to was a bit dim lol so we spoke to someone else who just gave him a pass.
We started to walk around when Wolf spotted a poster of Alex Debogorski from Ice Road Truckers. I said to Wolf don't worry about the poster there's Alex there and we ended up shaking hands with the guy himself .
I told Alex I had met TJ only a couple of days ago and Wolf said he met the Polar Bear a couple of months ago we both had our pics taken with Alex. What a great guy, we spoke to his wife and son's as well they told us he was going to the UK next year to one of the truck shows he told us a bit about what he does in the summer when he is not on the Ice Roads
I brought my freezer from the truck show its a nice one which sits in my passenger foot well now I can use my slow cooker again and cook some stews and other dish's and freeze them, when I park up I will just put 1 in the microwave...well thats the plan anyway!!
We left the truck show and headed north back to Canada when I spoke to Dee on the phone she asked me if I was on holiday or working lolol. Its been a great trip, when I get back to Lethbridge I am going to have 36 hours off then I'll have a run down to Nebraska I will pass through South Dakota so that will be 2 more states to add to my list.
Tuesday 23 June 2009
Leaving Las Vegas
After leaving Las Vegas I stopped in Peggy Sue's for my break then I carried on until I got to my delivery point which was about 3-4 miles from the Mexican border. I got there just after 7pm no one was there so I just parked on one of the bays ready for the morning.
At 8am our time I woke up and went and knocked on the door but no one was around so I just sat in my truck for them to come and get me which they did about an hour later but I still had to wait for the customs guy to check my paper work. Once he had done that I was unloaded 30 minutes later... see it doesn't bother me waiting as I spend my time catching up on things or I just watch TV.
My reload came through, its 2 collections both Bananas. At the end of December the Americans changed things about when it comes to going in to the ports to collect Bananas. You have to have a T.WI.C card if you don't have a card you have to get an escort which costs H&R about $70 and if the driver doesn't have a card he has to put $30 towards the cost of the escort which I think sucks but its what we have to pay so my 2 collections are going to cost me $60!! Never mind I'm not going to let it ruin a nice trip I am not that desperate for the money.
I went and done my first collection which took about 3 hours then a very slow drive up to Port Hueneme past Los Angeles. I even took a pic of the Hollywood sign up in the hills the traffic was stop start all the way. I am now outside of the place where I have to get my second escort I hope I don't have to sit around all day waiting to get loaded otherwise working for 2 days for $84 will suck even more!!
At 8am our time I woke up and went and knocked on the door but no one was around so I just sat in my truck for them to come and get me which they did about an hour later but I still had to wait for the customs guy to check my paper work. Once he had done that I was unloaded 30 minutes later... see it doesn't bother me waiting as I spend my time catching up on things or I just watch TV.
My reload came through, its 2 collections both Bananas. At the end of December the Americans changed things about when it comes to going in to the ports to collect Bananas. You have to have a T.WI.C card if you don't have a card you have to get an escort which costs H&R about $70 and if the driver doesn't have a card he has to put $30 towards the cost of the escort which I think sucks but its what we have to pay so my 2 collections are going to cost me $60!! Never mind I'm not going to let it ruin a nice trip I am not that desperate for the money.
I went and done my first collection which took about 3 hours then a very slow drive up to Port Hueneme past Los Angeles. I even took a pic of the Hollywood sign up in the hills the traffic was stop start all the way. I am now outside of the place where I have to get my second escort I hope I don't have to sit around all day waiting to get loaded otherwise working for 2 days for $84 will suck even more!!
Peggy Sue's
I have heard so much about Peggy Sue's that I tyred to stop there before but it was closed. When I first walked in I was a bit disappointed because I was expecting something like the burger place you saw in the movie's! Anyway I was there so I had a look at the menu, the price of food was good so I ordered my meal and just sat there people watching, it was packed I was lucky to get a seat.
I wasn't waiting long when my meal came. I was surprised because of the amount of people that were there I thought it would be a bit of a wait the meal tasted good I had a Mickey Mouse club sandwich lolol and a coke.
A young lady came over to me and asked me if my meal was nice and we had a bit of a chat. I asked her if the place was really owned by the movie star Peggie Sue she said it was and that Peggie Sue comes in every morning. Then she got me another coke and I finished my meal when I went to pay she gave me a ticket and said I could get a sweet free from the gift shop I didn't know they had a gift shop as well so I went and had a look.
It turns out I was sat in the new part of the diner and through the door was more to see, it was brilliant it was the 1950's style dinner I wanted to see. I was amazed, the gift shop was big it and had its own ice cream parlor. I went back and spoke to the young lady again and she told me there was even more to see its got it own pizza place as well. She told me to take a look at the garden. Because its so popular, over the years they have had to make it bigger she even told me at times there are queues of family's waiting for a table. It really was a nice place I took a few pics and when I went to go she asked me if I would like a coke to go for free wow you don't get that sort of service in Mc Donald's do you!! Well worth a visit if your ever passing!
I wasn't waiting long when my meal came. I was surprised because of the amount of people that were there I thought it would be a bit of a wait the meal tasted good I had a Mickey Mouse club sandwich lolol and a coke.
A young lady came over to me and asked me if my meal was nice and we had a bit of a chat. I asked her if the place was really owned by the movie star Peggie Sue she said it was and that Peggie Sue comes in every morning. Then she got me another coke and I finished my meal when I went to pay she gave me a ticket and said I could get a sweet free from the gift shop I didn't know they had a gift shop as well so I went and had a look.
It turns out I was sat in the new part of the diner and through the door was more to see, it was brilliant it was the 1950's style dinner I wanted to see. I was amazed, the gift shop was big it and had its own ice cream parlor. I went back and spoke to the young lady again and she told me there was even more to see its got it own pizza place as well. She told me to take a look at the garden. Because its so popular, over the years they have had to make it bigger she even told me at times there are queues of family's waiting for a table. It really was a nice place I took a few pics and when I went to go she asked me if I would like a coke to go for free wow you don't get that sort of service in Mc Donald's do you!! Well worth a visit if your ever passing!
Monday 22 June 2009
My Cassie's big day
Wow I can't believe its my daughters prom today and tomorrow she signs out of school for good I feel very sad and upset that I could not be there but everyone knows why I am here. Blimey it only seems like yesterday that I held her in my arms 2 minutes after she was born and feeding her there are so many stories I could tell about her but I think the best time was when she used to come with me in the truck the first time I think she was about 9 months old I had to change her nappy and the only baby changing facilities were in a ladies toilet at a services so they closed it off for 5 minutes while I changed her. I could hear some ladies moan but when I walked out with her in my arms they all made a fuss of her.
Another time when she was about 4-5 we went to London there was no rush so we went across the Woolwich ferry while we were waiting there was a snack van there so I got a hot dog and Cassie loved bacon and egg sandwich so I got her that. The guy said he only had large ones I said that's OK knowing full well I would finish it of for her lol as it was for my daughter the guy said he would only charge me 1 pound even better! We sat back in the truck I had finished my hot dog and all I could smell was this bacon and egg so I looked over at Cassie and she only had a small bit left I said to her wheres daddy's bit she looked at me and said you never gave me any of yours so you not having mine then she stuffed the last bit in her mouth!! I just burst out laughing and every time I see or hear of a bacon and egg roll I think of that day and it makes me smile.
I used to take her a lot with me when she was young and she loved it. We had to take a load to Heathrow airport so we sat there for about 4 hours watching the planes take off then when I was tipped we drove home on the way home I looked down and saw a lady in the car next to me had hooked her skirt right up and was showing off her legs I just said f--king hell at which point Cassie said 'DAD' I forgot she was there lol. I said sorry babe its daddy being naughty I was just looking at the ladies legs when we got home Dee picked her up at sat her on the side and asked if she had a nice day there was loads of things she could of said like we saw Concorde take off or loads of other things nope she said she had a good dad but daddy was naughty he was looking at the ladies legs lololol what a cow lololol.
I have a sweet tooth and when Cassie was young she couldn't open her sweets so she would ask me all the time I would tell her she had to pay a tax on me opening them for her which was 1 sweet lololol the last time I went home for her 16th birthday I asked if she could get me a can of coke from the cupboard she brought it in to me stood in front of me and said you have to pay the tax dad then she opened it up and took a big mouth full I just burst out laughing.
There are loads more things I could say but I don't want to bore you. I grew up in children's homes and boarding schools I had nothing I was on my own, me and Dee made sure her girls and Cassie never went without. A lot of people said I spent to much on Cassie and I would turn her into a spoilt brat I gave her the things I always wanted when I was a kid but she has turned out a lovely young lady she has loads of friends she is very kind and will share anything. Me and Dee are so proud of her and I miss her so much. Have a great prom babe xx
Another time when she was about 4-5 we went to London there was no rush so we went across the Woolwich ferry while we were waiting there was a snack van there so I got a hot dog and Cassie loved bacon and egg sandwich so I got her that. The guy said he only had large ones I said that's OK knowing full well I would finish it of for her lol as it was for my daughter the guy said he would only charge me 1 pound even better! We sat back in the truck I had finished my hot dog and all I could smell was this bacon and egg so I looked over at Cassie and she only had a small bit left I said to her wheres daddy's bit she looked at me and said you never gave me any of yours so you not having mine then she stuffed the last bit in her mouth!! I just burst out laughing and every time I see or hear of a bacon and egg roll I think of that day and it makes me smile.
I used to take her a lot with me when she was young and she loved it. We had to take a load to Heathrow airport so we sat there for about 4 hours watching the planes take off then when I was tipped we drove home on the way home I looked down and saw a lady in the car next to me had hooked her skirt right up and was showing off her legs I just said f--king hell at which point Cassie said 'DAD' I forgot she was there lol. I said sorry babe its daddy being naughty I was just looking at the ladies legs when we got home Dee picked her up at sat her on the side and asked if she had a nice day there was loads of things she could of said like we saw Concorde take off or loads of other things nope she said she had a good dad but daddy was naughty he was looking at the ladies legs lololol what a cow lololol.
I have a sweet tooth and when Cassie was young she couldn't open her sweets so she would ask me all the time I would tell her she had to pay a tax on me opening them for her which was 1 sweet lololol the last time I went home for her 16th birthday I asked if she could get me a can of coke from the cupboard she brought it in to me stood in front of me and said you have to pay the tax dad then she opened it up and took a big mouth full I just burst out laughing.
There are loads more things I could say but I don't want to bore you. I grew up in children's homes and boarding schools I had nothing I was on my own, me and Dee made sure her girls and Cassie never went without. A lot of people said I spent to much on Cassie and I would turn her into a spoilt brat I gave her the things I always wanted when I was a kid but she has turned out a lovely young lady she has loads of friends she is very kind and will share anything. Me and Dee are so proud of her and I miss her so much. Have a great prom babe xx
Good morning from Las Vegas
As you know I was really looking forward to walking along the strip I parked up about 11.45am in a truck parking area Kev & Lisa told me about. It was across the I15 behind the Bellagio they also said it was a 5 minute walk to the strip ( I think they must have brought a Canadian watch because it took about 15 minutes to walk lol).
The first casino I went into was New York New York only because it got me out of the hot sun. There was loads of small shops in there one shop was selling coyote ugly t-shirts there was a nice vest type of top with loads of sparkles on the front my daughter would of loved it but sadly they never had her size (sorry babe). Down stairs over to one side there was an area where the fast food was sold this was the best bit of the lot (no not the food) they had done it out like you were looking at old shops from New York it really was nice they had done a good job and a lot better than any other casino on the strip.
I came out of there and just walked down the strip there was loads of shops selling souvenirs which I love looking around so I spent about an hour looking around. I went into the Casino that's got the Eiffel tower above it.. now I work hard for my money and I won't waste it but I thought I would have a go on a fruit machine at least I could say I had a go so I stuck $1 in (I know last of the big spenders) it gave me 4 go's after the second go I won about $3 not bad I thought but I never had a clue on what I was doing this lot went down to 50c then all the lights started to flash and I had won $42.50 lol... so time to cash in and walk away.
I just carried on walking and looking around some nice shops my Dee and Cassie would of loved it hereTime was getting on and my ankle was killing me so I was looking for a place to eat but I didn't want fatty food so while walking through a Casino I saw a subway and I got myself a healthy tuna sub. I sat down for 30 minutes more to rest my foot than anything else and just watched people I left that Casino and walked across the road to the Mirage a very nice Hotel/Casino it was nice walking through them it was the only way to keep cool it was bloody hot outside too much for me!!
I had to keep stopping my ankle was killing me (it kept sending messages to my brain telling me to get my fat arse back to my truck or I would have to find other ways to get back lol). On the way back to the truck I went into Caesars Palace then the Monte Carlo then The Ballagio by now I was very hot and sweaty and in so much pain. I really didn't think I would make it back but I kept on and got there in the end. I had left the air con on slow and boy was I glad I had done that it was like sitting in a fridge I posted the pics yesterday but I was in to much pain to sit and type so I laid on the bunk with my foot up.
Now I have rested my ankle I feel much better today. Now looking back on what I had done I feel a twat I walked around for 6 hours in the baking hot sun with a bad ankle wearing black jeans and a black top what a dipstick lololol I never got to see Las Vegas at night but who said I had to do everything in one day I will save that for another day.
It was a nice day now I can say I have walked the strip in the day In temperatures topping 100f. Today on my way down to my delivery point I am going to stop in Wal-Mart and buy a couple of pairs of shorts just a shame I didn't think of it the other day never mind no harm done.
For the first time ever I slept with my air con on I woke up at about 12am very hot so I switched it on and had a good sleep I think for the next few days while being down this way my air con will be on 24/7 lol.
I have already asked the American dispatch guy if my reload could take me back to Las Vegas for Thursday or Friday as I want to go to the truck show to buy a freezer for the truck so if I can get back for Wednesday night then I can do the strip at night wearing my new shorts I would of brought by then lololol.
Sunday 21 June 2009
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