01/18/10 Update, In Los Angeles Leaving for Atlanta in the Morning

We arrived in Los Angeles at about 1445 on Wednesday, the 13th. We didn't have a dispatch yet but it wasn't long before we took a call and we were dispatched to Dallas. The load was to be ready at 0600 and we need to be ready when the trailer is loaded. We decided to eat dinner and go to bead early to get plenty of rest so that we could leave upon notification of the load being ready.

Awakened at about 0445, I jumped up, brushed my teeth, washed my face, slid into a clean shirt and jeans and headed for the dispatch office. Dispatch told me it was a haz-mat load and had to be placarded. I also noticed that it was a pretty darned heavy load compared to what we normally have and what I like to have...32000#.

I signed the paperwork, left the office and had Tina look up the haz-mat information while I was hooking to the loaded trailer. Come to find out, the "haz-mat" part of the load consisted 32 lithium batteries, totaling about 32# and mounted inside a dental instrument. The load did not need placards because the package was placarded and the total haz mat weight was only 32#.

After getting hooked up and performing my pre-trip inspection and updating our logbooks, we were off to DFW. We decided to travel I-10 east to I-20 into Weatherford and then around the 820 loop to 121/114 to the terminal. We could have run I-40 to Amarillo then 287 down into Fort Worth and saved about 9 miles but the fuel is always cheaper and the mountain pulls are far less on I-10. I opted for cheap fuel and less mountains.

We stopped in Phoenix and fueled at the Flying J travel Plaza at about 1130am. From there we traveled on to DFW and arrived at the terminal at about 0545.

Again, with no immediate dispatch looming, it was off to bed for a good nap. We got up at about 0930 and went for breakfast at our favorite local Cracker Barrel. After Breakfast it was back to the terminal and relaxing. I had taken a call at about 0800 and we had a dispatch back to LAX. The load wasn't to be ready until about 0400 though. We had a great day kicking back and just enjoying the company of one another, Not really talking alot, just knowing that each of us were there if we cared to talk.

We thought we'd go to bed at about 2200 after the movie we were watch had ended. I got tired though, and worried that the load might be an hour or so early so we shut the movie off at about 2115 and went to bed. The call came at 2315 that the load was ready and had to move right away. 5 hours early, not good.

Here we go, I got up, cleaned up, hooked up and began truckin' it up. We had to fuel in Tye Texas, so I stopped there at about 0230 and filled up with fuel. We took of again and stopped in Phoenix, AZ for one last top off of fuel. We arrived in LAX at 0200 and took a long leisurely nap. That was one tough trip. I can't go into detail about who drove when and for how long, due to D.O.T. log regulations and rules, but suffice to say, a very tough trip.

We have been here in the LAX terminal since early Sunday morning now and are headed to Atlanta in the morning. We spent yesterday listening to our Cowboy Church on Willies Place, XM channel 13, and Bill Mack's Sunday Social on the same channel, watching it rain and visiting with family and friends via social media sources and telephone. Today it has rained again, all day. We have spent the entire day doing nothing but typing, talking and texting.

Our load for Atlanta is to be ready by about 0800. We will be running across I-10 to I-20 again, right into Atlanta and then 285 down to the terminal near the airport. We'll have to stop for fuel in Phoenix again and then probably in Shreveport LA or Jackson MS, wherever the fuel is least expensive. We should be in Atlanta by about 2100 on Wednesday if the load is ready on time out of LAX.

I will update tomorrow, sometime after our departure.

In God I Trust
Have a Great Day and a Better Tomorrow
ADW