Phantom - Seattle – How Do You Hit A 53 Foot Trailer?

Phantom wrapped trailer parked in Seattle

“Phantom’s” next run was scheduled in Seattle.  The trailers in a show are designated as either show-to-show or advanced trailers.  The first part of our dispatch was to take a show-to -show trailer to Seattle.  When we arrived in Seattle two of the other drivers were already parked on the street next to the theatre.  Vince parked in front of the loading area since our trailer was one of the first to be unloaded. 

As we pulled up I saw and could hear some homeless people.  Once we got parked we noticed that the men on the street were yelling back and forth to each other.  I asked if we could move. Now don’t misunderstand, homeless people don’t bother me.  I worked as a volunteer coordinator at a homeless shelter and consider it the most rewarding job I have ever had.  My problem was their yelling back was definitely going to prevent me from going to sleep and as I have shared sleeping was still difficult in the truck.  Vince assured me it would be fine, but then something bounced off the truck and I began complaining loudly. So Vince moved us over with the other guys on the side street, more so he would not have to listen to me, not because of the guys on the street.

About 30 minutes after we got settled and were just drifting off there was a knock at the door.  It was Jeff, the lead driver asking us to move back to our previous spot.  He and Joe had staged other trailers near the dock and reported that the homeless had moved on so he wanted us in place.  Vince, by this time, was probably having his own homicidal thoughts toward everyone involved; me, the homeless, Jeff since all he wanted to do was get some sleep. He is too nice and patient a person to admit he was having those thoughts, but he did do some serious ranting about just wanting to get some sleep as he changed his clothes and put on his shoes.  I had already learned that when these moments occur my saying something usually didn’t help, so I remained silent.

The morning brought a very long day of loading in the show.  It takes as long if not longer to put a show of this size into a theatre, as it does to take it out.  Trailers line both sides of the streets around the theatre and there is always a truck in the dock. That afternoon we were standing around with the guys entertaining me with stories, when all of the sudden we heard a popping sound like glass breaking.  We assumed someone had dropped something while unloading.  Since a laundry basket had already fallen off the curb and traveled several feet across the street, we knew the sound of breaking glass wouldn’t be unusual. But that was not the case, because as we looked toward the street we saw a car pull over and stop.  It was then that we also noticed glass on the ground next to the Phantom wrapped trailer.  The wrapped trailer as seen above has a picture advertising the show.  As a side note it is always fun to have a wrapped trailer because people wave and smile as they pass us on the road.

Well apparently the woman driving the car had pulled between or was thinking she would pull between the two trailers to wait for her friend.  Now remember the street is marked no parking and the space between the trailers which you can’t see in the picture had a hydrant, so there was no way she should have been there.  She either aborted her attempt to go between the trailers or decided to move to the corner to pick up her friend and hit the corner of the wrapped trailer with her passenger side windshield. She not only popped the windshield, but also both passenger side windows and put a serious crease in the frame on the passenger side.  Now I ask you how do you hit the trailer to begin with and be going so fast that you cause that much damage to the car?  The show representatives and Jeff looked at the trailer and there was no damage, but we have no idea how she explained this incident to her husband or insurance company.

We left Seattle at 7:00 pm that evening headed back to Portland to pick up an advance trailer needed in Spokane.  Advanced trailers go to the show’s next scheduled city.  Sometime prior to the shows scheduled run in that city the advance trailers, that carry things like lighting and scenery, are unloaded due to the time it takes to put these items up.

Dirt Devils on the way to Spokane

 Our trip to Spokane through the northern portion of Oregon was beautiful.  After Spokane we were sent back to Seattle to pick up an empty trailer then headed to a Disney park to pick up lighting equipment that needed to be returned to the east coast.  On the trip from Spokane to Seattle we found this wonderful pull off along the Columbia River that was breathtaking.  It was nice because not all scenic view locations allow semis but since we where bobtail we were able to pull in and explore the area.  The thing that struck me the most about the stop was that there were many other people there, but it was so quiet.  In this day of cell phones which seems to lead to constant chatter, it was incredibly quiet since people were whispering and talking in low tones, which was wonderful.  The views were beautiful and I felt a great sense of calm.  A young woman who was there with her family offered to take the picture below.  It was so nice to get a picture of the two of us at this breathtaking spot.  Later as we explored the area, Vince reminded me of little boy exploring the rocks.  As I snapped pictures of him I thought how great it was that he could get out of the truck and enjoy nature.  I also thought about how if I wasn’t with him, he probably wouldn't have stopped at such a wonderful sight.

Vince and Joan at the Columbia River Gorge

Vince looking down into the Columbia River Gorge

Vince roaming the Columbia River Gorge

Our trip to Anaheim was uneventful and after a quick loading of the trailer we headed east.  Unfortunately time was a factor on this trip as Vince needed to get this trailer back to the east coast by the end of the week.  So there was no time for sightseeing.  While the trip was beautiful, we basically rode for hours, slept, got up and did it all over again.  When we reached Ohio it was time for me to get out of the truck to care for my mom.  I am fortunate enough to have a wonderful brother and sister-in-law, John and Elaine who share with me the responsibilities of caring for our mother. So after my first two week whirlwind trip through eleven states it was time to get out of the truck and adjust back to home life.