WOOHOO! A day trip with Vince!

Vince made it home Tuesday for what we thought was only the evening, but thanks to a change in his dispatch, he is home until Saturday.  (See there are times when change is good.)  His initial dispatch was for him to travel from Rochester to Dayton to drop a Lion King trailer, then off to Orlando.  Now after dropping in Dayton, he is headed back to NYC to do the final Madagascar load out with Vic. 

So yesterday morning I got the opportunity to jump back in the truck for the day and travel to and from Dayton.  While this may not sound like an exciting trip to most, it was wonderful for me.  I realized as I got into the truck for the first time in seven weeks how much I miss riding in the truck and more importantly how much I miss Vince when we are apart.

As I climbed in the truck the smells of diesel and the interior of the truck were overwhelming.  I forget sometimes how strongly a sense like smell can comfort you and bring you back to a good place.   As I adjusted my seat and fastened my seat belt I felt nothing but excitement.  I was really getting away, even if it was only for a few hours. I’m sure the chance to escape life even for the day is always part of it, because lets face it we all love getting away from our lives now and then.  But I think for me being with Vince is the best part of getting away.  Believe me it’s not the, I like having a man around thing, because trust me I did fine for years without one.  It is Vince who is calm and funny and thankfully loves me no matter how crazy I get.    

As we headed across I-70 West I was like a kid again, looking around at all the scenery passing by and just enjoying the ride.  When we got to the drop yard in the Dayton area, two Clark drivers were in the yard.  There was Angelo, who I had not seen in a year and a half and Steve who I hadn’t seen in over two years.  Angelo is from New York. He and his two daughters, that were in the truck with him one summer, traveled with Vince and Vic around California and then back to the east coast.  They all had a wonderful time and we have so enjoyed watching the girls grow up through Angelo’s updates.  Steve lives in Indiana and his wife Lisa follows along with us on our adventures through the blog and Facebook.  The four of us stood around getting caught up for almost two hours. Then it was time for us to head home and for the guys to get settled in somewhere before their Sunday load out in Cincinnati.

On the way home I realized how much I miss the road.  I love my family and I’m thankfully for the home time, but the time with Vince traveling across the country is just so wonderful.  It may be that splitting the time between the truck and home makes me love the truck time more. Who knows if I were in the truck all the time, maybe it would get old and the homicidal thoughts would out number the fun time.  I know someday I hope to find out for sure.  But for now I will continue to count down the days until I return in mid May to my husband and our adventures on the road.

Change - A Big Part of Trucking!

While my return to the truck has been delayed that doesn’t mean that I am without an update. Although Vince and I thought we had a plan for the next six months of where we would be and when we would be there, that all changed when Vince and the other drivers were informed that the tour has suddenly been canceled, and now will end after the show goes into Radio City Music Hall on April 14 ^th. 

Change is a big part of trucking and while there were times in the past when I did not do well with these kinds of changes, I now roll with them in a much better way.  I’m pretty sure that in the past when Vince had to call to tell me about a change that meant he wouldn’t be coming through or that the arrangements for me to be with him were now changed, he probably looked at the mute button on his phone and thought about pushing it.

Yes, this cancellation now means that we will go back to having no idea what his income will be each week and planning my time out will be trickier because we will be working around an open schedule.  I am still confident it will all work out.  The Clark dispatchers, especially Kevin, are great at working with us to get me in and out of the truck and as far as the money goes, that is the life of an Owner-operator.  No week is ever the same unless a driver is hauling freight on some type of dedicated route (meaning the driver goes to the same locations every week) or in our case on tour. Also with many individuals out of work and struggling to make ends meet, we have nothing to complain about, these adjustments are mere speed bumps in our life that we always work through.

I am confident we will be together soon and still get to see the family members we would have seen had the tour continued as scheduled. Thankfully many of our family and friends live in big cities that are great supporters of the arts.  We also may get to see others that were not on the tour. After all, this week Vince was able to arrange for our great-niece Hannah to see the show while he was in Indianapolis.  Last year's tour canceled the Indy shows right before it was to get there, leaving poor Hannah very disappointed. Thankfully this year's cancellation didn't impact our plans for Hannah. Also, this weekend Vince got to finally meet and have lunch with our niece Rosaleen and her fiancé Steve while he was in Minneapolis.

But most importantly after freezing my behind off this past winter in the truck, you can bet I plan to return to the truck by May, so I can enjoy the fun and comfort of traveling in warm weather.  In the meantime, I ask that you hang in there with us, because I am sure Vince will have a story or two on his travels and it won’t be long before I will be once again sharing our travels and challenges on the road.