San Francisco –Where the homeless never sleep, so neither did we

Our four days in San Francisco were filled with interesting moments.  Vince was the lead driver for the advance trailer load in for Lion King. Advance trailer load ins typically involve two to four trailers, but a big show like this meant 14 trailers, one more than the usual 13 because they needed new or additional chain motors.

The week was anything but typical in the city that is known for its homeless population.  I have to admit I wasn’t sure what to expect, although since a few years back San Fran was where I witnessed my first individual smoking crack between two cars right next to our truck I should have known to expect that anything could happen.  

When we arrived on Monday night it was in a pouring rainstorm.  Vince and Bruce, the lead driver for Lion King show to show moves walked the perimeter to see if a wooden dock had been built for the load in, then they returned to the trucks.  All night despite the pouring rain we heard shopping carts being pushed by the truck and then there would be yelling, shopping carts then more yelling, all night long.

In the morning, I quickly learned that the area around the Orpheum Theatre is a big hang out for the homeless population.  Having worked at Faith Mission, a homeless shelter in Columbus, I am not bothered or afraid of the homeless, but must admit the number of mental health homeless in San Francisco was surprising to me.  But I believe there were just as many non-mental health homeless. Honestly, it was just the pure number of them in the city that was so shocking.

Now where in most cities we will get knocks on the door at all hours of the day and night asking for money.  We never once were bothered the whole week by anyone.  However, we also never got a good night sleep due to the constant street traffic throughout the night and yes I know we were in there space so I shouldn’t complain, but it is a sad situation and unlike them Vince didn't have the opportunity to take a nap during the day.  It wasn't until we got to Ripon, CA on Friday night that I realized how noisy the city had been.  When I stepped back into the sleeper that evening I was taken back by the silence.

On the it’s a small world after all front, on the first day of load in, Vince returned to the truck to inform me that Smitty, one of the crew members for Lion King that moves the show in and out of the cities, is a neighbor of ours back home in Ohio.  When I joined the group later that day, I learned that besides being neighbors our families had attended rivaling Catholic high schools. It really is a small world, like Smitty said it is amazing the can you travel 2000+ miles and end up meeting a neighbor.

Without a doubt the scariest moment for me of the whole week occurred Wednesday night when we were returning from the drop yard with our trailer for the next day. We were on Larkin one street over from Hyde where always parked for the night.  As we were approaching the light to make our right turn, out of know were in the corner of my eye I saw a skinny, shirtless, bearded man (picture a tall skinny Charles Manson) running full tilt at the side of the truck.  I yelled out to Vince who immediately acknowledged that he saw him.  We braced for the sound of him hitting the sleeper area or trailer, but fortunately the sound never came.  The adrenaline rush I experienced was incredible; I thought for sure this guy was going to be seriously injured from that stunt.

It wasn’t until the next morning when we saw the guy in the square that we figured out he must of stop short of the trailer and did a kung fu move.  He was up and down the square the rest of the day challenging people and doing his moves, all the way up until he got arrested around 4:00 pm. But never fear he was back out by dark because Vince heard him all night.

The load in took four days. As the following pictures show, some of the biggest pieces are the elephant grave yard.  Those pieces are so heavy they can’t be pushed of the truck on a ramp. So they are removed from the trailer onto a roll back truck then rolled down off the roll back onto the street then into the theatre.   

 

 

My First DOT Truck Inspection

Wyoming Sunset

After DC we headed to Dallas to return the Dallas Opera to its home in a warehouse located next to the state fairgrounds. We did not know the state fair was going on until we arrived there on Thursday evening just as the fair was closing for the evening.  Luckily the traffic wasn’t too bad and we were able to get safely parked on the service road beside the warehouse.  I was surprised to learn that the state fair goes on for over three weeks, but after all everything is bigger in Texas, right?

Beautiful Day in Utah after 2 Days of Rain

Our next stop was Wichita to pick up a Lion King advance trailer.  An advance trailer has items on it that go into the theatre; usually hangings of some type, before the rest of the show trailers arrive.  This trailer needed to go to San Francisco.  Our route for getting there was I-80 west which meant traveling through Wyoming, Utah and Northern California.  I was worried that the fact that I forgot my winter coat this trip was finally going to catch up with me, but was lucky that we only encountered rain and cold temperatures at the begining, then sunshine for the duration of the trip.

 

As we entered California we came upon a weigh station. As we approached it the Prepass monitor that we have in the truck that stores information about the truck and Vince displayed a red light rather than green. Green allows us to bypass the weigh station.  After we got in line, Vince noticed that the line for the weigh station had grown so long that trucks were lined up on the berm well up and down a hill.  Apparently no one was getting the bypass signal that afternoon.

While we waited in line I really didn’t have any concerns about not being bypassed.  It happens off and on and is usually no big deal.  But on this day as we passed the speaker for the non-scale section of the weigh station, a gentleman stated “Clark Transfer proceed to door three”.  That statement told me this was going to be no usual day in the weigh station. We were about to be inspected. 

Since I have never been in the truck when Vince has been inspected I did not know what to expect.  As we rounded the curve to enter the garage door I leaned down to put on my shoes since I expected I would have to get out of the truck.  While leaning down I put my hand on my seat belt clip and Vince in a very serious tone said “do not take off your seat belt”.  I explained I was leaning down to get my shoes but even though I knew this was serious, after hearing his tone I really understood the seriousness of the inspection.  Results of an inspection can be a pass where you go happily on your way with a sticker on the windshield, or fine(s) if there are log book violations, paperwork out of whack, maintenance issues such as something like a burned out tail light to something more serious like brakes etc, or a driver can be put out of service which means he or she has to pull over in the weigh station and sit there until things are fixed or their hours are back in place.

As we pulled in Vince asked me to pull the book that has the permits, his medical card and the forms that allow me to be in the truck, etc, out of the side pocket in my door.  He then grabbed his wallet and log book.  I sat in the truck trying to read my book and act like everything was ok, but I was so nervous that nothing I read stuck.  I could hear the inspector asking Vince questions and everything seemed to be going ok.  The inspector then handed Vince back the books and said he would be keeping his license until the end of the inspection.  So I knew we weren’t done yet and that this was going to be a bigger inspection than just paperwork.  The inspector instructed Vince to turn on his turn signals and press on the brakes. 

Next he stated he would be crawling under the cab and would be giving Vince instructions as he worked his way back from the cab to the end of the trailer. Once he got back to the trailer he got up and headed to his computer by the cab of our truck.  He then gave Vince his license.  Vince looked over at me and stated we were getting a sticker. I think it was only when he stated that, that I finally started breathing normally again.  Joe the inspector then removed our old sticker from when Vince passed the last time and replaced it with the new one.  He then put the door up to the garage and told Vince he could pull up and get his paper work from the office. 

After Vince returned with the paperwork I asked him if he was nervous. He shared that he always gets nervous even though he knows that nothing should be wrong.  But he stated you just never know for sure.  So I made it through my first DOT inspection and honestly it would be okay if it would be years before I have to experience another one.

San Francisco

After dropping the trailer in San Francisco we headed over to Ripon, CA for the week.  We are due back in San Fran next Tuesday to put an advance trailer of Lion King into the theatre.  Fortunately the truck stops in Ripon are in walking distance of several restaurants, a grocery store, an almond orchard and a beautiful neighborhood.  So we get our walking exercise in beautiful scenery while having a variety of places to eat food that fuel our need to walk.



Almond Orchard, Ripon, CA -  Amazingly straight tree lines throughout the orchard
 

Hanging Out at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in DC

 

The last time we were at the Kennedy Center in DC it was after a long haul across the country. I was tired and we were here only a few hours early in the morning. Today we were fortunate enough to get to spend the day there. For some reason I assumed the building would not be open to the public, but was so wrong. So if you get to DC and have some extra time I strongly recommend seeing it. It was too dark on the inside to get any good shots but rather than bore you with descriptions of everything, I thought I would let the pictures of the outside area speak for me. 

 

 

The Watergate Hotel is right next door to the Kennedy Center 

THe following quotes from JFK can be found on the back side of the building

In the picture at the top of the post you will notice there is a hint of green at the top of the building.  That is a terrace that surrounds the building.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is open to the public.  The following are pictures from the roof top terrace.

A view of the Potomac River

The Watergate

A view of the Capital Building

The Washington Monument

The Lincoln Memorial



The Pentagon

A view of the terrace to give an idea of its size

 

 

Sunday Nights are Busy Nights for Clark Transfer Drivers

Sunday nights all around this country and at times in Canada are very busy nights for Clark Transfer drivers.  Why? You may ask, because that is the night most Broadway shows close in a city.  Shows typically move weekly, biweekly or monthly, then openings typically occur on Tuesday nights. 

On Sunday nights you will find Clark drivers parked in drop lots and around the blocks of many cities.  Once the driver arrives at the theatre the waiting begins.  A load out can take as little as three hours for a three to four trailer show, to as long as eight hours for a nine to ten trailer show. 

 

Drivers wait around to be backed into the dock, then once in the dock wait for the trailer to be loaded.  The next time you are on a highway take a good look at the size of a 53 foot trailer, and then imagine the time it could take to fill it.  Once loaded, most the time, it’s not bed time for the driver, but time to hit the road to the next city.  Drivers are great at dealing with the waiting then hitting the road and a novice like me usually does pretty good, but this past week reminded me how out of practice I am when it comes to long load outs.

Last night we were in Atlanta for the load out of War Horse which was closing its run at the Fox Theatre. We arrived at the theatre as scheduled at 11:30 pm.  Now for those of you new to the blog and as a reminder to those regular followers, a night load out means sleeping during the day/evening in preparation for the load out.  Well, after having lunch with our niece and nephew, Katie and Patrick who live in Atlanta, I was too jazzed to nap because I love seeing family, so sleeping didn’t happen for me.

When we arrived at the theatre it was pouring rain which also meant there was no way I was getting out. I really do love seeing the other drivers and catching up with them, but getting soaked while standing in the rain was just not for me that night.  To pass the time I listened to the end of the NFL game on Sirius and watched shows on the CBS website. 

In the meantime, Vince and the other drivers were out in the rain, dodging traffic while moving nine trailers in and out of the docks.  I still don’t understand why there is so much traffic out on Sunday nights in downtowns all over the country.  What are all these people doing out on a Sunday night, and where are they going? These drivers can also be impatient, honking and edging toward the trucks and the drivers.  I just want to knock on their windows and tell them to knock it off because these people are doing their jobs what are you doing out here? I think I can honestly say until I started traveling with Vince I was never out past 10:00 pm on a Sunday night. 

 

As the hours passed I continued to fight sleep until 4:00 am which was when we got backed into the dock.  At that point I found myself no longer caring how NCIS LA was going to end, but I did hang in to see the end and knew it was time to give in to my tiredness and put the bed down.  However, Vince, Curtis and Jeff, the three drivers waiting for their trucks to be loaded, didn’t have that option.  They remained awake and once loaded started out for Durham, NC.

 

So once again I failed to make the cut as a semi driver, which is why you are all safe that it will never happen. But also the reason I share this story is to ask everyone to remember that while we all think our jobs are tough not many of us have to stay up all night and or have our sleeping patterns thrown off on a regular basis.  Semi drivers do and statistically manage to have fewer accidents percentage wise than auto drivers every year. So please give them a break when you are sharing the road.  Finally, I hope the next time you leave a show or go to bed on a Sunday night, you will think of the Clark Transfer drivers who will be staying up all night to make sure shows get to the next city safely and on time.