Broke Down on the Side of the Road



Our nieces Gracie and Elizabeth
Always love seeing family!
Couldn't miss sharing this pic from
our trip to Milwaukee

Yesterday morning when we started out, my plan for this week’s blog was to discuss how not all weeks are exciting.  I planned to talk about how last week was a week like everyone else’s week.  We made a quick trip to Orlando, spent a couple hours in the shop getting new steer tires (front tires on the truck) and caught up on laundry since we eventually made it home Saturday night.  Yep, just a typical week just like everyone else.

 

However, that all changed around 4:30 pm yesterday when while traveling eastbound on I-70 in Pennsylvania, we went over a deep dip in the road.  A dip that let me point out had no signs warning about it, but let me assure you should have.  The impact of the dip on Vince, me the truck and trailer was hard one.  So hard that I immediately said to Vince that if we didn’t incur damage to either the truck or the trailer I would be surprised.  Well the surprise didn’t come, because about two to three minutes later, a woman passenger on a motorcycle indicated to Vince we had a problem.  As we pulled to the side of the road Vince saw smoke and initially thought we had blown a tire.  He got out and walked around, then came back and turned the truck back on.  I immediately heard the buzzer that indicates we had lost air and knew if wasn’t just a tire.  He then shut it off and moved around to the back again. I stepped out our back door when I heard him in the side box on the passenger side.  He looked up at me and said “you aren’t going to believe it but we broke the air leveling valve and I actually have one”. He then lifted up his right hand and showed me the box.  He was right I couldn’t believe it.  The valve keeps the rear suspension level and without we weren’t going anywhere.

In order to install the valve, he had to unhook from the trailer to get to the valve which is located at the end of our deck plate under part of the frame.  Next he was in his coverall at work, while I stood inside the cab behind him with the back door open in case he needed anything.  I did get him a container to hold the bolts. To try to add some levity to the situation I told him I wasn’t going to offer to hold the container because I didn’t spill them all over and say the mother of all words. (Sorry I know only those fans of the movie A Christmas Story will get the reference, but it did make us chuckle). 

 

While Vince worked I thought about how I was going to stop teasing him about how messy all the side and storage boxes are, because more than once he has had something we needed, that saved us a lot of grief, time and money.  I also was fearful that someone would hit us as we sat there.  As a result of this incident, I would ask everyone to please move over when you can if someone is on the side of the road.  I know how bounced around we got by passing traffic I can’t imagine what it feels like if you are in a car or standing away from a car like you are suppose to do in those cases.  Vince is very good about moving over and if he can do it with a truck and trailer, car driver should be able to do the same.

.

The valve has the blue hoses running from it - Trust me it
was a tight area to work in with cars flying by.

 

An hour and ten minutes after our ordeal began we were back on the road.  I told Vince he was my hero and he just laughed like he always does when I try to compliment him.  But he was my hero, because I can’t imagine how long we would have had to wait for assistance and/or the part. Not to mention how much a road side repair would have cost us.  As we travelled toward Breezewood, Pennsylvania, which before this all happened was where we had planned to stop to get the truck washed, Vince shared he was too hungry to worry about getting the truck washed. He also shared that he had noticed that the TA had a Dairy Queen.  I told him I had already noticed that and planned on getting him DQ because he had more than earned it.

Today, we are in Philly loading in the other Wicked tour. Tomorrow we will be at the Lincoln Center in NYC to NJ and Thursday NYC to Saratoga Springs.  Hopefully all of that will bring us a calmer rest of the week.

Sitting in the middle of Broad Street in Philly waiting our turn

An Old Truck Stop Scale

 

On one of our trips between Madison and Milwaukee last week we stopped at the Lake Oasis Truck Stop.  While walking around the parking lot Vince noticed an old tuck stop scale.  We went over to look at it and take these pictures.

 

Vince explained that he use to have to have quarters for the scale when he first started out twenty-six years ago.  He would pull up to the scale, put in the ticket which he got out of the box and then inserted his quarter.  He then had to get back in the truck move the truck up so the next axle was on the scale, get out, move the ticket along then put in his quarters, then move up again. After completing the process the ticket would spit out.

 

The mail box held the tickets and this one even took dollars.  The tickets were inserted in the box on the lower left.

Today to scale a load we pull up completely on the scale.  Vince then pushes an intercom that is connected to inside the truck fuel desk.  The attendant asks for the company name, Vince’s truck number and whether it is his first time going over the scale.  The attendant then tells Vince to proceed and come inside to get his ticket.

 

The instructions and a little tid bit of info for you.
The numbers after the LISC at the bottom reflect the year it was
 last inspected (1987) and scale number.

I like it when on our trips we come upon some of the old equipment that used to be the way things were done in trucking.  It gives me a chance to see how things were for Vince when he started out.  It also gives me an idea of how hard some things must have been and how far things have come.   Like scaling in the winter, I know how cold and windy it can be sometimes out on the road.  I’m sure getting out of the truck to put the quarters in and moving the truck across the scale was not a lot of fun twenty plus years ago.  

Milwaukee – My Chance to See One of My Favorite Drivers while in One of My Favorite Cities

This week we helped move Wicked from Madison, Wisconsin to Milwaukee.  While it was a rainy load out, the Tuesday and Wednesday load ins went much better.  Tuesday was a beautiful summer morning while Wednesday was sprinkles.  Since I always find myself out usually more in the winter and fall when temperatures are cold and conditions are less accommodating, I soak in these beautiful summer days.

The lead driver for this tour of Wicked is one of my favorite people and one of my biggest blog fans, Gary Graff.  I first met Gary four years ago at the Palace Theatre in Columbus, OH.  It was a cold Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving.  Gary and Vince were helping Jerry Hoffner, who was the lead on I believe Happy Days at load in. 

Before we walked up to meet Gary, Vince prepared and/or should I say warned me that he could and would say anything.  As we approached Gary shared with Vince that I was not as fat nor ugly as Vince had said. I started laughing and Vince immediately told Gary he had warned me about him.  But the laughs never stopped coming that night and he so entertained me that I never even noticed the cold damp evening.

Unfortunately since then I have not seen Gary but we relay messages to each other through Vince as he has gotten to work with Gary over the years.  Just imagine how excited I was when Vince told me that we would see Gary on my first move this time out.

 

Gary and Me - Thank you Gary for all of your
support and encouragement of my blog!

Gary is a sweet teddy bear of a man, who has the same deep voice and delivery like Patrick Warburton from Seinfeld and Rules of Engagement. Sometimes it is as much how he says something as what he says that makes you laugh.  He is also one of my biggest supporters of my blog. His words of encouragement over the last two years have kept me going when I have considered abandoning it. I loved seeing him on Tuesday and Wednesday morning and hope it won’t be so long before we see each other again.

As many of you know I love the RiverWalk in Milwaukee so I once again feel compelled to give it a shout out.  We go to a lot of cities where there is nothing going on in the evenings, but not Milwaukee.  When we arrived on Monday evening around 11:00 pm and then again on Tuesday 7:30 pm, there were people all along the RiverWalk.  While I have always loved the RiverWalk, this visit we noticed how much more the city and its business owners have done to improve the area around it.  So I once again encourage anyone visiting or driving through Milwaukee to stop by the RiverWalk area.

 

Excited to be back in the truck!

After a seven month hiatus from the truck to work on Mom’s house, I am happy to be back in the truck.  Over these last several months I accomplished a lot at Mom’s, thanks to Elizabeth and John, and also ended up with a job.  My bosses at the temp agency; Rick, Russ and Heidi decided that rather than sending me out on jobs, they offered me a position in the office.  They are still willing to let me go out these four times a year with Vince and so far it looks like it will be a win-win arrangement for all of us.

As everyone knows I love being in the truck, but the one thing I always fight while on the road is weight gain.  I have been on a big kick to lose weight at home and was doing well. But as my time to return approached I began to worry about back sliding on this trip. So I met with a dietitian to get some advice. She gave me all kinds of ideas on how we (yes, we) can improve our eating habits on the road.  Vince is always supportive of my efforts and willing to change if it will help me.  One of the steps we are taking is my cooking more in the truck. Vince found an induction cooktop that will enable me to do this and he even went to Bed, Bath and Beyond on Friday while I was working to buy the special skillet that is needed to go with it. 

We were so excited Saturday as we prepared to leave,  planning meals and pulling things from home and buying things at the grocery.  About five hours from home I was thinking about one of the meals I was going to fix when it suddenly hit me. I looked over at Vince and said “you know what we forgot?”  He looked at me curiously and I said “utensils to cook with”.  We had a good laugh and Vince said “looks like a trip to Wal-Mart”.  We got the utensils Sunday but not without still laughing at ourselves for not thinking of them.



Me, Ashley and Elaine

Sunday we were also able to have lunch with our friends: Jesse, Elaine and Ashley who live in Davis Junction, Illinois.  Jesse and Vince were friends when Vince lived in Illinois and after losing touch for awhile they were able to reconnect few years back ago.  I was able to meet them for the first time, last summer when I was out with Vince. Since this time our first stop is Madison, Wisconsin, we were once again able to catch up.  As everyone knows it is one of my favorite things about the road getting to see family and friends and today was no exception. 



Jesse and Vince

It is 12:18 am Monday as I write this and we are in Madison loading out Wicked.  It is pouring rain and we have already got to see a van get towed that its owner was dumb enough to park right across from the loading docks (I will remind everyone again - never park in an area near a theatre where the meters are bagged off – the trucks need to get in and out on load in and load out).  After that humorous story all I can say is it’s good to be back to the fun of getting the show on the road.