York, PA – The first Madagascar load out

Sunrise in York- Tennis Court Lot

2011 York - View from the dock

the road to the docks

Well as you can see there was snow in York, but not like last year.  With all the talk on the news about the east coast snow storms we expected more snow.  But trust me we were not sorry that the drivers didn’t have to work around snow piles that may have impeded there ability to get down the streets and into the docks.

 Load out started at 8:00 am, so that meant call time was for 7:00 am and the waiting game began.  Vince and Jim, our lead driver from last year and owner of our tour mascot, Bo Bo,  left around 7:30 am to walk up to the Pullo Center which is on the Penn State at York campus. They walked up to the center to re-familiarize themselves with the road leading to the building and the dock area.  I joined the guys around 8:30 am and was glad to get the chance catch up with the other drivers and some of the crew from last year’s tour.  

Bo Bo - Our Tour Mascot

Around 11:30 am it was time for us to move to the dock and by noon our trailer was loaded with the merchandise cases.  However it wasn’t time to leave, but to return to the lot and hook up to another trailer.  Today there were a total of 6 trailers to be loaded.  For the tour there are four show to show trailers and one merchandise trailer. For this first load out a returns trailer was needed.  The returns trailer was loaded with additional equipment that the show will not need for the tour.  That equipment will be returned to the shops in New York and New Jersey.

Before we could hook up to the second trailer Vince needed to take a crow bar to the pile of ice and snow that some nice plow driver dumped in front of the trailer while clearing the lot.  As you can see from the picture of the tennis court parking lot the piles were pretty high and very icy, trust me.  After Vince’s first attempt to hook up to the trailer didn’t work I went out to help him with the mud flaps which needed to be curled up so they wouldn’t be pulled off the frame as the trailer went through the snow.  While Vince was working on the flaps I started hitting the ice with the crow bar and moving the snow.  As I was hitting the ice I realized I must have had some pent up frustration or anger because it felt great and was an excellent release for a day of sitting around.  Thankfully on Vince’s second attempt he was able to slide under the trailer.  So then it was time to wait once again.

From 1:30 pm until 4:30 pm we hung out in the truck in the tennis court parking lot.  In warmer weather we usually hang outside with the other drivers or explore the area but not in winter.  It is just too cold.  By 4:30 pm Vic, the lead driver for this year’s tour, called for us to head back to the dock.  This time electrics and audio equipment were loaded onto the trailer, and by 6:00 pm we were headed back to the parking lot.

 Since this was the first load out no trucks were released to go to Pittsburgh until all the trucks were loaded.  Sometimes things don’t always go as planned when loading the trucks so the crew didn’t want to take the chance of running out of space at the end and having no way of making adjustments.  Trust me we know first hand that this in fact can happen since we saw it happen on last year’s tour, so we understood the need for everyone to stay. By 7:30 pm all the trailers were loaded and it was time to head out. 

We are traveling with Jim and Bo Bo and have stopped for the night at a service plaza on the Pennsylvania turnpike about 150 miles east of Pittsburgh.  Of course, just like the rest of the Midwest we are about to deal with the predictions for snow and ice for tomorrow.  Since there would be no parking for the trucks this late at night at any service plazas or truck stops as we got closer to Pittsburgh, the guys knew we couldn’t go on into or near the city tonight.  So Vince and Jim will have to deal with road conditions in the morning and since the predictions have varied regarding the time and types of precipitation it should be interesting. We will just have to see how things shake out and what Mother Nature sends us.  This will be my first time being in the truck during any type of ice storm so I’m sure I will have a story or two.  But as you know the trucks need to be there by Wednesday at 7:00 am because the show must go on. I promise to keep you posted.

Vince in the dock