Hershey definitely got snow!

Snow pile in Weis Grocery parking lot
The pic is only half of the pile

I must send a big shout out to the PA road crews.  Our trip from Schenectady to Hershey yesterday was uneventful all because of the terrific job the road crews did clearing the snow. The majority of the snow definitely fell in the southern part of the state.  As you can see from the pictures there was a lot to clear.   

It's never good when the snow pile is as high as the door of
our truck.  This was taken as we approached Hershey

Snow in front of Theatre

The Clark lot in Harrisburg which also received alot of snow was an adventure Monday afternoon as we took a trailer back and picked up another.  By the evening when we returned to the lot to make the second exchange the lot had turned to ice.  A fun time was had by Curtis and Vince as they hooked up to the last two trailers  But I am happy to report there we no falls and luckily they were able to get both trailers out safely.

Vince shoveling

This was my first time in Hershey and I found the light posts made like Hershey Kisses adorable. 

Close up of lamp post

Busy week: Chicago, NJ, CT, Philly, CT, Schenectady

The moon making an appearance at 3:45 pm on
Tuesday Jan 19th in PA

We started the week in Chicago in a -22 degree wind chill temperature and -3 degree temperature.  We spent Monday waiting for our trailer to be loaded. At lunch time we walked to a Jimmy Johns.  The walk back was a cold one and when I got back in the truck I just sat in my seat for several minutes not moving, just letting the warmth of the truck thaw the small part of my face that had been exposed.  Originally we were to be in Chicago on Tuesday as well, but our trailer was needed in NJ and CT on Wednesday so we left Monday for the east coast.

On Wednesday we delivered to shops in NJ and CT then it was off to Philly to drop off our trailer.  The winter storm was approaching and I did not want to be in the middle of it.  We were due in Schenectady, NY on Sunday to move Cinderella to Hershey, PA on Monday so we prepared Thursday to head north to get out of the path of the storm. 

On Thursday, Vince was dispatched to move another Gotta Dance trailer from Rock Tavern, NY to CT.  On Friday we moved the trailer to CT, it was due at the shop on Monday but with the storm coming getting it there early was a necessity.  After dropping the trailer in CT, we made a stop at a Walmart in Fishkill, NY to stock up before heading north.

Friday evening, we stopped at a travel plaza about 30 miles south of Schenectady. Curtis, the lead driver for Cinderella met up with us there. It was nice to have a chance that evening to catch up with him. I so appreciated that some family and friends took the time to check in with us on Friday to find out where we were and confirming we were safe.  It was sweet of them to be worried enough to reach out to us. 

On Saturday morning the weather radar showed that the storm was just below us, but fortunately strong winds from the north kept it from reaching us.  Load out tonight should go smoothly due to no snow making it this far north, but getting to Hershey, PA tonight and tomorrow should be interesting as we make our way through the aftermath of the storm.  I hope to have many pictures for the next post. 

We Pull off a Surprise and are now in Bitter Cold Chicago

59+1 John had to have candles
because his Granddaughter Vivien
had asked if he would.

On Friday we were dispatched to Harrisburg to pick up a trailer to take with us to Chicago.  A trailer was damaged in an accident so this one was needed to replace it.  We arrived in Harrisburg in the early evening. I fixed dinner after which I asked my usual “what’s the plan Stan”.  Vince being the wonderful husband he is told me we could go the northern route which was less miles or we could go the southern route and he could get us to Columbus in time for John’s (my brother) birthday celebration. John hit a big milestone 59+1 so I was a little sad I wasn’t going to be able to be with him.  I told Vince it was up to him but was absolutely thrilled when he said we would go the southern route.

 

John joked he was 591! Elaine
did a great job with the #s she had!

We talked to Elizabeth the next day and she was also thrilled that we were going to be pulling off this surprise.  Also, I must share that I owe Elizabeth a big thanks for bringing me my camera as we passed through Columbus a couple weeks ago.  Without her I would have no pictures to share. On Saturday evening we were able to surprise John. We had a great time celebrating with John, Elaine (my sister-in-law) who unfortunately was feeling under the weather but was, as usual, a wonderful host (especially since she did not know she was going to become a host) Elizabeth and Pam, Elaine’s childhood friend who we all consider a friend. We went back to our truck that evening, rather than home because Sunday we needed to get going and honestly it is easier sometimes just to stay in the truck.

We arrived in Northern Indiana on Sunday afternoon and watched as the temperature just kept dropping.  Today we started the day out at -3 degrees with a wind chill of -22 and are now up to a whopping -1.  Trust me it is cold.  I am thankful to Elaine for introducing me to flannel sheets many years ago and to my sister-in-law Nancy for buying us the soft and fluffy Sock Monkey flannel sheets that we currently have on our bed.  I have definitely appreciated the sheets over the last couple weeks.  Tonight, instead of having to stay an additional day in Chicago, we are headed back to the east coast with a load of Gotta Dance returns for the shops.  

Ever have a day when you wish you had stayed in bed?

Tuesday was definitely a day when Vince had wished he had stayed in bed. That morning we were up at 4:00 am in Lake Station, IN to head into Chicago.  It was snowing and as we headed onto the on ramp of the freeway we discovered that the on ramps in Indiana were apparently not a priority that day.  We saw a pick up had smashed into a barrier wall and there were other cars and trucks off the road on the various ramps as we made our way into the city.  Fortunately the roads were clear just not the ramps.

When we got into Chicago we were happy to see that the J&J driver of the single axle (small cab truck) was already there ready to put our trailer in the alley. Regular trucks are too big to maneuver trucks into the alley.  Since, trucks are not allowed on the streets of Chicago from 7:00 am – 9:00 am getting into the alley was very important.  Well wouldn’t you know in the alley was a truck delivering food products.  Instead of parking in the wider alley adjacent to the theatre he had parked where our trailer needed to go.  Vince explained to the gentleman that they needed the alley and he stated he would not be long.

While waiting for the driver to get out of the way Vince unhooked from our trailer so the J& J driver could hook up to it.  After unhooking we went around the J&J truck and pulled up to the curb on the left.  After pulling near the curb Vince started to back up with his four ways on to straighten us with the curb.  When we had gone around the J&J truck there was no one in the lane.  As Vince started to roll back we heard crunch sound.  Vince went to the back of the truck and found a cab driver had pulled in right behind us as he was backing up.  The collision caused very little damage a scratch on the hood of the cab and only took out our right (passenger side) light in the back.  But we were definitely getting the feeling this was going to be one of those days.

Remember the driver said he would not be long, well an hour and twenty minutes later he was still in the alley and it was 10 minutes until the 7:00 am curfew was to begin. Of course while we were waiting that hour and 20 minutes in the street we got a $75 parking ticket.  Once again Vince was wondering why he got out of bed that morning.

At 6:55 am the guy got out of the way it was finally time for our trailer to get backed into the alley.   All of that thankfully was uneventful. While the trailer was being loaded Vince called a Freightliner dealership just over the border in Indiana and they had our tail light.  So things were looking up a little at least as far as I was concerned.

We pulled out of the alley just after 9:00 am and headed to the Freightliner dealership.  As we were going through the toll booth in Indiana the monitor read our transponder for our EZ pass and gave us the green light, but the gate only went up 2/3 of the way.  Vince pushed the call button and explained the problem.  The woman on the other end said just a moment.  Then she came back on and asked us if it went up and we said no. She stated just a moment again.  She came back on and asked if we could drive under it and Vince shared no he had a semi, we got the just a moment again.  She came back on and said it will be a moment and apologized for the inconvenience.  At this point we were at 5-7 minutes of waiting. Vince went out to see if he could move the arm up but it was stuck.  The attendant the came back on and said it would now be another 10 minutes because someone was coming from somewhere else to look at it, but she apologized again for the inconvenience.  I had had it by that point because we all know 10 minutes wasn’t going to be 10 minutes. I got out of the truck and asked if Vince was sure I couldn’t hold up the arm while he drove under it.  We tried but I wasn’t strong enough to get it up high enough.  Vince then pushed the button and asked if we could remove the arm, the women said she couldn’t authorize him to take it off.  She didn’t say we couldn’t do it she said she couldn’t authorize us to do it.  So we took the arm off and were on our way.  We didn’t damage it by driving through it like someone in the lane next to us must have done because half the arm was gone; we just took it down and laid it beside the base.

After picking up the tail light we headed to the Flying J for breakfast, which thankfully was also uneventful.  As we were leaving the Flying J Vince turned on the wipers and the washer fluid didn’t come out.  It had been working fine all morning but now was not.  Vince started cussing and I started laughing, you know that Tom Hanks laugh in the Money Pit when the tub goes through the floor.  Vince appeared to be getting a little mad at me for laughing and I said “Honey you have to accept that this is the way the day is going to go, embrace it and go with it”.  He wasn’t happy with me or the truck but really what can you do but embrace it.  Fortunately the rest of the day went smoothly, which I believe confirms that embracing it works. We were able to travel through Indiana and then stop in Ohio for night without further incident.

We delivered to two shops yesterday in CT and today head back to Chicago.  Unfortunately, we were taken off a Chicago to Durham run and instead get to spend two days shuffling trailers in and out of Chicago.  Apparently someone thinks I like cold places because I have spent many Januarys going in and out of Buffalo and now this year it’s been Chicago.

I’m here because I’m entertaining.

We left Columbus last Sunday and headed to Cleveland for an Elf load out.  The show was closing therefore everything was headed back to the shops.  Our load was to be in Annapolis Junction, MD by Monday morning.  I had a very tough time Sunday night getting back into staying up.  I believe part of it was just getting back out on the road and the other was I didn’t have my Dunkin Donuts coffee Sunday morning.  I will not make that mistake again.  I abandon Vince around Midnight and while I didn’t fall asleep I was way more comfortable in bed than in my seat.

On Monday morning, I looked out the window and noticed a trailer beside us.  I asked Vince if that trailer was here when we arrived.  He answered “Honey that’s our trailer”.  Obviously, I was not paying attention that if we were hooked up to our trailer we wouldn’t be right next to a trailer. I laughed and asked him “tell me again why you like having me out here”.  He laughed and said “because it’s entertaining”.  I know it’s true because I once had my glasses on, picked up a pair of glasses that were on the counter and asked whose glasses are these.  I am usually organized and have it together. My only explanation is I must totally relax out on the road which leads to entertainment for my husband.

Yesterday, Vince had moved trailers in this lovely lot so that the Gotta Dance crew can pull things off the storage trailers and move them onto the trailer we brought from Harrisburg.  The lot is housing Gotta Dance and Lion King and as you can see it is not very big. It was an adventure. Today we are hanging out in cold but thankfully clear Lake Station, IN. 

Tomorrow, we return to the lot for the transfer. Tuesday morning, we head into Chicago where the Gotta Dance crew will take some stuff off and load on things that need to go back to shops.  After they are done we will head to NJ and CT with the returns for Thursday deliveries.