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| Entering Texas |
Before I share my escape from the dome I wanted to share a
story from Sunday morning in Chicago. As the picture of the truck showed we were in
a little area behind a stage. What the
picture didn’t show is how tight an area it was to get into. Vince had to back through a gate then jack
the trailer to the driver’s side while missing tour buses that were double
stacked on his passenger side. I was out
guiding him through the maze when just as he was bringing the tractor up over
the curb to go into place the back passenger tires on the truck started
spinning due to the handicap ramp in the side walk. I moved to the front of the truck took a good
look at the situation and got an idea. I
told him to turn his wheels to the passenger side then moved him forward just
six inches from the tour bus. I then instructed him to turn the wheels back
toward the driver side and head backwards. The tractor went right up the curb
and I finished backing him into place.
One of my biggest apprehensions about directing Vince in
tight spaces is that I don’t drive a truck. I worry I don’t always understand
what moves will do what. But I have watched Vince and many lead drivers over
the last eight years maneuver many a truck into very tight spaces. Thanks to all of them I was confident that my
instruction would be right, but I won’t lie that I was very excited when I was
right. Afterward, Vince told me that he
never looked in his mirrors once because he trusted that I would get him in,
talk about blind trust. I am very glad I
didn’t let him down.
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| I begin my escape from the Dome |
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| Big Cabin in Oklahoma |
My escape from the dome started as we headed out from Chicago south in Illinois,
then through Missouri, then onto Oklahoma, finally arriving in Dallas.
It has been over a year since I have been outside the Midwest
and East Coast. The last time I was outside of the Midwest was last June when
we travelled to San Diego.
A problem we experience is that we can
no longer travel to California because our
engine is one year too old for California’s
new laws related to trucks. They require
all trucks to have clean emissions engines. Never mind that they have tens of
thousands of cars on their highways clogging up the air every day that they are
doing nothing about, just focus on trucks because we all know they are the
problem.
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| Entering TX |
Okay I will get off my soap box now and share that it was
wonderful to get out and see new scenery.
Each part of the country is different and has its own beauty. Today, we are in
Dallas where it is predicted to be 100+ degrees. Tomorrow we pick up a trailer and head to
Pennsylvania. My escape may have been brief but it was much
appreciated.
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| I love this sign at the Big Cabin Truck Stop in OK |
