I am so bummed over not getting to go to moms this weekend. Sometimes our best laid plans are shot all to pieces. I was supposed to go to South Carolina on Friday and come back on Saturday and be able to go to Ind. on Sunday, but.........that's not even close to the way things went.
As it tuned out, my regular truck was in the shop for electrical problems so they gave me an old beater truck that is on the lot for emergencies.. I guess they thought this was one of those emergencies. I loaded in Louisville at 12:00 noon and headed to South Carolina and was supposed to be there by 10:00pm, an easy run, take a 10 hour break and be back by 9:00 pm on Saturday. BUT 100 miles into the trip the truck started acting funny, so I called the garage and they told me where to go and have it looked at. I did, but the man there didn't have the part I needed (2 hours wasted and I only have 3 to spare) so I was to go on to Knoxville Tennessee and find the T/A truck stop and they would be waiting for me. Got there in record time, it took me 4 hours to go 111 miles!!!! They changed the fuel filter and I was on the road in 1 hour. The truck worked great for about 30 minutes then it was worse than before. Wouldn't pull a hill and top speed was about 45 miles an hour. I drove until my 11 hour driving time was up but was still 5 hours from my destination. I called in and told the dispatcher I was exhausted and would hit it again the next day (Saturday). He told me that the place I was going to was already closed and would not open again until Monday morning. Great, just plum great!!! I'm stuck in South Carolina for the weekend in a stinky borrowed truck, no money, no food, no hope!!

Saturday morning I drove the rest of the way, but the destination was in an extremely remote part of the country so I told dispatch I wasn't staying there for two days and would find a truck stop where I felt safer, he said to "do what ya gotta do girl, just be safe ". I was so tired I went in took a shower and hit the bunk. I could sleep late Sunday morning cause I had no place to be. When I woke up about 7:30 ( so much for sleeping late) I was bored and had to find something to do. I had been wanting to get a hair cut and it seemed like a good thing to do to kill some time. So I found a Walmart, (isn't that what a girls gotta do, I had to have some magazines, or knitting to keep me busy, and a change of clothes). While in Walmart a huge storm settled right over the store and stayed there for about 1/2 an hour. I made my purchases and went out to the truck, and WHAT, MY BED IS SOAKED , THE WIND BLEW SO HARD AND IT RAINED SO HARD THAT MY SLEEPER LEAKED!!!!. Now I would have to spend the night in a motel. Brother or should I say Bother, whats that going to cost me? Good thing I had an emergency fund ( Dave Ramsey has taught me well). $41.00 I sure hope they reimburse me for this.

Monday morning I was up early delivered my load by 7:30, then I had to call the garage to see what to do with my truck. They sent me to a third place to have it looked at, but ...Yep you guessed it ... they cant get to it until Tuesday morning. Another night in a motel, $61.00 this time and yes they will reimburse me for both nights. The motel is right beside the garage.

When I left home I brought 1 change of clothes, that's all I needed for an overnight trip. But 4 nights is a different story. Wouldn't you know there was a Walmart just across the street from the motel but I would have to walk since my truck was locked in the lot to be worked on in the morning. So, walk I did, 94 degrees it was . I'm not used to walking and it made me hungry. I stopped along the way at a Maurcie's barbecue, I was so disappointed it didn't have any flavor and by now I was hot, tired and ready for the air conditioner at the motel.

Tuesday morning they had my truck ready about 12:30 and you know I wasn't the least bit sorry to leave and head north. Truck run great for about 2 hours, then the bottom fell out again. This time I was crawling up hills at 10 miles an hour and in second gear, blue smoke just a rolling out the stack. I called the garage again . Needless to say after $1061.60 worth of repairs it shouldn't be acting up already. I was too far gone to turn back so he ask me if I felt comfortable driving on home and if I couldn't make it they would call me a wrecker. I told him I would limp home at 10 miles an hour if I had to. At times it would run great but on the hills I was praying all the way up. More than once I thought this is as far as she will make it and I will have to walk to see where I am because I wasn't paying enough attention to the mile markers.

Somehow I made it home and was only about 1 hour later than I would have been if the truck was running right. I found a short cut thru the country side that saved about 50 miles and 1 1/2 hours . When I got home Greg was laying on the couch, I ask if he was hungry and he had the nerve to say 'Yes, do you want to fix me something to eat". UH, NO!!!. I talked him into walking to Jerrys restaurant about a mile from our house. We had a nice supper, I didn't have to cook or clean up and then we walked it off going back home.

Needless to say I am pooped and going to bed.
P.S. Anybody want to go with me next time? It gets pretty lonely out there sometimes.
Good thing I have spell check or you wouldn't have been able to read this.