Fries, Miles and Mushroom Spawn Multi Drop.

Due to having to renew my work visa I had requested a run that would give me time to do this at the border. Got a great load for Gouldsboro PA, leaving Saturday 17th March and Delivering on Monday 19th at 2pm. A load of french fries.  Its only just over a good days drive, about 15 hours  so after renewing my Visa on Saturday night I stayed at Murrys truckstop in Woodstock for the night.

Next morning off we went south, towards Pennsylvania.  The usual stop at Walmart for supplies then onwards.  An uneventful trip down, fueled in the TA at Portsmouth NH and decided to spend the night at the TA at Maybrook NY. I arrived at my destination at 10am with hope that they may take the delivery early, no chance!  15 mins before my booked delivery time I get called in.



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So after a fairly quick unload I was given a reload out of Coatesville PA.  The freight was Mushrooms, or so I thought. 2.5 hours drive I arrive in a very dodgy area of Pennsylvania, thankfully the collection site was tucked away in a nice quiet corner so a good nights sleep was had.

On the bay getting loaded with the spawn.

0600 the next morning in I go to pick up my mushrooms!  What I thought was going to be mushrooms turned out to be in fact Mushroom Spawn.  30000lb of it in fact, the most unusual was the 6 skids of  Oyster and Shitaki mushroom logs.

So with the paperwork faxed to Customs, trailer sealed, coffee made, off we go heading towards Pittsburgh then Toledo for the night. I was surprised when I left Coatesville and headed north on the US30 that it was a very large Dutch Amish community in that area and that traditional methods of farming are still being used, horse drawn ploughs etc, transport was still by horse and carts in amongst todays modern transport methods. 

The following morning after a nice long shower it was off to The Motor City Detroit to cross back into Canada at Windsor and on to my first delivery at Kingsville, then a short 3.5 miles to the 2nd drop at Leamington.  A slightly longer run to the 3rd drop at Harley the a 2 hour trip to Wingham north of Waterloo and a very unexpected treat, not only did I get to see how the the Oyster & Shitaki mushrooms were grown I got to take a trip in this bad boy,

Ford Mustang GT California Special.  Chiped to 529hp.... Awesome!

Once the fun was over it was back to work and had to run back to our Brampton Terminal for the night.

Following morning I get a load of sample kitchen towel from the Tissue plant in Toronto to go to the Tissue plant in Dieppe and an uneventful trip back home.  A total of 2917 miles in 7 days, a little longer than I am used to being away but I managed to get a lot done for myself at the same time. 

Monday 26th March.

Got a dispatch to Rotterdam in New York State with a load of Tissue Deliver Wednesday 28th at 2pm.  Arrived in Rotterdam the night before and managed to get unloaded 3 hours earlier than my appointment. A quick 200 mile to Tropicana in Jersey City NJ and picked up a loaded trailer for Boucherville just outside Montreal, delivered this load at 1130 on Thursday, great back to the terminal in Dorval and an early morning dispatch on Friday 30th be home for supper.

Thats when the wheels fell off this train!  Arrived at the terminal at 1400 hrs and was finally dispatche 22 hours later!  A loaded SLH trailer for Moncton, got as far as Lincoln NB before calling it a day.

Dropped the trailer at SLH and then an empty trailer back to the Island.  A short run but home for the weekend again.

     

Short Miles, Snow & Overweight Fines.

Was given a dispatch on Friday 9th March for Westborough Massachusetts, live load Charlottetown with fries for a 2am delivery on Monday 12th. Seems straightforward enough eh?  It would have been, but its only 11 hours door to door, just a good days drive, what the hell was I going to do on the Saturday after loading?  Drop the trailer back at Cavendish and had an extra day at home with the family, tidy :-)

Left 7am Sunday, stopped at Walmart for supplies in Newport ME on the way down, a fairly uneventful run down, got to Westborough early evening.  Now normally its a slow tip but this new fella in the warehouse was very quick, a little careless but quick, he only damaged 9 boxes of fries! but I was out within 45 mins.

Sent my empty macro and went back to bed, satellite went off at 8.45am.  Load at Tropicana NJ for Robert Transport in Boucherville just outside Montreal for the following day.

Tipped the following morning and went to our Terminal in Dorval, arrived at midday and that's where I stayed. No dispatch all day so I went to bed at 21.30, I expected to get a pre-plan in the early hours, how wrong was I.  23.30 BEEP!  WTF?????  Sent them a message telling them I had only just gone to bed as I had been waiting all day for a dispatch, no problem so I left at 04.30.  trailer switch at the Drummondville Terminal.  Picked up a trailer bound for Dieppe, it felt heavy and its the spring thaw weight restrictions in Quebec, I had a bad feeling about the trailer but not knowing where there was a scale I had to go to the government scale at Montmagny, over a 100 mile away.  Put it on the bridge and then got directed to the scale master. Turns out I was right,  I was 2400kg over on the drive axles.  even given the maximum tolerance per axle I was still 1600kg over gross.  A few calls to dispatch and they sent a truck from Quebec City to rework my load and take some freight off me. 5.25 hours later and $494.00 I finally was allowed to leave.

With all the delays it meant I could not make Dieppe and arrangements were made to switch trailers with another driver at Murry's Truck stop in Woodstock. Stopped there the night and continued on to Moncton the following morning. The weather was terrible, a lot of snow had fallen overnight so the journey took a little longer than normal. After switching trailers again in Dieppe I finally got home Thursday midday.    Was so glad to be home, it was a rubbish trip, short miles, snow & overweight fines, a trip to forget.  

Ready Steady....... Stop!

Wednesday 29th Feb I get a call from my dispatcher, you have a load for Falconer in upstate NY delivery Friday March 2nd at 8am, it loads at 7pm tonight!   I need to point out that just because its booked to load at 7pm does not mean it will be loaded at 7pm, and true to Cavendish Farms tradition, a quick call to shipping confirms my load will not even be looked at until 10pm at the earliest.
A quick call to dispatch to advise them of the situation and I would now be leaving the following morning.  With this agreed I relaxed into my bed for a good nights sleep.

NOTE TO SELF;  Remember to warn the wife that you have set your alarm on the phone for 0430.

So with the upset wife trying to go back to sleep, I then fire the 15ltr engine up and head off to get my load, I later find out that did not go down too well either!

OK got the trailer, got the paperwork, sent all the info via my satellite, pre trip trailer and reefer unit, get back in the truck and have engine warning lights and message up on the display, great, that's all I need.  The delivery point is 1118miles away and I got this, so off we go to Freightliner in Dieppe via Penske, who the truck is leased from.  3 hours later I leave the Workshop after having a sensor re-calibrated and head off to Penske.

By now the delivery has been cancelled as I will not make it by 1300 Friday the last receiving appointment and they don't take deliveries on a Saturday.  So it was agreed I would leave on Saturday, I would take a trailer back to the Island and bring a loaded one back to Moncton on Saturday.

I called back to Penske to find I was 2 weeks overdue for a service and that I would also need the drivers side windshield replaced so they rolled up the door and in I went to loose another 4/5 hours of my life.

Old one out, just waiting for the new windshield to be fitted.

So with the service complete, I grab an empty and go home to try again Saturday.

I arrive at Falconer 1/2 hour late due to me forgetting my phone automatically switches to Eastern time zone, Doh!  After giving them a com check for $150.00 and waiting 2 hours to unload I wait for my next instruction.  Now I am only 45 Min's from the Canadian Border at Buffalo/Queenston and just over 2 hours from our Brampton terminal, BEEP, my pre-plan, load at Tropicana, New Jersey, 395 miles away!!!!!! 6.5 hours drive away, I'm not complaining easy miles.

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So after a very relaxed run down, I grab my load, park up for the night ready for a short run up to our Terminal in Dorval QC.  I arrive at 1430 and drop the trailer and am 4th in line for a load east, not sure what time to expect a dispatch I go to bed at 7pm fully expecting a load between 1am and 4am.

0615am BEEP, trl 856045 ready in Dorval for Dieppe, A full LTL load bound for Halifax Nova Scotia.  Oh well I slept well and fully refreshed set off for our Dieppe Terminal, arriving 12 hours later, a quick message to dispatch and get a full load going back to Cavendish Farms and eventually getting home at 9pm.  Turned out to be a nice run just a shame it was delayed for so long.

For those of you who wonder what upstate New York looks like, I took a few shots between Falconer and Bath on my way to New Jersey.

Southwest Airlines landing at Albany International Airport.