Coast to Coast

The first load we were sent on after leaving Bend from Christmas break was to drop our trailer in Toledo, OR. The most direct route to get there is not truck friendly, therefore not truck approved. We had to drive over the snowy Santiam Pass to the coast in Lincoln City, and down Route 101 from there, before turning a few miles inland to drop our trailer. Driving along the Oregon Coast, especially in a truck, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we knew it! We took many (awful) pictures while driving along the ocean.



Yes, the road is that close to the water. And the view is breathtaking!

After dropping off the trailer, dispatch did not have another load set up for us yet, so we bobtailed back into Newport, parked our rig, and walked down to the overlook for the surf. It was pitch black, so we couldn't see much, but the thunderous noise of the ocean certainly could be heard. It was intense and moving!

Dispatch still hadn't gotten a load for us, so we decided to grab a bite to eat at the Chowder Bowl restaurant. Ben had the token clam chowder, while I had two of the best fish tacos I've ever had! (for those of you who think that is really odd, fish tacos are very common--and very good--in the Northwest)

We spent the night in the truck, on the side of the road in Newport, listening to the ocean and then the pitter-patter of rain in the middle of the night. Dispatch finally got a load for us in the morning, but not until after we went down on the beach.


It was cold!


I was enjoying the shadows of the sunrise, and thought back to this post last spring. The night before that incident happened, we were on Dania Beach near Ft. Lauderdale, catching the sunset rays and playing with the shadows there.


So now, even though it's backwards, we have sunset on the east coast and sunrise on the west. These may just be two of my favorite pictures from the last two and a half years of life on the road.



Today is January 12. Two years ago, Haiti endured that horrific earthquake that challenged an already-challenged country. Please remember them in your prayers!

#47

We made it to Maine! Maine and Vermont were the lone lower-48 states that we hadn't yet made it to in the truck, but now we're just down to Vermont!

We had received the pre-assignment plan from dispatch, and I read it too quick, thinking we were picking up our load in Auburn, Massachusetts. I couldn't figure out why the deadhead miles were over 150, when Auburn was just 20 miles from our last load's destination. Finally re-reading the pre-assign correctly helped me to realize that what I thought was MA was really ME!

We were routed around the I-95 toll road that would bring us up to our pick-up location (off all things to pick up, we hauled 36,000 pounds of tampons!), so up the Route 1 "Coastal Highway" we went. I felt as if we were driving through the scenery of the movie Dan in Real Life (even though that takes place in Rhode Island). Everything was weathered, quiet, quaint. Many (if not most) motels and resort locations were closed down for the season. Every other block had a restaurant featuring lobster and clam chowder. There was a biting chill in the air (but much warmer and less snowy than average at this time of year). Wooded trees are everywhere. Basically, we loved it. Ben especially. He's already considering when we could move. (!)

We did enjoy our little jaunt "off the beaten path" with the coastal highway, but it took us almost 3 times longer than it would have on the toll road, so we decided to just take that on the way back. It was dark by then anyhow (4:30 and it's DARK!), so we allowed the company to pay for our ease of travel on I-95. We stopped at a truck stop in Kittery, ME, and walked a mile to the Weathervane Restaurant. It was a tough menu decision, as lobster rolls are very popular, as is clam chowder, but Ben ended up going for a whole lobster and I had a broiled seafood plate, including salmon, haddock and scallops. Yum!

Back to the truck, and we were on our way to New Jersey. Ugh. At least Maine was enjoyable!



This is Portland, Maine.

Can you see that blue sign stuck behind the trees? That's the "Welcome to Maine" sign. After exit 2. They want you to come in a little before they give you the satisfaction of knowing you made it.

We had steamed mussels as an appetizer.


All of my broiled fish, with veggies and delicious slaw on the side!

Ben's crustacean meal.


He had to wear a bib. That told him how to eat the lobster. It was helpful.


Current location: Waynesboro, VA
Direction heading: to Salt Lake City, UT
Miles this week: 5800
Recent friendly encounters: we stopped in Stone Bluff to visit Ben's family as we were en route on I-74, and while working on a restart of hours, we rented a car from the Cincinnati area and drove home to Mercer County for a night to see my family. Good times were had by all!

Bear With Me

Oh, my. It has been a while, has it not, Sandy? Life and driving has kept us quite busy lately, and so this blog post here will serve as a randomization of recent happenings, in no particular order. Enjoy!

1. We had a great hometime about a week and a half ago, probably one of the best on record so far. We ended up having 6 days off (due to slow loads moving when we returned to the truck), which were filled with cooking, baking, hosting our friends AJ, Sarah and their little one Gabriella (West Coast Steins) while AJ cycled in the Tour Des Chutes 100 mile ride, hiking, soaking in hot springs, going to church and spending one-on-one with JC in adoration, more cooking and baking, and seeing our other friends in town. The weather did not cooperate much, but still, what a delight!

2. Last month we were out on the road for 30 days and logged over 25,000 miles. That's a great month! We're on track to have our next loan paid down by Labor Day (and likely before!).

3. We delivered a load into the side of the earth...a former government complex that was carved from limestone is now a regular "hub" for small business and logistics; we drove our truck and trailer into the side of a hill and underground, dodging limestone pillars for a mile in and out. Boeing was a cool drop, but I think this delivery point beats it!

4. Leaving hometime set us on a track from Bend to San Francisco to Phoenix to Memphis to Miami to Atlanta, where we now sit as our truck is in the shop. We were slated to head towards New Jersey, but as we got ready to leave this morning, our engine started knocking really loud. Who knows how long it will take? But--all that travel? We did it in 5 days. Not bad for the first week out!!

5. As mentioned in #1, I am really enjoying cooking and baking every time we come home. This month's experiments included a grilled flat iron steak with blue cheese butter topping, turkey lentil chili, a delectable strawberry cake covered in whipped cream white chocolate frosting (so good we had to make it twice!), and German chocolate cake (definitely easier to make the second time around, but still labor intensive). I've also recently discovered a show that I enjoy listening to on Martha Stewart Living Radio: Everyday Food with Sandy Gluck. She gives some great basic advice for cooking and baking and experiments with making different things in her test kitchen, airing it on the show. I'm learning a lot and can't wait to put these tips into practice! I'm perusing different foodie blogs too to pick up new tricks and recipes. If you have any recommendations, let me know!

6. We've moved on from our last set of acadamia in transit; now we are onto lectures about Pope Benedict VI (guest lectures at Christendom University), Christian Spirituality (Dr. Mark Miravalle from Franciscan University), and of course Ben's philosophy courses. I have an aim to read Louis Bouyer's book, "Eucharist" by the time we return to Bend in September. His 20 years of research culminating in this work is fascinating, intriguing, and deeply theological. I read just the first 1/4 or so of it a few years ago in preparation for a diocesan event for youth. It made quite an impression on me and I intend to read the rest!

7. Ben is finally done with his thesis! The last part is coming up in just 2 weeks: he will be defending it in front of three philosophy professors back at Franciscan University in Steubenville. We will be spending our August hometime then in Ohio, completing this last task for his Master's degree, as well as visiting with friends and family in the area. This thesis is 5 years in the making, and finally 99.9% there. Please remember him in your prayers on Thursday, August 11 at 10:30am. Thanks!

8. I lost another 4 pounds!

9. I can't think of anything else at the moment, so...until next time!

God bless you!

The California Fruit Stand

Having a lot of time on our load from Longview, WA to Pico Rivera, CA, we made a stop at our favorite truck stop in northern California, then finally took the opportunity to stop at a well-advertised fruit stand off of the I-5 near Bakersfield. Many samples later, we left with a jar of pumpkin butter, handmade white corn/wheat tortillas, six nectarines, a pound of cherries, a pound of garlic pistachios, half pound of ranch-flavored corn nuts and a slice of blueberry crumble pie. Murray Family Farms has made a life-long customer out of us (at least for as long as we're trucking!). Check them out!

Present location: Fontana, CA (in the shop...again)
Total miles this week: restart at 0

Have a blessed week!

It's no wonder...

...people kill each other in New Jersey. I think it is official that New Jersey has now surpassed California as my least favorite state. People are mean, short and nasty (well, not all, just most), the roadways are begging for rehabilitation, trash is littered everywhere, the state smells like a garbage dump, people pass you on the shoulder only to then cross over 4 lanes of traffic to barely make a left exit (not joking), there's a mass overlay of roads that lie on top of each other near Newark making it easy to miss a turn, leading you into an area of town that doesn't allow for trucks to turn around especially with low-hanging bridges...... We had this experience just a few days ago, and in a span of a few minutes. To say the least, stress runs HIGH, bringing out the "best" in us, if you can believe that.

In this last experience, we were stuck blocking a road trying to make a tight right turn that couldn't be made until all of the traffic in the opposite lane of the direction we were headed moved. This led us down a residential/industrial area (who thought that would be a good idea to mix the two?!) with many more tight turns, swearing and frustration, only to find another low-clearance bridge directly in front of us. I had to get out of the truck and help Ben back it down the roadway and try another route to get us out. All in all, it was a delay of about 30 minutes trying to maneuver through the streets. Thankfully, we came through when traffic was light and we had plenty of time on the load to deliver.

Nonetheless, this led us to believe it's no wonder people kill each other in New Jersey. The state is dirty, crowded, polluted, and people do not know the term courteous. Thankfully, we only have to visit this state every once in a while. Otherwise, we may kill each other...

On our way down to the Memphis area from New Jersey, we stopped by a truck stop near Greeneville, TN, to get a bite to eat: the "Davey Crockett Travel Center". The food was horrible, but the placemats kind of made up for it and kept us entertained.

In case you can't read it, it's titled "Mountain Talk", with phrases and words common to the folk who live in the hollers of the Appalachian Mountains. Because of their previous seclusion from outside culture and influence, these gems have been passed down from many generations. Here's an example:

BOOK READ - Educated or well informed "We aim for little Flossie to git book read someday."
FUR PIECE - A great distance "He lives a fur piece from his kin folks."
GULLY-WASHER - A hard rain "We shore had a gully-washer last night."

On a brighter note from the NJ depression, we're in Olive Branch, MS, a stone's throw from Memphis, TN, the location of the second terminal we've now visited. This one is just as nice as the first! With free laundry! And a "rental" van available to drivers to go out of the terminal to get a bit to eat or do shopping in the nearby area! The staff here continue to be helpful, pleasant and courteous (take note, New Jersey!). We could hardly ask for more. It is quite remarkable the difference in cultures between our old and new company.

We've got a load going to Boise, ID from Memphis, picking up early tomorrow morning. This will be our first venture back into the Northwest in almost 6 weeks. Considering the ridiculous humidity I awoke to this morning, I cannot wait to get where it's dryer! It's hard to believe we've been away from our place in Bend for 2 months, and we are looking forward to returning in two weeks!

Have a great weekend, ya'll! God bless!

Peace,
deb & ben

Our Grocery List

You may wonder what goes into our bodies while we're out on the road. There are plenty of stereotypical truckers who are unhealthy, overweight, and eat only the fast-food and/or buffet food readily available at truck stops. While we indulge in that from time to time, our goal is to not "look the part" of being truckers and to get proper nutrition as best as possible.

Each time we return to Bend for our home-time, we make lenghty visits to Costco, Safeway, and Grocery Outlet. Our grocery list for a months-worth of supplies is generally along the lines of:

1 case V8
1 case chocolate Slimfast (good supply of vitamins/minerals)
1 case Diet Coke
3 12 packs Diet Mountain Dew
4 double boxes of cereal
6 quarts unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 canister instant oatmeal
2 boxes Zone protein bars
1 box Trio nut bars
1 box Fiber1 bars
Various other bars (usually found at Grocery Outlet for super-cheap)
1 bag raw almonds
1 bag peanut M&Ms
2 containers Sunrise Energy bars
1 container cub claws
1 container chicken salad
1 quart chai tea latte concentrate
1 bag dried apricots
8 small tins of various loose flavored black teas
1 box triscuits
1 block co-jack cheese
1 bag of apples and pears
1 jar salad dressing
1 container baby greens salad
2 bags sugar-snap peas
1 bag baby carrots
1 jar sunflower seeds
1 jar salsa
1 bag tortilla chips

The list may go on...at this hour I'm having a hard time recollecting anything else. What is nice, is that it usually works out that every week or every other week we're able to make it to a grocery store and re-stock the fresh food items. We really do try to stay away from the unhealthy stuff, but sometimes if we're in a rush or running really hard, that's the easiest thing to grab. If we have time on a load or in between loads, we enjoy getting a bite of hot breakfast food with eggs (deb) and steak (Ben). Having something warm to eat, and a "full meal", is a nice alternative to always snacking on a bar here or a bowl of cereal there.

And every now and again, we're able to meet up with friends or family who are willing to drive us out to a great place to eat. Just a few weeks ago we hooked up with some of deb's friends from college in Chicago and had a great meal at a Mexican restaurant. Thanks for the treat out and a fun visit, Ryan and Carla!

As the months have gone by, we've really been able to adjust our list and really find what works the best. We've run in to other drivers from our company who started the same time we did, and they complain about having gained 40+ pounds in the past 6 months. We certainly haven't stayed as trim (as is to be expected with a sedentary lifestyle as we now know it), but between the two of us, 10-15 pounds is the max we've gained. The difference between us and them? Largely, the credit goes to having a fridge. Keeping the fresh food on hand really adds up (and sure makes for less of a dent in the pocket book!).

Right now we're in western Nebraska on our way back to Portland, OR, with a load full of parts for Daimler-Benz. Once we drop, we're on our way back to Bend to watch the Colts win another Super Bowl! We'll spend the rest of our time visiting friends, studying, grocery shopping, and enjoying a hike or two in the great outdoors.

Then, back out on the road! We are blessed...

God bless you too!

Peace,
deb & Ben