In Charlotte on the way to Tampa this time. Been doing the due north and south bit for the last week or so.

exercised this morning the usual.  [189]? analog scale suspect.  One tub of dates and 1/2 of giant bag of peanuts are gone which may explain the gain from last Saturday>  :-((

Arrived at Charlotte yesterday.
exercised this morning peak8x19 stepper [186?] analog scale
off to Toronto tomorrow for delivery Monday morning

Yesterday I passed the DOT physical, so I guess I can keep doing this for another 2 years.

On Sunday exercised at carlisle  the usual [192] balance scale

On Thursday last week exercised at Charlotte [190] analog scale

Off to Fountain Inn in South Carolina this evening, after a 34 hour restart.

Back from Italia. In Carlisle.

exercised yesterday afternoon, Peak8x19 stepper [200]

so far
Paulsboro
Keasbey
Boisbriand, Pq
Keasbey
Linden, nj
and on way to Highlands, Texas

At Gary on the way to Minnesota. exercised peak8x19 stepper [197]

downloaded some Learn Italian podcasts, see how that works?!?

Back at Gary.

Tomorrow, I am headed for Montreal, Province Quebec.

Usually I would be sent to Keasbey with the dirty tanker, but since Keasbey was damaged by the storm which I managed to miss, there will have to be an alternative destination.

Exercised  Peak8x19 stepper  [200]

Stopped at Gary on the way to Edmonton,

Exercised Peak8 x 19 stepper.

My good luck continues!!

Hurricane/Northeaster Sandy is scheduled to be in the Northeast next Monday/Tuesday.  Bob will be in Saskatchewan by then.  Going to Edmonton, Alberta.

However I might see some snow!?!

Sitting in Keasbey, waiting for the sun to come up.
Left home on Monday.
so far it has been:

Paulsboro to
Brockville, On to
Keasbey

next to Suffolk, Va. then to
NYC --  don't get excited, to a "WTPF" which means water treatment plant facility.
probably the same material that I delivered to a the Las Vegas water treatment plant.

Got the "Full Monty" going into Canada. First time that ever happened!  Wonder what I said to trigger the inspection.  After I had passed, the officers were congeinail but would not say what triggered the inspection. [Trade secrets, not to be disclosed!!]

In the North South mode!!

Home - did Yoga Wii

exercised today Peak8 x 19 on stationary bike
have done WII yoga every day since got home.

At home, exercised Peak8x19 cross country ski machine

Chauffeur duty all this week :-)))

I get well paid for this duty.

Never made it to Freeport, instead got relayed at Houston, and sent to Mill Hall, Pa.
then to Coraopolis
then to Luke, Md
then Paulsboro;

This may be it for this cycle in that I am due home on Monday morning.

On the way I exercised at West Memphis the usual Peak8stepper x 19 - 197

Passing through Charlotte, more like tagging
Charlotte and then leaving.

Exercised PEAK 8 stepper 19 -- 192

played one word with my wordy friend.

After Houston, went to
Freeport, tx
waco, ga
carrollton, ga
waco, ga
morrow, ga
atlanta, ga
spartanburg, sc
charlotte, nc
next
spartanburg, sc
freeport, tx

Am I going around in circles??

After a long hiatus.  I am back on this blog.

this trip so far have gone from:
Paulsboro to
Keasbey to
Brunswick, OH to
Coraopolis. PA to
Brockville, ON to
Coraopolis, PA to
Tillsonburg, ON to
Coraopolis, PA to
Monaca, PA

------ am currently in West Memphis on the way to Roanoke, TX,
then to Houston, TX

Exercised at West Memphis Peak8 x 19

Attended winter training in Cory on Friday, it was very poorly prepared and the intructor simply read the powerpoint slides [which  often contradicted themselves]

Passed thru Indy, exercised Yoga and peak8 19 stairmaster  [197]

Before I set out for Fowlerville, I exercised in the truck TT , PS 12. PU 6, ONE LEG SQ 8/SIDE, IR 8, PLANK 45, SIDE PLANK 30 [X 3]

Truck broke down due to DEF line being plugged. Problem started Saturday just into Delaware, fixed itself overnight, and then came back with a vengeance on Sunday. In order to keep people from polluting (heavy handedly) the computer slowly depowers (is this a word?) until one is only going 5 mph. My DEF tank was almost full, but the Feds consider a plugged line the same as someone purposely allowing their DEF supply to become nil.  Luckily I had just fueled and topped off the DEF at a Flying J when the final derating occurred.  SNBC arranged for another driver to come and take the full tanker.  I had to be towed to the nearest Freightliner dealer for the fix. (45 miles away)  According our maintenance guy this was all covered under the warranty, but then again it probably goes into the price for a new truck. The tow and the fix took all of Monday.

This morning I exercised at Charlotte.  Peak8 stairmaster. 192

In Gary, exercised this morning (first time in a long time) Peak8 19 stepper. [194-]
Next Chicago Heights, Chicago, Selma, Alabama, then Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Passing through west Memphis, exercised Peak8 19 stairmachine

Overnight in West Memphis, AR.  Getting hotter!! In the 90s with high humidity.

Briefly in Western Penna., on the way to Houston, Texas
[Since I have been off the net for 10 days, I am catching up on the Lucas blog and the Bea Blog  -- both so cute, and so lucky in their choice of parents.]

Off to Edmonton, AB.,  CA., no tape, on asphalt, connected HIT, used 1 gallon
stopped at Carlisle, fuel card did not work. replenished gallon, set up PARS, got ice, got fuel card turned back on. exercised Peak8 stairmaster [199], (too much Pizza and Lindeman?)

Yoga Wii

Home for the week. [195] $67

Stopped at Carlisle long enough to exercise and get ice. Peak8 stairmaster [194+]

5/6 Exercised at Gary Peak8 stairmaster [192+]  scale off? Or getting low on food.  On to Kankakee, Il, then Oakwood, Ga., northeast suburb of Atlanta.

Now at the Atlanta terminal, tomorrow to Chattanooga, then to Beaver Falls, NY.

According the little sign on the side of the road, Oakwood is the birthplace of Phil Niekro!

After Houston, am to go to Sugarland and deliver in Newell, WV.  Stopped at West Memphis on the way for   a 10 hour break, exercised at 5:30 pm., Peak8 stairmaster [200+]

Was able to get this live unload in Newell changed to dropping as a relay in Cory.  Reason given, - better utilization and ZDD unload opportunity for an unknown (but truly lucky) trainee.

Passing through West Memphis on the way to Roanoke, Texas (near Dallas).  Paint stock for a famous national brand.  Maybe the recent tornadoes caused a sudden surge in need for paint??

Exercised at WM, Peak8 - 19 Stairmaster [199]

In Gary for Spring training.  Hope that it really happens this time.

In Indy for night.  Exercised at 5 pm was to too tired to do the same in Carlisle yesterday.  scale broken.  Peak8 Stairmaster.

About to leave West Memphis, Arkansas for Tulsa, Oklahoma.  There was severe weather West of me yesterday.  And It rained a whole lot here overnight.  I slept through the storm.  Today the weather channel shows severe weather East of me and clear weather to the West.  Yep, lucked out again, missed the tornadoes and hail storms !!! [Oh, what a boring life!?!]

Exercised at WM, Peak8 stepmachine.  [202]

In Charlotte for Spring training.  Unfortunately no one here knows anything about it!??!!

In Gary, waiting to leave for Charlotte, Spring training scheduled for Saturday morning in Charlotte. Then I go to Maudlin, SC Sunday morning then off to Tulsa, Ok.  [Should have time to do updates Saturday afternoon in Charlotte]

Stopped in Indianapolis and exercised.  Peak8 Stepper machine.  [200]

Back out again. On the way to East Chicago. Indiana.  Exercised at Carlisle Peak8 stepper. [203]
Start $110

Got home @ just past 8 am.  Exercised Wii Yoga, Peak8 on X-C ski device.

In Reserve for the last day of March.

Details about the 'fancy sidewalk' to follow.

Off to Marion, Va. tomorrow and then to Paulsboro (home for a week sort of)

Broke down in Eastern Tennessee.
More details to follow.  Got to get going!!!

Back in Gary after a week.  Went to Edmonton and back by way of South Saint Paul.


Went through Carrington, North Dakota. I took a video in honor of Lynne. It was raining as can be seen.

Exercised at Gary again when I got here.  Peak8 on Stairmaster.

This trip was the second time I have been to Edmonton.  Actually was delivering the same stuff to the same place as last time.  The directions are wrong.  I had sent in corrections but they did not get done.  Almost like a note in the file to remind somebody to make the corrections. 

Alberta and Saskatchewan are definitely booming.  There are radio ads for all sorts of oil/gas field types playing all the time.

INTERESTING ITEMS (details to follow)
 Public service announcements in some language that I have never heard before.  -- Native American I assume since they talked about Native American issues also.

The sports news lead story was NHL hockey --Edmonton OIlers or Winnipeg Jets, BUT second and third stories were about Curling.  Apparently there is an international curling competition going on and team Canada had screwed up and lost their first match, but had battled back and with a win over Korea and Switzerland would get out of the roundrobin round.
The third story was about some curling guy that is going to retire after this season.

The tenth and last story after all the local hockey tournaments and who was going to be drafted by which NHL team was about some guy named Lebron James and the Miami Heat.  It is all a matter of perspective.

Native Americans are referred to as aborigines.   After looking up the definition is makes sense.
;

ab·o·rig·i·ne

 [ab-uh-rij-uh-nee] Show IPA

noun

1.

one of the original or earliest known inhabitants of a country or region.

Anyway it was weird to me to hear about aborigine rights or a suspect in a police bulletin decribed as an Hispanic male or aborigine male.

 

Time to head west and north.  I have lingered in Gary long enough.  No WiFi for a few days.  And only limited communication once I cross to Canada.  Our AT&T plan has a real gotcha for international calls. 

In Gary, arrived mid afternoon, exercised Peak8 stairmaster.

got chains for out west.

Called broker and changed my crossing point from Couts, AB to Emerson, MB.

Decided that traveling through Chicago would be easier at 2 am tomorrow morning than 4 pm this afternoon.

Exercised Wii Yoga and Peak8 on stationary bike.

Just found which direction I will be going tomorrow.  West and North.

To Edmonton, Alberta

 

Weather Channel shows a big storm in the Rockies but it magically disappears North of the 49th Parallel.  So I should be OK, ....NOT!!!

This may end up being fun, but then again maybe not. 

At home doing chauffeur duty  [gotta remember to go the speedlimit on Detweiler even though it does not matter because the light is red!!]

Exercised Wii Yoga, leg lift routine with weights 3X10, Peak8 X-C ski machine.

Home at 545 pm yesterday.  Just missed going to dinner with my lovely wife. But did do WII Yoga to get back in the groove.  "Did you know doing Yoga everyday makes it more enjoyable?"  We wish there was a way to turn off the annoying comments in the Wii...Last night the first thing the Yoga guy said was "I am a little tired from being up late last night!"  Huh??? it was 6 pm.you fool!!


This morning exercised WII yoga, Peak8 on stationary bike

Became very familiar with the Indiana and Ohio turnpikes last week. Back and forth; forth and back.

In Coraopolis again. Tomorrow to New Kensington, Pa and then to Paulsboro.  That will do it for this cycle.
According to John (the guy who received the lube oil), his wife's mother's sister.  (Aunt, I guess) researched the derivation.  She was a college professor with PhDs etc, liked to read/research stuff and never married because she was the type that drove men crazy --[his words] She wrote and had published a pamphlet on the subject.

The river and falls were named by the first explorers in the region who had heard of the Indian name that sounded similar to chagrin or a least close to the sound.  When they happened upon the falls/river which appears suddenly out of nowhere and the discovery of its existance is quite distressing and dangerous.  So they were quite "CHAGRINED" by the falls

Here is the villages official website:  http://www.chagrin-falls.org/Visitor_Welcome_Center

The village has a nice video of the falls all lit up for Christmas -- less intimidating I guess/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kdnU5payR1g#t=6s

delivered the nasty hazmat to the fertilizer place at 4 am.  Got clean tank and got loaded with some sort of Lube oil component and am headed for Chagrin Falls, Ohio.. For some reason the internal Angst-meter is flickering red.

In Gary, Indiana waiting to go to Chicago Heights for 4 am unload.

On way here, thought of SRC, found a penny miraculously.

In Cory, will go to Neville's Island tomorrow morning and then off to Chicago Heights.  first non- heat in transit since I have left home.  But it is Haz Mat.

 Not a bad week. to Canada twice. Then to Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

How is this for good Luck.

The day before I passed through Harrisburg, Il.  There was a tornado that wiped out a strip mall. I did not see the former mall, but did see a whole lot of tree damage along the interstate.  It was very windy when I went through.  I got fuel at the truck stop one mile north of Harriburg. It was so windy that it was hard to walk across the lot to the truck stop office.  My fuel economy was around 5.5 due to heading into the wind the whole time. (lost about 2 miles per gallon.  Now I find out that yesterday afternoon about 6 hours after I was in Harrisburg, another set of tornados came through and wrought more destruction. When my relay gets to West Memphis, I will be traveling back through that town.

Ran out of hours at the customer and spent the night on their property.  The setting was a giant pine forest, which makes sense since the place is called Pine Bluff.


Sitting in West Memphis, waiting to go to Chicago.  Exercised Peak8 stepper 19 minutes. {I forgot my sneakers so I should get extra credit for performing with steel tip work boots and work-clothes - gym shorts and steel tip shoes are too strange even for me}

Law of Averages catches up or How I got stuck in Canada.

Picked up the preloaded tanker at Washington, NJ just as they were finishing up the paper work.  It was perfectly timed, could not  been better.  The office people at Washington set up the border crossing and fax the PARS to the broker for entry.  Yesterday the load to Brockville had no problems with the PARS from the same facility.  They know what they are doing.

The broker listed in the work assignment was the usual one.  They have a web based PARS tracking system which they recommend using rather than calling up to confirm the border crossing is set up.

All yesterday their system did not recognize the PARS number. So I could not cross last night and spend the night at our Guelph facility which is 12 miles from the consignee. So much for that plan, I had to spend the night south of the border.

At 5 am I called the broker to see if maybe their website was broken.  The lady said that it was working and that they had not received the papers. Since the fax machine on the Rest area on the NEW York freeway was in the gift shop with business hours commencing at 7 am, I drove back to the last truck stop off the thruway to fax the papers.  When I got to the truck stop, I made my 2nd call of the morning to extended shift to ask if by chance there was a different broker.  The extended person called the broker and got a yes.{I was patched in the call}

So I faxed the papers to the broker.  The paperwork shows as being received on the broker's website, border crossing not setup.

At 10 I left the truck stop and went to the border and parked in the duty free lot on the American side. I then called the broker.  The broker said that at 530 they told us (extended) that they were not the broker on this load.

I called the boss.  He said he just found out that there was different broker from the work assignment and they were sending the name of the true broker with telephone numbers. He said they had me crossing at Ft. Erie.  The work assignment had said Niagara Falls and that it where I am --  500 yards from the border and no place to turn around even if I had wanted to backtrack to Ft. Erie.

So I waited for the updated work assignment to come through, complete with two different sets of phone numbers for this other broker.and an apology from Customer service for listing the wrong broker.

I called the new broker with the PARS number.

Yes, border crossing is all set up and you are ready to go. (done yesterday I bet)  Because I was feeling a little paranoid, I asked her where I was set up to cross.

broker [answer]:  WINDSOR, ONTARIO

me:You must be joking, I originated in New Jersey

broker: whoops

me: you can change it to Niagara Falls electronically right?

broker:  Yes, it takes about 10 minutes, I'll call you when it is changed.

15 minutes later I called her and was informed that it had just be changed.

No line at the border, No trick questions.

Had to wait 1.5 hours for the lab to test the product before unloading.

So... since it is foggy with occasion snow showers, the chances of going 225  miles along with a border crossing at a major city in the 4 legal hours left were very small.  I went the 12 miles to our facility in Guelph and will set out in the early morning hours for Trenton, then Wyandotte, then Pine Bluff, Ar.

Back from Brockville, On. in Keasbey. Off to Milton, On. today by way of Washington, NJ, then to the tankwash in Trenton, Mi.


Everything was done correctly for the load to Brockville. The border crossing was set up and the tanker was on the steam pad and at 142 def F.  Uneventful trip.  The trick questions at the Canadian Customs were: How many times have to come to Canada in the past year? then Where do you cross most often? [the answers are on the officer's computer screen - so I guess it is a terrorist catching device]

In Brockville I found out that what I was delivering gives the slight stretch to masking tape.

Leaving tomorrow for Brockville, On. after getting a loaded trailer which already at Keasbey.  Will the border crossing be setup?  Will the product be hot enough -- needs to be delivered at 140 deg f.  It was loaded Friday, so unless it was put on the steam pad at the tankwash, it will be too cold.

Exercised this morning WII Yoga, Peak8 x 19 Cross country ski device

At home, Plumber just hooked up the water for the water and icemaker in  the new refrigerator/freezer.

Did the usual WII Yoga.

Exercised at home. WII yoga plus a cobra (probably last time for the snake), Peak8 stationary bicycle 19

Home yesterday, exercised this morning, WII Yoga, weighted leg lifts 3 circuits 10 reps per leg per position, Peak8 - 19  on XC ski machine.

About to leave Keasbey. PM done. Drug and alcohol tests samples taken.  Off to Bayonne and then to Coraopolis.

In Keasbey for the night, will get an Oil PM (programmed, preventative, planned {take your pick} maintenance) on my tractor.  already have a pickup in Bayonne for dropoff as relay in Coroapolis. Unfortunately it is hazmat so I can not go through the tunnels on the Pa turnpike.

Supposed to see Dan at  8:30 tomorrow. -- finally the annual ExxonMobil drug test.  They can't warn the drivers but it is too obvious.  I have to remember not to empty my bladder in the morning so that I don't end up drinking enormous amounts of water at the clinic where we go for the official DOT drug test.  Several years ago in training we were told that the company would be using hair samples.. Each year I offer some hair but the cheaper (I am told) urine sample route is taken.

 Back in the Northeast, so that I can get home on time.

got up at  3 am, went to Neville's Island and got my tanker full of plasticizer.  Off to the Boston, Mass. area for unloading tomorrow morning. It looks like I am going to be curling around a snow storm in that the forecast map shows a nice one North and West of me the whole trip.

Exercised in Carlisle at 9 am., peak8 stepper machine - 19
Found out how long the battery lasts in  my electric toothbrush before needing to be recharged this morning.  I used the manual backup.  I am quite proud of myself that I still know how to do that manually. [Up and down - right; not side to side?]  Kind of like not forgetting how to ride a bike or other things.

In Coraopolis, Pa where it is under a winter storm watch due to cold plus high winds plus snow showers.  went to Neville's Island and unfortunately for me the load to go to Massachuetts was not ready.. the guard said it should be ready  by mid afternoon which about the time that I was to pick it up. By mid-afternoon too many hours will have gone by to make it worthwhile to pickup this afternoon.  I probably would not make it to Carlisle before running out of the proscribed 14 hours.  So I will pick it up tomorrow morning real early. (like 3 am)

In Obetz, Ohio on the way to Cory, then Leominster, Ma, then Keasbey.  Wifi was not working in Houston and West Memphis.  Obetz is the secret OC that is not on the fuel/tire maps..Hilliard is listed as the OC in the Columbus area. Hilliard was closed 3 years ago!!!  Seville is also still listed.  Des Moines, and Green Bay are all listed as OC's/  Yep, closed years ago. Pity the poor newbies that don't know the history and rely on the "up to date" documents!!

Out to Arizona then back to the Eastern States as usual.

In West Memphis on the way to Albuquerque,  NM
I am bringing stuff which is a key ingredient for making  "extremely expensive mattresses".
So everyone will be able to sleep better in the future.

Exercised Peak8 8-19 stepper machine

Qualcomm stopped working in Northeastern Georgia yesterday.  It was a blown fuse.  It took a long time (like an hour) to fix it, since the fuse was factory installed whereas the vast vast majorities of Qualcomms are installed by SNI with a fuse in the new power line from the battery.  It turns out the circuit was prewired and the fuse was in the fusebox but the circuit was labelled as "Radio Accessory".  The mechanic had no idea why the fuse would decide to go bad.

 Looking out on the desolation that is the Texas panhandle from behind the rest area on I-40

Entrance way to the rest area.  Nice.  Yes, the entrance doors are not tiny doors, the front of the building is that big. Everything in Texas is megasized right.

Earlier in the day at a rest area in Bethany, Oklahoma. A little Okie humor.  One must zoom in and read the signs and note the type of pet accommodations.

2/2 in the PM, in Charlotte, NC.  exercised Peak8 stepper machine.

 Almost no snow in Ashtabula, Ohio (in the lake effect snow zone)  As a matter of fact, most of the snow was melted but there were still big piles here and there.  The place makes plastic parts filled with foam.  The place in Central, SC used to be called Clemson Specialty Urethanes.  Yes, it is close to Clemson University in that there were numerous signs for event parking. But it is just a mile from Southern Wesleyan University which looks to be a beautiful campus.

The place in Sylacauga, Al. make fertilizers.  The guy there was  cordial but not talkative and had never been out of Alabama!! (he looked to be near my age)

Was near  the Appalachians most of the time. I encircled the Smokey Mountains.On the way to Lagrange, GA. from Monaca received notice (paraphrased) Customer Tank is full, deliver 2-8.  Then I was instructed to leave the tanker in Morrow, Ga.  So a rush delivery suddenly became a leisurely drive.

In Coraopolis. Supposed to take empty to Monaca and pickup a loaded to take to Lagrange, Ga.  Was a little tight on hours so notified the powers that be that would be doing 10 hours later.  However when I went looking for the clean tanker, it was no where to be found.  I called to see where it was located.  It was still on its way from Canada, so I could not have taken it to Monaca anyway.

Now I have to again try to find it in the middle of the night and do the inspection in the dark. -- It is so much easier to do when the sun is shining.

In Charlotte, NC on the way to Ashtabula, OH. Will I see snow??

A few pictures from Tamarack, Beckley, WV

A wolf in disguise.

Dining room accessory - mistakenly having the same name as my lovely wife.

And pictures of the informational signs outside of Tamarack.

Apparently the WV turnpike runs along the same route as the original "WAR PATH"

In Carlisle, Pa, 
Exercise: Peak8 stepper machine.
On the way to Alabama from Bayonne, NJ

In Keasbey on the way to Maine.

South of the Border. 

Anybody from the Northeast who has gone to DisneyLand by car knows what this place is. Words are insufficient to describe it.

Story of Harris to follow.

How does that saying go?  About neither rain, sleet, or snow impeding progress?  How about all three plus freezing ice pellets?

Big SNOW/ICE STORM HAS JUST STARTED.
 
I am setting off this morning for parts known and unknown.

Paulsboro, Nj

Sufolk, Va

Gordon, Ga

Morrow, Ga

Chattannooga, Tn

Albion, Ny

Coraopolis, Pa

then parts unknown.

At least I am heading South initially.
Unfortunately for me the legs of the plan, got pushed back due to either the customer not needing the product until a few days later or the product not quite made yet.  --both scenarios are possible.

By the time I got to the middle of Delaware, the snow had changed to rain. The 'Blue route' was closed at Mid county, so I went to I-95 via the Route 1 exit.  A whole lot of wrecks, even though it was 5 am on a Saturday morning.

As can be seen, the whole week was spent at or near the eastern seaboard. Over 2800 miles of I-95!!!

Exercised; Wii Yoga

exercised: Wii yoga

Exercised this morning, Wii yoga, 3 x 10 leg lifts with Susan's legweights, Peak8 on stationary bike.

Home for the next week.

In Charlotte, off to Wilmington, NC, gotta get some antifreeze to deliver to the Volvo truck plant in Dublin, Va.
Loaders took a sample from the bottom of the tanker and put the antifreeze in a thing that looked like a spyglass , looked in the glass, pointed it at the sun, and declared it -- "OK". I asked them what they were measuring and they told me the spyglass tells them the freeze point and it was below the required -34 def F.  So they continue filling the tanker and I am soon on my way to Dublin.

Everything is going too well!  A BLOWOUT on the trailer.

Another view.  The tread (alligator in the trade lingo) has wrapped around the axle.

So I call the Emergency maintenance and a tire repair guy came and replaced the tire.  elapsed time 1-1/2 hours.  But while I am broken down, I get the notification that the consignee can not take deliver at 0700 as scheduled, but had pushed deliver back to 1500.

When I arrived at 2:30 pm, I informed that they did not have room, but at 8 pm they would have used up enough antifreeze to just have enough room in their storage tank.

So I came back at 8, the readout for their tank indicated that to load their tank to 90% (strict rules forbid going over 90% ), they would be taking exactly 4318 gallons.  The amount per the BOL in the tanker was 4318 gallons.  WHAT ARE THE ODDS of that happening???

At the unloading point , it is dark with almost no light, cold in the twenties.  Unloading rules required the receivers to take a sample and figure out the freeze point to make sure the load was ok. So we drew a sample in a little bottle. They also have the same spyglass instrument to check the freeze point, but there no sun.  But I guess a flashlight will do, because that is what they spied into with the glass.
Here the conversation [remember this is the 2nd shift, and both of these guys do not normally do this function.  I believe that they were supervisors  also remember that the antifreeze must be liquid at negative 34]

#1 looking through the glass:  It reads negative 44

#2: Good, it is OK to unload

#1:No, it is not ok, 44 is bigger than 34.

#2: Yes, it is ok

#1: No, 44 is bigger than 34

Bob: Should I take it back and have them add water?

#1: We can add water here!.....Oh (to #2)  yeah you're right it is ok.

So we all stopped shivering in the dark and proceeded to unload.

Back in the states, off to Bayonne for some gasoline additive for some folks in North Carolina. Had to get my pump working so as to unload the gasoline additive.  Took from 6:45 to 11 am, saw Mike the expert mechanic, was to sent to tankwash to see the "new Mark", he had one of the guys try as see if it was spinning with a blast of hot water.  No luck.  Back to Mike, come back in an hour, working on somebody else's problem, Pull tractor into the open bay.  told to come back in an hour.  went upstairs and played on the internet.  Mike came running up after about 45 minutes.  Some how they had gotten it to spin. (by loosening the bolts on the housing)  Had to get it washed quick before the gunk set up again. Got the pump washed and proceeded to Bayonne.

At Bayonne, while  loading the 4000+ gallons of gasoline additive, the tank ran dry.  So  .... I had to close the tanker up and get it scaled for the amount that I had, then come back to the loading rack  for the balance from another tank.  Then back to the scale for the final weigh-in and then finally get the BOL.  However the papers must include a Certificate of Analysis.  It took a long time for the paperwork to come out the computer, due to the fact that the product had come from two different tanks.  So I finally got to leave for Salem, NC in midafternoon.  I made it just south of Washington DC before I needed a rest.  Since gasoline additive is Haz-mat and placarded, I had to take the "Francis Scott Key" bridge rather than the tunnel in Baltimore.   [Yes, You can see from that bridge!]

The next day in Salem, NC while I was unloading at the gasoline terminal, the temperature was a pleasant to me 50 deg. F, but uncomfortably cold for the assistant manager of the terminal who  has to watch the unload for safety reasons.  For conversation sake because once the unloading starts and everything is working, there is nothing to do but to watch. [like watching paint dry], I said to my shivering bundled up companion.: "Just think two days ago, when I was unloading it was 55 degrees colder".  Then we got to discuss the weather patterns in eastern North America.  Sure beats watching paint dry in excruciating silence.

Back from Etobicoke, Ontario.  Uneventful trip.  Homeland Security guy asked where I had been. I had to spell it.  He had heard of the place, but did not know how to pronounce it either.  [FYI, it is a industrial section of Toronto.]

Now I also know where they make the institutional 12 inch X 12 inch tiles in Canada at least.  Got there at 530 for 600 am appointment. Walked all around the factory looking for where to go with the tanker.  Really wierd, no locked doors, no guards, no people until 6 am..  I guess there is nothing worth stealing there.

Next I go to Monaca tomorrow and then to East Angus, Quebec, then back to Jersey, get some gasoline additive and on to North Carolina.

 Had to stop in Sherbrooke, QC.  for delivery the next morning.  This picture was taken Sunday afternoon at 4 pm.  It was about 15 deg F with blowing snowfall.  Lake effect snow from one of the many lakes in the area.

 Just past 8 am next morning. Cardboard plant is sucking the white stuff out of the tanker.  It is 5 deg F.  I have delivered here before and the fellow inside who receives the material is a delight to deal with.  He is jovial and likes to practice his English.  So I went inside, couldn't find him, but  left the sample bottle and the papers in the normal spot and went outside to hook my hose up to the pipe that comes out of the building and my tanker.    I came back in 15 minutes later obviously freezing and he greeted me by saying:  "Hey, this is CANADA, not FLORIDA!!  It gets cold here!"
    I agreed.

 The view exactly 180 degrees from the prior photo.  The St. Francis river is frozen  at the dam which is under the bridge.  It seems like standard papermill design to have a dam on a river for water and power.

Made it back to Coraopolis
When I crossed the border at Buffalo, I had the shortest discourse with the Homeland Security official.

It went like this:

Pull up to window

window opens

hand passport and paper with info about tractor and tanker

she says: Be right back

window is shut

3 minutes elapse - I read a few pages of Kindle

window opens

she says: $10.75, please

I hand her $11.00

She puts a quarter and the receipt in my passport.

She hands me the passport.

Window closes.

No questions about where I was born, whether I have weapons, what was I doing in Canada, etc, etc. etc.

I am not complaining, hopefully next time they won't have to be more thorough next time to bring the averages up.

. Had a nice chat with a Keasbey driver whom I meet up with occasionally at random spots. the conversation was about the last time we met. Both of us could not remember where, but we could repeat chapter and verse the prior conversation.
Anyway it can't be a senior moment, since the other fellow is in his 30thys. [I remember now we were at the houston tankwash waiting on the cleaning of our hoses.  The tankwash folks were celebrating Christmas early and were in a "meeting".]

after Etobicoke, Ontario and back to Cory. I am being sent to Monaca (naturally) for a tanker full of white stuff for cardboard manufacture in East Angus, Quebec.  I have been there at least three time before. -- A beautiful place.  Then I go to Keasbey, NJ for a wash.  (a not so beautiful place)

The year 2012 has not started as smoothly as one might wish.

When we originally scheduled my hometime, we figured that there was no way anyone would be loading on the 1st (a Sunday) or receiving on the holiday Monday.  But at first I was to go to Virginia on early Sunday morning  to load.  That one got canceled. (I wonder why!)

The replacement was a pickup of a loaded tanker to take to Fowlerville, Mi. for delivery on Monday morning. So I left my lovely wife at home early Sunday morning and  set out to do the job.  After battling a high wind Canadian blast of cold air complete with the usual lake effect snow squals, I arrived at the Fowlerville plant to find an empty parking lot and newly fallen snows with absolutely no tracks in the snow.  They were closed for the holdiay!!  Seems like our predictions were correct!  By this time I had another assignment to pickup a loaded tanker in Woodhaven , Mi and deliver in Mississauga, Ontario.  Some one else would have to deliver the Fowlerville load the next day..  There were other issues with the Fowlerville load in that it was too cold when I picked it up and my heating in transit had only increased the temperature by 2 deg. F.

The load to Canada was there, but the necessary papers to satisfy customs was not there. Those papers had to be faxed to me, so I could in turn do my magic (there is a process called PARS Pre Arrival Report Submittable [I think]).  Too much elapsed for me to safely get to a convenient stopping point in Canada, so I got up at 1 am 1/03/2012 and set out for my 8 am unload in Mississauga a mere 240 miles away.  The lake effect snow was intense off of Lake Huron as I ventured across Ontario.  When I  arrived at the customer, I was told that I was scheduled for tomorrow - the 4th.
IS MY COMPANY CALENDAR CHALLENGED??
It seems like my company was using the Mayan calendar and has not found a new one to take its place.

My Progress so far this year.  After I get to Cory, I am to go right a back to  Etobicoke, Ontario.