The Waiting Game

Over the last couple of weeks we have had runs up and down California and Nevada. After having the taste of truly driving OTR (spending a couple of weeks trekking through the Eastern side of the US), it seemed almost tedious.  Plus, both James and I have most of our immediate family in California but we were never able to have enough time to stop and see them. We had one particular run into Sacramento that took nearly a full day. We had spent a few hours driving to get there and upon arriving at the given time for our drop off,  we were told it would be a delay because maintenance had to be done on their one and only forklift. We arrived at 9am and did not get unloaded until 3:30pm. This is the life of a trucker. Because we were offloading and our next destination was several hours away we could not leave. Thank goodness we were in a truck though. We closed the curtains around the windows to shield us from the midday sun and I cooked chicken quesadillas in our Aroma cooker for lunch. We both got a bit antsy but knowing there wasn’t anything we could do to change the situation,  we just had to make the best of it. I remember James looking over at me with a smile and saying “at least you’re here with me!”
When James first began driving (and before I had gotten on the truck) we had arguments because I just didn’t understand how a company could keep a driver at a yard for hours waiting to be loaded or unloaded,  but that is what happens sometimes. Luckily we get detention pay when having to wait for a certain amount of time (not all companies off this). But that also puts them behind for their next load, and after so long, it eats into the amount of hours they have left to drive for the day. I am still learning the ins and outs of this field and while sometimes it can be frustrating,  it’s sure worth it once the wheels are turning again!