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Another perfect start to a seemingly perfect week.

If you know me at all, you would probably know that from the moment my load is assigned to me on Thursday, the little wheels inside my head begin to turn, churning out numerous options in which I can reroute my trip to save time. From the time I load up my gear on Sunday, I am already thinking about coming home.

Monday morning finds me in Youngsville, NC. After chatting up the customer, I begin my trek towards Evington, VA. Already knowing that because I will remain on the back roads for most of the day, I am inclined to sit back and enjoy the ride. And ride I did... After 4.5 hours of peddling down the lost highway, I am able to arrive at Customer #2, but at this point, I am resigned to the fact that I will not achieve all I have scheduled for the day. It seems that with the coming of Spring, everyone is out and about basking in the glow of warmth. And with this basking, there is surely some sightseeing to be done! Mother Nature is slowly canvassing this part of the world in vibrant colors and there is not a much better spot to take in the beauty than on the back roads. However, I am at work and 35mph in a 55mph zone is not helping my cause, especially when the duration of said impediment lasts for nearly 20 miles. UGH!!!! By 10:30am, I was knew it was a lost cause.

Now don't get me wrong, while I may have grumbled under my breathe for a few miles, I was also soaking up my surroundings. Nothing is more peaceful than tooling around on the back roads. Such serenity!!

The second customer had recently moved and had yet to receive a delivery at the new location, so it was up to me to play Lewis and Clark. You would think with all the fancy technology available, this small feat would have been no problem. First off, I do not use a GPS tracking device. Same routes, same customer... Don't see the need for it. However, when you are riding around in the middle of absolutely freaking nowhere and cannot get more than 2 seconds worth of cellphone service, it tends to start looking bleak rather quickly. Trust me, I have put my Big Truck on many a road I had no business being on, and that is not the most comfortable feeling. So after dozens of numerous attempts I began to get just a little bit antsy. Even the local fellows on the CB had never heard of Happy Home Drive. Could it be because Happy Home Drive is actually just the name of the driveway to the only customer at the end of the Happy Little Road.

But I found it, made the delivery and proceeded back out onto the back roads. Once again settling back to enjoy the country sights, I am in no hurry to get to Maryland. After 6.5 hours of back road trucking at just over 300 miles, I finally reemerged into civilization. I am now racing the clock to beat traffic through DC, because at this point it is go.go.go!!

I arrive at Customer #3 at 4pm. Knowing I was not going to get unloaded, I ventured in to grab some food and let them know I would be waiting on them bright and early in the morning....

Well, it wasn't about 30 minutes later, I was back rolling. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my customers? Oh yeah, right back on track after giving up hope some 6 hours earlier!!

Oh that reminds me, for any of my new readers who have not had the pleasure of indulging in my misadventures or mistaken routes, perhaps you will enjoy this post ----> If I Had A Hammer

MerryLand

A long time running joke between myself and AA, is that the nice folks in Maryland are out to get me. I am more convinced that the fine folks of South Carolina have me in the cross hairs, but I will let the facts speak for them self.

Every time I have ever had a MAJOR breakdown, it has been within 50 miles of Washington DC. Every time I have had a MAJOR breakdown, it has been on I-95. I travel this area with fear and trepidation because this is where I lost a drive shaft in a spare truck during rush hour, going up hill in the center lane. I loathe this area, because this is where I blew the air compressor fittings and was forced to come to an immediate halt, barely making the shoulder of the road in time to clear traffic. Okay, seriously, there is not much fear or trepidation, but I am reminded that IF I am going to break down, this will probably be the place I do it.

Today's adventure starts out no different than any other. I am making the rounds, grumbling about slow vehicles riding the center lanes. The unnecessary slow downs due to the fact that Joe Bob in his fourwheeler cannot multi-task, so everyone has to dodge him as he answers his cell phone and immediately becomes a nuisance to other motorists. But it is not just Joe Bob. It seems to be his entire entourage of friends and family, car and truck drivers the same. The WHOLE traffic pool of Maryland motorists seem to have forgotten what they are doing today. With only 42 miles from the state line to my customer, it almost seems ridiculous that I become so agitated in such a short period of time. But this is where I make my mistake.

Innocently enough, I make a bold statement on FaceBook, that everyone should steer clear of Maryland because the lunatics are out in full force. It seems Maryland must have been logged on at the time and read my proclamation.

Upon leaving my customer, I travel 41 miles back towards Virginia and just as I exit the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, my warning lights come to life.

WARNING: COOLANT LEVELS LOW

CHECK AT NEXT STOP

WARNING: COOLANT LEVELS CRITICALLY LOW

STOP NOW

STOP NOW

STOP NOW!!!!!

In rapid succession, I glance at the gauges, I scan the roadway and I immediately reach for the Emergency Pilot Seat Ejection Button. Oh crap!! I am in the far left lane and my truck has just stopped running. Thankfully, the little pickup truck beside me acknowledges my turn signal requests and I am clear to dive right for the shoulder. Crossing 2 lanes of traffic, I find a nice wide shoulder to access the emergency.

Having already dealt with 3 coolant leaks, I was prepared to top off the fluids and get the hell out of DC before rush hour. This was not to be the case today. My radiator was empty.

After a search for the problem, I discovered I had blown the radiator hose, the main artery that cools the engine.

Oh joy of joys!! After sitting on the side of the roadway for 4 hours, I finally managed to get rolling with new hose installed, just in time for the 10-20 mph commute out of town.

Lesson Learned. No more fussing about a particular state while I am in that state. I literally coasted across the Virginia state line while spewing coolant all over the roadway. Maybe AA is right. Maybe Maryland does have a personal grudge against me.

As a quick aside... One would think our shop would provide us with spare hoses and such to prevent these types of occurrences. But NOOOO! This expenditure cost the company well over $300.00 just to replace a $20 dollar hose that I could have replaced my self, not to mention 4 hours of my time.