Englands Green and Pleasent land,The Grand Finale.

This is where its time to wrap this blog up,it served a big purpose to myself and Lady Pen while we were apart it also helped other friends and family to have a look at how i was coping (or not ).Ive been home just over a month and now slowly but surely slotting into family life once more, its been rather strange not thinking that i will be leaving again.Ive now been taken on full time and have to get used to early mornings again 6.30 start but luckily for me our yard is only 10 min drive away, im not worried about how many miles i drive infact over the last 3 weeks ive probably driven about 1000 miles but when you get paid by the hour who cares ,not sure if i will ever regret not making Canada our home but at the moment its defiantely the right descision and have absolutely no doubt this is our home.

Thanks for all who have left comments.

Bye x

BULK CARRIERS PEI LTD

Late November 2009 after a phone call i was sold,Bulk Carriers and PEI is for me was my decision.Although i had secured a job at another company in Alberta in which i was due to start in December 2009 i was getting very bad feedback and wasn't liking what i was hearing,the final straw was a revised contract instead of 2 year one i had i was given a 1 year one, i was having very bad feelings.I got off the phone from Mike Schut Bulk Carriers recruiter (now Vice President)the selling line for me was we are a family company who value our drivers and treat them with the upmost respect,as we want them to stay with us for a very long time,i now know many others have fell for that as well.I should off known better, but with the sincerity of this converstion this sounded like the real deal.So 18 months on and still with Bulk Carriers (well until May 20th 2011)was everything true well this fairy tale cetainly wasn't.It became apparent quite early on how much what i was told wasn't true the basics of "we value our drivers" was absolute trash,the ethics of this family firm is nothing more crimminal,running overweight from PEI with potatoes into the USA was the norm you were expected to do this even after various messages were sent to despatch you were authorised by Tyson Kelly to go with it.Bulk Carriers although say they condone illegal running i.e log book tampering pushed drivers into it,sitting them for hours unpaid then expecting them to run all hours to make delivery times these drivers who need to put food on the table for the familys have no choice but to be very creative.Since i started nearly all the workforce has changed either drivers have left for better companys or returned back home refusing to put up with the way Bulk Carriers treated them, either like the way they run or lump it is there attitude plenty more where you come from, Europe is full of wannabee North American Truck drivers is there answer.When i complained to Tyson Kelly after been holed up in Loblaws cambridge for over 20 hours again unpaid i requested a layover eventually after basically begging for some sort of payment $50 was allocated, i made a comment to say that i would earn more money per hour in Tim Hortons making coffee his reply was go to Tim Hortons is this the way off valuing your drivers, i beg to differ.I eventually gave up never bothering even after the longest waiting time to request any sort of payment i refused to run day and night and always made sure i was running legally,my philosophy if you care so little of me to sit me for hours and hours unpaid then i care very little of the company to even help them out making the majority of my deliverys not only hours late but sometimes a full day late.So what to do next, make the best out of a bad situation i used my free time to play the tourist, site seeing and shopping could always be fitted in due to the waiting times i was now subjected to you.Luckily for me my outgoings were low there was only me to fend for so i could ride the times when earnings were low unlike others who had familys mortgages and rent to pay how some of these guys coped is beyond me.Wages were always a battle the majority of the time you were short paid, as if you needed this when your pay at times was as little as $900 a fortnight for 10/11 days work either mileage was missing or delivery drops maybe the odd layover etc but there seem to be something missing,i again in the end gave up chasing for the odd 50/100 mile i was short they had eventually beaten me. Iwas to join the long line of immigrant drivers on the Bulk Carriers conveyor belt and im sure i wont be the last.

My decision to return back to England was made quite early on,even though i love the trucking we decided that the overall package of Canada wasn't for us how much off the underlying problem was Bulk Carriers is anyones guess but im sure it certainly didnt help.

Back home England

So thats it i left Prince Edward Island on Saturday 28th May hoping not to return any time soon,quite a straight forward journey back home and luckily only 2 flights this time Charlottetown to Toronto then Manchester and 2o mins later home sweet home.Sometimes you wonder if you have made the right descision and up to now "Definately" although its only been 2 weeks,the things that mean so much to me my Fantastic friends and Family are worth more than big open spaces Canada has to offer,and the lure of watching my beloved Liverpool FC and returning to The Home of Football "Anfield"is the icing on the cake.
My plan was to try and gain some employment straight away but when i finally got home i decided to take a month out,then out of the blue friday afternoon i get a phone call off a good friend asking if i wanted a job so a few phone calls later and there i am back in employment,driving a Daf 85 complete with low loader for a local company delivering machines to sites where they are working,i have aslo been asked to drive machinery (tractors,excavators etc on site if required)i will throw my hand to anything so a totally different job ive been doing for a while, infact the last time i used chains etc was nearly 15 years ago in the days of roping and sheeting etc well no sheeting here but chains and straps.This is a far cry from long haul America no nights away and yes wait for it paid by the hour how remarkable is that, the hourly pay is very generous,you would have to drive over 700 mile a day to earn what i will get for 10 hours so things are really looking up.Maybe instead of raving on about how many miles driven i will see how many i haven't driven and money earn't lol,i might be able to indulge in the odd dinnertime nap without feeling i could be chasing the extra dollar.
My last weekend before normal service resumes was a very enjoyable night out in Manchester with friends taking in a chinese and a few to many Jack Daniels.A city which has always been very close to me, i practically grew up there as my dads family are from here, and with such good company making me feel that this is A NEW BEGINNING

The end off the week that was !!!!!!!!!!!!

Not sure what i was supposed to be feeling after leaving work the end of something or the begininng of what maybe, definately a little relieved that i was now close to heading back home and civilisation.It did give me some quality time to spend it with a good many people and maybe one to many Buds.Ive been extremely lucky to have met some wonderful people most from the expat circuit,so when offered a good meal and refreshments i thought it would be rather rude not to oblige.The highlight of the week after been down at UPEI to watch my mates daughter competing in the long jump in which i had coached her (1st ever competion and she came 2nd and put through to the Finals in the provincials this Saturday GOOOOODDD LUCK HUN knock them dead) was trip to Brackley Drive in something ive always fancied doing when you see it on the movies its one of those iconic american things and definately worth a visit.The reality i was actually not returning to Canada hit me on the morning i was off although sad to say goodbye to friends extremely happy to be ending this chapter of my life. Canada thanks but NO thanks.

I Shed A Little Tear

So here i was in my last week of Trucking in America,heading to Georgia empty for a load of meat going back to Toronto.I thought the weather could at least smiled on me and given me one last lovely send off well it had other ideas, rain then torrential rain then more rain all the way down.I arrived at my loading destination Newnan Georgia late Sunday afternoon and dropped my trailer in the customers yard ready for loading Monday morning and of i shuffted down to the pilot truck stop about 5 mile way. Loading completed by midday i was on my way back north taking the same route i had used to come down here all the way up the i 75 until i reached Detriot where i had to make a little detour for meat inspection and where i was to spend the next 7 1/2 hrs.eventually given the green light i headed for The Ambassador bridge linking Detroit with Windsor Canada and my final exit out of The USA .Slightly emotional now i handed my i94 back in then a big red stamp on my paperwork, must go for meat inspection in Canada ARGGGG.A quick phone call and im heading to the Agricultural of Canada place in Windsor for inspection.At least this only took 2 hours not like the previous 7 1/2 hrs we had in Detroit.I headed up the 401 but decide to call it a night in London On as by this time it was gone 11pm.I arrive at my delivery dinnertime Wednesday only to see a queue of trucks who had previously been in the inspection with me they ran straight through expecting to get tipped straight away no such luck here.I eventually dropped my trailer i wasnt sitting there until at least 11pm that evening to unload and despatch was told this enough is enough now.All i wanted was one more load to get me accompany me back east and that came eventually in the shape of a load of produce going to St Johns Newfoundland, so back to PEI for me it was arrivng back on the island late friday evening and ending my employment with Bulk Carriers.I had plenty of thinking time on the route back i look back at the last 18 months and what i have gone through the highs and lows etc,i love the long haul trucking, i love the trucks i absolutely detest the unpaid waiting times if these were infrequent it wouldn't be so bad but it wasn't i go to work to earn money just because my wheels arn't turning ie im waiting to load/unload or waiting for a load offer why do i have to suffer and not earn a dime.So thats it i have a week to sort stuff out have a few Buds with some mates and then Blighty hear i come and whatever the future has to offer.

The Last Party in The USA

I wasn't really expecting much from my final month just the normal New Jersey triangle a few times or perhaps spending all month trying to get loaded at Del monte's in Gloucester,so when i got down to Florida that came as a sweet suprise.I suppose after that then my last trip would definately consist of the mundane (although i do enjoy the south bit its the other parts of the trip that nausiate me),well upto now its not been that way at all, so here goes,i was asked to come in for 8am there is a trailer which has a part load for Amhurst Nova scotia on it,after tipping that i would be reloading at the same store with 42 tyres going back to Brampton (GTA)then my qualcom goes bilistic, message after message it basically reads that after that i have another 6 collections (all tyres) all the way up the New Brunswick coast then into Quebec and along the eastern coast of that province as well somewhere i hadn't been to before.Its definately nice when all things run smoothly i was expecting to be messed around somewhat but no everything went well my last pick up was from Paspebiac qc a very quaint village (this is about 80mile east of Campbelltown)with the sun out and temps hitting a good 9 degrees this was a very pleasent and enjoyable journey.These collections had took me the best part of 2 days to do so i was ready to put some miles in before night fall as i had over 900 mile to do before saturday morning.I parked up in a place called Val -Brilliant (what a name that is)by the river and yep its still got a lot of ice on it winter just seems to be recluctant to give up this year.Late friday afternoon while im trundling down the 401 i get a message explaining about my next trip, then bang im hit with you will be running down to Georgia after ive dropped my trailer off.This isnt the norm at all for us, we never run back into The states from Ontario except to pick Potatoes up from Michigan so well im a little stunned but rather happy. I made it down to Brampton for 7.30am quick drop of my trailer and i shoot to Missisauga to pick up another then im off heading for Detroit, ive crossed here a few times and i always seem to get a full search and xray here,3/4 hr later im doing the jig down the i75 heading south and enjoying my final few days.

Is someone playing with me ???

Again problems with my fuel cards,i get up in the morning and went to fuel up,this is not what i need in the morning as im not the most socialable person, the machine wouldn't accept my card now is this just a coinsidence or have the company either got problems or there playing with me.Again after the guy in the fuel office made a few calls i was ready to fill,not happy at this time a rather blunt message was sent to despatch am i going to suffer these problems for the next 2 weeks again i was informed there not sure what was going on Hummmm.So i made it up to Shelbourne for my delivery and after a pretty quick unload i was told just to hang around where i was they are working on a reload for me,unlike the Uk this is pretty normal they dont normally have anything set in stone until your tipped so it can take a while.Well a couple of hours later im told there was a loaded trailer for me in Woodbridge Ontario this is about 35 miles form where i am i was even given a number this normally indicates that the load is ready to roll,unfortuantely im told otherwise the load was on the customers tralier in a different yard so i will have to wait until they go and get it and tranship it onto one of ours,this only took about 6 hours its turned out to be a great day Not.Anyone who has driven through the Toronto area will know how bad the traffic gets especially on a friday teatime definately not good,so after a long slow crawl i make it up to Napanee for the night.I ended up running back to Moncton with another one of our driver and this is where i find out a little secret,i have only got this drivers word but he seems adament this is true, i was told by him that he is paid more per mile than any other driver,now thinking im not hearing this properly i get him to explain this statement and he tells me that because he "LOOKS" after the company they pay him more, now the guy started just a couple of months before me so as you can imagine this kinda pisses me off,basically i and everyone else who arn't prepared to lets say run creatively get penallised,this is something that i would not normally put onto here but i think this so wrong i was pretty livid .Not something i want to hear really oh well only 2 more weeks to go.Back on the island sunday after noon and its back to the chores of washing, Budweiser, opps did i say that lol, and a little r &r ready for my last trip as an North American truck driver.

Take Me Home LA LA LA West Virginia

As much as i would like to have carried on shopping i had to crack on and get down to Howley on the Hill (North West of Orlando).To accompany me back to Canada were 20 skids of potatoes for Shelbourne, Ontario (about 80 mile north of Toronto).After a little discussion about what weight i could carry i was loaded and on my way,now my route was going to be the same way i came down from Charlotte then i would just carry on north up the 1 79 into West Virginia, i have eventually managed to cover all the eastern side of America as West Virginia has been eluding me,i have heard how pretty it is and been dying to see it for myself now how does that song go Take me home country road or is it On the Blue Ridge mountains,anyway i was greeted with bloody rain yuk yuk and more yuk.Until i decided to call it a night in Beckly the skys opened,but travelling through The Appalachian mountains made up for the misery while crawling up the hills you do get plenty of time to look across the valleys and beyond.I wanted to be up early next morning so i could crack on, my body and brain thought otherwise i snoozed my alarm then drifted of back for a while at 7.30 i eventually crawled out of my pit, (sleeping at the moment has become a big problem i seem to be forever waking in the night some of these truck stops are so noisy with engines idling all the time and i seem to be the one where the person with the noisest truck heads for,I even put the reefer on sometimes just to counteract the noise, this is where i preferred my old truck as i could idle that unlike this one where it cuts out after 3 mins).A quickish pretrip and im all ready for the off humm not looking to good on the old fuel though now if you can remember a good few months ago i broke the cardinal sin of truck driving and ran out of fuel for the first time ever !!!!!, well im not going to make that mistake again first truckstop im in, 189 miles later and a detour that is (around Pittsburgh) and a bum squeaking for the last 70 off them (this was the first one i got to).I go through the motions of inserting card etc only to be told there is a problem with my fuel card so after a few phone calls to despatch etc and then imperial oils help desk im told this flying j doesn't accept this card, i have used it in every other one across the contenent and haven't had a problem but this one aint playing ARGGGG.So after a little sorting out im instructed to pay by another card we carry (we only use this card for Canada)so disaster averted im ready to roll. Again i carry on north up the 1 79 until i get to Errie then hop onto the 1 90 giving me a lovely view of the lake for a good 60 miles before i head into Buffalo then across the bridge at Niagara back into Canada.Sometimes enough is enough and this is how i felt about half an hour after crossing the border so i dived into a truckstop at Grimsby for a little tea and some very welcome shut eye,the last 93 miles will have to wait till tomorrow.

A Pocket Full Of Sunshine

No ones happier than me when the suns out maybe thats why Canada is falling on the wayside in the popularity votes, this winter has been brutal although PEI didnt see snow until after Christmas since then its been none stop,other provinces were covered in the damn whitestuff in November so we had to contend with it whilst passing through.Venturing down here has put one big smile on my face and made me realised how much i do enjoy doing this(shame Lady Pens Not here to share this pleasure).One big downfall with me as i have previously said is the Premium Outlets and i hate passing on a bargain so i thought as im passing one in St Augustine im definately due a little me time(although i have only been driving 1 1/2 hours lol).Well bargain of the day was 2 pairs of removable fur lined Crocs for Lady Pen, 30 bucks for two pairs,when she came over she bought a pair in Montreal for $28 and really liked them so she asked if i was passing through again to get her another pair unfortuantely there was no more, so guess whos in the good books.I seem to have a problem with buying Tommy Hilfiger T shirts, well at these prices im not passing on a couple of these either,what also makes these even cheaper is the incredibly rate the Canadian Dollar is against The US Dollar at the moment so happy days.

Florida

My trip to The Rock ended and i decided to take a couple of days off,extremely lethal when i find my mate is also off at the same time.The Big Ede Scotsman and his wife came over to Canada in the Autumn time and we have struck up a very good friendship unfortunately this normally ends up with alot of Budweiser and a very late night thus leading to a enourmous hangover oh well i do have 2 days to recover.I did make it to the gym and after a dissappointing 4 1/2 miles on the treadmill decided to sweat everything out in the sauna.
The call came from work will i load friday morning for South Carolina NICE i thought,as you all know i love it down there and its been a good few months since i was there last so i was skipping the light fangdango for the last of my days off.This changed a little when i came into work at dinnertime,the load was now for Charlotte North Carolina which i was still pleased about,so pretrip sorted and i head off to Albany Pei which is about 10 mins from the Confederation Bridge to be greeted with our island shunter who explained to me that this farm is probably the slowest place ever to load,he wasn't wrong we both were there about 6 hours.We eventually get loaded and we say our goodbyes i head off to Woodstock for the night ready for me to enter into the States the next morning.A pleasureable drive all the way down to New Jersey and hardly any traffic to contend with except on the Cross Bronx where some inconsiderate Truck had decided to breakdown in the middle lane.Sunday Morning im driving around Washington DC past Andrews Air Force base ive done this route loads of times but never noticed when you come over the drawbridge where the National Harbour is over in the the distance you can see The Washington Monument (The Needle)and The Whitehouse shame i haven't made it over there to look around another one to add on to the to do list(Unfortunately the picture doesnt do this justice looking from the window but you can stil make it out if enlarged).I make it down to Charlotte Sunday teatime ready for my 7am appointment Monday and after a rather slow unload,i get my message head to Florida we will send your load offer later.I haven't been this far down with Bulk although i have been on holiday there so it was a very big welcome surprise.With the sunshining now and the temps in the late 20's me complete with Ray Bans on and a smile from ear to ear set off south,now this is where i get rather sad, produce is starting to be picked down in the lower states, this is the time when we started to Venture south alot more i spent alot of time in Virginia and the Carolinas last summer making this job so much more enjoyable and now i coming to the last few weeks of my time over here i know im going to miss this part of the world dreadfully.I decided to call it a night in Brunswick Georgia ready for tomorrow and a date with The Sunshine State.

Newfoundland

The Rock as the locals call it, Newfoundland was a province i hadn't visited before so i was quite looking forward to going there.Before i came over to Canada i had heard how friendly the people are,yes i have met some pretty nice people then ive also met people i wouldn't want to cross again,so when i hear the story about Newfies im a little skeptical this is how it goes,if your in Newfoundland and stuck for anything maybe a roof for the night, knock on any door and a Newfie will take you in, such fairy tales lol.Well to be honest EVERYONE i met there would of certainly done just that so its sort off restored my faith in human nature.Having arrived at Sydney Nova Scotia on Sunday afternoon and the east coast been battered by horendous storms i was quite surprised when i was told i would be boarding the next ferry at 5.30 pm for the 10pm sailing.so sitting on the quay 5.30 came and went so did the next few hours until i had fallen asleep only to be awoken by a loud fog horn and there in the distance was the Blue Puttees floating off into the dark Atlantic, i kinda thought then i wasn't going on that ferry,curtains closed i drift into some dream about Jennifer Aniston.My delivery was for Corner Brook which according to my Sat Nav was about 120 miles from Port Aux Basques where we disembark the ferry so even getting the morning ferry i had plenty of time to get there,we boarded roughly 4 hours later than schudule due to the contiuing bad weather, so i was thinking we would arrive 4 hours later than we were supposed to, well no i was told we would arrive pretty much on time the Captains going to put his foot down or whatever they do on the bridge i was told.Now another story about Newfoundland is the famous moose they are everywhere and night time drivng is a no no unless you want to play chicken with a 1200lbs animal so when we had docked i figured i could just do the couple of hours to Corner Brook before sunset so off i set on the TCH east luckily no encounter i arrived safely at my delivery point all set for next mornings booking time.My tralier was full of Trees for Canadian Tire (Canadas B&Q)i didnt think though some of what i had would be approiate for Newfoundland peach trees and such like, i would of thought the climate wouldnt be right but then im no Percy Thrower or Alan Titchmarsh.As all the load was on pallets im empty pretty quick and to my surprise ive already recieved a load offer 22 pallets of Frozen Snow Crab from Bonavista to load in the morning,ohh i thought more wasted time until i realised it was an 8 hour drive from where i was.A quick shower, fuel and dinner at the Irving at Deer Lake and im heading down the TCH towards St Johns.I eventually made it to Bonavista a little fishing hamlet on the North East coast although i was booked to load at 8am i thought i would try my luck and see if my load was ready,anyway since the plant has only just reopened for the season they hadn't processed enough product so i took myself off for a little walk around the village and harbour,it wasn't long before i came across a nice little cafe and some home cooked food.8am on the dot i was backing onto the loading dock,the guy informed me it would take him about 1 1/2hrs to load me so i thought it would be rude if i didnt nip back to the cafe for a little breakfast.My delivery was for Raynham Massatuchsetts (just south of Boston)a good 1450 miles away,unfortunately with easter coming up i was told they were closing 3pm friday until monday morning,this is now extremely tight but doable as long as i can get on the morning ferry at the latest so off i set back to Port Aux Basques finally arriving there early evening but was told there was no chance of getting the late ferry so i settled down for an early night and some Kings Of Queens.Unfortuantely the Canadian winter is still digging its heels in and refusing to go,i awoke to 4"snow, NOOOOOOO please go and leave me be.I made it onto the morning ferry and it wasn't long before we set sail heading back to the mainland in rather rough seas (not sure im cut out for a life on the high seas).I manged to get to my delivery at 2.15pm friday after pushing it like mad to get there but at least im not stuck with the load for the weekend,after parting with $120 for the pleasure of unloading me 25 mins after arriving im pulling out the yard.Again ive already recieved my load offer (i think despatch were looking for an early good Friday finish) a load out of Vineland New Jersey 10am next morning.I headed south through Rhode Island and back into Conecticutt where i gave up as the traffic was starting to do my head in.There is a pilot truck stop at Milford City (about 45 mins before New York on the i95) i tend to stop there if the traffic is bad then tackle the George Washington Bridge in the early morning when its alot quieter (The George Washington Bridge is the Busiest Bridge in the Whole of America so it does get a little congested from time to time). Loading Early Saturday Afternoon im heading back to Canada WoodBridge Ontario (just outside Toronto)for my delivery 8am next morning.Seems like im in luck again i was empty pretty handy next morning and i heading down to the dreaded Loblaws Cambridge to get my reload back East to Moncton (we can sit here for hours)but to my amazement they are just finishing of one of our stand trailers there so i quickly drop mine and prepare to pick this trailer up.After a couple of hours of rearranging the load as im totally overweight on my drive axles your only aloud 36000 lbs (in Canada) im showing over 40000 lbs now i know the truck scale gauge isn't that accurate but its not out that much.I eventually left and decided to scale of at Milton to make sure everything was ok which is was and i head back onto 401 east towards Montreal.

The Beginning of the End

So the royal visit came to an end and Lady Pen jetted back to good olde Blighty,and i reluctantly went back to work for my final last few months over here in Canada.We decided a good few months ago that Canada was appealing less and less to us, so our PR was retracted and come the end of May im heading back East.We always said that our life over here had to be better than the one we have back home and unfortunately we really dont think it will,maybe we could have a bigger house with a larger garden but thats not really for us,there are many reason which make up this descision but this may come as a surprise that it isn't anything to do with Bulk Carriers (although they do have some big issues to deal with).I fell in love with America and i love the East Coast from Portland Maine,Boston,New Jersey,Maryland,Virgina and the Carolinas then there is New York the list is endless, and i believe Canada doesn't even come a close second.I love Long Haul America i find it far more enjoyable than trucking in Canada infact it bores the pants of me, as soon as i start heading back across the border i go on a right downer.If i ever returned it would be only on a TWP so i can once more drive USA i have no intentions of ever wanting to settle here.Making this descison hasn't been easy we really wanted to make it work but i think when you know you know.So work were informed off my intentions and i think a little sad i was going but ive given them enough notice to replace me as im sure your all aware will be extremely difficult lol.So back to work and its pretty much been the same old stuff the east coast triangle work,which has unfortuantely involved some hefty sitting around waiting to load on the docks of Wilmington and Gloucester City the last being a good old 13 hrs which eneded up with me losing it a little a finally after getting loaded being escorted of site (unfortunately i wasn;t banned but i did try maybe next time lol).I suppose my temper has been a little thin of late and all and sundry have coped it, i think i just want to go home now and this is just prelonging a little to much.I was asked if i wanted to deliver a load over to Newfoundland although the pay is pretty dire, i agreed as i haven't been there before so thought it would make a nice change and tick off another been to place.We have to get the ferry from Sydney Nova Scotia over to Port Aux Basques which is approximately 7 1/2 hr crossing so something different to look forward to.

Sunset From the Confederation Bridge

One thing i have noticed since being over here,we get fantastic sunset/sunrises the amazing orange glow of the sun sometimes is awe inspring.These were taken friday evening from the Confederation Bridge joining PEI to the mainland (New Brunswick).

Back on the road

After our days in New York we got a message to head down to Gloucester city, New Jersey for a load of melons for Toronto,as normal at del monte we have to wait for hours to get loaded to the fustration off Lady Pen, and me for trying to explain why we are still sitting there waiting for them to load us even though our delivery is due for 7am next morning.Well we didnt make that time it was 14.30 when we eventually got to our delivery point and surprisingly we got tipped within 20 mins as they were going home at 3pm nice result. Our reload was out of Brampton we arrived at 4pm friday dropped our trailer there and was told they would give me a ring when it was loaded,we headed up to the truckstop up the road for a shower etc.We got the call and soon we were heading East.The Welsh wizard (Gramps) joined us at Napanee,this being his last trip with Bulk as he was moving to pastures new made it a little sad for me,hopefully we can keep in touch facebook etc make this so much more possible now, i will miss his Welsh Rants and talk about Sheep Lol, i wish him all the best.We got back to the Island late monday afternoon which gave us just under 2 days before Lady Pen headed back home to England.Well it certainly went quick but has been fantastic, now im looking forward to May when i head back to England.

Empire State of Mind

After the previous days excursion our legs were definately feeling it,we had walked from Battery Park to 47th street taking in the Brooklyn Bridge and Little Italy where we stopped for a couple of hours for a very nice meal and other various sites along the way a good few miles were covered so we felt a little rest and a few bus rides around the northern part of Manhattan taking in Harlem would be good.So we enjoyed a little guided tour sat upon a red double decker bus letting someone else doing the driving lol.This is the first time ive been into the northern part there are loads of museums along this route and plenty to take in.We passed the Famous Dakota Building (where John Lennon lived and Yoko still does)on 72nd street,this is really nice way to see the place and we could hop off then back on when ever we wanted.We decided to stay on and just take in the sites from 20ft up.The tour lasted for about 2 hrs then we were back to Times Square where we hopped onto another bus down to 34th street and the Famous Macys for some retail theraphy.We had planned to be down in this area for the afternoon because we wanted to go up the Empire State Building an hour before dark so we could get the best of both,well it was bloody windy up there you could feel the building moving a little scary a first but moving around to the otherside felt a little better (i really don't like heights).This was definately a good move it was really good to see Manhattan at night from this most beautiful building,unfortuanately Lady Pen has most of the night pictures on her Camera but i think the one i took looks pretty nice.Well we headed back down to terra firma and off to catch another bus,the one we were going on was little tour down to lower Manhattan then over The Manhattan bridge over to Brooklyn, again something i wanted to do in the day but didn't have time,it was really a nice way to see New York and our guide certainly helped.,this little tour ended back at Times Square,so off we went for some well earn't Dinner before we finally called it a night.