A New Beginning

Englands Green and Pleasent land,The Grand Finale.

2011-07-03T14:55:00.002-03:00

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

2011-06-17T19:47:00.002-03:00

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

2011-06-12T12:54:00.003-03:00

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 !!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-05-31T13:23:00.007-03:00

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

2011-05-20T23:01:00.007-03:00

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

2011-05-14T16:49:00.008-03:00

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 ???

2011-05-09T09:55:00.009-03:00

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

2011-05-05T21:14:00.007-03:00

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

2011-05-03T16:15:00.006-03:00

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

2011-05-02T20:15:00.020-03:00

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

2011-04-27T16:20:00.038-03:00

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

2011-04-16T21:49:00.003-03:00

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

2011-04-10T19:33:00.003-03:00

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

2011-03-30T00:18:00.012-03:00

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

2011-03-29T20:32:00.014-03:00

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.

Lady Pen in New York

2011-03-20T14:12:00.022-03:00

We had reserve tickets to go into the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty (this is to go to the base not to the crown)unfortunately crown tickets are sold out months and months in advance.So we had to be up early and get down to Battery Park where we get the Ferry over to Liberty island,thank god we had reserve these tickets there must off been a queue at least a mile long just to purchase tickets never mind the ones queuing up for the ferry after that.Here we came just strolled right to the front 35 mins later we have cleared security and were on the boat,(if you are thinking off visiting the Statue my advice book your tickets in advance unless you like to queue for 2/3 hours plus)and this isn't even tourist season yet how lucky we were last time.The tickets allowed us to go into the Liberty museum and inside the pedestal, what great views you get of Manhattan when you come out into the open,look at the new World Trade Centre (North Tower its the one with the crane on it to the left off the picture)appearing into the skyline this was only about 9 storeys high when we came just before christmas.The new towers are going to supersede the old ones by 10 floors making them a staggering 125 floors, definately a big shout to the world saying we will always come back bigger and better no matter what you do to us, a true testament to the city and people who live there.How fortunate we were when we visited the souvenir shop we came across a Statue look alike standing a massive 4'10" tall so i thought it would be rude not to get a photo of her lol.
Ater visiting Ellis Island last time i wasnt really up for doing it again after a little persausion we both agreed to go straight back to the mainland, up to this point it had taken us over 3 hours and us wanting to take in some many other things time was of the essence.This is where our little legs were made to work we headed off to the Beautiful Brooklyn Bridge i wanted to walk over it last time but we didnt have the chance, i wasnt about to pass this opportunity up in a

hurry.We took a little detour towards Wall Street and the Famous Bull, Lady Pen decided she couldn't pass on having a look to see if the Bull was in proportion (i'll leave that to you to decide, maybe the big smile from her will give you a clue lol)after fianally managing to drag her away from the Bull we headed to the site of the World Trade Centre, you can see how much progress has been made.We eventually got on to Brooklyn Bridge and what Fabulous views you get off The Manhattan Bridge, Downtown Manhattan and the harbour with The Statue of Liberty in the background and lucky for us we had a beautiful sunset to cap of another brilliant day.

The Arrival of Lady Pen And a Trip to New York (Part 1)

2011-03-20T13:15:00.010-03:00

Well if there is one thing to come out of this whole experience two words sums it up NEW YORK.When i came just before christmas with the fresh prince it opened a new can of worms for me and ever since then i've been itching to get back.So what better way to go to the greatest city in the World than share it with the greatest wife in the world (oh how cheesy is that lol).I wangled another load down to Newark then off we set for 3 days of pure site seeing and how lucky we were with the weather, the sun was belting down and spring was materialising rapidly.Taking advantage of this we decided to go for a stroll around the beautiful Central Park ( i wanted to don on some running gear and join the many joggers enjoying this lovely day)Maybe a New York Marathon could be on the cards.We stumbled upon the beautiful Bethesda Fountain and Terrace (this is where John Lennon used to go and Yoko Ono still pays for the up keep of this beautiful place).You can see why so many New Yorkers head for the park it feels so Tranquil you would never guess your only a couple of minutes from such caoticness.We decided to head for 5th avenue taking in the Famous Plaza hotel on our way (we even got brave and had a look inside) before heading for Tiffanys, isn't it funny how us men are told how good that item of jewelery would look good on them HUMMM Lol. Lady Pen decided she wanted of piccy taken with a NYPD Cop so after a little chat one kindly obliged to the laughter of his colleague.Time started to catch up with us so off we headed down to The Rockafellar Centre for some well earned Tea,then a little sight seeing and shopping around Times Square,we had alot planned for the next couple of days so we decided to call it a night,(it was 11pm)where had all the time gone, this city never sleeps infact i think there are more people about in the late evening then in the day (are they nocturnal) lol.

The Wheels on the Truck

2011-02-28T21:41:00.005-04:00

Well ive just kept my head down and got on with some serious grafting over the last few weeks, pretty much the same, each trip a load of Prince Edward Island Finest Spuds down to the New Jersey area,then a load of Chile's wonder grapes back up to the Toronto area, then whatever we can haul back east to finish of this triangle work.Well this one has been done in record time even though we are still recording some pretty awfull weather even though the clocks go forward in a couple of weeks for the start of spring the temps are still in the BRRRRRRR minus's and the snow really doesn't look like departing from these shores anytime soon.Anyway forget all that the big news is LadyPens all packed and ready to grace us with her presence,she arrives midnight Wednesday so happy days are upon once more.We plan to get a load down to Newark then take a few days off in the Big Apple as i did with The Fresh Prince.

The Year that was !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-02-08T17:01:00.004-04:00

Ive just been going through my logs in preparation of claiming my tax back.I was finally aloud to hit the the North American Highways on my own on 30th January.I spent a total of 228 nights out of which 131 were spent in Canada and 97 were spent in the USA.My total paid mileage was 101,243, i had 6 full days off in March then 6 full weeks off in August/Sept and i packed up for christmas on the 17th December not to mention other times i took 3/4 days off so the mileage i think isn't to bad im not going to be a millionaire but it will suffice.I had only 2 breakdowns both were on the trailers 1 costing me about 2 hours while the maxi can was changed, and 1 that cost me about 5 hours while the airbag was replaced,although i had countles problems at other times i either seemd to get the truck back to PEI or i managed to sort the problem out myself.It was definately a learning curve and i got to see many a great place New York definately comes top of that list, although i got to run west in Canada i wouldn't be to fussed if i never had to drive over that way again,i prefer the USA ive gone full circle from not really bothered if i didn't drive down there to wanting to see more and more, i love it there, i love the history,the patriotism the driving is far easier and alot more interesting there seems to be far much more on offer where ever you drive it definately pushes all my buttons.So with 34 States visited it all depends on whether we get jobs to cover the others,if not maybe a little roadtrip or two on a bike to cover the rest.

The Journey Continues

2011-01-29T22:20:00.014-04:00

I'd made myself available to ship out Wednesday,no need to be hanging around like a spare part i thought,just after a quick visit to the gym i got the call,come in anytime your trailers all ready but nip into see us first about your pay rise, Hummmmm Pay rise things are looking up.So now were on 35 cents per mile and we have introduced some new bonuses which are gained every two months,maybe someone has been listening for a change,so there's the good news i was just about to be hit by the bad, i know my truck has been used for the last few weeks its totally understanderable i wouldn't expect it not to be what i didn't expect the way it was left.Oily dirty boot marks all inside it looked like the yard dog inside, so one was not happy at all.Check the oil non showing on the dipstick ( it was all on my carpet in the truck Lol).So after a couple of hours of getting straight sorting all my logs pretrip etc i try and hook onto my trailer, problem, because everytime someone greases the fifth wheel all the old grease gets jammed into where the bar goes across the pin (this should be jet washed out but hasn't because ive not been using the truck) because of the cold weather this has now become a solid mass of frozen grease preventing the jaws from locking correctly, Arggg good way to start, anyway not to be deterred i managed to sort it.My load was for Guilderland Ny which is just west of Albany Ny the capital of New York State some 800 miles away so only a little jaunt down the road,a little trip into US customs for a new i94 thats sorted for another year now and off we head down through Maine.It felt really strange being back on my own again lots of memories of the Fresh Prince where ever i looked (i even made his bed up for him)so as you can imagine it was rather a somber sort of day.I made my drop Friday morning and was tipped straight away and result my reload was only 8 miles down the road in Rotterdam, thats where it all went Pete Tonge 9 1/2 hrs later im still on a bay, although most of this time was spent with Cameron Diaz so not all wasted,oh well just a couple of miles down the road was a pilot truckstop so i dived in for some well needed diesel and a good shower, and im ready to head into the cold snowy night of Upper New York state.I was heading West along the i90 to Syracuse then north up the i81 to Alexandria Bay where i will cross back into Canada,as the snow started to increase i decided to call it a night there was no way i was going to make my delivery time so no need to break ones neck, i headed into a rest area it really looked pictureesque with all the snow, i thought it would take a nice photo in the morning, how dissappointed i was to see the snow ploughs had been in and cleared it all.I made it to my delivery in Whitby Ontario and was given my reload out of Canbridge back to Moncton Nb for Tuesday (thats if the loads ready i have been in this place for over 30 hours getting loaded before now so we will wait and see) then maybe i will be lucky and get a load down to the sunshine state you can always dream.

It just goes on and on and on and on !!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-01-25T19:50:00.003-04:00

Well at some point i had to drag my sorry Ass back across the pond and back to North American Trucking,so the goodbyes were said and off i set back to PEI.It doesn't matter which route i take it takes nearly 24 hours of travelling to reach the Gentle Island,as you can imagine it gets pretty tiring.I wasn't prepared for what the great white north had to offer though -18, BRRRRRRRR oh i felt it standing in the foyer at the airport waiting for a taxi,you seem to forget how cold it gets over here.At least the roads are free from the white stuff,this is alot different from what we left behind.Going into my 2nd year being over here brings mixed emotions once more especially as the last few months spent here were with The Fresh Prince,hopefully things will take shape one way or the other , Lady Pen will be appearing in a few weeks time for a holiday, looks like New Yorks going to be on the agenda once more.

We Eventually made it Home

2011-01-07T10:40:00.002-04:00

Finally 72 hours after leaving PEI we touched down in Manchester, a journey of considerable stress caused by the weather over here in Europe,lucky for us we were heading for Paris first and then Manchester as all flights to London Heathrow were cancelled indefinite, so we were extremely greatfull to be back Home before Christmas.Back to family life god how i miss that, sitting at the dining table with a home cooked meal, waking up next someone in the morning,someone else to cook and wash my clothes (yeah i know im spoilit).Christmas was good and the presssie i bought from Tiffanys on Fifth Ave New York went down an absolute treat (well shes well worth it Lol),and my new socks are really nice !!!!!!!!.After missing New Year last year it was great to celebrate it with our friends even though i eneded up doing the door on the pub till 11pm (i have done this for years so i didn't mind).So another year is upon us and where it will lead i haven't got a clue,i know its going to another 6 months plus of me being on my own which kinda puts the dampeners on everything. The Fresh Prince has been lucky and started a new job this week which is a great especially in the work climate were in over here at the moment,as for me i have had to delay my return to Canada for a few weeks for certain reasons, Humm now all of a sudden The To Do List has appeared again and seems to be very long, so much for taking it easy lol.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,Feliz Navidad

2010-12-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

This time last year i had just arrived on PEI a journey into the unknown, i don't think many including myself would of thought 12 months down the line i would still be here,not sure what to put this down to maybe my sheer stubborness or just stupity has kept me going.I remember feeling very alone probably not the best time to leave your home, family, friends etc just before Christmas, the very time you should be celebrating it with these people.I vowed never again i would be alone at this time,so this week we fly back to Good Ole Blighty.So let me take this opportunity to wish everyone A Truly Happy Christmas and a Extremely Good New Year.

On the road Heading back home

2010-12-18T00:29:00.001-04:00

So our little jaunt into New York was over,our reload taking us into Ontario was out of American Airlines at JFK Airport for Sunday morning,so bright and breezy we set off back across the George Washington Bridge over the Whitestone Bridge into JFK then to be hit with Hummm that load is still in the air and not arriving till later on that day,well infact it was 6am Monday when we eventually got loaded but still couldn't go anywhere until customs had sealed the Trailer as it was a bonded load.10 am and all sealed and ready to hit the New York traffic, eventually back over the GW and across onto the i80 heading west.We eventually got back into Canada that evening but now we had hit some really crappy weather so deciding enough was enough we parked in Grimsby for the evening leaving us about 3 hrs drive in the morning heading down to Kingsville near the Windsor/Detriot border.I say 3 hours the trip took a lot longer due to the bad snow they had down in the London area.Delivery eventually complete of we headed for Guelph and a trailer alreay loaded for us for Moncton New Brunswick,all going smoothly until i tried to get the airbags to rise in the suspension, due to the cold weather all the valves had frozen,1 1/2 hrs later and with some help from Brian a driver from Cam Scott we managed to resolve the problem (alot of Alcohol and hot water did the trick)so off we headed into the cold Ontario night and a good nights sleep.The weather over this side of Canada has been pretty good to say the least and it continued up until Montreal where we hit another dusting this was to be spuradic until Fredricton New Brunswick which is only 90 miles from my final destination, then we got a lovely welcome absolutely no snow at all, this continued all the way back to PEI.This is to be our last trip now our holidays start from here.

A Macc Lad In New York (Part 2)

2010-12-17T08:34:00.029-04:00

Up nice and early and our assult on Manhattan continued,we were loving it, the sheer chaoticness, the steam rising through the road gids,the rumble of the metro from beneath the pavements, the NYPD mucking in with road traffic duties,all the NYC yellow cabs this was how i imagined everything would be.Central Park was going to be our first destination and a little ice skating some thing ive always wanted to do and as im a budding skater what fun we had.After an hour or so my legs were saying enough was enough so off we set down Fifth Avenue taking in all the shops, one could only discribe this as shoppers paradise every designer shop known to man (and Woman) was in view,we were heading for 34th street some 25 blocks away where the world famous Empire State building resides,at the moment since 9/11 this is still the highest building in New York standing at 1250ft, built in the depression of the 1931 it took only 14 months to build,so we thought what better way to see New York than from the observation deck on the 86th floor.A truly wonderful way to look at Manhattan and beyond, again myself and The Fresh Prince a little cautious due to our slight fear off heights, the things we do to get a good photo.With still so much to do and back at ground level we took a little bus ride to what would of been where the world trade centres stood the twin towers, now a mass off construction of what will be when finished a 125 floor sky scraper plus others.When the towers fell on 9/11 all buildings in the vicinity had there windows blown out, i say all except one St Pauls church, just around the corner this was the only building that didn't not one window cracked,and became a resting place and soup kitchen for all the rescue workers etc.Its hard to imagine what happened on that day i rememeber exactly where i was when i heard it on the radio, i dont think anyone would of thought the imense tragedy what was unfolding before their very eyes,to see this place bought it all back and made it very much real,a time for reflection and a little prayer to all those never to return home.After this very emotional visit we headed back on to the streets with still so much to do and see across the road i wanted to see the court house (part of What happened in Vegas was filmed there)i know im sad, a few photos then back on the bus heading back towards Times Square,we wanted to stop off back on 34th street again and visit The Worlds Largest Department store I Love this place "MACYS" its absolutely massive, shoppers mecca 18 floors and a true New York Landmark .The rest of our time was spent looking around and taking in the magnificent architecture where old meets new, Armani next to an 18th century church on fifth ave,not knowing where to look next we just gazed and gazed like two kids in a sweet shop, this magnificent city had really got to us.

A Macc Lad In New York (Part 1)

2010-12-15T16:25:00.017-04:00

The Best was definately saved till last,New York, over the last few months we have had the pleasure of visiting some magnificent places but to me nothing comes close.Our first step into Manhattan was on 42nd street the bus terminal, then from there we got to see the best City in the World,we had discussed what we wanted to see and do so we did have a little plan. The Statue of Liberty one of the most iconic figures ever was my first choice, so a little bus journey down to Battery Park then a 20 min ferry bought us to the Great lady herself,a little time of reflection here from me, overwhelmed, mesmerised i really couldnt believe it was me standing there .Unfortunately there were no crown tickets available so we had to do with just the walk around (maybe next time),a quick look around the island taking in the Liberty Bike made by Orange County Choppers, and the carol singers around the flag pole making this part of our trip extremely special. Back on the ferry to our next destination Ellis Island this is where all immigrants in the late 1880s and early 1900s first stepped foot onto US soil before being let onto the mainland,due to our limited time we had to make short our time here and get back to the mainland.Back on the bus we headed towards Central Park, The Fresh Prince wanted to see The Plaza Hotel where part of Home Alone was filmed, and there was Father Christmas sat at the back of a Coca Cola truck, yep we had our photo taken with him(not sure how pleased he was when i sat on his knee though Lol).As evening had appeared rather quickly we just strolled around taking in all the lights on Fith Avenue, then into Time Square for a little bite to eat.Fully recharged off we set again in search of a spectaular Christmas Tree, The Rockafellar Centre the 70ft high tree in front of the ice rink certainly lives up to all expectation, many just stand and gazed at such beauty.Time had caught up with us so off we headed for a good nights sleep ready for another exciting day.

The Grand Finallie !!!!!!!!!

2010-12-07T12:01:00.002-04:00

Well the Time is allmost upon us how quick has it gone,a lot more ups than downs this time and definately a few new destinations,i suppose having someone with me this time has definateley being a major plus (how im going to miss the company when i come back in Jan)its given me the incentive to explore more.After our California trip, Vegas and all that i wasn't sure how to top it but i think our last trip should just about manage to supersede it.Im not sure how its going to pan out but i will try my best to get as many photos of probably one of the best cities in the WORLD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have manged to wangle a load down to Newark, then from here im taking a couple of days off and yes were off to,The Big Apple,Manhattan,The Big B/K, NEW YORK NEW YORK.Im so excited, we pass through all the time over the George Washington and down the New Jersey Turnpike so we have only seen it from a distance but never graced the place.We have got a little plan together and hopefully we can maximise our time there,so let me leave you with the song ITS UP TO YOU NEW YORK NEW YORKKKKKKK.

Ohh Such Fun

2010-11-28T11:02:00.011-04:00

Unfortunately after tipping we had to part from the Welsh Wizard,we were heading back into North Carolina while he was loading south,our reload was a load of Yams, 2 drops Montreal and 1 drop in Toronto,after our little discussion the other day about weighing off etc i kindly asked if they wanted it weighing even though the totally accurate onboard weighing system is showing all is well,the answer Yes Please,and guess what i was over on my drive axles again so as from now i rest my case and will continue to wiegh off.Our jaunt back north was up the i95 skirting Washington, well trying to anyway, the traffic reminded me of the M25 putting us about 3 hours behind,so we called it a night in Carney's Point New Jersey.The plan then was to shoot up the NJ turnpike then just before New York hit the i287 then on to the i87 which would take us through the border at Lacolle then straight into Montreal.The i87 carves its way through the Adirondack Mountains and with the sun shinning making it a rather enjoyable trip (well this part anyway).All the problems arose when i got to the border parts of my load hadn't cleared so with this delay it was making my delivery even more tight.1.5 miles away from our first drop and 20 minutes after the company was due to close (they said they would wait for me)this is where we hit major problems,anyone who has driven through Montreal will know all the signs are in French there isn't one english sign and that includes road blocks, detours etc,my first delivery was right in the centre and just before the road i needed to get down there was a bridge and it was shut due to construction, now these streets are extremely tight and most don't allow trucks down them unfortuantely the guys who put the detours sign up didnt think of this,after plenty of cursing etc we arrived 1 1/2 hours later but the guys were still there waiting for me and were extremely nice.Now to the next drop we were told they were closed now and to tip it as early in the morning as poss so we decided to make our way over there and park in there yard,again the road was blocked, Arggggg!!!!!! due to road works even though im only 100 yards from the place and can see it,it still took us another 45 mins to get there.At least we got tipped handy next morning then of we set for Toronto,The Ontario Food market enough said about this place the better, finally after the customer whining on about how the yams weren't to his satisfaction (do i really look bothered,just take it off my truck so i can leave)we were empty,then hit with please can you pick a trailer up in Brampton (near Toronto airport) and deliver it to Milton (just about 30 min drive away)not really jobs you want whan you get paid per mile but as the company man i am i agreed and with that regretted it as it took nearly 5 hours for us to unload.So now its back to PEI and a little rest before we head back out Tuesday, and into December, only a couple more weeks till were going back to Blighty so the big count down is well and truly on.

Down South and Look who i found !!!!!!!!!!

2010-11-22T20:38:00.007-04:00

After finally getting sorted friday and getting off the island off we headed into New Brunswick and the USA border.Because off the problems with the Bridge closed etc our delivery time was put back 24 hrs making our trip pretty easy.The best thing about driving south the weather is so much warmer especially when we get news that the first proper snowfall has hit PEI.Contary to belief The Welsh Wizard hasn't been abducted by aliens he's extremely well and still Haulin Ass around North America.Ive had a couple of messages on here asking what has happened to him as he hasn't updated his blog in a good few months,as myself he has had his up and downs but it all seems to be working out well for him, now and im sure if you bug the hell out of him he will update you all. ive put a few photos on here to prove he really is alive,unfortunately he divulged a little secret to me,Derrrrr how fatal is that, now do i tell all or keep stum Lol, only if you promise not to laugh.Well here goes, the other day when he was shopping in Sobeys now bear in mind he's pretty youngish, the cashier asked if he has his seniors card on him so he could get his elderley discount,well this then provided me with wise cracks now, well Forever !!!!!!!!!!!!!!.So as you can see i saw a plate for grandad and thought it was quite apt.The last time i came down here i stopped at an outlet store with The Worlds Largest Cigar Store so we decided to head in there, i was looking to take some home for Christmas and New Years for my Friends,this also making it a couple of nice hours away from the truck.

OOH LAA LAAAAAA

2010-11-19T20:45:00.002-04:00

After a night at the Hockey,we decided to have a chill out day,i know what your thinking, the boy works that hard he sure needs to chill a bit, well thanks for your concerns Lol.Unfortuanately i still have to do the shopping and washing etc, i just about manage to fit it all in, its a bit of a squeeze but yes i do manage, JUST.Then i get the dreaded phone call, any chance you can go out this evening Hummmmmmm, Its a load down to South Carolina, Hummmmmm,Ok. Again i know what your thinking all i do is work,work,work,well cos im such a company man i try to please (are you buying all this, "NO" i thought not lol).If the load had been down to New jersey etc i wouldn't have bothered but i like it further south and hopefully its a little warmer than where i am at the moment.Well a couple of problems arose,to take a load anywhere we need to put it on something now let me think what we need Hummmm, Oh yes "Trailers" unfortunately when you dont have any its becomes sort of difficult to transport goods around.The problem was the winds had picked up and the Confederation bridge which links PEI to the mainland was closed leaving all trucks who were returning back with empty trailers stuck on the mainland.Oh well looks like im not going out after all.Then im hit with the biggest bombshell off all, The Welsh Wizard is also going so looks like i better get my Ispy book off sheep out.Finally friday morning after what one could describe as a pretty eventfull couple of hours in the yard (one of our managers now in his wisdom thinks that weighing a load is unnessesary and costing the company to much money, as the truck and trailers have onboard scales, on which i might add are totally in accurate.So as normal the penny pinching continues and my feelings towards this was pretty much expressed.)we headed off the island, and only to prove myself right when i rolled over the DOT scale im 1800lbs overweight on my drive axle for running through the states even though the Onboard truck scale is saying im ok, guess whos pays the fine?

A night at the Hockey

2010-11-18T10:45:00.009-04:00

We got back on to PEI Tuesday evening,a week i needed to get out of my head,so getting away from all things work was my main priority.I suppose we all have good and bad weeks no matter where we are or what we do.A quick shower and off to Eastside Marios for a full rack of ribs and then upto to the Cornwall Roadhouse for a good few Buds soon eased away the past eight days.There had been a little friction between the two off us, living together in such a small confined space can be hard at times,and on top off everything else what is going on its inevitable the odd little argument would break out, it doesn't help when were as stubborn as each other.Anyway alls well again the airs cleared,so to plan for a day off,gym,run and sauna and a little shopping,then after the previous nights conversation about hockey we found out the PEI Rockets were playing that evening,so tickets in hand we headed down to The Charlottetown Civic Centre for our first proper hockey match,i had been to a match a couple of years ago when we met up with LadyPens cousins they were involved in a friendly tournament in Salmon Arms BC but i really wasn't taking much notice off what was going on then.Well the word off the night was CONFUSION we need to swat up on the rules because we just looked at each other in bewilderment as the players constantly changed, even at the end when we thought there was more to play and still sat there,it was only the mass exodus and the lights went out that sort of gave it away LOl.It was a good evening really and definately a game i could grow to like alot so maybe this is the start of something.

A Little Trip to Niagara Falls.

2010-11-13T20:09:00.016-04:00

Now the Potato season has kicked off on Prince Edward Island its back to the East Coast triangle,its pretty much the same week in week out, a load off the island down to Pensylvannia,or New Jersey area,then a load from this area up to Toronto, then a load back to the Island,it gets a little mundane unfortunately.So thats all its been for the last couple of weeks, because i had a little spare time on my way up into Canada i thought i would take a little detour and visit Niagara Falls.we come through this point of entry most of the time and i have never taken time to visit the famous Falls.We have been very lucky the last few days the temps are very high and yes the shorts are still on so it was the ideal time to do a little sight seeing.Now i wasn't sure where the falls are so it was a little guess work as to where to go and most of all where to park the truck,a word of warning anyone wanting to do this with a truck don't try it in summer,but this time of the year i manage to get as far as your allowed on the Niagara Parkway with a truck and was allowed to park in a coach park by a very nice customs official, other than that there isn't any commericial parking.So camera in hand off we trekked we had manged to park about 2kms away from the acually Falls, but with it being about 19 degrees this was covered in no time,i always imagined they were out in the country not in the middle of a city,maybe a little uneductated but not at all dissappointed.A very beautifull place and the memory of the thunderous noise will stay with me for a long time.Im sure this wont be the last time i come here,the Boss has already started making noises.

Summer Breeze

2010-11-07T23:44:00.005-04:00

Blowing through the Jasmine in my mind,the smell of freshly cut grass,the trees and flowers all in bloom,smiling faces, the long warm summer evening sitting outside enjoying the odd Bud,shorts and Tee shirts, Humm all this seems an eternity away now, well except the shorts and Tee shirts im not giving up on that attire just yet.Well its finally arrived "Winter" the leaves have given up now and the last remaining few have relinquished there positions and final laid to rest,everywhere looks oh so sorry now, the trees all bare look like there dying off, all the lush green grass is now turning a horrible shade of yellow/brown making this time my least favourable.Summer is for me, give me heat, heat and more heat, give me scantly clad women, only to look at of course, I suppose with all this in mind it has started a little bit of how time has passed by especially over the last 12 months,my or should I say our quest to move lock stock and 2 smoking barrels over to Canada has certainly taken a few twists and turns and yet this continues.I think its time to give a little advice to anyone wishing to take the same course as we have, the big question i suppose would be, would i do it again like this ?to be complete honest it would be a resounding NO, NO, NO.Why anyone would want to spend as much time away from there family as i have is beyond me, this has been the most stressfull time ive ever had to endure during my short time on gods earth.Please take heed, either move over all together or get PR before moving to Canada, ok this may take 3/4 years to do but believe me it is definately a better option.I say this with experience now, ive seen grown men crying including myself all saying the same i didnt realise it would be this hard, the slightest problem turn into mamouth ones you can not prepare for this believe me.Taking the 2nd option also gives you the ace card of being able to choose from every employer instead of the ones who have to recruit from overseas,yes some are ok i do believe this to be the case with the one i currently work for they are ok, but ask yourself one question why do the same companys come up time and time again needing to fill these post with foreign labour.There is a huge shortage of drivers here with PR already in place you can pick from the best of these companys,the best payers etc etc.Then i look at the whole emigrating thing,of course its different for me to someone who has moved over here with all their family etc,so my problems wouldn't be the same as those,time and time again you hear it said, no one said it would be easy, it isn't, you get nothing for nothing here be prepared to put in a great deal of hard work, there isn't a quick fix it takes time a long time.I really miss my close friends who would love dearly to have me back in their company (not sure why lol)i miss my close family,i miss my dogs but most off all i miss England, a place where my home is, the place where everything i know is.I left because of certain things that i believe to be fundamentally wrong, i do also believe that these problems will continue and get worse, can i over look this and return and then the big question is, Would i be happy? well who knows what the future holds.When i left i was looking for something at least equally as good as i had as im sure everyone else is, have i found it? only time will tell, certain things are at least as good if not better, anyone here would problably agree with that, ive got a long way to go to get where i want to be, being reunited with LadyPen permanently is the most important thing to me so we can move forward together where ever that maybe.Do i have a downer on Canada?the answer is a resounding No,not even after 12 months leaving England, do i regret doing what ive done, YES only because ive had to do it on my own, i want to share everything with the people who hopefully will benefit from the possible outcome.Then the biggest question off all is, After all the heartache and pain with the possibillty of PR in Canada achieveable has it all been worth it?only time will tell, maybe by Summer we will have a clearer picture.

A Few Photos from our Trip out West

2010-11-02T00:10:00.013-03:00

Ive been going through some off the thousands of photos ive taken since arriving on the North American continent,as your probably aware i haven't posted them all on here.Over the next few weeks when some off our runs take us to places which ive pretty much covered photos wise, im going to treat you to previous trip photos, especially from the last big trip we got out to California.As you can imagine travelling over 3500 mile from PEI there is a lot of landscape change from the flat lands of the praires to the mountainous regions of Colorado all 10600 feet of them,the few i have choosen in this part are from Utah the driving through this region was incredibly,the only problem this has created is ive seem to have got very restless now about trucking on the east coast and the triangle work which is all very much repetative.Having said that were still very hopefull off getting a couple of days in New York to do a bit of site seeing.

Oooopppps

2010-11-01T20:04:00.010-03:00

I was delivering to a very well known place in Moncton on sunday morning,my booking in time was 4.30am after backing on to the bay i could hear my bed calling, thats where i was in the land of nod until i was rudely awaken by a loud bang (a good few hours later and they hadn't even started to unload me) and this was the result.Im not going into the politics off why this happened but i know the outcome of this could of been a lot worse.The trouble with the fifth wheels over hear there isn't any fail safe device like we have in europe the little dog clip to secure the handle thus preventing the handle retracting if there is a problem.

A Couple of Days of on Prince Edward Island

2010-11-01T20:01:00.001-03:00

We decided that a little rest was in order after we had worked so hard,there is definately no better place in Canada to chill out than PEI.As i love the sea we went to the eastern point of the island called BasinHead,although it doesn't matter where abouts you are your never far away from the coast.The rolling red cliffs and beautiful sandy beaches make the island so exquiste,one of the reason people flock here during the summer months.The temps are dropping a little now as expected so no sunbathing or swimming in the sea but still make a great day out.

One to Please

2010-10-30T20:57:00.001-03:00

Consider myself to be told off,Ladypen told me she was bored of looking at the truck pictures and to stop being idle and do some more on here, so as one does as the boss says ive stopped for a couple of hours here at the Flying J in Napanee Ontario just to please.The age old layover problem reared its head again on my last trip so after a little stand off, me taking 4 days off we duly accepted a trip down to Oxford Pennsylvania.Off we headed to Inkerman in North East New Brunswick for a load of Peat Moss on Friday Dinnertime,these loads suit me they all have weigh bridges on site so your all legal before leaving site and most of the places the guys are pretty nice,unfortunately due to the rain they had

its was like a quagmire.So off we headed down route 8 towards Fredricton then back on the Trans Canadian for Woodstock entering the USA at Houlton, after sorting out my ACE (someone had forgot to include the The Fresh Prince on It)we headed for Bangor Mall for a little retail theraphy, well christmas is coming and i know certain people are expecting things (not saying there going to get them LOL).Our delivery wasn't until monday morning so no rush down through New Jersey making a nice early finish at Carneys Point with another Driver, leaving me 30 min away from my delivery point.All went well and we even had a reload within 30 mins a load out of Phillidelphia for St Georges New Brunswick.The place i was picking up was on the Airport and even with 2 sat navs going i still managed to end up in the terminal area,so just to let you know you can get a truck inside Philly Airport because i did it,bloody sat navs i should of known better, i eventually found where i wanted to be, and there was one of our newest recruits from the place where men are men and sheep are nervous.7 hours later we were both loaded and heading North,our entry back into Canada was via St Stephen the route from Bangor upto the border is extremely scenic and very easy to tackle when your load weighs about 3 ton.Its funny how things turn out, i get a message about 3 hours away from my destination dont worry what time we get there they will tip me as they work 24/7, unfortunately this seem to be empty words when we arrived there no one knew we were coming. An hour later we were told that the welsh wizards cousin is actually in the wrong place he should be in Charlottetown PEI, only 5 hours way Derrrr a breakdown in communiction me thinks.And yes i was tipped some 16 hours later,then hit with THE FISH RUN yet again yipeeeee

The Truck That Peter Bilt

2010-10-19T16:42:00.000-03:00

Im not one for raving on about trucks etc,as its just a tool for my job i don't really get enthused by them anymore.My knowledge is ok but i wouldn't shout from the roof tops about what i know,having driven pretty much most of the european trucks i can compare which looks,drives and suits the driver the best etc,my knowledge of North American trucks however was pretty much zilch, infact when i heard what the company i was about to drive for had i had to have a good scan on the internet to see what my next chariot was going to be.Since ive been here there is one particular truck that has stood out to me i believe drivers love these, they are a truck called Peterbilt.To me they look pretty mean and sort off have a Get the F**K out of my way look so i thought i would share some off the photos of the ones i have taken hope you enjoy.

Chill out Time

2010-10-17T23:01:00.000-03:00

Well the last nine days have been pretty dire to say the least its definately good to get back and get away from everything.To top everything whilst sitting having my breakfast this morning i dropped a full bowl of bran flakes with milk and sugar all over the cab. To be honest it looked like someone had projectile vommited all over the place and all the fresh princes response was as he was scoffing his toast down was to laugh, guess who's not getting any tea later lol.It was definately the icing on a crappy cake so a good few days off now and chill out a little.

All Change

2010-10-15T13:49:00.000-03:00

I was telling you before my very SMALL mishap (hope you have all stopped laughing now) about our next destination,unfortunately it fell through.We were supposed to be heading off the Canadian Mainland for Newfoundland,unfortuantely the powers that be informed me that there were problems with the ferries so i was to drop my tralier at the Cross dock in Moncton New Brunswick.Then i was asked if i wanted to tip a trailer in Sydney Nova scotia,good easy miles and a pretty scenic route swayed it for me.I must admit as soon as you get to Cape Bereton the scenery is absolutely stunning making it a very pleasureable day well upto now.Ive done this drop a couple of times very pleasent people to deal with and a quick turn around is normal,then the bomb shell my next assignment, The Bloody Fish Run Again !!!!! Yes the pen is mightier than the sword oh well gritted Teeth only a few weeks till i head back home LOL

Bloody Disaster !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-12T19:58:00.002-03:00

Sometimes in life you just have to hold your hands up and take whats coming,all experience is thrown out of the window when sheer stubborness plays a big part.What happened yesterday on our way through New Brunswick, 15 miles from our actual stop for the evening where i would not only feed the pair of us but even fuel up the truck.15 miles thats how far i was away,15 minutes for a very nice early finish, 15 bloody minutes ARGGGGGGG.Im not blaming anyone for my mishap, the commodity i need to run the truck, now let me think what is it called HUMMMMMMM ..................Oh Yes Diesel.............. believe me the truck runs a hell of alot better when its got some in those very big tanks that are attached to the sides.Im not blaming International for there inability to supply a brand new truck with a fuel gauge that actually shows you when the fuel has all gone,not reading in the middle of the reserve.Im certainly not blaming our chief in the shop when i called him to let him know what has happened, even though i had managed to syphon about 10 gallon out of the reefer at first, but still had problems starting the thing,even our discussion about which tank i put the fuel into (passenger side)no probs just keep turning it over was his response.Over 2 1/2 hours later ive moved 500 yards,back to the phone,apparently its because ive only put fuel in one side i was informed ARGGGGGGG, why didnt you tell me this before, i could have put some in the other tank before i had drained the reefer tank.Unfortunately the truck has anti syphons on the main tanks so i can't even get any of the now 20 odd gallons i have put in that one.Deflated and deafeated i accepted untimately failure.Road aide had to be called,but without this crap day going worse,the night heater (which is runs of diesel) in which keeps us warm isn't working due to the fact that the feed for it is in the now very empty fuel tank.5 hours later and a couple of gallons in the empty tank and im hurtling down the Trans Canadian faster than Tom Hicks been chased by a load of kopites.A very expensive error this one i will now lose my safety bonus $500, i must accept sometimes that i do have to stop the truck even just for 10 mins to get what i found out something which is pretty vital to the running of the combustion engine.Now you can all get up off the floor and wipe your eyes believe me it wasn't that funny i don't know laughing at someone elses mishaps SHAME ON YOU !!!!!

Look at all the Pretty Tree's

2010-10-10T23:13:00.002-03:00

Well Summer has decided to pack up now and Autumn has appeared.Driving through the lower regions of Ontario is pretty pleasureable at the moment.I've heard many people talk about how colourfull Autumn is or as the Canadians say "Fall"due to all the leaves falling of the trees, i thought i would explain that, i do recall me having a blonde woman moment and asking LadyPens relatives why it was called "Fall" Humm Derrrrr.I say summer has gone the daily temps are pretty high at the moment creeping into the 20's which will do just fine unfortunately the early morning ones differ slightly minus1 in some places i think its time for hibernation.
Our 2 days off came to an end and our next assignment was the fish run, 3 drops out of Moncton New Brunswick ending up in Cambridge just west of Toronto,this is a daily run for us and the miles are pretty good,its even better when the trailer is loaded early and you can make a good bit of time up.Not very exciting after the previous few weeks so after pulling out all the stops i thought i would spice it up a little.Normally we reload straight out of Cambridge back to Moncton,well our reload was out of a farm down in Aylmer nr London ON a very quaint village of 7500 residents( i didnt count them all there was a sign saying it).So sunday morning we meandered throught the country lanes past all the pumkin fields, Have a guess what i was loading. Yes Pumkins Hello !!!!!!!!!!!!! 60 octangonal bins later and were on our way just a quick weigh off before we start heading East.Now your probably thinking that wasn't much off a spice up,well to be honest i dont have any clout at all but i did keep you reading didn't i.Ok yes were heading back East but this time not back to Moncton,no were heading further east, have you guessed yet.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Its Cold

2010-10-04T20:32:00.002-03:00

After missing the worlds largest truckstop in Iowa the other day we decided because we had a little spare time to make an effort and call in on the way back,unfortuantely for you i couldnt bring myself to take any photos of the place its just the same as any other stop execpt bigger, not sure what i was expecting but it doesn't take a lot to impress me and this place didnt.So sorry about that i know off other bloggers who have stopped there and have taken photos if you want to check them out.Well its back to the land of cold after the soaring heat of Nevada and California,although our delivery didn't actualy go to plan,our saturday delivery was put back to Sunday morning giving us that afternoon off.So glad rags on and off to the pictures for a very pleasent afternoon,i even treated us to a meal in the evening i will have to stop spoiling the fresh prince he might start getting used to such genorosity.We will be back on PEI Tuesday dinnertime then im going to take a few days off get myself to the gym, a good run and a sauna is on the cards, and maybe the odd Bud will pass my lips, that was one quick month, and not one post of how much im missing LadyPen,how long will that last Hummmm.

Loaded and Heading Back East

2010-09-29T21:52:00.000-03:00

We Loaded Monday dinnertime in Huron California,a load of canteloupes for Toronto.After a quick weigh where the loader got it absolutely spot on, we mapped our route back East all 2672 miles.Basically a pretty similar route i took to get here except a couple of hundred miles just before Salt Lake City take the i70 east for Denver Colordo.So a big wave to Las Vegas as we drove past,then as you drive into Utah, looming in the skies are all the mounain fires in which there were loads, its so hot and dry here its no wonder they continually burn.After we made it through the fires we just sat back and enjoyed the scenery the landscape is absolutely amazing ive been so

impressed by everything ive seen over here i dont want to go,it feels like when your heading back home after a holiday. The best thing about this route there are loads of stopping off points scenic areas etc for photos.We stopped in a rest area just before Colorado and had tea over looking the valleys it didnt half make a change from a truckstop very peacefull and tranqil.

Well Whats good enough for Frankie is good enough for me, I'm going to Hollywood

2010-09-27T13:34:00.000-03:00

Sometimes things don't go as planned,my little message i recieved was met with a little fustration but also a big nice one yeahhhhh.A reload hadn't materialised so i was told to book a layover, fair enough, i had an inkling this might be the case but thought something would of been sorted so i hadn't made any plans.So here i am in LA near Hollywood,BeverleyHills etc,do i

No1, stay and polish the truck all day.

No2,Just have a lazy day

No3,Get my ass downtown.

Well you can imagine what the answer would off been, a little arranging needed to be done,one lose the trailer,and how to get downtown.So after quick chat with the manager at the truckstop who had no problems with me dropping the trailer,i then decided to drive down to the nearest Metro line dump it in the Parking lot and get the train into Hollywood.Thats what we did really simple and really cheap as well $6 for an all day pass.So first things first Hollywood Blvd, The walk of Fame we've all heard of it and seen the pictures i go a few pictures along here Micheal Jackson's was surrounded by all his still grieving fans,but there was 1 i particularly wanted to get a picture of as requested by LadyPen, Her idol Patrick Swayze.Looks like im coming back here again as well me thinks LOL.We hadn't decided on doing a tour etc but when a guy asked us if we were interested in his for $20, for an 2 hr tour i thought it had to be done.There we were been whisked around Beverley Hills been shown all the houses of all the rich and famous and all the film locations etc,just to name a few Arnie,Adam Sandler,David Beckham,Tom Cruise,George Clooney,even the great Dr Phil even though it was abit choatic it gave us a little idea of where places were so it was pretty good value.Our trip also took us down the Famous Rodeo Drive, Sunset Blvd

Santa Monica Blvd,and up close to the HOLLYWOOD sign in the hills.

After our tour was over we decided to jump back on the metro and head off to Union Station and downtown LA again.I took an abundance of photos to many to put on here but i thought i would expalin the ones in which ive selected,The house opposite was the one used in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,The Saddle Ranch was owned by Patrick Swayze,TheGreystone Gates were featured in the film Rush Hour With Jackie Chan,Arnies houses house with statues of presidents all over the place,The House with the big Black gates is where Micheal Jackson last lived there are still tributes left there.I could go on and on and not wanting to bore you any more better finish now,i see your all flagging, maybe tomorrow i will get a load and normal service can resume not sure what that is anymore Lol, we'll see.

Back to California !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-27T00:37:00.001-03:00

That was that then reset over and time to earn a few cents,now i do believe my despatch were aware that im ready to go Saturday morning in search of a load,unfortunately those in higher places hadn't secured anything for me,but i was asked to make my way to Los Angeles.So on their comand off we set back to California,back through the desert and into some soaring heat,now it must of gone to my head we or should i say I decided lets see how long we can survive with the air con off and window down, the dash outside temp was reading 46 degrees and it was like sitting in a furnace unfortunately for me ive got the sun beaming down on myside so i gave up first gutted !!!!!!!! (not that im a competetive dad)It was Toasting.When you hit Los Angeles you can feel the wealth of the place there,s money everywhere except in a little red truck driving down the freeway lol,i headed for a truckstop in the San Fernando Valleys just north of LA waiting for out next assignment,not the best miles to start off with just short of 400 but as were just over 3500 miles away from PEI im sure we can make a little money on the wayback.

Day 2 Phoenix Arizona

2010-09-26T02:39:00.002-03:00

After a little internet search on what to do we decided to head off into the mountains apparently the best veiws of Phoenix were to be had there.So we headed for South Mountain Park which i believe is the Worlds Largest municipal park,again a wealth of information arn't i,(definately in the wrong job).The drive out of town didn't take long and no sooner, there we were looking down on the vast flatness across Arizona and Phoenix.In my madness i decided we would get out and have a hike around and maybe attempt a bit of mountainering, please bear in mind its over 40 degrees now, as you can imagine we didn't get far (the combustion engine and air con is definately a great invention).I must say i love it down here, i love the heat, i love the sun,i love the palm trees and cactus,i could quite happily wake up every morning to the sun shinning and me smiling,and even more when i hear that certain parts of Canada are already having snowfalls,hibination sounds good.I

WANT TO STAY DOWN HERE PLEASE .So if you can dig deep and keep me in the manner ive come accustomed to i would be forever in your debt LOL.After a few hours playing Chris Bonnington (A famous mountaineerer if you were unsure)we decided to head into town there standing in all its glory is The ChaseFields Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball team.Another good day had,another experience to tell unfortunately tomorrow i will have to get some of that word i don't like done .................

The University of Phoenix Stadium, The Home Of The Arizona Cardinals

2010-09-24T18:52:00.000-03:00

Our last delivery was completed by 07.15 so it was back to the truckstop down the road.We now have 2 days off, i wanted to drop my trailer so i could get around and luckily enough was allowed to drop it across the road from where were parked.Now what to do in sunny Phoenix, like i said i did have something planned as you are well aware im into sports and love stadiums etc, so just being down the road from The University of Phoenix Stadium aka The home Of The Arizona Cardinals i felt its got to be worth a visit and at $7 its looking even more appealingThe tour last a good 1 3/4hrs so well worth the money and you get taken just about everywhere except the Cardinals locker room but youdo get to go in the Visitors one.They used this venue for The Super Bowl when The New York Giants played The New England PatriotsIts also used for many other things including pop concerts (The Great U2 have performed here).Wrestle Mania,Monster Truck shows to name just a few.As you can see the grass is outside then wheeled in for a match saving an estimated $50 million dollars a year,(see i was listening to Tom our Guide)i can go on and on with facts,It cost $450 Million to build and took 36 months of constant work to complete,now i see your well impressed.

California Bound

2010-09-23T19:10:00.000-03:00

Unfortunately we had to leave Las Vegas and head on south down the i15,i think the last 24 hours had definately took its toll,a rather subdued pair we were, nothing much to say but ponder on what we had seen and done.I suppose the only thing i can say is "Las Vegas I'LL Be Back"and LadyPen will be with me.This link leading me nicely to my next port of call California, Arnie the Govenor of this State i know cheesy but hey who cares, ive been wanting to go here so much but at this moment in time could think of nothing.My delivery was for the morning in Mira Loma just outside Los Angeles then we would be heading straight back out to Arizona, i suppose because our time here was to be so short i couldn't really get enthused about it but still happy to be given a shot of going here.I have heard a few stories about how strict the D O T are here and the reality of this kicked in as you approach the State line, there is an actuall border crossing, all vehicles are checked not just trucks, i just flutterd my eyeslashes and my delivery notes and away i went (some might be unfortunate and get the Latex gloves and KY treatment Lol).Just before the stateline there is the Monumental Worlds biggest Therometer,i could see by The Fresh Princes expression he was well impressed, NOT, i dont know kids today there's no pleasing them.So we arrived outside our delivery address all set for the morning,i do like delivering to this chain of companies its such a doddle.

As expected all went to plan delivery completed and we were ready to head to Phoenix Arizona for our last drop,a very easy day only 365miles, so it was time to enjoy the Joshua Tree National park hundreds of Wind turbines, then to help us along the way play, i wonder how long this road is the part you can actually see, we both lost The Fresh Princes guess was 7 mile, mine was 12, we could actually see over 16 mile of road before it went over a hill .Through Palm Springs and the other various desert cities before entering Phoenix later on that afternoon.As i mentioned after my delivery were going to take a 48 hour reset, and i have another little plan, although not as extravagant as the last im sure would also be rather enjoyable,the things i do to keep you entertained.

Viva Las Vegas

2010-09-22T18:03:00.018-03:00

This was going to be the high light of this trip, although it never really appealed to me before i was soooooo looking forward to.We manged to get into a hotel right at the south end of the strip and showing my Cdl managed to get the room for peaunuts and ample space for Big Trucks.First things first, it was absolutely toasting so there's no better way to cool down, jump in the hotel pool then for an hours sunbathing.So now were ready for our assult on the Famous Las Vegas Strip.Some times words can't describe things and this is one of those times so instead of me waffling on ive selected just a few of the many photos we took.If i was to say one thing that actually stood out the most well The Bellagio Fountains are out of this world, anyone who has seen these would know what i mean "AWESOME"but to single one thing out would be truly unfair as the whole place is pretty spectular.Ceasers Palace,New York New York with the Giant Statue of Liberty standing Proud (Hopefully we will get chance to go up the real one)The Venetian,Luxor the list is endless
so rry i know im waffling but as you can probaly tell im still Buzzing.

The i15 south

2010-09-21T04:10:00.010-03:00

Before i could get my plan into action i had a little thing to take care of first,now let me think what was it,oh yes my delivery, see i do actually do some work.Well all i did was back on to the bay then half hour later i was pulling out of the gate seven pallets lighter and ready to hit the i15.This road takes me straight into my destination in California, but along the way we pass a little old town you might of heard of Las something.Ive been really impressed with the scenery of Wyoming and Utah and this route didn't fail me either driving again through some of the mountains you couldn't be anything but awestruck one word sums this drive "Stunning."Just before you reach Navada you skim in and out of Arizona,i will sample more of that State when i head of to Phoenix for my last drop on Thursday and lucky for me will have to have a reset there as well.So Las Vegas looms ahead and to say im looking forward to it is a bit of an understatement,our plan is to book into a hotel for the night and have 24 hours off before heading down to California,so wish me luck and i promise i'll try and enjoy myself.

All the way to Salt Lake City Utah

2010-09-19T19:20:00.014-03:00

After our Iowa stop in which it was pretty warm there, off we set next morning West as i mentioned in my previous log, towards Nabraska,what a contrast in weather the whole day was pretty miserable. I had worked out where i wanted to stop in Nabraska leaving me with just under 600 miles to do on my last leg,just Wyoming then into Utah,its wild west country all the way now and what a contrast in scenery as you drive through the various mountains ranges.After the previous days weather we were in for a big treat, sun all the way, so its on with the Ray Bans and hammer down well 65 mph,we must of been the slowest truck on the road the speed limits 75mph and boy they do it.As you drop off the Uinta Mountains theres Salt Lake City down in the Desert it felt rather strange, ive heard about this palce time and time again and now here's me driving into it.Were due at our first delivery 6 am then we head off to Calfornia straight after that for a wednesday morning delivery, but if all goes to Plan i might just do a stop over along the way so fingers crossed it does cause were heading for LAS VEGAS and i think it would be extremely rude for us not to stay there for the night What do you think ?

Strange goings on !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-18T20:03:00.013-03:00

So there i was heading towards Toronto all planned to do my delivery in the morning (Thursday)when ping i get a message,drop my trailer in Brampton Ontario that night and leave the notes in the back,hummm i thought rather strange, but not one for creating work for myself i did as i was asked then duly headed off for a decent nights sleep (yes again).It was only the sound of the qualcom going ape that woke me up it was gone 10.30 (i must of needed it all this hard work ive been doing lol)so being a good dad i made The Fresh Prince get out of bed to read it,errrr it says something like we have a trailer loaded for us and will be with us later on today going to Utah,California and Arizonia.Yeah sure what does it really say, thats when i decided to have a look myself and thats what the message said.So thats where were off to,our trailer arrived in the early evening i sorted all the paperwork out, weighed it off (i don't take yeah its ok as a true weight)but it was ok so off we headed down to Windsor for the night.Ive crossed this border many times coming back into Canada but never the other way,it really is a dump when you enter into the States here, i've heard there is a massive argument between the Bridge owners and the Government about what is suppose to be happening there so nothings been done.My route was basically jump on the i80 this then takes me through Ohio,Indiana,Illinois,Iowa,Nebraska and Wyoming before dropping me into Salt Lake City Utah where my first delivery is.Ive heard there is a huge truck stop in Iowa, funny enough its called the Iowa 80 mainly because its in Iowa and on the i80 (how unique)so i thought i might stop and have a look on my way past.This is how it panned out, i try and always use Flying J truckstops for my evening stops due to me having an internet account with them so i can skype LadyPen, so when i see one in Davenport Iowa which was about where i was looking to park i headed in.No big deal next morning off i set early, and not 10 mins into my journey there i was hurtling past the famous Iowa 80 derrrrrrrr its the worlds biggest truckstop thats what i read as i drove past it ...........so maybe if im passing back this way i will pull in and have a look so sorry no pictures from there but if all goes to plan what i have lined up will be way better than a truckstop.

A View inside my North American home

2010-09-18T10:26:00.012-03:00

Due to the overwhelming interest well 3 people actually and one of them being LadyPen,here are some photos of my travelling home in which i get to drive around North America and Canada,i even get paid for this pleasure lol.My old truck was a little bigger inside but i didnt utilise the space very well but being on my own this wasn't a problem.The biggest problem i had in this one was where to put my fridge as the space in which they give you is pretty small,and the one that International sell for this truck is $450 we were also told that i couldn't take the unit out as we did on the previous one, so seeing the Welsh Wizard he told me how he accomodated his,cut the bottom bunk mattress and put it at the end off the bed,(sorry i meant move the Mattress Lol)and hey presto it fits just making the bottom bunk a little smaller but more than adequate.We have an array of appliances,microwave,oven,gas hob,toaster,kettle all powered of the inverter (except the hob) also a 19" flat screen tv( not that i get chance to watch it)also a scanner to fax documents Wheyyyyy i hear you cry.Even though the truck has satelitte radio built in i would have had to change my own account to use it so i decided to stick to my one, also the screen is bigger and i have a remote for it.Having the cab like this gives us more storage for clothes, on one side there is a small wardrobe and where the fridge is supposed to be on the other we can store another holdall keeping the truck relatively tidy.All my films are on a hard drive so its just a quick matter of plugging in the hdmi cable into the computer from the Tv and hey presto you can watch the film on both.The best bit we have though is a gadget that The Fresh Prince has set up back in England its called a Slingbox Pro, this is attached to the cable box in his bedroom and we can access it anywhere there is Internet so we have full cable as well I know your shaking your head in amazement i was, its Brilliant, you can watch Coronation street and everything (not that i do you understand, i was just giving you an example) .So thats how we slum it on the road please don't feel sorry for us,i know your wondering how we manage to cope but we do JUST!!!!!!!
There have been some funny goings on since i been back ive had a new truck, then given a pretty decent run down to Georgia, then even more strange is what im going to say next but it will have to wait until next time as im pretty tired.So till then be good

Nashville Tennessee

2010-09-15T17:32:00.014-03:00

We arrived in Anderson South Carolina Monday morning,and guess what we were a day early, so we were informed by the customer,this as it happens wasn't a problem as i was told they would be happy to unload me which i thought was pretty decent off them.A quick dash back to the truckstop up the road for a shower and wait in anticipation for our reload,this came in the shape of a nice little run into Georgia but not until the following dinner time.Now if you remember i told you im going to make the next few months more like a a professional tourist holiday, well today was the start of it,first things first a bit of retail theraphy in the shape of the outlets,unfortunately for my wallet i just cant resist a bargain.As the outlet was only a couple of miles from where we were due to load I thought i would chance my luck and see if i could get loaded a little earlier, and Lady luck was smiling on me all the way, 10 rolls of Astro turf immediately thrown on to the trailer and were good to go.A little deviation was in order as i decided Nashville was looking to good to pass on,so off we headed i was a bit gutted when i realised we were passing right near the Jack Daniels Distillery but to late to do one of the tours, so thats definately one for next time.As Nashville loomed ahead of us it was time to find somewhere to park Downtown, easier said than done but we manged to find a place down by the football stadium.So Camera in hand off we headed for Broadway and the bright lights, i could feel all the nostalgia rolling down the streets so many great artists performed here (and still do) as you pass each bar live music pumping out of the windows,it would of been nice to stay and have a few beers maybe some other time.We decided the Hard Rock Cafe would have the pleasure of our company while we delved into a rack of ribs(and very nice they were).There is a fantastic array of memorabila ranging from The Beatles to Micheal Jackson to Madonna.Unfortuantely like all good things this had to come to an end and we trotted back to Daisy all weary.

Daisy, The Fresh Prince and a trip into the Sun

2010-09-12T18:55:00.010-03:00

So let me think where i was,oh yes i was telling you my delightfull news about the new truck ive been given and my reservations about it (or was that whinging about it).Well slap me in the chops and call me Gladys we've managed to get all mine and The Fresh Princes gear into it and even the fridge as well, without taking anything out, and listen to this you'll be well amazed when you hear this, we have created a chaise lounge in the process, with a little intuition by the Welsh wizard, so even though the cab is slightly smaller we've untillised the space better,if your interested i will post a couple of pictures on here. Our first trip was a load of Peat moss, loading out of New Brunswick for Anderson South Carolina,i was a little chuffed to say the least, good miles and a trip down to the place where the slogan is Smiling Faces Beautifull Places, well i will second that i love it down here and its warmer than PEI so with a Cheshire grin off we set,after loading and sorting out all the paperwork we headed for the border and after a straight forward crossing and sorting out the Princes i94 we headed for Bangor for the night.This is where our first try at setting the climate control happened and we failed,i thought leaving the technical things to my first mate, someone who lives and breathes all things gadgety this would be a piece of cake, i was so cold i think i had iceicles hanging off me.After he actually stopped laughing, which took a while i hasten to add, new settings were punched into the gadget box and i duly thored out.When i find the instructions im taking charge lol.So into our 2nd day and to my disbelief im not missing the old truck one bit, infact im actually really liking driving this one, turncoat i hear you cry. Its like driving a cadillac, well i think its what it would be like as ive not actually driven one but i know you will know what i mean,very quiet, comfy all things where there supposed to be, like the windscreen wiper control on a stalk not a stupid switch which never worked and you had to fumble for, yes how hi tech is this, im getting used to the tripac hopefully it will be reliable that goes for the tractor as well so fingers crossed.Oh and as for the title have a guess who Daisy is !!!!!

Lets Party PEI Were Back !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-09T08:54:00.007-03:00

So lets have a look where were we, oh yes sitting by a sun soaked pool in Icemeler effes in hand, work,Canada and realality all a long time way.Then i wake up in the 1970's porn set trying to grasp the last few weeks and wondering where the eck they went.Im back on PEI and unfortunately back in the Sunny King motel,due to some personel circumstances The Elder Statesman has had to stay in England (hopefully he will return one day)so i decided there no place like the S**t King Lol.The Fresh Prince has returned with me, so at the mo it feels like were on another jolly hopefully we can take in a good few sights and make the next few months like a professional tourist holiday, as they say F**K work lets party lol. We do have a few plans maybe take in a Baseball,American football game also an Ice Hockey match also a few trips into New york City,Phillidelphia,Niargra Falls and any other sight we pass along the way, How jealous are you lot now ner ner ner ner nar i promise plenty of photos and maybe only one or two moans lol.So first things first i dragged myself up to the yard to see how much i was missed (being such a popular guy and all that)the general censes good to have you back hahaha wot a crock of poop lol,then hit with a little bomb shell,we taken all the stuff out of your truck and your getting a brand new one,as you can imagine i was over the moon, Well actually i wasn't infact quite the opposite, now i know what your thinking ungratefull T**t.My truck was an old 9400 International and would never die not even with the severeist defects it always managed to get me back, the thing just kept going and i got quite attached to it,to put it in laymans terms i get paid while the truck is clocking up miles if it breaks down i dont get paid, well it never cost me 1 cent, the only 2 breakdowns i had were due to the trailer.So my new chariot is a International Prostar the next version up from the 9400 so should be better, not in my eyes the cab is smaller,it has a tripack so i cant idle the truck (tripacks arent the most reliable as we all know), slower (104 kms instead of 105 yes it makes a difference) and no where to put my full size fridge,on the postive side its nice and shiny.Well if it breaks down and i have problems you lot will suffer you know how much i can moan, (to me a truck is a tool i need it to do my job im definately not a spotter or polisher etc).Maybe if i can bring myself to take the odd photo of it i will post it on here otherwise you can go on to International website and have a look at what they look like (so ive been told).

Quick Update............ after a long day sorting the chariot out, and after a near death experience in which even The Welsh Wizard didn't laugh, The top bed in which i had just put up came crashing down on my little young head and nearly left The Fresh Prince daddyless, don't worry im ok now i hope.We eventually got all my gear in (its surprising how much stuff you accululate) and with a little inventory and help by the welsh one himself, i have even got my fridge in cheers mucker.

OMG Doesn't Time Fly By !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-03T05:45:00.011-03:00

We finally touched back down in Manchester airport in the very early hours of wednesday morning.Turkey now was just another memory except for the ailments ive come back with, the dreaded Turkey Tum (i will leave that to your imaginenation).Fantastic weather and beautiful scenery and time to relax with the family and Biggles (The Fresh Prince's girlfriend)was worth every penny,with all the best intentions of actually going on a few trips,we only sort of made a couple,down to the aqua park one day then in my wisdom after chatting with a guy and his daughter i decided to go horse riding Derrrrrrr.Myself,Lady Pen and Little Miss A got picked up and driven with other victims to the other side of Marmaris for a 2 hour safari,now this was where im now regretting making my bold descision,these things have no brakes or steering wheels and do pretty much what they want to do,after a quick brief by our instructor we started to saddle up,one by one until it was my turn i must admit that was the easiest part, unfortunately the realtionship between man and beast went rapidly downhill after that,everyone was just sat upon there mount all patiently not moving unlike me where the horse decided it would be so much fun to ram us into the side off a tree.Good start i thought, undeterred i tried to do as instructed, pull sharply on the reins only for the wild animal to bolt and head straight back into the stables,me thinks at this point it wasn't very happy,and here's me thinking i've actually paid for this pleasure.Things did go better after that, well a little anyway but we were told under no circumstances let the horse eat the long grass along the way, Well you try stopping it eat it cos i tried and to be truthfull, i would rather let him eat that than my leg as this what it tried to do when the situation arised.We eventually arrived back after our momouth trip a little shaken but unscathed, no more bright ideas from me again !!!!!.Unfortunately like all good things our holiday came to an end and the stark reality that im heading back west in a couple of days looms once more.

Packing again !!!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-16T14:08:00.008-03:00

The suitcase is back in play again but im heading south east this time not west to Canada.We decided a few months ago after seeing the prices of flights for Canada to have a look at holidays in the sun.For years we have travelled to The Greek Islands,The Canaries and Turkey just to mention a few,but Turkey was a place in which we seemed to go back to time and time again.The great world wide web certainly helps to get fantastic deals, after a few searches Lady Pen came up with a hoilday in Icemeler and in apartments in which we have stayed a couple of times before for 5 of us, cheaper than 2 flights to Charlottetown.It was booked almost immediately, so now were heading off into 40 odd degree sun and plenty of Effes for 2 weeks.The last couple of days over here the weather has been georgeous which has certainly made a change from the flash flooding we've had here over the last week and gives you a little thirst if you know what i mean.We were invited to our good good friends friday evening for a lovely meal, its so nice to be involved again, since ive not been here they have really been there for Lady P and the entertaining has continued regardless which has helped me knowing that people are looking after her.I met up with some close friends of mine for the first time since coming back as they have been away themselves, so we thought it would be ever so rude not to have a couple of nights out (yes plenty of Carling was consumed)many a laugh and many a story told,and even a quick game of bingo (i know how show biz are we)i didn't realised how serious people got when the numbers started rolling out if looks could kill LOL.WE had 2 choices for Sunday, get the train to Liverpool (and a few pints) or drive, well after Saturdays long party i decided to let The Fresh Prince drive and forfit the option of a few pints, good descesion i thought i needed a clear head to watch the Mighty Reds.What a glorious setting "Anfield" the sun beating down, a new manager and a team up for a battle, (shame about the quality of the ref) theres no better place in the world, i still get goose pimples from "You'll Never Walk Alone" even after all these years.

Tony Blackburn

2010-08-12T19:03:00.003-03:00

This song has kept myself and my friends amused for hours especially where Carlings involved,i know small minds and all that,"Macclesfield Kroozers Scooter club" its a bit of an oldie hope you can't get it out of your head.ENJOY LOL.Make sure you turn the volume up and don't be afraid to sing along.Toe Knee Blackburn We Salute You !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rain,Sleep,Food and Beer.

2010-08-10T04:19:00.010-03:00

I thought on my return jet lag would of set in, even when i came back from Florida it took me a week to get over the time difference ,well no worries on that score, the problem i have encountered is actually keeping my eyes open.Its sort of been sleep, sleep, sleep, food, food,food beer.beer,beer sleep,sleep,sleep.What has been great is catching up with family and friends again,because im back for a few weeks this gives me the opportunity not to rush around and try to do it all so quickly, i can spend more quality time with everyone(how lucky are they), after a little trip up to Anfield on Thursday evening where the mighty Reds progressed in the Europa cup,(i will be back there Sunday for the first match of the Premier league season against Arsenal). We went up to see my sister and her family who live in a lovely little village in Lancashire, a big congrats to her on the Degree she has just gained, we now have a BSC in our family (thats not mad cows desease), how posh are we, ever since i can remember she has been studying so i think this is such a fantastic achievement, it just goes to show what is possible with a little hard work and determination (now where have i heard that before).I must admit Lady Pens to do list hasn't really been tackled, but hey i am on holiday maybe if i keep stum and keep treating her she will forget about it Lol.I had been a good boy and had kept out of my local for a couple of days but the lure of a good pint of Carling was to much, so off for a good night out and to catch up on old times was definately well over due,ive been going to my pub for over 20 years so have made many good friends in there, i relived my travels of North America, well that lasted about 2 mins,more impotant things things took over, arranging more nights and days out, oooh i could get used to this play, play, play i can't remember the last time i felt this relaxed, on a time for a little reflextion it makes you realised how bloody hard you actually work over in Canada and how very little i used to chill out (no wonder it was driving me up the wall),this has certainly come just at the right time.I decided its time to actually get up before midday ( i know what your all thinking, "lazy get") yep i agree but like i say im on me jollys and there isn't any rules.I love the canal we have running through our town,i used to go for walks along here all the time so i decided to get Little Miss Attitude up and take a stroll,2 words sum up canal life for me, peace, tranquilty its hard to imagine not half a mile away there is the hustle and bustle of town life, how very enjoyable to spend time with Little Miss A i think she enjoyed it to. After picking Lady Pen up from work we made our way home,the rumbling of my internals made me realise that i hadn't had anything to eat, time to try out my culinary skills, as many know this isn't my strongest point, well i made a very successfull breakfast in bread (sausage, egg,mushroom,red sauce butty), i even got the thumbs up from Little Miss A (wow im getting good lol).I must try harder i thought as i rested my weary head after a very enjoyable night out at Lady P's sisters Mrs Bouquet (she is Macclesfields answer to Hyacinth Bucket lol)up early for me definately from now on,i also think the message left for me when i got up was also a hint "You Can mow the grass if you like" You wouldn't believe my luck its bloody chucking it down, there is a god after all lol.

Home at last

2010-08-05T04:55:00.007-03:00

23 hours after finally leaving PEI i was getting picked up by Lady Pen from Manchester Airport,im not sure actually how i felt, obvisouly over the moon to see her but i felt a little removed from the situation,i think fatigue had kicked in.The only one noteable thing about my journey back from Canada was the price of a pint of lager in Toronto Airport, $9.21 !!!!!!! i nearly fell of my stool, i only wanted a drink not to buy the bloody company, robbing asses, although i did consume a few more just to see if the price was correct and yes it was,but at least i had great company while i was there,i got talking to a couple from Calgary who were off to France, after saying our goodbyes they actually came upto me just before i was boarding to say bye again, there excuse was they felt they had known me for years and just wanted to say goodbye again (or maybe they actually wanted to see the back of me lol), i was rather touched (who said all Canadians were ignorant lol).I had told my daughter i was coming home on friday so you can imagine the screams i got when she realised i was back a few days earlier, (maybe a little tear, no from her not me).The british summer is as normal rain, rain, rain but that wasn't hampering my return, it was just great to be back with my family,it certainly doesn't feel like ive been away for the amount of time i actually have, it sort of feels like ive just woke up from a dream its quite sureal.Anyway back to reality Lady Pen has made a list of everything that she has either broken or things that need doing, so first job in between the rain was to cut the front hedge around the drive, i told her not to attempt this, i really didnt want her to cut through the wire on the cutters, guess what i did, yep cut through the wire derrrrr.I also wanted to get back to the gym and was going to pay as you go at my old gym while im back,this was going to work out at£5.50 each visit (quite expensive especially on my wages Lol) but i had a bit of a result,at Davids gym they are doing a one month £10 special, so after my 2 min induction i was allowed to train, i wish i hadn't now the 2 off them (The Fresh Prince and my Nephew ) then decided they would punish me with a very hard routine, don't they know how old i am, these youngsters have no respect lol.My first home cooked meal a beautifull Spag Boll was wolfed down then off to see my mum, how please i am she now has a new bungalow, ive been worried about her since ive been away but as per normal i need not of bothered as i can see how happy she is in her new home.Now everyone knows the first love of my life is Liverpool Football Club, how lucky i am that they are playing this evening in a European qualifer, so i thought it would be so rude if i didnt bother going to watch them, i feel like a big kid at the moment all excited, ive spent most of my life on the Kop so many memories (those times have hepled me on the long and winding roads of North America).

A Very Good Night out

2010-08-01T23:25:00.008-03:00

I got back to the Island saturday afternoon,and didn't have much time to do anything,i was off out to a BBq at a friends house and also to meet up with the Welsh Wizard.They have just got their PR now and have made a great life for themselves, complete with a lovely house, its great to talk to them about there transition from the Uk, what is even better is when you see how much the kids enjoy it here.It just goes to show what is possible if your prepared to put in the hard graft.My gift to the Barby was the fish i had caught the other week,Arjan had kept it in the freezer for me,this i must admit went down a treat even the kids were wolfing it down.After good conversation and plenty of buds we were invited to stay over, me and the Welsh Wizard taking in the single beds in one of the rooms,well i hope you enjoyed your sleep mate i did, well the hour i got due to the exessive noise coming out of your nose, is this a sign of things to come (as we are sharing a house together in a few weeks)i actually thought he was dying at one point the noise was that horrific but no it was just the cresendo to another act,Hummm i wonder what he was dreaming about, white fluffy things maybe lol.
I think the last time i had a cooked breakie was when Lady Pen came out in Feb, there were all sorts of funny noises coming out of our mouths as we devoured the mother of all breakies you forget what decent home cooked food taste likes, i know whats on the menu when i get home What was that,Breakfast in Bed Babes Yes please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.The kids had been asking if we wanted to have a go on the Wii bowling so as ever obliging we gave them a game, and yes we got wupped by a 5 and 7 year. Hummm more practice needed.Due to the fact im not only going away as i said before im also vacating my room at the Sunny King so i had to get back and start to sort out all my stuff its amazing how much ive accumulated since ive been here,Im actually going to miss the place ive sort off got attached to it, and have made very good friends with Brian (the caretaker)and Arjan (the owner) but i will definately keep popping by, there is always a cold beer around and some decent laughs to be had ,as i found when Arjan gave me a call inviting down to the office for a couple before he went home.8 1/2 months since i left good ole Blighty im heading back, hasn't it flown by and what fun have we had together(well most of the time) ok some of the time then lol.

Happy Holidays

2010-07-28T12:11:00.012-03:00

I wanted to go back out Sunday but unfortunately i had to wait till monday,due to the fact i had a meeting with the PNP girl.All this went well i now have in my possession all my docs plus my pnp letter to submit,hopefully this should also allow The Fresh Prince to get an open work visa as well as LadyPen so we will see if that is the case when we come back in September.Work rang me asking if i could come in straight away as they had my load already in the yard for Toronto, that makes a nice change,well it was sort of my load i had to do a change over in New Brunswick with a guy who had loaded mine for the US (he had just sent his passport off so had to stay in Canada).Give me the US anytime i much prefer running down there than over to Ontario.My delivery of Fish was just south of Boston a place called Taunton.Now i hadn't done much around this area until recently but since the fish deliveries have started it seems that its become very regular, alot of the drops are actually in the city centre so you get to see how nice Boston is, i really like it and have made a note Definately one to visit.(Just check out the picture of the advirtisement hoarding outside the Boston Red Sox Baseball Stadium, this was taken on a previous trip).Delivery completed very quickly i was asked to make my way down to New Jersey ready for loading in the next day,i headed down the i95 into Rode Island ive not been here before (its not an island so not sure where the name came from)everything was going to plan until i hit the Bronx just before the George Washington Bridge there had been an accident which resulted in massive tailbacks and due to the extreme temps (early to mid 40's) they are having on the east coast at the moment meant my little old truck was struggling to keep its temp down, eventually 2 hours later im heading south down the NJ Turnpike then realising im seriously low on fuel (my load was heavy so i ran down with just enough fuel to get me down here)i forgot all about this minor thing DIESEL, derrrrr (mainly because i fuel in either New Brunswick or down in Bangor)why is it when the needle is low we start to tap the gauge is this a magically way of fueling up,well it didnt make a difference so having a quick look at my fuel book its telling me the nearest point is about 75 miles away from where i am and 90 to where im actually going,now this was squeaky bum time.I used to always run out in the car but never done it in a truck, i can only imagine how the phone call goes to the Boss and the reply that follows,one saving grace is that ive got a reefer so if i had a tube and a jerry can i could syphon some out of that tank, unfortunately i had niether.Well here goes i haul my ass down the Turnpike then actually forgot about the junction i was taking until i went passed it, NOOOOO.I was enjoying the sun and all that goes with it, nod, nod, wink, wink (i know im a dumb ass but we can't all be perfect)i made it to Carneys point NJ on fumes and very relieved i was to see the sign welcoming me on the horizon.My reload was out of Delaware a town called Laurel just of hwy 13 i had heard a few stories about the length of time they take to load here so i was fully prepared (or so i thought).After tracking the girl down she made a load plan asked me to follow her down to the loading bay and immediately they start loading watermelons on me,i was told they were waitng for a bus load to come in to complete my load (2 pallets),they load old school buses up in the fields then palletise them in the produce market,so i decided i would get a little sleep,the next thing i knew was the motion of someone in the trailer nice one i thought the rest of my load has arrived,well no it hadn't the girl had got my load mixed up, they were unloading it all and i had to go down to a farm in Maryland where my load was.Ok things not going to plan but with directions in hand off i head down to Hebron which is a small vilage on hwy 50 west of Salisbury,now anyone who has done these loads out of farms etc will know that there not the best places to load, some very tight narrow roads and god help you if you either miss your turning or go past the place which is very easily done as signs are pretty much non existent, i went straight passed the old oak tree with a yellow ribbon on it, but luckily realised and only had to reverse back about 2 miles (Lol).But my luck was to continue as soon as i backed onto the loading bay the guy there was already bringing my stuff out, to the amazement of another driver who was parked by the side of me, he had been there nearly 36 hours and still hadnt got one pallet (i know how that feels).Loaded up i head for Canada,the load was going to Kitchener, ON for the next morning i missed my delivery time by about 4 hours but was sorted out straight away which was sound.Now on my way up im listening to the radio and i always listen to Chris moyles on Radio 1 they were stuffing themselves with loads of crap food,this inturn gave me a yearning for a Maccys so off i shot around the corner for some crap but actually quite enjoyable mush (its only once in a while so please forgive me).My reload came as im devouring my double big mac (well if your going to eat crap its got to be the big one)a load out of Cambridge back to Moncton so i made my way down there not expecting to much,well i was pretty lucky it only took them a couple of hours to load me, and im away leaving everyone else who had been there longer than me still twindling there thumbs.My delivery is for sat morning then its back to the island for me ready for the BIG Off,Yes its that time im off back to Blighty next week it feels kinda strange now, ive been wanting it to come for so long, thinking that its taking forever yet now ive started to look back i can't believe how fast my time has gone here.Ups and downs ive had many as im sure everyone is aware but the good does certainly out weigh the bad,things are going to be different when i come back,as mentioned The Fresh Prince will join me till Christmas, but not only that i will not be returning to the Sunny King, Myself The Elder Statesman and the Welsh Wizard have rented a Chalet just out of town till next may so we will finally have a home. Happy Holidays

To Dream A Great Dream

2010-07-25T16:00:00.011-03:00

It was never my intention to come to Prince Edward Island,infact i would have to admit i hadn't even heard of the place until i started to look at other prospects of work.The island is the smallest province of Canada but probably the one thats steeped the most in history,and is commonly known as the "The Birth Place Of The Confederation".Anyone who wants to research Canadian history will find straight away how much this tiny island resting off the east coast has played a major part in how Canada is today.Having been here since December, although i frequently travel into Charlottetown i haven't really took time to take in the history of the place so today my mission was to do just that.Charlottetown is our capital city but on the scale of other capitals is relatively small, more like a big town in UK size,the lifestyle here as the rest of the Island is slow,but does attract quite a few tourist, as i said in a recent post we have cruise ships visiting throughout the summer which hepls bolster the coffers.One of our main attractions is "Province House"which is now a national historic site of Canada.In september1864 23 political leaders began the discussions that led in 1867 to the Dominion of Canada.For five days the delegates met privately debating the merits of the Canada plan,by the end of the conference all the delegates had reached an agreement of the Union.Although nothing was actuallly signed in Charlottetown, all further details were hammered out in Quebec a month later, then in London in 1866.On july 1st 1867 the Dominion of Canada was born ironically Prince Edward Island rejected the colonial plan which resulted in the island not becoming part of Canada till 1873 some 6 years later.Province House was designed by a yorkshire man Isaac Smith, there was a competion held to design this colonial building in which he won first prize.All visitors are allowed in the building for a tour (free of Charge)and a brief film,feel yourself being transported back into history to when this memorable event took place,the building is still used to this day for the seating of parliament. Outside the Province House each afternoon throughout the summer,there is an reactment of the Confederation all characters are dressed as they were in the 1800's it gives you a taste of how things were.Throughout Charlottetown you will come across Malls shops,bars and restaurants most giving you the opportunity to sample PEI's delicious seafood,as you are probably aware by now fresh Lobster is a must but around the island we have an assortment of seafood,whether you like mussels,oysters,cod,haddock you will find most are freshly caught to please your taste buds.What i have found since ive been here is how laid back it is,its definately not like the hustle and bustle of the larger citys making Charlottetown a rather pleasureable and safe place to visit.

As you walk along the streets you will find a mixture of brick and wooden building many stemming back into the relms of history it doesn't take long to realise how quaint the place is. St Dunstans Basilica is a prominent church in the city and very beautiful it is.Just on the edge on the city we have Peakes wharf, there is an abundance of gift shops etc and each day various artists will perform a concert in the Pavillion gardens(weather permitting),so take a seat and enjoy while eating some of the fantastic ice creams COWS has to offer.When you live in an area you tend to take it for granted and not appreciate the Architure and the history thats goes with it,unfortunately the weather wasn't on my side and i had to cut my trip down memory lane short.

PNP Nomination Acceptance

2010-07-22T20:39:00.003-03:00

The PEI Pnp scheme is available to skilled workers, and what this actually means is The Province of Prince Edward nominate you for Permanent Residency,this is supposed to be a quicker way off getting your PR.Each province is different so i couldn't comment on how the others do it and what requirements are needed.
Our requirements are as follows you need to be employed on the Island for 6 months or more in a catorgory of workers they require,i decided i would save money and do this without any sort of agent then hopefully i could save myself a few $$$$$.The application is pretty straight forward its all on the goverment website including forms i needed to fill in,then i duly got work to fill in there part (they have nothing to do with the process all they are required to do is fill in the form stating im employed there etc)our manager filled this form and returned it back to me within 20 mins so its not a great deal for them.I decided to get ahead of the game and get my application in early only to recieve a phone call from the girl in the office saying id not submitted everything,this was actually a blessing as i found out,i made an appointment to see her and what a delightfull girl she is, what made it even better was i could contact her at any time (within reason i dont think midnight would be a good idea)if i had any probs.My full application was submitted on 7th july and we've recieved acceptance of the Province on to this scheme, so pleased i am and now were ready for the next part, hopefully i will be able to get in to see her either tomorrow afternoon or monday morning so she can explain the rest,the actually PR application gets submitted to Buffalo, so its the Americans who process it, why im not sure.I read that people have started this process in other provinces, but when they have left the company and started with a new one they have had to retract their application, because its bound with that particular company its not like that here as long as im employed by a company on the Island doing the same job, i could move employers if i so wanted to and it still stands,im also very interested in how long this will take doing it on our own and how much i will actually save,a friend of mine totted up how much it cost them to use an agent, for the 5 of them with goverments fee's and medicals etc the agent charged him nearly $10,000, im hoping to do it for around $3500-$4000 for 4 of us.

A Little Fishing Trip on the Gentle Island

2010-07-20T22:22:00.009-03:00

I really wanted to stay out a couple more weeks but the job we were doing, running West finished,the customer who we haul for usually run frieght West via rail, but due to the massive rain falls they have had over that side this had become a problem hence run the frieght on the road.The miles are very good and they had you running back empty so bar the 2 hours to tip the trailer you were constantly moving resulting in my best ever month money wise.So i got back to the Island Monday afternoon, i planned to take 3 days off and try some of this relaxing stuff so many keep going on about,i did have a few things to do, sort my money out as i wanted to get some dollars changed into pounds, also replace my suitcase which got a bit damaged on the way out here.A few gym sessions were definately on order but most of all get myself to the pictures and watch Toy Story 3.We have a drive in movie place here but thought i would look like a bit of a sado stting there on my own, so i opted for the pictures i was going to ask a mate if his son wanted to come but i eventually went on my own and how pleased i was, and to rub it in back home as it hadn't come out over there yet,sorry David i had to lol.The island has become a bit touristy at the moment we had Regis and Kelly here for a couple of days drawing in over 30000 people (i think they are the Americans equivilent to Phil and Fern)thats what i was told anyway so Charlottetown was heaving, we also regularly get cruise ships coming in i think there is 43 this season,the summer has certainly brought the island to life and how exquisit it looks, i must admit when i arrived in December i didnt think i would stay long but as the months advanced ive been really taken with the place and it has found a big place in my heart.I got a phone call Thursday morning from work asking if i was available for a random drug test, so after a bit of a discussion and a phone call back an appointment was made for me for 2 pm,i thought i would do a big run first at the gym then head off to there after.Well the test consists of a urine sample and could i do one, after an hour of embarrassment still nothing, even after giving the old man a little talking to nothing.This is a big problem if i dont produce a sample its considered as a postive, i have 2 more hours till that problem arises so after my allocated water intake i pace up and down trying to work a bit out, well i managed in the end to my relief, unfortunately i then spent every 10 mins after that getting rid of the rest.My 3 days eventually eneded up into 4 which i was pleased about as the previous night while having a few buds with the Elder Statesman a little fishing trip was mentioned,so off we set to North Rustico which is about 35 mins from where we live, for an evenings fishing in the Atlantic on a small chartered boat, also with us was Arjan and his family (actually it was him who put the idea into our heads)this guy owns the motel where we live at the moment.Well my rod(Fishing Rod that is) was only out a few minutes before the first of many was on its way into the boat,(by most of us nod nod wink wink not mentioning anyone in particular who was a little shy in this department)we first fished for mackerel then when we had enough off them we went further out fishing for cod using the mackerel as bait, well it wasn't long before we started catching, unfortuantely the biggest one of the night in which was on my line came off as i was reeling it in so no pictures of that, i will leave the glory of the second biggest to a young girl on the other side of the boat,(have you never heard off fishermans tales).

The last Dance, Maybe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-07-20T00:09:00.004-03:00

To Be brutally honest im not sure where i go from here this blog was suppose to be for me and my family/friends and was suppose to about how im getting on in my quest for a better life.Unfortuantely the thing i was adament i wasn't going to discuss has taken over and has become the for front of talk among many.I wrote 2 posts last week and recieved some comments in which were 90% accurate but 10% way off the mark, but having time to digest what really was said felt that its maybe time to become less personel with certain matters.I feel very disappointed in myself to let certain things take over my life and start to destroy the very thing im trying to achieve.We decided to do this our way and felt it was right for us, having researched long and hard this was the easiest solution,i come out first then Ladypen to follow when PR is near,i was prepared for this i thought i knew what to expect the only thing you cant plan for is your emotions as many know this has been an ongoing problem for months.Unfortunately what has happened and what maybe came to a head last week was the sheer and utter resentment of the people,the drivers and most of all Canada for keeping me away from those i want to share all this with,maybe i was looking for every excuse possible to quit and go home, bitter and twisted if thats how i came across i can assure you im definately not,the only thing damaging my life is me sometimes the self descruct button is to easy to press, and believe me there are days i dont want to be in my life either.The bigger picture sometimes looks the size of a postage stamp, the short term loss long term gain feels like empty words,i struggle to unwind, i do believe its an ongoing thing,a certain person has taken it upon himself to help me in all that and speaks with good reason has certainly helped in which im truly greatful.
It isn't the people's fault, it isn't the drivers fault, and it surely isn't Canada's fault that im in this situation,the opportunties here are massive this is why ive believe its worth fighting for, there is no way i would contenplate doing all this if it wasn't,there is no way i would of missed the most important year in my daughters life,there is no way i would let my son give up a job in which he's been in for four years to come and stay with me from september, and there is no way i would want to be away from Ladypen if we didnt think this is where we want to live.Yes its more friendlier place to live a great place to bring kids up, the children seem to have respect for others, PEI has now took a very big place in my heart, yes there are bad things here too but isn't that the same everywhere else,yes i have to back track a few times maybe i was to single minded and to quick to condem certain things and places and maybe i really was looking for the exit,the easy route home,no one said it would be easy some people have maybe fitted in straight away for others it might be all so different,i read on a forum how a dutch guy said if he had to go through the first 2 1/2 yrs again he would go back to Holland he's now been here over 6, that says it all to me and now im looking forward to future and hopefully i can look back in 6 years plus and say that this is my home because i feel it really is worth it.

ON and ON and On and ON

2010-07-05T22:32:00.003-03:00

What a contrast in journey it is coming from Toronto to Cagary,lovely nice scenery in Ontario then as soon as you hit Manitoba BANG the most boring drive in the Whole of Canada now awaits you all the way to Calgary.The praries in which Manitoba and Saskatchewan are, are actually soul distroying,ive done this run a few times now and im only commenting on the places ive been through so if you live in these areas Provinces maybe you could stick up for them but i do know Canadians who were born here and they say they wouldn't return but each to there own.This part of the Trans Canadian in which you travel on to Calgary and the Yellowhead highway in which you travel on to Saskatoon then on to Edmonton if you like is just endless.Maybe its because where im from is on the edge of the Pennines so the rough hilly terrain is what i like, maybe thats why British Columbia,New Brunswick,NovaScotia appeal to me more than a mundane flat fields of nothing.So tomorrow i tip in Cagary then ive been informed that im running back m/t again which suits me fine we dont get paid for pick up and deliveries (the first pick up and first drop)so i'll be back in Toronto friday dinnertime all been well and who knows where im going after that.

Go West Again

2010-06-30T21:03:00.012-03:00

My deliverys went ok until i asked for my notes back at the last one,humm was the answer, we don't normally hand them back,but i need them i said, humm we've thrown them away (they have been shredded), like we said we don't normally hand them back (the load is a retail load picked up from the wharehouse and delivered to the shop they actually scan you in and out letting the wharehouse know that the load is correct and has been delivered)this isn't any good for our company as now im been made aware off, when i send a message to let them know of the problem.Unfortuantely this antiquated message thing can take ages after 20 mins off nothing i had to pull out of the way and let another driver on the bay but as there was now nowhere to park the earliest place to pull in was about 5 mile down the road.Ding: Message we need a signed copy of delivery note,Hello people im not sure what part off they have thrown all the paperwork away didn't they understand.This message went back and forth for quite a few times thus resulting in, yes they manged to press that little button i have called EXPLODE(I try to always stay calm and take everything in my stride in which is the case most times).The last message from me was," i will wait here you sort it out".At the end of my arms are hands not wands, i can not make things reappear im not a magician, i think by this time they got the message, i was told to go back they have a note for me,so off i go and im presented with a piece of paper signed, so letting despatch know of this i was asked to wait there until they had contacted the wharehouse, i would of thought the easiest thing to do was to fax this straight over to them leaving me out of this would off been better but what do i know.The last time i had paperwork problems was at Goshen and we all know what happened there.Ding: message thats ok.I returned to the land of peace and tranquility once more, this little episode put me back a couple of hours but i still wanted to get down to Saskatoon for the night and most importantly get a shower.Leaving Saskatoon the next morning all refreshed, i pulled up to a set of lights and the car in front stood out a bit well the number plate did you don't see many cars down here from ALASKA maybe he was just lost(ive always wanted to go there).My journey was to be pretty much the same going back as the one i took coming over here,i wanted to stop in Winnipeg for a shower and speak to Lady Pen on skype before heading over to Kenora in Ontario where i wanted to park up for the night.I had seen on my way down here various laybys about 30kms east of here coming down, and decided to stop there for the night by the lake, what a beautifull sight to wake up to makes a very nice change to truck stops.There isnt very many laybys at all over here not like in the UK.I was planning to get back to Brampton for around tea time thursday then if i was heading back east i could just make it back before i needed a reset,anyway i get a message asking if i wanted to run back over to Calgary, sure no probs was my response,so my delivery is due in Calgary Tuesday morning, ive decided to run straight back over to Winnipeg have my reset there and i should just make my delivery time tuesday morning (the 3 hour time difference has certainly hepled here).

Edmonton

2010-06-28T13:10:00.004-03:00

I got to Edmonton 10.00am PEI time which means due to my delivery time gives me enough time to take 24 hours off,feel like a proper part timer now half days here, days off there oh well im on a wind down now to my summer holiday in which i get the best part of a 6 weeks off YIPEE,i know some will disagree but i feel ive earn't it.I had a very nice day in Edmonton struggling to find somewhere to park near the Mall but ended up having a good look around.Its certainly different from the last time i came,it was the midst of winter and it had just had a massive snow fall,so its nice to see it this way.The temps soaring into the mid 30's made it a very enjoyable day.Im on the look out for pressie to take home in which my daughter thinks that shes going to be very spoilit, unfortunately since i have been here i have missed her last year at high school in which she has just finished her exams.I know how extremely hard she has worked for these over the last 12 months so maybe a little extra maybe won't hurt.My delivery is in Ludec a small City about 10kms south of Edmonton and a very nice place i went for a walk around the park, its extremely pleasing that people actually say hello and smile at you,my 2nd delivery will be in Edmonton before i head back to Toronto empty,the customer whos trailer it is pay for the trailer to come back empty so makes it a very easy run back.

A Change in Scenery

2010-06-26T22:47:00.015-03:00

My journey continued through Ontario well into friday afternoon,and was enjoyable as the previous day,running past Lake Nipigon then down to skirt Thunder Bay,before heading west again,towards Dryden,and eventually entering the prairies in Manitoba.This is where the landscape changed to very flat land and which was going to stay that way all the way into Saskatchewen.Ive travelled in these two provinces before and remember how flat it was, although this time i was heading up route 16 to Saskatoon instead of highway 1.Now since i have had to eat my words about Ontario im not going to say anything negative about these 2 provinces until ive seem more,but what ive seen is its very (flat flat flat).My plan was to make Saskatoon, then that should leave me with about a 5 hr drive to Edmonton, with the time difference from PEI i was going to take 24 hrs off.As it happens i believe there is a huge shopping mall there so sunday is going to be a day of being a tourist.

Its All Mine To Discover

2010-06-24T20:10:00.011-03:00

Its been an odd few days but very much enjoyable.My load was out of St George NB for 2 drops in Boston,nothing much exciting really,except for running down from St Stephen down to Bangor a very nice route (except for the hills)we don't normally enter the US through this crossing.I hadn't really done much in Boston city before but got both drops off before monday morning rush hour and was on my way out on the 90 ready for parking up and some sleep before most people were up.I recieved a message to head for New Jersey later on,so after having my time off i ran down to Carneys Point for some more well earned rest lol.Now i was hoping for another run down into Georgia,this time i wasn't as lucky it was a load out of Virginia, i was told to head down US route 13 and they will forward my details through, sound i thought so off i set.This road would be ok except for the 2 million sets of traffic lights all along it and guess what, i think i hit every bloody one going there and coming back up.I get my reload on and decided to head back to Carneys point for the night,then i can run straight up to Toronto the next day, i hit a storm coming up through Maryland, ive never seen one like this before, all things started going through my mind Twisters, Hurricanes you see these on the telly and what destruction they cause and heres me driving in it,as your probably aware (cos im writing this)i made it through safely through, but there were certain speaky bun times believe me.I made my way back up north and just before i hit the border i get a message,Oh thats very good its my reload, Ludec and Edmonton Alberta, and i even have a trailer number which means its all loaded and ready to go what a very nice surprise.I tipped my load then headed off to Brampton,now its getting a bit late now but i still had a bit off time, so the plan was to pick my trailer up sort out paperwork get some fuel then head out of Toronto up the 400 to the nearest service area and get some sleep.I hate having to fight my way through the rush hours traffic which will be especially bad for the next few days as there is the G20 summit here the RCMP are everywhere.I couldnt start till 9.30 but was awaken rather early by the rain, it was hammering down on the truck and was relentless for ages,so i set off heading north for North Bay now this is where i start to really enjoy myself,unfortunately we travel the same bits of Canada over and over again so its sort of got a little tedious,on the vehicles number plate for the Ontario province it says YOUR TO DISCOVER and well my feelings were thanks but no thanks, what ive seen doesn't interest me one bit,a little narrow minded i guess, but the places i keep going to in and around Toronto don't do anything for me.Well i eat my words every last one of them as soon as you head north what an absolutely beautiful, awe inspiring place,now im seeing what i thought Canada was about.Even though i have travelled all over here, i hadn't actually driven this section as when i headed out West last time, i entered Canada through North Dakota into Manitoba, so this is new to me.If you like the out door life camping, fishing, hiking,boating, hunting etc well get yourself over here for a hoilday, there are lakes galore and spectacular views.Further up at Cochrane they do the polar bear express into the upper northern regions this is definately one for me to come back to with Lady Pen.This trip has renewed my energy into what Canada was for me again, i was slightly edging towards the US, but now i just want to DISCOVER IT ALL, in which i will do in time.

A Very Rare Weekend Off

2010-06-21T23:10:00.004-03:00

I can't actually remember the last time i was back for the weekend,it doesn't really matter to me to tell you the truth, but i was hoping on getting one in, as one of the fitters in the workshop said to me a few weeks ago if i got back one weekend this month i was to come up to his place for a little lobster dinner and a couple of beers (on the island there a 2 seasons of lobster fishing and the one his mate fishes comes to the end at the of this month) So saturday was all planned out he has a place in the woods (i say place he owns a lot of about 30 acres in which he has built a garage and as soon as he sells his house will be building one on here)The weather was good a few of his mates turned up and a very enjoyable day was had,the lobster was freshly caught that morning and what a difference in taste to the one i had a couple of weeks ago in town, i do believe its also down to how they are cooked, i thought you just through them into hot water but as im not Gordon Ramsey what do i know.

Think About England

2010-06-18T10:46:00.000-03:00

We need you to download this song!

2010-06-18T10:45:00.001-03:00

More And More New Places Am i on me Jollys

2010-06-10T22:29:00.023-03:00

I tipped out in Moncton NB and sent a message if they had a load i would do it if not no probs,reply, we will work on something but may take a couple of hours,no probs off for a shower and some breakie.A good few hours later, load offer, a load of Peat Moss from North East NB for Maryland but not loading till tomorrow 5pm humm.After a message sent requesting a layover due to the fact i had now sat most of the day (No probs mark one down was the answer)another message was sent asking if they would load me early, sure was the answer get there for dinner time.My place of loading was about 150 miles from where i was, a place called Lameque right on the coast and what a lovely drive it turned out to be, the more i see of New Brunswick the more i like, there are some trully wonderful little hamlets and villages.I get there really early (10am) and sorted off acted a little dumb when the guy explained i was extremely early,no probs i replied under gritted teeth i will just park over there, give us a knock when your ready.I hadnt even boiled the kettle when i get a knock saying they will load me, this may just turn into a very good day.I backed onto the ramp 20 mins later im weighing off, well to heavy, so after a little jiggle with the pallets and one taken off i was ready to go ( the weight was ok for Canada but not for the US).Off i set and it wasnt even dinner time making this trip so much more easier as i was due to tip till thursday morn.My plan now was to run down into Maine and park up, then i was going to head down to New jersey the next day, leaving me 1 1/2hrs to go thurs morning, my drop was about 10 miles north of Baltimore. I hadn't been into Maryland before so here was something new.How surprised at the pleasentries i got from the border guards at Houlton, Welcome to The United States he said to me, normally after the questions you just get given your passport back and the window shut on you,things are definately on the up at the moment.Everything went to Plan i tipped out this morning at 8am, a little garden centre and the guy who owned it invited me into his office and made me a brew while they were tipping me, it does make the job so much nicer when people take time out to have a chat.I was really impressed with what i saw in Maryland and the history of the State this is definately one place i will be coming back to as a tourist.Off i set i thought i would head back towards New jersey as that is where we always load from, Wrong just park up we are working on a load for you,ok after a few disgruntled messages saying you could off let me in on your little plan etc,what i have found here which sometimes really does p**s me off, they always seem to wait until your tipped before they start sorting you out a reload, meaning you can be hanging around for ages then all of a sudden have to rush like mad to get it loaded,I suppose this is down to the fact that your not paid by the hour and the down time doesnt affect them.Now this is where this trip now gets a little more interesting, Message your reloading in Georgia start heading that way we will send you details in the morning, i suppose that makes up for the messing about, i havent been that far down so i will be passing through Virginia,North Carolina,South Carolina then into Georgia.Before i came over here we had been to Florida for our Jollys and although we had a brill time it didnt jump out at me,i wasnt that bothered about the US when i started driving over here, but now i feel that im really liking what i see and feel that i really want to discover more and more of it,maybe the only way to do this is by bike, now thats a good idea not sure Lady Pen would agree but you never know. My load details came through the next morning it was out of Tifton South Georgia, i wasnt due to load till 5pm Sat giving me plenty of time so after little planning i decided i would take on a bit of shopping at the outlets.Anyone who has travelled down the i95 would of seen mile upon mile of advertisements for all the outlets and shops etc, so i decided to stop at the one in North Carolina also a big store called J&R which was advertised all the way down for about 50 mile, so i was more intrigued than anything, inside the actually shop was a Cigar shop it was like going back into the wild west days, in there what was more interesting everyone was smoking in there (smoking has been banned from shops etc longer tham the UK).I decided against buying anything in there, ive been given up smoking a few years but it was well worth a look.I do like the bargains from Calvin Kline's etc so i thought it would be rude not to help the ecomomy by not buying anything, so a few polo shirts from there and from the nike shop and off i set. My plan was to get to my reload about 1.30 and chance my luck,even though i really wasn't in any rush to get loaded as i wasn't due to tip Cambridge, ON till 6am tuesday morning, i was hoping to get in a few more sights etc.Well it didnt go to plan in fact it all went tits up,when i get there i was told it wouldn't ready till later which wasn't a problem,so i told the guy i was going off for a walk in which he looked at me and smiled,the walk lasted about 50 mins it was blisteringly hot infact 45 degrees in the shade hot,where i was loading was out of the town, in the countryside all the roads were the clay roads which you see on the telly it was really strange seeing these for myself .I took refuge in my truck the air con was working over time now at least it was having some effect. I have a satellite radio so with the footie fast approaching (England V USA World cup) i decided to just chill out and listen to that,well i lasted the 1st half listening to the commentry of that and decided i would see what was on the telly instead (anyone who has heard the Yanks commontate on soccer as they call it will know how crass it is),and what a result there in all its glory ESPN sports channel the footie with commentry by our one and only Jim Rosenthal YESSSSSSS and a brill piccy as well double YESSSSSSSSS.Thats about as good as it got though England did there usual job of dissappointing us yet again.Eventually i was given a bay not sure why though, we were instructed to pre cool the trailer 1st thing sat morning but they had me on a bay with the doors open for a couple of hours Derrr. I nodded off the next thing i knew was the guy was knocking on my cab telling me i was done,i needed to get the temp of the product before i could leave,this is where the problems started, after probing the product in which it should off been 45 degrees it was reading 64 i told the guy he must write this on the bills as it is a big problem if it hasnt gone down by the time i get to the customer,Well there was no chance of him writing that on them as then its his problem,so after little discussion me basically telling him i cant accept it, they unloaded it all and i went off to sleep.He gave me a knock next morning and let me know that the temp had now gone down to 50, so after a message to despatch to let them know, it was reloaded and off i set, i still had plenty of time but i couldnt stop to do anymore sights etc oh well maybe next time.My journey north was pretty straight forward basically straight up the i75 for about 600 mile with the exception off a few ring roads around Atlanta (Have you seen how many lanes there is on there ring road) and Knoxville and a couple of other places all the way to Detroit where i would cross back into Canada, my plan was to drive two 9 hour days then parking up in the customers ready for tipping in the morning,then having the pleasure of their company for a good few hours i guess, anyway this has got to be the best trip i have had so far lets hope the next isnt as long coming.
New States Visited:Maryland,Virginia,North Carolina,South Carolina,Georgia and Tennesse.

The Big Positives

2010-06-10T21:55:00.003-03:00

Where do you start without being repetitive,i suppose i will just recap previous weeks and say i really didnt think how hard some days would be. When i have read other peoples blogs although they do touch the subject of how they feel thats a bout it,as many of you who have taken time to read this may find that sometimes thats all ive gone on about, unfortunately as boring as this might be its a massive part of whats going on in our quest for this better life.When i look back, the other friday night sat morning was probably the turning point in our future, how i actually got through those couple of days is a mistery and maybe that has shown what im actually capable off (or just so bloody stubborn i refused to give in),before i came out here i couldn't cook,wash my clothes or iron i had been pretty much waited on hand and foot for years (since i came off long Haul in Europe) i was even tucked in most nights by Lady Pen lol,now im pretty independant although i still hate cooking.The positives i have taken out of those dark times are immense i really can feel things are heading in the right direction i feel great about being over here it doesn't feel like a chore.Our PR Procceedings are in full swing now all forms completed and returned including all the rest of what was required with them,i have decided to do it all myself, luckily for us i met up with the Lady who deals with the PEI PNP program and she was brilliant in helping me with what i needed so fingers crossed everything will go as smoothly as poss.Another big positive is im going back soon to the Uk for a few weeks and then were off to Turkey for a very well earned Vacation.We were going to have one over here but due to the cost of flying everyone out here then actually going away as well was deemed well to expensive.This is probably the first time that we can actually start planning out future.

Lady Pens New Pets?

2010-06-07T15:48:00.005-03:00

Lady Pen has relatives who live in BC,they live east off Quesnel out in the Sticks so to speak and this is there drive upto there homes which is about 5 km's long off the highway.When Geoff was on his way home the other day lying across the track was a Bear.Later when he was speaking to Lady Pen on Skype telling her about this she asked if he got any photos unfortunately he didnt have his camera with him,so armed with Camera off he drove back down the track and here is what he saw,Momma and 3 bears roaming around. When we were over there we spotted a couple of them its quite awe inspiring seeing these in real life.

Dont Open the Door !!!!!!!!

2010-06-06T20:39:00.008-03:00

Sorry the Post it Note fell off my head when i was asleep so still no Batteries.If this continues i will post some photos of previous trips maybe also ones when i was in BC.Got to Montreal no probs as i approached my drop there were a load of trucks outside, non seem to be making a move to the gate, so i thought i would chance my luck and just act stupid if this was the wrong thing to do (i know i dont have to try to hard).As i pulled up to the gatehouse a guard came out, here we go i thought as she rattled something off in french, parlez vous English i replied, now that shocked you pretty good eh.In Quebec French is the chosen lauguage everything is french all the road signs etc,so in broken english she asked for my notes,off she trotted couple of minutes later gave me a pager thing and telling me to park up and when it goes off go on to bay 99, sound i thought well i hadn't even parked up when this thing started to vibrate bloody eck it was that powerfull it fell straight off the dash (now now girls i know what your thinking take that big smile off your face and behave)what a cool idea this is, no dealing with any no marks etc,when they have finished it goes off to let me know i can leave (yes girls its goes off twice and for about 4/5 mins, behave)back to the gatehouse where this nice young lady provides you with your notes.The next 2 drops were the other side off the city which was the way i was eventually heading for so making my trip a little easier.Done and dusted just before dinner and my last 2 drops not due till the next morning in Toronto, i planned to stay at Napanee which is a couple of hrs away from there, i wasnt going to bother going any nearer as it would be rush hour and i really couldnt be bothered so a rather nice early finish was on the cards.Up bright and breezy first drop done i headed to Woodbridge just north of the city, pulled down the side of the wharehouse and walked around the back now this was 7.15am so not really early, around the back was a loading bay with all the vans on the bays (this wasn't a big place)up the stairs i went opened the door and one almighty alarm started to sound,so i stood there and waited and waited and waited, no one appeared the alarm still sounding i started to wander around in the offices still no one appeared, Very Strange i thought, so i walked back to the truck, kettle on and quick brew.About half hour later cars started to appear then some guy asked me what i had then told me to put it on the bay, easier said than done a right tight place to get around.This bit sort of stunned me the guy inside asked me what time i arrived etc, when i told him he then asked if i had set the alarm off, in which i replied yes,he told me i shouldnt of opened the door because there wasnt anyone there, the guy who locks up forgets to lock this one half the time.How am i suppose to know but as hes going off on one, another guy defends me saying that its not my fault, i found out later this guy was scottish and been here a few years,(not very often you get a jock standing up for an english man).I eventually get out of there and make my way down to Cambridge where my reload is, no point rushing there you can be in there all day wrong wrong wrong my trailers is already loaded 20 mins in and out .I saw there was a big accident on the highway as i came down it so i thought instead off hitting all the traffic i would head south pick up the QEW (highway) run straight through downtown Toronto and out the otherside missing all the action, it sort of worked there were still loads traffic putting about an hour on to my journey but hey you have to try.The load i have is for Moncton Monday morning then i will hopefully run straight back out,now those who read this know i would like to go to California and before i return back to England which is pretty soon, so i think its time to start tightening the screw on despatch,there are a couple of options here,no1, give me a load to lets say San Fransisco in which i will duly accept and off i trot, im getting paid the truck is earning so the company are earning everyone is happy,or no2, what i will have to do is book a couple of weeks off and fly to San Fransisco,now the truck isnt earning but also i will mither somone else to go with me,so now 2 trucks arn't earning and they will mither someone else to come next thing everyone is off to San Fransisco all the trucks are stood, the company goes bust, you will have to give your home up and live on the streets and when we all come back from there all tanned we will have to throw you a tooney cos you cant afford to buy your timmys.You never know it might work. C A L I F O R N I A

A Quick Shout for my Big Siss (In Law) Chele who leaves comments from time to time on here and on Facebook off how she enjoys reading this,she is either very bored at work or Neil isn't taking her out much,also thank you all for taking time to read this,If i can help anybody in anyway please feel free to fire any questions to me no matter how daft you think they might be, believe me i asked some very strange ones before i came out here, and a big thanks to those who leave comments i really do appreciate it.

How many Mistakes do i need to make before i hit myself

2010-06-04T17:15:00.005-03:00

Full of the joys of spring and ready to work after a very enjoyable couple of days off.Truck sorted i headed off to St George New Brunswick for a load of fresh fish,3 drops Montreal and 2 drops Toronto.A quick appology for the lack of photos lately i keep forgetting to buy some batteries for the camera (proverty stricken and all that)which was a shame because the run out to St George is really nice, so i have smacked my little handies and stuck a post it note on my forehead.Anyhow all along this coastline of New Brunswick is very quaint a bit like Nova scotia so i was really enjoying myself.Eventually i find the place i was heading for i turn into the gate, wrong gate, next door i was told i go there, nope next one down derr.Loaded pretty handy, notes sorted, i look for a suitable way to go and decide to head towards St Stephen, then shoot off towards highway 3, Mr tom agrees, the map looks good some small roads but you know nothing i cant handle so i thought.Quite happily motoring through the New Brunswick countryside i then hit a problem a very big problem,as i turned onto the highway3 in which it had taken my about 25/30 mins to get there,all in its glory 1 13foot bridge (the only sign telling me it was there was about 25 yards before nice to get some warning) theres no way i can get under that,so about turn quick look at the map turn south straight down to St Stephen onto the highway, then i can turn onto highway 6. So off i go, all going to plan then problem number 2, very big problem, me not noticing on the map that the highway actually goes into America (this is a very big no no you just cant cross the border like this) and where do i find out about 1 mile from the border and i have just passed the last exit ARGGGGG.Hussing and cussing to myself i slowed down to see if there was anywhere to turn around but nothing, then in the no mans land bit i see a turning in the centre so i head for that.Unfortunately i still have to go through the Canadian border crossing now from experience these guys aren't the most approachable people i have met, so i was actually s***ing myself.Trying to fumble some words out to the guy of what a pratt i am and how im actually not even supposed to be here, probably made the thing sort of pleasureable for him,his response was no problem mate i saw you turn round what a nice chap, then said well who's gonna win the world cup,which really through me of guard, sheepishly you can guess who i said with a big grin ENGLAND (who did you think im going to say).I have a cross of St George (for all those unaware the patron saint of england) on the front of my truck and he saw it,i then spent the next 5 mins chatting about football with him, sorry for all the guys waiting to cross behind me he couldn't chat enough, i said my goodbyes and set off, easiest way back head to St Johns and then head north, taking in driving past the place i had loaded at, this little jaunt had only cost me 2 hours (ONLY)making my big day a very big day oh well you live and learn.So i eventually got back to the Trans Canadian and headed for montreal.Just dropping down through Woodstock down to where the i95 starts (this road takes you down to the border) there is a massive hill and obviously me in a bit of a rush just let the truck go for it, half way down in the centre median in the pitch black a state tropper with a speed gun, as i pass his lights come on and my thoughts were here we go, heres my first speeding ticket i was doing about *5,luckily for me a car had come flying up behind me, as he turned off the highway Mr Policeman shot after him, one very lucky escape,i was a little hestitent on the hills after that.

The Elder Statesman

2010-06-02T23:01:00.002-03:00

I revert back to my last post with the statement of meetings and partings,sometimes life has a great way of kicking you in the lower region then picking you up and giving you a big hug,well thats what has sort of happened over the last few days.A few weeks ago a new driver appeared from the UK, i had sort of had some correspondence with him in my comments but we hadn't spoke.We met very briefly while he was training but that was about it, so i hadn't really forged any sort of friendship.On my way back to PEI i get a text asking how im doing etc, anyone who has followed this blog can see the big ups ive been through and the extremely very lows that have followed, but the guy hit the nail on the head in one foul swoop in a text, you never seem to unwind and eventually it takes its toll, the joy of what your trying to achieve is over shaddowed by the constant work and chasing etc.Last time i took a couple of days off nearly put an end to my time in Canada,suitcase packed i was on my way back,so i wasn't much looking forward to taking some very needed time off.We both got back the same day and planned a bit of dinner and a couple of Buds, well this was the start of the best couple of days ive had in a long time, what a refreshing change to have a laugh and some extremely good company.then to follow the next day a very entertaining game of squash,i do have a lot to learn.So its back to work in the morning, im off to load fish out of New Brunswick for Quebec then after that not sure maybe California (Please).

Empty Void

2010-06-01T10:05:00.002-03:00

Life is full of meetings and partings, throughtout my working career i have worked at numerous companys,met some great guys and girls they certainly out way the ones i couldnt care less about.Already in an emotional state of mind it doesn't take much to tip me over the edge and i suppose recently the turn off events probably played a big part of me wanting to jump ship.While i have been here ive struck up friendship with a few guys, none more than 2 Daft lads from yorkshire 1 with extremely short arms and very deep pockets (midget was his inherited nickname)the other well just daft LOL.It was becoming apparent over various conversations that both were becoming dissulussioned with everything here for one reason or another, i think this then starts to plant seeds into your mind about the whole situation.Unfortunately both have decided to go back to the UK which left me very saddened and empty,we shared some great times together and a good few laughs.Previous experience has taught me that with all the best intentions sometimes keeping in touch becomes increasing unlikely but hopefully with these 2 guys that will buck the trend.Russ left the island yesterday with his family and will be back in the UK on thursday so although very sad i never got to say goodbye to his face ( probably better as seeing a grown man crying isnt a pretty sight) Ian has gone of with the love of his life on a bit of a jaunt around Canada before he heads back home in a month, so who knows if we can have a final beer before he heads back, and just maybe he will pay for it, ok very unlikely but stranger things have happened, but you never know lol.I wish these 2 guys the very best of luck for the future and will miss you both very much Take Care and look after yourselfs.
And one last note How very dare you.

Back and Forth

2010-05-28T21:04:00.004-03:00

Why do i fall for the oldest trick in the book,message your trailer will be ready at 8pm loaded for Charlottetown PEI,i know gulable or what i get over to the customer and with amazement it wasn't loaded.Note to self stop being a thick ed !!!!.So message to office going to bed will go back at 6 in the morning,So early to rise i go back in and 5 mins later notes in hand off i go and collect my trailer.All i wanted to do was get out of Toronto before rush hour so a quick pretrip and off i set and head up the 401 east.This journey we do it time and time again so i pretty well know where to stop etc and how long it takes to get to each place so everything planned out i head back towards Quebec then New Brunswick.Well the sun decided to come out and play big style the air con struggling to keep the cab cool as the temps rose when i hit Montreal, now the temp gauge is pretty accurate so you can see how hot it got. A quick message sent later the next day do you want me to bring this trailer to the Island and a very polite message recieved, would i be interested in dropping trailer in Moncton and going straight back out,yeah no probs for me, keep me busy, unfortunately the Texas or California i was dreaming about didnt materialize a load of carrots for Cambridge, ON the same bloody road i have just come up ARRRRRH.I go to pick my trailer up now this customer think nothing of keeping you there a good while and even though this is an inter depot delivery the destination wharehouse can also keep you there 8/9 hrs (thats when there in a rush lol).Now the trailer was already on a bay and after a quick look noticed the trailer wheels in an illegal postion for New Brunswick,after i picked it up i now know why, 40 mins it took me to shift the bloody things, again some Lazy arse couldn't be bothered to sort it out leaving it to someone else,if i had run through this province with it like this and pulled on a scale it is an instant $1000 fine, so someone was very lucky to have got it here like this.A quick jaunt back to Woodstock and a very weary head hit the pillow.

What a Big Girl i am

2010-05-25T17:48:00.006-03:00

I hope normal service will be resumed pretty soon,i thought i would have a read of what tripe i have put on here for the last few months,i sound like a big mard girl whinging on about hard this is, yes it is but get a grip you big soft lad.So after my woman moment had passed off i went to do some work, sometimes you know straight away that this isn't going to be one off the better days, pretrip done off i went to pick my trailer up,yep this wasn't going to be a good start to the day,i always check my load and then secure it then reseal the trailer,the whole bloody load had been shot, 1 nice kind driver had left it like this,there goes my nice steady day.I backed the trailer on to the bay now there are 3 things i can do here,1,Help restack the load and guess how much i get paid for doing this (along side another driver who works just on the island who gets paid by the hour),2, Sit in my cab and wait till its been restacked or 3,go home.Well i lose out in every way i will still take the load but the longer it takes the later i will have to work, so i opt for helping them restack it,3 hours for absolutely nothing, i wonder if the driver who did this was having such a nice day hopefully his ears were burning.So i set off now a lot later than i intended i wanted to get down to Kittery Maine but now thats looks like to much and to be honest i didnt really want to work that late so i planned to stop at Bangor ME,a nice uneventfull trip down to the border where for a very nice change the lady guard was ever so pleasent (For a change).My destination was Scaramento Pennsylvannia so sunday was all running,there are certain States that allow bikers not to wear helmets i couldn't list them except as you got to the Connecticut/New York state line there were loads of bikers pulling up to put there Helmets on,it sort of made me chuckle (yes small things and all that).So i parked up in the customers yard ive been there loads of times they just give you a knock in the morning when they want you, so you dont have to get up and sit there waiting.I think i have mentioned it before Sacramento is part of the tri valley region settled into the Valleys (DERRR)about 15 miles off the i 81,there is a harmish community here and it reminds me of a wild west area, all you need do is rip the tarmac up and it would be of resmblelance to those sort of towns.Well im tipped pretty handy so off i head back to the highway, now it is school time all the kids are sat in there own verandas waiting for the bus to pick them up not running around or causing havoc, just sitting there i was gonna take some piccys but thought better about taking piccys of Kids,the bus then stops at each house non of this where mums drive them to school causing bedlam with all the cars on the road.My reload was out of Vineland New jersey i had been to the industrial place before but not to this customer,we are down this way all the time now the last time i went here i went down the US 322 route but i decided i would take route 40 towards Atlantic City, i really like to get away from the Highways,Interstates etc and onto proper roads driving through quaint villages and towns and seeing the America i want to see, this road takes you through Woodstown and Elmer and these towns didn't dissappoint, when i have more time im going to park and have a shufty around.I get to the customer and after booking in i was told to wait a while (now theres a surprise)not bad only 1 film later (Father of the bride with Steve Martin)given a bay the guy starts loading me 16 pallets of pears going to Toronto so off he goes duly loading me unfortunately he absolutely demolishes 1pallet base,i think that needs to be sorted buddy i said,no probs he said, i was about to put the broken part under the base before he put it back down, no you dont need to do that mate he said put it in the garbage,ok you know better, Guess what happened next,CRASH the whole bloody pallet fell over, the dispatch was full of pears( Quite tasty actually lol) an army of little men came to restack it, now for the 10 points guess where they wanted to put the restacked pallet,do you give up On my truck thick eds i know he couldn't understand why i wasn't having any of that.This was badly stacked if it gets refused at the destination i then have the problen of going to try and getting it off loaded somewhere and yes without pay so You have more chance platting sawdust mate,eventually problem solved 1 new pallet arrived i signed the notes and off i set, well not very far just down to Carneys Point, a quick weigh off told me i was slightly overloaded on my drive axle so a quick shufty with the Tandems to sort that, fax my paperwork to my broker im good to roll.I really love the drive through Pennsylvannia i could live in this part of the world the rolling hills,mountains etc.I head north up the 476, then when i get to Hazelton i take the i 80 west before taking the i 180 towards Williamsport,not having anything to eat i decided against my better judgement to take in a maccys UKKK UKKK UKKKK i normally keep well clear of such junk.I had already ready informed despatch that i wasn't going to make my delivery time,i told them what time i was going to arrive (4 hours later)but there didnt seem to be a problem,so i arrived here just outside Toronto, no one about they were all sat there in despatch watching a safety video, so off i went to take in a bit off the 31 degree heat Lovely,not bad 1 hr later off i roll to the truck stop down the road for a lovely shower and some better food.

The Deepest Darkest Hour

2010-05-22T04:57:00.002-03:00

It seems to be all doom and gloom at the moment,i thought i would take a couple of days off to recharge the batteries but unfortunately this has been the worst thing to do.At this moment i have an overwhelming desire to flit back to the Uk,not because of the job or Canada but the absolute desperation to be with Lady Pen,even though im on a count down of when im going back it doesn't matter i just want to be there and not here on my own.You can plan,research and do all things possible to make it over here, but you cant prepare yourself for this, its like an addiction a craving and even a bereavement,i knew it would be hard but never this hard.

Oh how im glad thats over with

2010-05-19T20:45:00.003-03:00

Well my Reload came through Sat morning, A load of produce from Vineland NJ going to Toronto for 6am the next morning,this is where the next few days went all wrong.I get to Vineland only to be told the order isn't ready it may be some time, this is at 11.30am,they weren't wrong 9.30 pm i was duly loaded then told to come back in half an hour for my bills ARGGGGG.1 full day without earning a cent,eventually i get my notes to be told, YES told you will be there on time won't you by the customer, well i will let you use your imagination of what the answer was.All i wanted to do was to get out of Philadelphia then park up.Last thing to do before sleep,send a message explaining my situation, then sleep.Having my time off i decided on getting a shower then hopefully hitting Toronto just before tea time, no need to rush was the message i was sent they shut at 11.00am we've rebooked it for 5 am in the morning.The route i was taking was to take me through Niagra Falls in which there is a massive outlet shopping centre, so i decide to have a couple of hours walking around the shops, no i didn't buy anything maybe next time.Normally before i get to the border i give my broker a call to make sure everything is ok with my paperwork and that im clear to cross the border,but this time with my mind occupied with retail thoughts well i forgot,bloody typical i get to the border and im not clear to cross (thats what happens when somone else says they will fax all the paperwork through)so a delay of nearly 2 hours before everything is sorted.My delivery time was at 5 which wasn't a problem, me then thinking well i will be able to get a little shut eye while they tip me, OH i wasn't wrong 8 1/2 hrs later i was still on a bay,the icing on the cake or so i thought was when the guy came out with my bills and asked for $89.00 for the pleasure of them tipping me and keeping me there nearly 9 hrs in which i have earn't absolutely nothing,My Pleasure you robbing T***s.I had already recieved my reload so off to Brampton where we have stand trls and result mine was loaded,now this was the icing on the cake some total asshole had dropped the trailer in there with 3 Bald tyres and 1 flat one you can imagine what sort of mood i was in now,i then wait 2 hrs for a guy to come out and change them, now upto this point since saturday morning (this is now 4pm monday)i worked out my total earnings was $159.00, so i was in no mood for the tyre fitter to tell me that he wasn't going to torque my wheels up (basically because the idiot had forgot to bring it with him)well this is where he recievd the full rath of me and was told to go and F*****g get it and Torque Them up D***eD. 1 hour later he duly returned and finished the job he started.My trailer was loaded with 2 drops Shediac NB and Summerside PEI,which i thought no probs ha ha ha again WRONG,when i get to Shediac on Wed morning i saw the recieving bay you couldn't get a box on it never mind about 15 pallets,i really need one of those stress dolls i think, no probs i say give me a shout when your ready i say through very gritted teeth,i finally left 7 1/2 hrs later.I had decided on my way back that im going to take a couple of days off so all i wanted to do was to get rid off the rest of this load and get out of here, well the first bit of luck came in a message my final delivery point won,t accept there delivery just drop the trailer there and pick an empty one up and head back to the yard, well you don't have to tell me twice.

Gloucester, Massachusetts

2010-05-14T22:21:00.010-03:00

My reload out of Sydney was a load of Snow Crab for Gloucester, Ma,glad i was checking the pallets before they started to load me as i seem to be 1 case short and i believe this stuff is pretty expensive, ever the professional i hear you say (well actually i had just nipped in to use to bathroom and noticed it stroke of luck really) i was even asked what time i wanted it booking in for, so after a bit of planning i asked for a dinner time booking which was easily doable,it is about 28 miles North East of Boston so it wasn't that far.Again another place i haven't been to, i was rather impressed with the place but then again i love places by the sea,even more so by the people i met at my delivery point, i was asked if I didn't mind waiting while the guy who was to unload me finished his break,IF I DIDN'T MIND im not used to such pleasentrys.I don't know how long he was having but by the time id put the kettle on and made my All Bran he had unloaded me.The problem with this job as i keep saying is you don't seem to get time (or rather you don't make time) to have a look around places,yes i have travelled extensively but i can't really say, well i enjoyed going here or that was a nice place your sort of on the move all off the time, not really experiencing what i set out to do.I bought a motorhome back in England to go and visit the places i always said i would go back to and seeing them as a tourist not as a driver was pretty good.When David came over we did start to have a look around it is definately nicer when there is someone to do it with, but i have decided that im going to start being a bit of a tourist as well from now on .So delivery complete of i head in the direction of the town and then the harbour,what i love about the houses over here is that they are all different some very obscure ones some very spectacular, taking it all in sort of made me think how much i don't see as im rushing from one place to another.After about 2 hours of walking around i headed back to the truck,Message head for New Jersey for reload in the morning,humm bit of a difference to the 30 ft i went for my last reload this is the best part of 370 mile.Everything was going fine up to a place called New Haven just on the i 91 where i heard on the CB that there was an accident further up the road so a quick scan off the map i jumped off the next exit and headed for my detour,well it was only as i started to turn on the highway i saw a big sign NO Commercial Vehicles oh poop i couldn't go back as everyone had piled up behind me so making the descision to continue i jumped on the carriageway,well about 3 mile down the road a car came down the side of me shouting and bawling your not supposed to be on here this carried on for mile after mile after mile, i was planning to jump off the next exit so as i approached it,the signal went on and this pratt also decided to come off as well, up to the lights out he jumped and a torrent of how im not supposed to be on there rained all over me, Well mr car driver im very sorry for not being so bloody perfect as im sure you are, and not knowing every road on the planet, next time please inform your co comrades leave me enough space so i can alter my direction, yours humbly MR Dumass Truck Driver.Anyway my little jaunt paid off pretty nice as i jumped back on the highway, i had missed the accident and all the traffic so Result.The temp really started to rise and became very humid then we got the mother of all storms, i saw one like this a couple of years back in Florida but i wasn't driving through it at the time, it was like someone aiming a preasure hose at your windshield constantly, this went on for mile upon mile all the cars were pulling up on the Hard shoulder then the thunder and lightning started it was like a fire work display,so making my last leg slow going i eventually made it to Carneys Point NJ where i'll stay until tomorrow.

Canada's Ocean Playground

2010-05-13T17:46:00.009-03:00

Sydney, Nova Scotia was my heading which is on the eastern tip of the Province,i have been to Nova Scotia before but only just (Halifax and Amhurst) , so it was a bit of a pleasent surprise of what then followed.Well i must of admit the scenery is absolutely stunning when you get down to Cape Breton, unfortunately here is where i made a huge mistake,after you go over the Canso Causeway there are 2 ways to go,as there is an inland sea dividing this part, one the Trans Canadian or highway4 the route that Mr Tom wanted me to take, against my better judgement i took the latter i realised straight away that this wasn't the most apporiate way and the lack of trucks should of made me realised.You get use to highways which are large wide carriageways this route was bearly a country road and probably the most bumpiest road i have travelled i felt like id been thrown from pillar to post for over 40 kms,but on the upside the views were beautifull.I managed to get to my drop only 8 hrs late as i already had let them know, off to receiving to be greeted by telling me that everyone had gone home and they wont be back until 6 am (this was at 2.30 in the afternoon)shame no one informed me that there wouldn't be anyone there.So it was an early finish for the day,i have been trying to get my fitness back to what it was before i came out here, the previous evening i did an 8 mile run around Grand Falls NB, so i felt a big walk was in order, so off i trotted towards town.You really do forget why your here it seems to be work and sleep so getting out and away from the truck and having a good look around really does make a change,in this job you see so many places at 65 mile mph you don't actually appreciate it.I also forgot how heavy groceries could be, it took me back to my first few weeks over here without a car, i thought i might as well as pick up some supplies, it was only after i had came out of the shop i realised that i had to carry them back about 2 miles.I was unloaded first thing and i had recieved a message that my reload was also in Sydney a quick look at the address made me realised it was actually about 30 ft across the road from where i was so that was pretty handy.This time i headed for the Trans Canadian and again the veiws were awesome,the sad thing about these roads are the lack of laybys for you to pull into to get out and really experience what is around, it has really made a change coming over to this part of Canada even though its just on our doorstep we don't get over here to often.

Off to Sydney

2010-05-11T22:20:00.009-03:00

My Reload back to Moncton consisted of 2 collections,quite straight forward humm! they were until i got to the first pick up place,the response was: Why do they keep sending you here its the wrong place no probs i said please put me in the right direction of i went on my happy little way.I get to the right place presented my self to the guy in shipping gave him my number, with that the blank expressions started to appear,what i have noticed over her is the total lack of help anyone is willing to give you if things don't match up (pick up numbers etc)normally you get told, Go and get in touch with your despatch those numbers are wrong,but not here the guy couldn't do enough for me he was on the phone in and out of the office and eventually everything was sorted,so off i went to my second pick up which was loaded without much trouble.I headed out of Toronto back east,running into some awful weather,torential rain then pretty bad fog the one thing that never ceases to amaze me is the stupity off some drivers,these trucks over here don't have mudguards or any sort of spray surpressers as we do in the UK so they kick up a hell of alot of spray so the visibillity behind is pretty much zero, and low and behold here comes joe bloody blogs going hell for leather with Gladys and the Gran kids with not so much as a candle light coming out of his car then wonders why all and sundry keep cutting him up(even though i singled this prat out i lost count of the cars without any lights on),There are certain States in the U S that have made a law saying that if your windscreen wipers are on you must have your lights on i think there is definately a need for some sort of education to these half wits.I did my delivery and headed back to the Island for a

couple of days off,just made it over the Confederation Bridge before they closed it due to

high winds which was a stroke of luck.I had a few things to do, first was to get my car MVi this is there equivilent to the MOT except i think its a bit of a farce and not half as strict as the latter, any pleased it passed as the thing had run out the week before i couldn't bear to be without a car now.Second was to get myself a new cooler as the one i had, had decided to pack up, undecided on what to get i get chatting to another one of our drivers telling him my dilemma, the conclusion was buy a proper fridge from walmart take the cupboard out of the truck and its fits in beautifully, just like his as he shown me, except his was broken as well so

off we jumped into his truck and down to Walmart to exchange his a get mine.Job completed fridge running one of our fitters came into the yard and low and behold he's only got a mssive pot of freshly cooked caught that morning lobster in his truck,after offering the pair of us one each in which we refussed first mainly because im so uneducated i haven't got a clue what your supposed to do with them, after a little lesson of what to do we greatly accepted,(basically you just smash them up and tear them apart and rip the meat out of them)what a sight we must of looked but i must say what a fantastic taste and i can't wait to get out and catch my own. Ive been staying in the Cornwall Hilton (aka Sunny King Motel)since i arrived over here the rooms are a cross between a 1970's porn set and Crossroads,its been ok but i have been looking for something else, i get a call to let me know there was a room up for rent on the other side off town so off i set to have a look at it unfortunately due to the cost which was more than what i was paying and the owner then not sure what to charge, left me still not sure what im going to do.So the hectic couple of days come to an end and ive got 2 drops in Toronto,i pack everything into the truck and notice the fridge aint very cold at all, infact the inverter had switched itself off no probs i switch it back on and set on my way i get to the Inspection place at Borden (this is just before the Bridge) and again notice the inverter had switched itself off this came a very very regular occurance.After 2 days of this i bought a new one and hey presto it works a treat, maybe buying a second hand one wasn't the brightest idea but you live and learn.I arrived at the Ontario Food market to be greeted yep we will have it all here normally they just take a couple of pallets of then make you tip the rest around in the cold storage, so i was in and out pretty quickly heading out of Toronto north to a place called Bradford which was about 1 hour away again tipped within 20 mins,heading back south i get my reload a quick glance told where i was going so i made my way there a load of Beef back to Moncton or so i thought,it was only when i was writing my trip sheet out realised that the delivery was for Sydney Nova Scotia this is right at the tip of N S.It was only then i i saw the delivery time even if i had concord there is no way i could of made it so a quick message was sent and was told that it was going to be rebooked.I often wonder why it takes so long to load when the stuff is ready and on the bay waiting for you, after a 4 hour wait im loaded and sent on my way, not far though just to the truck stop up the road for a quick bite to eat and a lot of shut eye.

Mr Blue Sky

2010-05-03T23:31:00.003-03:00

The problem with me is this,if i don't like something it starts to escalate into mamouth portions but then what happens is i feel that the world is against me i'm backed into a corner, i come out fists ready and all guns blazing, it does take time for me to simmer down back to the placid side that i like to be at.Well i reckon thats where im at again nice and chilled and ready for what the world is going to throw at me, and most of all enjoy what im actually doing, i sort of got stuck in a rut and forgot why im doing this, so as Buzz reminds me every morning "To infinity and Beyond"Off the fish run i came to do a couple of trips down to New Jersey then up to Toronto (we do a thing called the Triangle the run takes about 5 days and takes you in a triangle Shape run, Derr if you hadn't guessed)so the change has been good, i have been dropping hints like California is nice and i wouldn't mind going to Arizona but they seem to be falling on deaf ears maybe one day Please!!!!!!The work has picked up again which is good, i think there will also be different sort of runs as the fishing season has started again on the island so If anyone in California wants to buy some Lobster from PEI please request me to deliver it to you Lol.

Any Silver Cloud

2010-04-25T13:52:00.008-03:00

This blog was for me to get my head around everything that was going on, and i felt that putting everything on paper as to speak this would help, i'll hopefully look at this post in weeks/ months and smile.This week has got to be the most turbulent week i have had to endure and to say everything is p***ing me off, well that would be mildly putting it,even the small things have become major issues.There is so much going on and i want to take stock of it but for the life of me i feel that im backed into a corner and everyone is trying to take the p**s, maybe thats really how it is and i don't want to believe it.There were certain aspects i knew i would have to endure, i remember someone saying just keep your head down and get on with it and everything will be ok,Easier said than done for somone who won't be walked all over.

I really thought i would cope out here on my own,i thought i would be strong enough and those who retreated back to blighty never gave it a very good shot how i have to bite my lip now,maybe im to stubborn to give up who knows,we haven't been able to lay any firm foundations here yet, which makes me feel that i don't actually belong anywhere.To be truthfull maybe the visiting off Ladypen then David has made things alot harder i see the places we visited bringing back such good memories making jumping back on a 767 all the more tempting.

For my sins i have been on a deidcated run for the last couple of weeks not bad miles but they certaintly wont break the bank,we do what they call a Fish Run,which entails picking up a loaded trailer of Yes fish from Moncton NB, then its suppose to be sort of an express run over to Montreal QC,then Ajax ON,then Cambridge ON, where each wharehouse takes there stuff off which is theres and maybe add to the trailer for the next drop if you get my drift, i say suppose to be an express run, except those wharehouses don't seem to get the grasp of that.Its pretty mundane and the days can be very long as you can imagine sitting waiting for these a******s to unload and reload,then its back to Moncton with a reload, so your up and down the same road where now the novelty has worn off due to the fact we always travel back up this route, then again i suppose its better than travelling up and down the m6 and alot more scenic,infact we were diverted of the main highway sunday afternoon due to an accident and the detour took us through some delightfull little villages.

Embracing Canada

2010-04-22T08:31:00.009-03:00

IM all for intrigation and adjusting to the way of life over here,im not for colonising places like what has happened in the Uk,but there is one thing i can't get my head round.A few years ago there was a sports man( I think) not sure if he was a hockey player but he was very famous,(really im being a bit lazy and i can't be bothered to research him Sorry if you want to comment about this feel free)anyway his name is Tim Horton,anyone over here will see his legacy there are an abundance of his shops everywhere you go.I want to say these are coffee shops but they sell all different kinds of drink, Patisseries, donuts,sandwiches etc.Now the point to this post is as follows: Canadians go mad for this place, the drive through is often longer than any traffic i have seen on the road,what ive noticed is they don't make brews at work or home they just drive down to there local T H, OK fine i thought if thats what you do.Tell me the logic in this, Brian who lives next door goes out at 6.30 every morning drives a mile up the road for his daliy fix, ive put the kettle on made a nice cup of Proper Tea and drinking it before he is back .A guy who was giving me a lift back from work said i have just got to stop at T H to get my wife a coffee on the way home, what can't she boil a kettle or something (lazy *****) i thought.Even all the English guys over here and the euorpeans go mad for it, maybe there just trying to fit in.Now im not really a coffee drinker but i tried it thinking it was going to be some magical taste and well how dissappointed i was, it just taste like a normal average coffee,so i decide to go for my forte. i LOVE TEA in which they sell so when anyone asked me if i want a drink, tea would be the answer,and what came back everytime was what one could only describe as a mixture of the River Thames and dishwater, absolutely awfull !!!!!!!!.So as from last friday when i was asked by another driver when i was in Montreal shall we stop for a Timmys, i Have boycotted the place,i am not parting with my hard earned cash for what words fail to decribe what they served,but im going to try rank,rancid unpalatable,putrid the list could go on and on,a mixture of dog and cat P***would probably looked and tasted more apealing than what i was given,i wouldn't let my worst enemy suffer what they gave me.Now this is my experience and oppinion yours maybe different.
Rant over maybe more to follow!!!!!!!
Have a nice Day

Such is Life

2010-04-18T19:46:00.008-03:00

My plan was to come in Sat morning put all my stuff into the truck do my pretrip, then take our David to the airport,this would let me just leave straight after he had gone,well that went out the window,i was approached by the boss as soon as i came in the yard, could i load someone else's trailer then run it over to Moncton,then come back and get on my way with my load,i reluctantly agreed to do this.I had to cut short my time at the airport seeing him off which i really didn't mind as i don't like these short Hello's and long goodbyes.This quick favour took me the best part of 7 hrs which left me leaving the island very late saturday night,well i got to Moncton and got a very tired head down.Id spoken to another one of our drivers the night before who was also stopping there we had planned to run down to Bangor together, it was nice to have someone to chat to who is in the same boat as myself and who also supports the mighty reds, so it was a few hours of moaning on how the Pair of yanks are ruining our club, then he started talking about sheep i confess i had to turn the cb down as he was getting pretty excited about them.Having said our farewells i pulled into Bangor for some fuel and a nice shower before i headed on south,normally in the evening all the scales are closed in Maine, which they were, but the police were doing log book checks as you came through the toll booths on the Maine Turnpike which was a new one on me,anyway i was ok and not pulled up so off i went down to Massachusetts to park up for the evening.I got to my delivery early afternoon the next day,straight on a bay and tipped within half an hour,my reload came through a load of nectarines for Cambridge On, out of the port of Wilmington, again i was loaded within an hour bloody eck this is going well.Now i knew a mate of mine was out on his mentor trip with James,i also knew they were tipping in that area that morning, i get a phone call that evening they had been sat all day on the docks waiting to get loaded now they have to run all night to get to the delivery in the morning,just goes to show how things can go in this job,but if your sitting about all day you earn absolutely ZILCH.My turn came the next day i got to my delivery point, onto a bay and thats where i stayed for 4 hrs not bad, well they only wanted 6 pallets in this part of the wharehouse, i had to go around to the front to deliver the other 8 pallets i had, and yes i was there another 4 hrs, not bad 8 hrs for 14 pallets in which my hourly rate was for the love of trucking.There is only one thing to do after that, S S S, then head off to my reload which was just down the road from where i was.I made it back to the island 2 days later after tipping my load.

The Show Goes On

2010-04-15T18:23:00.008-03:00

Its funny how things fan out,What should of been a nice run back to PEI ended up being a mad dash, as we were informed that they wanted me to tip a trailer in Nova Scotia on the tuesday morning then drop the trailer in Charlottetown,the only thing that made this better was we would be finished earlier for the week or so we thought.The chores that follow are beginning to do my head in, you do take for granted when someone else does all your washing and ironing etc,i thought they would be ok but now i might just buy new clothes every week, i dont seem to have time or the inclination to do it, maybe its about time to get Lady Pen over here permanently.So my day of rest was to and throwing to the laundrette, then i get a phone call, is there any chance of running a trailer to Summerside in the morning, some days off these are turning out to be.Up early we set off for Summerside for a 6.30am booking,the downfall with this job you have to help unload and there can be some handball at least im getting paid per hour which works out preety good.Done and dusted we headed back quick drop of the trailer and were off home.I wanted to show off some of the island to David, so a plan was made and off to the beach we went,he hasn't driven over here so i let him take the wheel(Off the car) after driving in a few ditches and a few scary moments he soon got the gist off things and pretty confidently got on with it.Now i remember being 20 (yes i can remember that far back)i wasn't interested in looking at scenery, this drive really bought all that back because we saw most of the coast as if we were in a rally,under duress i did make him stop a couple of times and get out but i must admit it was pretty cold with the wind blowing.On the island we have a fictional caracter called Anne of Greengables the author Lucy Maud Montgomery who wrote these books lived here in a place called Cavendish,(these books apparently were given to Japenese kids years ago to help them learn English)which is why to this day there are loads of Japenese tourist who come to visit the Geengables Heritage site.We couldn't have a look around, the place doesn't open till May but you can see the farm from the car park.

The Island is really changing now the grass is turning green and the tractors have started in the fields getting ready for sowing,it certainly makes a nice change to all the snow and everything looking dead,as it was my first winter although it was very mild by any standards it seem to off gone on forever,now im really looking froward to see how beautiful this place really gets (thats all people keep saying so bring on summer).When Lady Pen came we visited certain areas and looked at places where we thought we might like to settle, i showed our David the same places, although its hard for anyone to make a descison whether they could leave everything behind in England and move over here without discussing it with other people in his life (girlfriend), i sensed that he pretty much liked what he saw, only time will tell.There is so much to consider when you make decisions like the one were making, we can't live our lives through our children now, we have to let them make their own minds whether they want to come over here,we certainly hope they do take up this opportunity.