Virginia modifies rest area closures

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. We are still in the hospital here in Missouri, but Joe is feeling much better and we should be back on our way to Washington in the morning. We really needed to keep this load, especially since every one of our tarps and straps were used to secure this load. I'm just hoping its still there after being left in the truck stop for the last 3 days! :-) Thanks so much for all your prayers and well-wishes. We've had the chance to experience this weekend first hand several days of hospital food. Don't get me wrong, the hospital and the nurses here have been great, they have always brought me a meal whenever they brought one for Joe, and being that there are no restaurants within walking distance, its been a big help. I just can't help but wonder.......WHY is hospital food so unhealthy?? Everything that we have had has been high in fat, low in nutrients and high on the processed food chain. It just makes more sense to me that if you are trying to support your body in time of sickness or injury, you would want to eat as healthy as possible. That's just my thinking, anyway. The staff here has been wonderful, though, and to that, I am very thankful. (It is however a scary thought that we are actually looking forward to eating truck stop food again! LOL) Some of you might remember my previous rant concerning Virginia's callousness regarding truck parking. Here is a copy of an article I read today on etrucker.com: (It's nice to see they are making some sort of an effort to correct the situation, it's a small start)... Virginia modifies rest area closures By eTrucker Staff The Virginia Department of Transportation May 20 recommended keeping open six rest areas it had planned to close and making other adjustments to accommodate truck parking. VDOT still plans to close 19 of 42 rest areas but will keep open four along the I-81 corridor. It will also retain two truck-only facilities on I-95 near Daly City to address truck parking concerns. In response to trucking industry requests, VDOT will propose replacing the “two-hour” commercial parking rule in rest areas with “no overnight parking.” The department also will replace 225 truck parking spaces lost to rest area closures by reconfiguring parking lots at some remaining facilities. VDOT is making its final recommendations to the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which will adopt VDOT’s fiscal year 2010 budget at its June meeting. If approved by the CTB, these changes represent $9 million in annual savings and will begin in July. In February, VDOT said it would close 25 rest areas to save $12 million annually. VDOT hosted 11 public meetings across the commonwealth before finalizing its recommendations. The commonwealth also plans to seek federal law changes to allow future rest area commercialization. I hope the states start realizing just how difficult it is out here on the road, and how difficult it can be to stay within the federal hours of service guidelines, and try to cooperate more with drivers.

Happy Memorial Day

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day. Please take a moment to give thanks to all those men and women that are serving in our armed forces, and remember those that gave their lives so that we may enjoy all the freedoms available to us in this country.

We are spending our Memorial Day weekend not driving to Washington, but in a small hospital in Missouri. Joe had a fever for the last three days, and the diagnosis is not the flu, as we feared, but pneumonia. We are hoping he can be released tomorrow, or Tuesday at the latest. Luckily, there was a small hospital about 9 miles from the truck stop and we were able to leave our trailer at the truck stop.

We are hoping that they will allow us to deliver the load in Washington on Friday, especially since all of our tarps are on it. We will just have to wait and see how this plays out.

Assume the Position

We saw this on the back of a truck that passed us in Pennsylvania last week. It needs no explanation!! (If you can't read the writing it simply says, "Thanks, George" (yes, that's a fuel pump nozzle!!)

Grillin' and Chillin'

Grillin' and Chillin"......is where I'd much rather be than sitting in Friday night holiday weekend traffic in Knoxville, TN! Aren't you the least bit jealous?

Especially after tarping another load from hell today...... It beats the heck out of us WHY this load of electric cable trays had to be tarped...it's galvanized steel for goodness sake! Geeeeeesh!
You can see our poor attempts at protecting our tarps from the sharp steel edges with our state of the art cardboard. Of course we used to have pad wrap blankets before someone stole them....ah hem. Perhaps we should have a survey on how many holes we will have in the tarps by the time we drive 2700 miles. Just got to love those tarps!!

......and so we head westward on our trek to Washington.

Alton Brown is my favorite TV food personality (sorry Rachel!) and if you arent familiar with his TV Food Network show, Good Eats, I highly recommend you try and catch an episode. as well as his series, Feasting on Asphalt. This potato salad recipe is a little more work, but having made it before, I can vouch for its being worth the extra effort. (snagged from foodnetwork.com)

Cold-Fashioned Potato Salad

• 2 1/2 pounds red potatoes, large diced
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (homemade if possible)
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/2 tablespoon very thinly sliced garlic
• 3 tablespoons fine chopped cornichons
• 1/2 cup small dice red onion
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place potatoes into a large heavy-bottomed pot. Cover with cold water and place over medium heat. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat and remove lid. Gently simmer until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and place into an ice bath to cool. Remove skin by rubbing with a tea towel. Slice potatoes into rounds and place into a zip top bag. Add the vinegar and toss to coat all of the potatoes. Place the bag into the refrigerator overnight.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, tarragon, garlic, cornichons, onions, and celery. Once evenly combined, add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Let the salad chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

I got these next two recipes from my Good Neighbor Recipe Friday ezine from Recipe Du Jour today, here is the link to subscribe:

"RECIPE DU JOUR
Simply the BEST daily recipe E-zine on the Web!
Delicious recipes delivered daily via email.
Recipes, columns, and nostalgia.
Send a blank email to rdj-subscribe@topica.com

(I've been getting this for years and its a great read, they have several different topics you can subscribe to)

Grilled Parmesan Potatoes

4 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Progresso® Italian style bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

Heat gas or charcoal grill. Cut 2 (30x18-inch) sheets of heavy-duty
foil. Divide potato slices evenly onto foil sheets. Sprinkle with salt.
In small bowl, mix remaining ingredients; sprinkle over potatoes. Bring
up 2 sides of foil so edges meet. Seal edges, making tight 1/2-inch
fold; fold again, allowing space for heat circulation and expansion.
Fold other sides to seal.
Place packets, seam side up, on grill. Cover grill; cook over medium
heat 18 to 23 minutes, rotating packets once, until potatoes are tender.

To serve, place packets on plates. Cut large X across top of each
packet; carefully fold back foil to allow steam to escape.

Texas BBQ Sauce Pork Ribs

3 pounds country-style pork ribs

SAUCE
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 can (16 ounces) tomato purée
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon celery salt

Heat oven to 350F. Have ready a large roasting pan with rack. Pour 1/2
inch water into pan. Place ribs on rack in pan. Cover and bake 11/2
hours or until ribs are tender. Meanwhile heat oil in a medium-size
saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring
occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes until tender. Add remaining sauce
ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 15
minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Reserve about 3/4 cup sauce to serve with the ribs. Brush 1 side of
baked ribs with 1/2 cup remaining sauce.

To grill or broil: Grill 4 to 6 inches above hot coals 10 to 12 minutes,
turning and brushing ribs with remaining sauce until browned. Broil on
broiler-pan rack 4 to 6 inches from heat source, cooking as directed.
Country-style pork ribs are by far the meatiest pork ribs.

(Is it obvious that I REALLY would much rather be doing a cooking blog than a trucking blog? LOL)

Another hint for the holiday weekend - if you can't make any of these recipes for whatever reason, then throw a 7 layer mexican dip together, open a bag of chips, kick back, put the lime in the Corona, and have one for me!

BBQ recipes

I hope that everyone has plans for some good back yard BBQ’s during the upcoming holiday weekend. We will be on our way to Washington State! Here are some BBQ recipes for you to try, bon appetit!

I snagged this one from thrifty fun.com:

Copycat “Bullseye” BBQ sauce
(I like this recipe because it has no corn syrup and very little added sugar, except for what you find in the ketchup. You can find ketchup in the natural food section of your super market that does not have any added corn syrup and is low in sodium.).

1/2 cup minced onions (if you are pressed for time, try the already chopped frozen ones)
1(8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 1/4 cup ketchup
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. prepared mustard (I think Jack Daniels brand would be good for this)
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 dash tabasco sauce
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in pan. Cover and simmer 30 minutes over low heat.

Marinated and Grilled Flank Steak

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 lbs flank steak
Kosher salt
freshly grated pepper

Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat. Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade in a large freezer bag, coating the steak well. Seal and place in a bowl in the fridge. Chill and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Using olive oil soaked onto a paper towel, coat the grill rack of your grill with olive oil. Preheat grill with high, direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you hold your hand about an inch over it an can only hold it there for about a second. Take the steak out of the marinade and sprinkle generously on all sides with course salt and freshly ground pepper. Place steak on hot grill.
If you are using gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Half way through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90 degrees so that you get more grill marks.


When the steak has cooked to your preferred level of doneness, remove
from grill a place on cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil to hold in the heat and to keep the steak from drying out, and let rest for 10 minutes. Make very thin slices, against the grain at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide. Serves 6.

If you want, you can take the excess marinade and bring it to a boil,
simmer for several minutes, and serve with the steak. (Remember not to use marinade unless you boil it first!)



Sweet BBQ Chicken

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 2 oranges
1/2 cup apple butter
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp hot sauce, or to taste
6 slices cheese
2 large white onions, cut into 1/2" slices, kept together

In a large shallow dish place chicken, garlic, oil and juice of oranges;
refrigerate until ready to cook. In a small saucepan on low heat combine
apple butter, ketchup, honey, brown sugar, Worcestershire, pepper,
garlic powder, mustard and hot sauce. Cook 8-10 minutes until sauce
thickens. Lift chicken from marinade. Cook chicken on grill or in
broiler about 6 minutes per side until just about done. Brush generously
with sauce and cook an additional 2 minutes per side or until cooked
through; top with a slice of cheese. Brush onions with sauce and grill
about 3 minutes per side until they start to caramelize. When cheese is
melted, remove chicken and top with onion slices. Serves 6.

BACON EXPLOSION

And if you are brave enough, here is the ultimate in BBQ food, a bacon wrapped sausage roll……..hey, pork fat rules!!! I can't wait to try this. I've included the link here because you really need to see this to believe it!

http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/

That's it for tonight. Tomorrow morning we will be heading for Lake Moses, Washington and I'll try to post more as I am able. Enjoy!!

Trucking Industry in Trouble

Again, I must apologize for the lack of posts, I am experiencing a lot of difficulty in getting online with my AT&T internet card. (As soon as I started typing this, I lost service yet again!) If anyone else uses one, please let me know how its been working for you. It just seems like nothing works as well these days as they used to.

We stopped off at the Gooseberry Farms Travel Plaza in Pine Grove PA last night, exit 100 off of I-81. The plan was to shower and then stop in the restaurant for a bite to eat. I guess I should have known things were going to be bad when I gagged from the decomposing smells of the over flowing garbage pails, but the rat running by me really was a definite clue. I must say that is the first time that I have seen one of those out here. What really got Joe was that they wanted $9 per person for us to shower. Now we don’t mind paying $10 but $18 is just a rip off and we refused to pay that, especially when we do have a shower in our truck. Its just easier to clean up and not have wet towels hanging in the truck, so we usually shower at the truck stops. Joe was so mad he forgot to go over to DQ and get some ice cream!

There was a good article on MSNBC.com last week regarding how badly the economy has effected the trucking industry. Here is the link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30728469/

Its nothing new to us folks out here on the road, but its nice to finally see one of the big news carriers actually acknowledge the fact.

One of the largest companies, Werner, has reduced its fleet by 4%, over 8,000 trucks. So far just in 2009 480 companies have gone out of business already this year alone. (Last year a total of 3,000 companies closed their doors) They don’t expect that things will improve much before a year from now. Its not a pretty picture, that’s for sure. Especially for what we do, the flatbeds, where so much of that is based on hauling commodities for the construction industry.

Some weeks, we have sat waiting for a load for more days then we have actually spent driving. The scary thing is, almost all of the other drivers we talk to out on the road are experiencing exactly the same thing. Everyone we talk to is making half (or less) than what they were last year at this time.

We were talking to one driver at a truck stop in NJ yesterday and his company had a contract to haul a commodity that paid them $3.50 gross per mile. One of the largest trucking companies in the county (I’ll give you a hint, it starts with an “S”, so you have a choice of 2 there) came in and bid the job for $1.60 a mile. This happens all the time, I call it the Wal-Mart approach to trucking. They bid very low for a contract, after a few months, they raise the rates they charge right back up as high as the original trucking company was getting, who, by now, have been forced to close their doors. It’s a never ending cycle.

On a lighter note, I’m hoping to post some recipes that will go good with any Memorial Day BBQ’s you might be having this weekend. Lets hope AT&T cooperates for a change!

Happy Mother's Day, and Adios Texas!!

Adios, Texas!

First, a very belated Happy Mother’s Day wish to you all!!!

We crossed from Texas into Oklahoma late last night. For a change, I was glad to see the last of Texas, for a while anyway. Those feelings are not all due to the so-called “swine” flu, but, after sitting idle for 3 days in three digit temps this weekend, and for 5 days in sunny Southern California last weekend, we needed to get the show on the road.

After the blinding scorching sun of southern Texas, the cooler, rain misted morning in Oklahoma seems almost refreshing. My friend Sherry, who, along with her husband has a large farm in Oklahoma and has been praying for rain for months. From your lips to God’s ear, Sherry. Its been raining there for a couple weeks now.

And although it’s a good thing that we have a load finally and are moving, we are pretty much going in the wrong direction. We have to be in NY this weekend but we are headed for East Peoria, Illinois. We will see what kind of head games they have in store for us after we get unloaded, we will probably end up dead heading all the way to New York.

The conversations of other drivers within the company we have been seeing, as well as our experiences, have been disheartening to say the least. I think that’s another reason why I’ve been lapsing so much on my posts, there really have not been too many “good” things to write about lately. Trust me, there have been no lack of “not-so” good things to write about lately, but my momma always taught me, if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything! So, add that to not feeling well and the usual (lack of) service lately with AT&T, you can understand why I have been so quiet.

We did, however enjoy the hotel room we were in this weekend, I sat by the pool, read and soaked up the rays, while Joe lounged back in the A/C joined at the hip with the TV remote. We have a discount hotel card through OOIDA which gives us big discounts on hotel rooms, so we used that for the first time. It wasn’t much more than what we would have spent running the truck for 2 days straight and we were a hell of a lot more comfortable. Its all about the amenities…..lol.

The card is called Check Inn Card and you can get information on it at checkinncard.com. If you have an OOIDA membership, the card is free, if not, there is a small charge of $10 to join the services. Once you log in, you put in a location and it will give you a list of hotels that honor the card (there were 13 in Laredo, to give you an example). I always check that list against the reviews on tripadvisor.com.

However I will take one second to vent my (very great) frustration regarding my hearing aid (I know the angels in my hard of hearing group can appreciate this) My one year old hearing aid decided to stop working last week! I’m sure once I find the warranty, its was probably within a day of its expiring too. Unfortunately there is only one type I have been able to wear and their product reliability leaves a lot to be desired. So when we get back to NY, I will have to drop it off at the audio and have them send it away for a rebuild.

The worst part is, we have a big family social event this weekend, of course, gee, do they still make those old fashioned gramaphone-like thingees??? SIGH (It wouldn’t be any other way….lol)

I’ve got a lot of pictures to post, but of course, blogger is seeing to it that they arent getting posted properly, so I will run both blogger and word press blogs for a while and test word press before switching. I’d much rather work on my healthy cooking blog, but, alas, that one will have to wait until I have a kitchen again. Meh, I think a kitchen would definitely be a plus if one is going to do a cooking blog, no? I’ll try and keep this updated at least until we get to NY.