Tour of Duty 27th October 2012 to 19th November 2012

After spending some time at home I phoned the company and made myself available. At first I thought the company would be flying me to CLE to get a truck from Middleburg Heights, OH to Baltimore, MD. I was concerned because I expected the timeline of that trip would result in me arriving in Baltimore about the same time Hurricane Sandy would be affecting the area.

The company booked me an air ticket to RDU and I was assigned a trip from Creedmoor, NC to Milton, ON. Saturday 27th of October I got a ride to LAX and after a slow-moving queue I checked in and my bags weighed 48 and 43.5lbs. The queue for security was longer but faster moving and I opted out of the body scanner and received a patdown. My briefcase was inspected. While waiting for the flight I saw a Korean Air A-380 and an Air Pacific B-747 among other airplanes.

American Airlines #2448 LAX-DFW B-737-800 Group 1
Seat 7A Cruising altitude 39,000 feet Estimated flying time 2:30, actual 2:37
Depart: Gate 42A Scheduled 13h35, actual 13h35 Taxi: 15 minutes
Arrive: Gate A28 Scheduled 18h35, actual 18h43 Taxi: 15 minutes

We boarded via jetway. First Class was full and coach was mostly full. I was in the front row of coach and the middle seat stayed empty. It was announced it was clear and 55F at DFW.

Pushback was on time and takeoff was to the west and we were overwater in 36 seconds. Then we turned south and I saw Redondo Beach and I had a good view of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Then south of the Palos Verdes Peninsula we turned east and I saw San Pedro, the Vincent Thomas Bridge, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and downtown Long Beach. Then I saw Seal Beach and the Bolsa Chica Wetlands and Huntington Harbour as well as a panoramic view of the Los Angeles Basin before making landfall over Huntington Beach at 0:08.

I saw Mile Square Park, Disneyland, Irvine Lake before crossing the Santa Ana Mountains then I saw Lake Mathews and Lake Perris, Perris and Menifee Valley and San Jacinto and the Morongo Casino before passing over the north part of Palm Springs. I saw Desert Hot Springs and Yucca Valley as well as 29 Palms.

Seatbelt sign went off at 0:23 and we stayed north of Interstate 10. At 0:28 I saw the junction of California 62 and California 177. We continued east a little south and parallel to California 62. We crossed the Colorado River at 0:34 and I saw Parker Dam and Lake Havasu.

At 0:44 I got a can of Dr. Pepper and BOB was offered and I got some chips. At 0:46 seatbelt sign went on and I felt some bumps and I saw Prescott, AZ to the distance. At 0:49 we crossed Interstate 17 and I saw Cordes Junction, AZ. Later on I saw the Mogollon Rim. At 1:02 I saw Snowflake, AZ with Holbrook and Interstate 40 to the distance. At 1:06 I saw St. Johns, AZ and the Painted Desert.

At 1:09 I felt bumps and I felt descent to a lower altitude. At 1:23 we crossed Interstate 25 and I also saw the Rio Grande and Belen, NM with Albuquerque to the distance then we passed over the Manzano Mountains at 1:25. At 1:43 I saw what looked to be US70 and Friona, TX. At 1:54 we crossed Interstate 27 and I saw Plainview, TX with Tulia in the distance and the Amarillo area barely visible to the far distance. Then I saw the Llano Estacado.

I thought I felt descent begin at 2:01 but was unsure of exact location. At 2:03 I saw US287 and the Red River then I saw Childress, TX. We followed US287 and I saw Quanah, Vernon, Electra and Wichita Falls, TX then I saw Decatur, TX before I saw some lakes then we turned more south at 2:28 and I saw DFW and downtown Dallas to the distance. We headed due south and crossed Texas 183 then crossed Interstate 30 and at 2:31 it was announced it was 57F at DFW.

We turned east and I saw Arlington, TX including the baseball and football stadiums and Six Flags. We landed south to north and arrived at gate 8 minutes late mainly due to long taxi time.

American Airlines #1902 DFW-RDU MD-80 Group 4
Seat 17F Cruising altitude 27,000 feet Estimated flying time 2:15, actual 2:05
Depart: Gate C8 Scheduled 20h10, actual 20h07 Taxi: 9 minutes
Arrive: Gate C21 Scheduled 23h40, actual 23h25 Taxi: 3 minutes
Reclaim bags 20-21 minutes after arrival

We boarded via jetway and TSA was present and checked ID of all who boarded. First Class had 4 empty seats and coach was not totally full as there was an empty middle seat in my row. It was announced it was partly cloudy and 64F at RDU. Pushback was 3 minutes early and takeoff was to the north. I saw the lights of the DFW Metroplex immediately after takeoff.

At 0:26 I got can of Ginger Ale. Seatbelt sign went off before that as I dozed off. At 0:45 it was announced we crossed the Mississippi River south of Memphis. At 0:59 I saw cloud cover below. Seatbelt sign went on at 1:25, off again and on again at 1:40. I thought I felt descent begin at 1:48. At 1:50 it was announced we made up time en route and it was 62F at RDU. I saw clouds increase on descent and we landed south to north on a dry runway and arrived 15 minutes early.

There was some wind but it was not too bad and it remained dry though I heard it was raining about 20 miles east of Raleigh. I got shuttle to motel and spent night in Morrisville, NC.

Trip: Creedmoor, NC to Milton, ON 699 paid miles
Make: International
Model: Bucket Truck
Transmission: Automatic
Route: Interstate 85 to Interstate 40 to US52 to Interstate 74 to Interstate 77 to US19 to Interstate 79 to Interstate 90 to Interstate 190 to Peace Bridge to Ontario 405 to QEW to Ontario 25
Maximum elevation: 3,252 feet at Flat Top on Interstate 77 2 miles south of Ghent, WV
Diesel Price (Canada) $1.219CAD/litre at Fifth Wheel Milton, ON
Highest Diesel Price (USA) $4.259/gallon at Pilot Erie, PA
Lowest Diesel Price(USA) $3.769/gallon at Flying J Wytheville, VA
Permits Required: none
Border Crossing: Lewiston, NY/Queenston, ON

Late Sunday morning I hired a taxi to Creedmoor, NC where I made an after hours pickup of the truck. It remained dry but there was some wind and I saw some fall colours. I stopped in Greensboro, NC and took some pictures of downtown. Then I proceeded and attended evening service at Berean Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, NC. The sermon was on the Judgment Seat of Christ. The wind picked up after I left Winston-Salem and a few sprinkles started in Mt. Airy, NC as I started my run north on Interstate 77. The wind really picked up as I ascended toward Fancy Gap, VA. I shut down and spent the night in Hillsville, VA.

Monday morning 30th October it was snowing lightly and the snow did not stick. This was my first snow of the season. The snow did not stick in Virginia but the snow picked up once I crossed into West Virginia. I thought the snow would diminish once I reached Beckley but it didn't. I started my run north on US19 and the snow increased and started to stick and covered the road so I shut down early. I spent the night in Summersville, WV.

Tuesday I checked road conditions. Some areas of West Virginia had blizzard or near blizzard conditions. There was a closure south of Summersville and I learned that Interstate 79 was clear so I dug out almost got stuck but I got out and got rolling. US19 was snow covered but conditions improved just before I reached Interstate 79 and once on the Interstate it was snowing but the snow did not stick to that road. I took on fuel in Morgantown, WV then once I crossed into Pennsylvania, the snow changed to light rain as if someone flipped a switch. The rain diminished to drizzle and mist and it stopped raining briefly when I shut down and spent the night in Erie, PA.

Wednesday I proceeded and stopped at US Customs Lewiston, NY to get the title cleared then I crossed the border into Canada. I was not sent to Immigration but had to see the broker. I was cleared and rain was more steady in Ontario. I spent the night in Milton, ON.

Thursday it was cloudy to start. I thought I would be sent to Ft. Worth, TX to get a truck going to Pasadena, CA. I delivered the truck in Milton then I was picked up by a company driver and after picking up another driver in Cambridge I was taken to the yard in Caledonia, ON before being taken to Buffalo, NY where I spent the night as the company booked me a flight the next morning.

To be continued.