Tour of Duty: 27th May 2015 to 27th June 2015
Part I: 27th May to 31st May
Scary Gary; Great Lakes to St-Lawrence

Got a call about two trips. First was from New Berlin, WI to Gary, IN and the second was from Portage, IN to Massena, NY. I was hoping to fly nonstop LAX to MKE on WN but the company instead booked me an itinerary with a connection in DEN. I got shuttle to LAX and checked in and checked bags which weighed 44.5 and 41lbs. I cleared security after a queue and opted out and was patted down. My Boot Bag was hand searched and time from beginning of check in to clear of security was exactly 30 minutes. I approached an agent and asked if my flight was overbooked and indicated that I would be willing to volunteer if I could be put on the nonstop to MKE, however the flight was not overbooked.

Southwest #980 LAX-DEN B-737-300 Boarding Pass C11
Seat 20B Cruising altitude 35,000 feet Estimated flying time not given, actual 2:05
Depart: Gate 15 Scheduled 16h10, actual 16h17 Taxi: 10 minutes
Arrive: Gate C24 Scheduled 19h30, actual 19h47 Taxi: 4 minutes


We boarded via jetway and I was stuck in a centre seat as I had a "C" boarding pass. The plane was full, all 143 seats were taken. Pushback was 7 minutes late and takeoff was to the west and we went over the ocean before turning northeast. I got pretzels and Ritz Chips at 0:31. I saw a glimpse of the Las Vegas area at 0:32. Seatbelt sign went off and cruise was announced at 0:33. I got cup of soda at 0:35.

At 1:24 I got cup of water. It sounded like a PA was made at 1:28 but I couldn't tell what it was. I felt descent at 1:29 and at 1:43 descent was announced and seatbelt sign went on. It was announced it was 66F and cloudy at DEN. At 1:44 it was announced it may be bumpy on descent. I got a glimpse of downtown Denver at 1:54. We turned east then south at 2:03 and landed north to south. We arrived at gate 17 minutes late and deplaned via jetway.

I was concerned about making my connecting flight and I rushed to C31 only to find my connecting flight was delayed due to aircraft swap. I had time to get evening rations.

Southwest #2048 DEN-MKE B-737-700 Boarding Pass B55
Seat 20C Cruising altitude not given Estimated flying time 1:46, actual 1:47
Depart: Gate C31 Scheduled 20h10, actual 21h40 Taxi: 9 minutes
Arrive: Gate C19 Scheduled 23h25, actual 00h44 +1 Taxi: 6 minutes
Reclaim checked bags 23-26 minutes after arrival

We boarded via jetway. Thru passengers from Tucson were invited to board first. I escaped a middle seat but no window seats were available so I took an aisle seat. The plane was full and it was announced it was 68F and mostly clear at MKE and to expect bumps on climb and we need to pass a line of storms.

Pushback was 1h30min late and takeoff was to the east. I saw lightning during the early part of the flight. I got Ritz Chips and was offered peanuts at 0:45. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:51. I got cup of soda at 0:57. I felt bumps and seatbelt sign went on at 1:03. I got second cup of soda at 1:11. I thought I felt descent at 1:26 and descent was announced at 1:28 and it was clear and 59F at MKE. We landed north to south and arrived at gate 1h19min late. As it turned out the nonstop from LAX was also delayed and got in even later so it is just as well that I did not take that flight. I got my bags, got to hotel and spent the night in Milwaukee, WI. The next day I hired a taxi to the shipper.

Trip: New Berlin, WI to Gary, IN 125 paid miles
Make: 2015 Freightliner
Model: Vacuum Truck
Transmission: Standard Straight 10-speed
Route: Interstate 43 to Interstate 894 to Interstate 94 to Interstate 90 including Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road to Interstate 65 to US12
Maximum elevation: unknown
Diesel price USA: $2.859/gallon at Pilot Franksville, WI

This was a short trip made longer by traffic and construction. There was road work in Sturtevant, WI. I stopped at the Oasis in Lake Forest, IL for evening rations. Traffic moved well for awhile then jammed up in Skokie and moved very slowly until just before the Chicago Skyway. I stopped by hotel to unload almost all of my gear then dropped off the truck in Gary, IN. A worker at the place where I dropped off the truck took me back to hotel and I spent the night in Portage, IN. The next morning I hired a taxi to the shipper.

Trip: Portage, IN to Massena, NY 730 paid miles
Make: 2005 International
Model: Water Tank Truck
Transmission: Standard Straight 10-speed
Route: Indiana 249 to US12 to US35 to US20 to Indiana 15 to Interstate 90 to Interstate 480 to Interstate 271 back to Interstate 90 to Interstate 81 to New York 37
Maximum elevation: unknown
Highest diesel USA: $3.499/gallon at Pilot Erie, PA
Lowest diesel USA: $3.539/gallon at Pilot Liverpool, NY

This was an older used truck and I found that it was a little dirty inside and it lost air pressure when the motor was not running. Also the doors were not lockable/unlockable with the key from the outside. I got started and stopped and took pictures of Michigan City, IN. I took some two and four lane roads to avoid parts of the Indiana Toll Road and also to see some new territory. It was quite warm and muggy as the temperature was 86F in Angola, IN but the humidity made it feel like 102F. There was brief but heavy rain in Toledo, OH and more storms were expected enroute. I spent the night near CLE in Brook Park, OH.

Saturday it was cloudy to start and it was 81F in CLE. It was dry to start. I stopped to take on fuel in Erie, PA then had midday rations at Kwik Fill in North East, PA. Rain started east of Rochester, NY and I saw lightning ahead. I stayed behind a line of big storms but had issues with windows fogging up. I shut down and spent a rainy night in Phelps, NY.

Sunday it rained off and on. I stopped in Liverpool, NY to take on fuel then got my fix of Hershey's Ice Cream in Parish, NY and had a slice of pizza in Watertown, NY before starting my run on New York 37. I checked in at motel and was taken to Calvary Baptist Church in Massena, NY where the pastor spoke on Joel 2:12-14 "Steps of Repentance." After church I was taken back to the motel and I finally contacted the receiver and was given directions to where the truck was to be dropped off. I drove to where I was instructed and dropped off the truck and hired a taxi back to the motel. I found out my next trip was to be Montreal to Baltimore. I spent the night in Massena, NY.