Tour of Duty 27th June 2018 to 28th July 2018
Part IV: 10th July to 16th July

Tuesday morning my alarm woke me at a very early hour. As I mentioned at the end of Part III, I did not sleep well the previous night due to my hotel being directly in the landing path of jetliners landing at RDU. I checked out of hotel, headed to the rental car return and returned the car and then got the shuttle to the terminal. I checked at the skycap due to long queue inside then there was another queue at security. Though I did not have Pre Check I was nevertheless directed to a Metal Detector so I did not have decide whether or not to opt out. My briefcase was given additional inspection. Time from beginning of check in to clear of security was 37 minutes. I took a seat in the waiting area and I got confused about what flight was boarding out of what gate and then I heard my name paged so I reported and learned that my flight had just boarded. I was one of the last to board.

Southwest #1629 RDU-BNA B-737-700 Boarding Pass B55
Seat 6E Cruising altitude 34,000 feet Estimated flying time 1:04, actual 1:04
Depart: Gate A8 Scheduled departure 06h40, actual 06h44 Taxi: 7 minutes
Arrive: Gate C19 Scheduled arrival 07h05, actual 07h00 Taxi: 4 minutes

We boarded via jetway. Because of the confusion I had I was stuck in a middle seat. The plane was almost full. Pushback was 4 minutes late and takeoff was to the north. I got a glimpse of downtown Raleigh to the distance out of the window. Then I got a glimpse of Durham at 0:03. I got pretzels at 0:10 and got cup of soda at 0:16. Cruise was announced and seatbelt sign went off at 0:17. I got cup of soda at 0:25. I felt descent at 0:38. Descent was announced and seatbelt sign went on at 0:42 and it was announced it was 75F and clear at BNA. We landed north to south and arrived at gate 5 minutes early. We deplaned via jetway.

Southwest #2560 BNA-MKE B-737-700 Boarding Pass B25
Seat 23F Cruising altitude 35,000 feet Estimated flying time 1:10, actual 1:10
Depart: Gate C25 Scheduled departure 09h50, actual 09h50 Taxi: 7 minutes
Arrive: Gate C23 Scheduled arrival 11h45, actual 11h10 Taxi: 2 minutes
Reclaim checked bags 22-24 minutes after arrival

We boarded via jetway. The plane was not totally full, I had entire row to myself. Pushback was right on time and takeoff was to the south. We made turns west and north and I saw downtown Nashville at 0:01. Then we got into some clouds and I felt some real good bumps on climb. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:15 upon cruise. We crossed the Ohio River into Indiana airspace at 0:17. I got pretzels at 0:20 and we crossed Interstate 64 at the same time. At 0:28 I saw what must have been Bloomington, IN and Interstate 69. At 0:32 we crossed Interstate 70 and I saw IND through breaks in the clouds. At 0:35 we crossed Interstate 74 and I saw Interstate 65 and Lebanon, IN. I got cup of soda at 0:37. Descent was announced and seatbelt sign went on at 0:44 and it was announced there were few clouds and it was 79F at MKE. We crossed Interstates 80 and 94 and I saw Interstate 65 and Gary, IN at 0:49. We went over Lake Michigan at 0:58 and made turn toward shore at 0:59. We made landfall at 1:04 and landed south to north. We arrived at gate 35 minutes early and deplaned via jetway. After I reclaimed my checked bags I got transport to the location the truck was staged.

Trip: Saukville, WI to Joliet, IL 150 paid miles
Make: 2019 Kenworth
Model: Vacuum Truck
Transmission: Automatic
Route: Wisconsin 33 to Interstate 43 to Interstate 39 to Interstate 80
Maximum elevation: unknown
Diesel price USA: 3.199$ per gallon at Pilot Minooka, IL

I made the pickup and stopped at McDonald's for midday rations before getting on the Interstate. I ended driving more miles than I absolutely had to but I altered my route to give a wide berth to the Chicago area. There were a few raindrops around Rockford, IL. I had only one toll (I would have had more tolls had I gone through the Chicago area) and I learned that tolls on the Illinois Tollway system were hiked only for trucks, not cars. After I checked into hotel I phoned up Jimmy John's and had a sandwich delivered to me for evening rations. I spent the night in Rochelle, IL.

Wednesday was a warm day in the mid 80'sF with some humidity and discomfort. I got underway and made a stop in Ottawa, IL to get some supplies. Then I made another stop in Minooka, IL to take on some fuel. I made it to Joliet, IL where I dropped off the truck and switched my gear to another truck I picked up at the same location for my next trip.

Trip: Joliet, IL to original destination of Greenville, SC but destination changed to Wharton, NJ 767 paid miles
Make: 2019 Kenworth
Model: Vacuum Truck
Transmission: Standard straight 10-speed
Route: Interstate 80 to New Jersey 15
Maximum elevation: 2,250 feet Interstate 80 about 10 miles west of Clearfield, PA
Highest diesel price USA: 3.459$ per gallon at Pilot Roxbury, NJ
Lowest diesel price USA: 3.399$ per gallon at Pilot Fremont, IN and Flying J Hubbard, OH

I did the inspection and got underway. The weigh scale on eastbound Interstate 80 in Illinois was open but I was directed to the bypass lane. I stopped at the Oasis in South Holland, IL and saw a message from the company that the destination was changed from Greenville, SC to Wharton, NJ. I was given the option to take the truck back to Joliet if I did not want to go to New Jersey but I opted to stay with the trip. I was informed early enough I did not have to do any backtracking. The new destination meant that I had more toll roads than I had planned. I made it to Fremont, IN where I spent the night.

Thursday morning I was in the shower (I always or nearly always shower in the morning to start the day fresh and clean) and the water quit in the middle of my shower! I phoned the front desk and it was not long before the water was restored. The weather was not bad. I made good time for the first half of Ohio then I encountered one construction zone after another with a few breaks. I stopped in Hubbard, OH to take on fuel. I made lousy time in Pennsylvania due to unfavourable terrain. I spent the night in Clearfield, PA.

Friday I got locked into a trip from Columbia, NJ to Gnadenhutten, OH. I learned the next truck was staged at a truckstop. I stopped at the truckstop, got the key from the fuel desk and put as much as my gear as possible in the next truck. I did the safety inspection then continued to Wharton where I dropped off the truck and then I got transport back to the truckstop to start the next trip.

Trip: Columbia, NJ to Gnadenhutten, OH 429 paid miles
Make: 2008 Sterling
Model: Vacuum Truck
Transmission: Automatic
Route: Interstate 80 to Interstate 76 to Ohio 8 to Interstate 77 to US250 to US36
Maximum elevation: 2,250 feet Interstate 80 about 10 miles west of Clearfield, PA
Highest diesel price USA: 3.759$ per gallon at TA Milesburg, PA
Lowest diesel price USA: 3.399$ per gallon at Flying J Hubbard, OH

I arrived back at the truckstop and got into the truck It was late enough I did not get very far and I spent the night in East Stroudsburg, PA.

Saturday morning I saw the truck had developed a major leak. Apparently the truck decided to mark its territory in a big way. I contacted dispatch and was told to go back to the truckstop and see if it could be fixed. I was told the wait would be about 2 hours 30 minutes but the wait instead was 7 hours 30 minutes and I learned they could not fix the leak which was a hydraulic fluid leak but by then the leak had completely run out. That hydraulic leak did not affect the drivability of the truck but instead affected the operation of the equipment. So after wasting much of the day I headed west on Interstate 80 once again and paid toll to cross the Delaware River into Pennsylvania once again. I was concerned about getting a room as nearly all hotels were either full up or jacked their prices up sky high. I finally found a good deal. I saw fireflies in New Jersey and I saw some lightning in Pennsylvania. I spent the night in Berwick, PA.

Thunder woke me up Sunday morning. It was raining but the rain quit by the time I was ready to leave. I proceeded into Bloomsburg and attended part of the morning service at Bloomsburg Baptist Church in Bloomsburg, PA. The message was on First Kings 18:30 about the prophet Elijah where God wants to be exalted in His Servants. Afterward I took some pictures of downtown Bloomsburg before getting on the westbound 80. Later I had a scare where the fuel gauge went down to "empty" even though there was fuel in the tank. To play it safe I took on some fuel in Milesburg, PA. I stopped in DuBois and had evening rations at Sheetz and I liked the Grilled Cheese and Pepperoni sandwich. There was construction and stop and go traffic due to lane closure near Emlenton, PA. I saw the sunset in Harrisville/Barkeyville, PA. I saw fireflies in Mercer County, PA. I took on fuel in Hubbard, OH and then I got a hotel and spent the night in Youngstown, OH.

Monday I proceeded west on Interstate 76, south on Ohio 8 then south on Interstate 77 to New Philadelphia where I took US250 then US36 to my destination and I dropped off the truck in a rural area near Gnadenhutten, OH. Just after I completed delivery a thunderstorm hit with heavy rain. The rain quit and I got a lift to Enterprise Rent A Car in New Philadelphia, OH where I got in a rental car bound for Toledo, OH to get the next truck.

I had some rain and thunderstorms at times en route. I stopped and saw part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Valley View, OH. I then had some rain off and on and proceeded into downtown Cleveland where I parked and took some pictures. I saw a rainbow while in Cleveland. Then I proceeded west on Interstate 90 and west on Ohio 2 in order to avoid the Ohio Turnpike and I stopped and took some nighttime pictures of Sandusky, OH. I continued to avoid the Turnpike and ended up spending the night in Millbury, OH.