Raycubed
Active Member
It was kind of a last minute decision that was made the night before we left. I had all sorts of excuses for reasons not to go, needless to say I ended up going home that night and grabbing my laundry and sheets, pillows and whatnots.
My first and and biggest misconception was the "dreaded truck stop showers" I had built up visions in my head of what they'd be like that didn't differ much from a screening of Shawshank Redemption. I had envisioned anything between one giant room with nothing but multiple shower heads and broken tiles to something out of the sitcom MASH. (keep in mind I currently have no delusions of grandeur, I have read the "worst Truck Stops thread" lol)
The friend that convinced me to go travels with his wife and she reassured me that most were "not bad at all" I told myself "we'll see,we'll see". Out of preference he only stopped at flying J's, the first one being in Kansas city. Being the first night I was in no need of a shower but was dieing of hunger. We grabbed a bit of food from the hot bar and called it a night.
Juuust as I start to close my eyes and drift away, which took awhile as I was getting used to my new bed for the next 10 days. we were awoken by a KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on the drivers door, being in a new place in a new situation I was a little disoriented at first, propping myself up asking "wtf! is that". Warren my friend sighed and said "damned lizard" he rolled down the window and asked her to go away (perhaps not in those exact words) I think I ended up falling asleep about an hour afterwards.
The next morning came waay to early. Warren said he wanted to get out of KC and after that we could stop somewhere to grab a bite to eat. We hopped out of the sleeper and I got a crash course in a PTI and we were good to go.Virginia....here I come.
Day two set in and I was having all in all a good time. Good tunes and good conversation seemed to make the miles fly by. before I knew it the sun was starting to set and it was time to find a place to park for the night. We were just inside of Indiana (I think? I need to get better at remembering where and what road) but it was time for the "dreaded shower".
Warren was nice enough to let me use his points for my showers and it was off to the lounge to wait for our numbers to come up. I can't express how pleasantly surprised I was when I got to my shower (I don't think i'll ever forget the shower number (7) as I was so worried I'd miss the call overhead). Needless to say... I was impressed, the shower was cleaner and nicer than some motels I've stayed in. I felt like a million bucks.
Thankfully night two was nothing but peace and quiet. No one beating on the doors, no subwoofers from people cruising around the stop. But for the life of me I could NOT sleep, every muscle in my body ached like I had done hard manual labor that day. Come to find out I wasn't letting the jump seat do the work I guess I was fighting the bumps and the bucks. Thankfully, by the end of the trip I had become accustom to letting the seat do the bouncing and the rocking.
I believe it was day three as we started to roll into West Virginia. I'd never seen the Appalachian mountains and was in awe of all the hills and trees with their fall colors. I was instructed (tongue in cheek) not to call them mountains as I have not seen the Rockies yet lol.
By day four I was shocked as to how much money I had already spent (misconception No. 2). I thought for some reason I would be able to live "relatively" cheaply but before I knew I had already blown 45 bucks. Lesson learned....bring your OWN food Ray....plus the hot bar stuff is good in all....but not THAT good. Of course being a cigarette smoker did not help the $$ situation much, Second lesson learned is to buy a carton of smokes before hitting the road. I was surprised to see how much the cost of cigarettes varied from state to state.
Misconception No.3 (The Drivers)
In my mind I had pictured everything from the haggard Richard Petty looking types to the sweat pant/sweatshirt rolly pollies that look like it would be easier for them to roll to the stop than walk.
All in all, SOME not all of my misconceptions about the drivers were indeed true. But what I did find was a majority of the drivers seemed to take care of themselves. Heck, I even saw one guy at a fuel island that hopped out of his truck wearing a white collared shirt and khaki slacks.
For some reason I had it in my mind that most drivers were just kinda grumpy and wanted to get to their appt. as soon as possible without conversating to anyone. FALSE! what I found was a group of men and women that were quick to smile and joke or shoot the breeze with if they had the time. I found a group of men and women who the most down to earth people I had ever met in my 27 years on this globe. I'm proud of the work they do and I realize the United States would be a drastically different place without these men and women.
I could probably go on and on about my trip but to make a long story short I've got my CDL handbook here beside me in preparation for getting a learners permit, so the next time out I can get some drivers seat time. Oh and I still need to find an office that can perform my DOT health card exam.
I hope to catch ya guys on the road.
Safe Travels all
-Ray
My first and and biggest misconception was the "dreaded truck stop showers" I had built up visions in my head of what they'd be like that didn't differ much from a screening of Shawshank Redemption. I had envisioned anything between one giant room with nothing but multiple shower heads and broken tiles to something out of the sitcom MASH. (keep in mind I currently have no delusions of grandeur, I have read the "worst Truck Stops thread" lol)
The friend that convinced me to go travels with his wife and she reassured me that most were "not bad at all" I told myself "we'll see,we'll see". Out of preference he only stopped at flying J's, the first one being in Kansas city. Being the first night I was in no need of a shower but was dieing of hunger. We grabbed a bit of food from the hot bar and called it a night.
Juuust as I start to close my eyes and drift away, which took awhile as I was getting used to my new bed for the next 10 days. we were awoken by a KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on the drivers door, being in a new place in a new situation I was a little disoriented at first, propping myself up asking "wtf! is that". Warren my friend sighed and said "damned lizard" he rolled down the window and asked her to go away (perhaps not in those exact words) I think I ended up falling asleep about an hour afterwards.
The next morning came waay to early. Warren said he wanted to get out of KC and after that we could stop somewhere to grab a bite to eat. We hopped out of the sleeper and I got a crash course in a PTI and we were good to go.Virginia....here I come.
Day two set in and I was having all in all a good time. Good tunes and good conversation seemed to make the miles fly by. before I knew it the sun was starting to set and it was time to find a place to park for the night. We were just inside of Indiana (I think? I need to get better at remembering where and what road) but it was time for the "dreaded shower".
Warren was nice enough to let me use his points for my showers and it was off to the lounge to wait for our numbers to come up. I can't express how pleasantly surprised I was when I got to my shower (I don't think i'll ever forget the shower number (7) as I was so worried I'd miss the call overhead). Needless to say... I was impressed, the shower was cleaner and nicer than some motels I've stayed in. I felt like a million bucks.
Thankfully night two was nothing but peace and quiet. No one beating on the doors, no subwoofers from people cruising around the stop. But for the life of me I could NOT sleep, every muscle in my body ached like I had done hard manual labor that day. Come to find out I wasn't letting the jump seat do the work I guess I was fighting the bumps and the bucks. Thankfully, by the end of the trip I had become accustom to letting the seat do the bouncing and the rocking.
I believe it was day three as we started to roll into West Virginia. I'd never seen the Appalachian mountains and was in awe of all the hills and trees with their fall colors. I was instructed (tongue in cheek) not to call them mountains as I have not seen the Rockies yet lol.
By day four I was shocked as to how much money I had already spent (misconception No. 2). I thought for some reason I would be able to live "relatively" cheaply but before I knew I had already blown 45 bucks. Lesson learned....bring your OWN food Ray....plus the hot bar stuff is good in all....but not THAT good. Of course being a cigarette smoker did not help the $$ situation much, Second lesson learned is to buy a carton of smokes before hitting the road. I was surprised to see how much the cost of cigarettes varied from state to state.
Misconception No.3 (The Drivers)
In my mind I had pictured everything from the haggard Richard Petty looking types to the sweat pant/sweatshirt rolly pollies that look like it would be easier for them to roll to the stop than walk.
All in all, SOME not all of my misconceptions about the drivers were indeed true. But what I did find was a majority of the drivers seemed to take care of themselves. Heck, I even saw one guy at a fuel island that hopped out of his truck wearing a white collared shirt and khaki slacks.
For some reason I had it in my mind that most drivers were just kinda grumpy and wanted to get to their appt. as soon as possible without conversating to anyone. FALSE! what I found was a group of men and women that were quick to smile and joke or shoot the breeze with if they had the time. I found a group of men and women who the most down to earth people I had ever met in my 27 years on this globe. I'm proud of the work they do and I realize the United States would be a drastically different place without these men and women.
I could probably go on and on about my trip but to make a long story short I've got my CDL handbook here beside me in preparation for getting a learners permit, so the next time out I can get some drivers seat time. Oh and I still need to find an office that can perform my DOT health card exam.
I hope to catch ya guys on the road.
Safe Travels all
-Ray
