1 A.M., 80 Degrees: Back in Florida
Life on the road is hard, but it makes going home all the sweeter. My team driver and I usually stay out about 10 days, and we spend the whole day before we leave packing. Laundry, cleaning out the truck, and re-packing it for the trip ahead. Meal prepping 10 days’ worth of food for us and Thumper, our road dog, is what takes most of my time.
(Side note: we’ve moved our dogs off kibble and onto the “predator diet.” Check out my predator raw diet post if you want more information, and my truck meal planning guide for how I prep it all for the road.)
There is always an air of excitement before we head out over the road, but the road home is my happy place.
We picked up a load from Memphis to Orlando this morning, which marks the start of the journey. After getting loaded, my team driver (aka hubby) drives the first 250 miles as I catch a nap. It’s going to be a late night.
I love this drive for so many reasons. We’ve run this route so many times that the familiarity is comforting.
I’m driving down the road, and we’re moving toward summer, so the sun stays out longer and intermittent rains are guaranteed. Moving south from Atlanta, I notice that even though it’s getting later, it’s also getting warmer. Ah, Florida.
Going home, I pass some form of this “welcome to Florida” sign. As I pass the one that reads “Welcome to the free state of Florida,” I glance at the temperature gauge on my dashboard. Even though it’s 1am, it’s a balmy 80 degrees outside. I missed this.
Driving down the highway, I’m greeted by the usual sighting of deer grazing along the shoulder. I move to the center lane just to be safe. It’s late and there’s hardly any traffic, and on I roll, going home.
It wouldn’t be Florida if I wasn’t pulled into at least one weigh station. As luck would have it, tonight I was pulled into two. But a quick check by law enforcement, a friendly thumbs up, and off I go.
I arrive at my delivery around 3am and wake my husband and the big guy. Thumper blinks at me as the light comes on, and after much cajoling, we’re out for a walk.
We’re unloaded now. I’m snoozing away as my husband drives the last leg to our yard in Lakeland. As I crawled into bed, I was secretly praying we wouldn’t be unloaded for hours so I could sleep. But as usual, we’re out quickly, and he’s waking me before I knew I was asleep.
A post-trip inspection, offloading our personal effects, and then we’re making the short drive, going home.
Life on the road feels long and the quarters are small. Cabin fever is a regular occurrence. But today, we are going home.
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If you enjoyed this article, please check out our other stories from the road and our Trucking 411 articles — Keep the Shiny Side Up!
