Saturday, October 24, 2015

First Two Loads

Team Davis
Well, our first two loads as a team have been delivered! It's been an interesting few days!

Our first load, a straight shot from Ohio to Texas, went pretty smoothly. We ran into bad weather in Texas but still managed to get the load delivered on time.

We didn't have an assignment yet for the next day so we shut down for the night, only to get a call at 4am with our next load assignment. We had to take an empty trailer from Dallas, Texas down to Laredo and pick up a loaded trailer and take it right back.

Now, you might have heard about the terrible weather that Texas has had this weekend due to the hurricane that hit Mexico. Roads literally flooded and a train actually derailed just south of Dallas due to the high volume of rain pouring down. It was one of the worst storms Texas has had in a long time - and we just happened to be in the middle of it.

The trip south was in a downpour the majority of the way, and we got there about 2 hours late. We sat another 2 hours at the shipper while they got it all figured out. But going back north, especially after the sun set, was extremely difficult. I don't mind driving in the dark, but driving in torrential rain in the dark, accompanied by high winds, is not fun. To make it worse, the roads in Texas are not built to drain water since they rarely get weather like this, so the highway had about half to 3/4 inch of standing water and any low spots had puddles 3-4 inches deep. With visibility extremely low, my tires slipping on the road, and puddles threatening to grab my wheels, I was stressed out and praying hard.

The roads still covered in water the next morning 
I passed several accidents, including a jacknifed semi. I was trying to let my sweetheart sleep, but as conditions only got worse I finally woke him up. He kept me calm and helped me navigate through till we could find a rest area and stop for a few hours. We called dispatch and let them know that the highway was flooded and we were stopping for a few hours, and they didn't hesitate to tell us to be safe.

A few hours of sleep later, the storm finally began to lessen a little and we got up and finished the delivery. The load was about 10 hours late, but we got there safely. No load is worth a life. We are thankful for everyone who was praying for us going through that weather! Please continue to keep us in prayer!

We are currently on our third load, and before you wonder how this one is going...we are sitting at a truck stop waiting for a tire change. Don't ask.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Now It Is Fall


There's a crisp in the air, a chill in the breeze
That rustles through brightly emblazoned trees
Leaves in their glory of red, gold, and brown
Shine brilliantly today then blanket the ground

Beneath them the busy small creatures tread
Stocking up food for the winter ahead
Above them geese loudly repeat their call
Summer is gone and now it is fall

The apples are golden, the cornstalks are dry
The ripening pumpkins look up towards the sky
The fields yield their bounty to farmer's delight
And it seems the sun sets a little sooner each night
A harvest moon rises as frost comes with a snap
And the earth settles down for a long winter nap

2015 Rebekah Davis all rights reserved 

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Team Davis - Ready to Roll!

You, me, and #3 with our truck
Our family is back together again - and we are officially professional drivers!

I got back to the terminal to take the upgrade tests but unfortunately had to leave for drill weekend before finishing. Yesterday I got the road test and backing test done and upgraded from student to professional status. Team Davis is back together! And over the weekend we picked up our baby girl too, so our family is complete.

We have been assigned our new fleet manager and we are waiting for our first load assignment. We have lots of stories to tell from training, and we will be making more stories as we roll together, so I will do my best to keep this blog updated.

Happy navigator! 
And for everyone who has asked how #3 is adjusting to truck life, well, she has made herself at home! She wasn't too sure about it at first but is adapting to the space restrictions. All 3 of us in one twin sized bed is quite cozy! She thinks the bed and the passenger seat are equally her domain, and puts her paws on the dashboard any time we leave her in the truck. She's learning to get herself in and out of the truck with a little help. We may eventually get a ramp or stairs to help her so it's not so hard on her joints though.

I missed him so much!
So for now, we are settling in and adjusting. Now that we're finally in our own truck, we can get things the way we like. We've been organizing and figuring out where to put everything. We have plastic organizers in the cupboards for clothing and food, and the top bunk has room to store our cooking appliances and extra stuff. I plan on doing quite a bit of cooking on the road, which is usually much cheaper and much healthier than truck stop food!

I hope y'all have had a good summer/fall and I look forward to catching up with everyone!

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Training Update and an Upgrade

A big congratulations to my sweetheart who finished all his training hours, passed the upgrade tests, and is now a fully fledged professional driver! Yay!
Congratulations honey!

The truck behind him is ours now, a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia. It was brand new when they gave it to him - plastic on the seats and 7 miles on the odometer!

He's been running some trailers around for the company while waiting for me to finish my training. It keeps him busy plus adds some income. It's certainly better than sitting around doing nothing!

As for me, I'm a few days away from completion. I got a week behind because I had to go home for drill weekend. But I'm almost done and can't wait to be back with my love, in our own truck, and not have to be separated again!
Bay Bridge, Maryland 

In the past week I've been as far north as upstate New York and as far south as the bottom of Alabama. It's nice to finally get some decent trips instead of the little 200-300 mile runs they had been giving us. More miles means more driving hours which means faster graduation! Here I come!