Thanksgiving Thankfulness

Today is Thanksgiving and in the great tradition of the holiday, I am counting my blessings.

My love is here next to me. It's his turn to drive and we are cruising down the road, belting out classic country songs and laughing at highway signs. Last year, he and I had just a few hours together before we both rushed off to work. I am SO thankful that we get to be together all day today (and every day)!

Our furry four legged baby is in the back curled up on the bunk. She is convinced that the bunk belongs to her. She has adjusted very well to trucking; she knows the sounds of the air brakes and the turn signal, and when the truck slows down she jumpa up to watch out the window. Her presence makes this adventure better and I can't imagine doing this without her.

A recent visit with my parents 

We've seen both of our families regularly lately. Driving across the country has allowed us to visit with my family several times recently, and when we go home we often get to visit my lovely in-laws. We may not be with them on the holidays, but I am so thankful for the memories made.

The prayers of our family and friends accompany us across the country. No matter where we are or what we're facing, our loved ones are thinking of us and lifting us up to our Heavenly Father. Long phone calls with dear ones break up the monotony of the miles we drive. There is nothing more precious than hearing their voices and knowing there is love behind them.

It was delicious! 

We're on the road this Thanksgiving, and though we are rolling, we will have a good meal today. There won't be fine china this year, but paper plates are just fine. There won't be any of our family with us, but our own little family is together and that's all I could ask for. There's a ham in my crockpot, smelling wonderful, and mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese will grace our makeshift table.

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Dear Driver...

To the driver of the gray pickup who passed me today and felt like a one-fingered wave was appropriate...

1. Everything you eat, drink, wear, drive, write on, or use in any way, including the phone in your hand and the pickup truck you are driving, was on a semi at some point before coming into your possession. If we stopped rolling down the road, your world would come to a stop.

2. I know you were annoyed because I was driving 65mph in a 75mph speed limit zone. What you might not know is that my truck is governed at 65mph. That means it won't accelerate any faster. In fact, most semis are governed between 59 and 65. Trust me, we are not driving slower than you would like just to annoy you.

Rearview rainbow 

3. There are many reasons semis might drive slower than they are capable of going. For instance, in the past 24 hours, my husband and I drove through areas under high wind advisories, flash flood warnings, severe thunderstorms, dust storms, and tornado warnings...and that was just today. Keep in mind, I am 73 feet long and 13 feet 6 inches high. If there is high wind, rain, standing water, low visibility, curves in the road, mountains, or any other situations that pose a hazard, please believe that I will drive at a speed that I feel is appropriate to the current conditions. This is for my safety as well as yours. You want to go home to your family tonight, right? If I lose control and cause an accident due to reckless driving, you will wish that I had been more careful.

Next time you pass a trucker, feel free to smile and wave. Or don't, that's your call. But please don't get mad at us for doing our job to the best of our ability.

Be safe out there, folks.

Our First Anniversary

One year ago today, I married my best friend.

November 15, 2014

It's been an interesting year... We've had our ups and downs. We've learned so much about each other and learned how much we have yet to learn. We've faced a lot together and come through stronger and closer than ever.

A year ago, I had no idea we would be spending our first anniversary in a semi. I had no idea that we would put everything we own in storage and hit the road, driving thousands of miles every week. I had no idea I would wake up this morning, with my sweetheart and our dog all crammed on a twin size bed, somewhere in California... But here we are.

November 15, 2015

And you know what? No matter where we are or what we are doing, there is nowhere I would rather be than by the side of this amazing man. Come what may, we will face it together - and that is everything.

A year ago, we had already been through so much, we were already deeply committed to each other, and we were thrilled to officially and legally pledge ourselves to each other before God and our family and friends. Today, we have a deeper understanding, commitment, and love for each other.

Love is a living thing, that grows or ebbs based on how you feed it. Every day we make the choice to love each other, to choose each other, to have patience with each other, to be kind to each other, to be there for each other.

I can't wait to see what God has for our future. No matter where we go, no matter what we do...I love you.

Weather and Safety

California windmills working hard

It seems that we have a knack for hitting some of the worst weather! Don't ask me how it happens - believe me, if I knew how, we would avoid the bad weather! In the past month we got stuck in torrential rainstorms in Texas, drove seven hours through extremely dense fog from mid Illinois down to Memphis, Tennessee, and had to stop for 12 hours to keep from being blown off the road in Ohio.

The wind was so strong Wednesday that we couldn't keep the truck on the road. It didn't help that we had an empty trailer with no weight to help hold us down. My sweetheart was driving down the right lane and the trailer was on the shoulder when we decided it was time to pull over. The wind was 25-30mph with gusts up to 51mph. We pulled over at a rest area and told our dispatch that we didn't feel safe to drive. Just sitting in the parked semi, the whole truck was rocking back and forth!

We have agreed that anytime either one of us doesn't feel safe about the roads, we will not drive. No load is worth risking an accident, causing damage to the property we are hauling or endangering ourselves and the people traveling around us.

#3 is very serious about driving

As we are coming into winter, weather is becoming a greater concern. Anyone driving in winter needs to be mindful of changing conditions, snow, ice, etc - but when piloting 50,000 to 80,000 pounds cruising down the highway, caution in bad weather conditions is absolutely a matter of life or death. Driving something this big and heavy is a huge responsibility that must be taken very seriously for the sake of our own lives and everyone else around us, not to mention the freight that we have been entrusted to transport.

Every day I see truckers doing stupid things, dangerous things, usually out of laziness. God forbid we ever become complacent about driving a semi, because most accidents are caused by carelessness.

Stay safe out there.

Life On the Road

It's currently 1:46am local time in Illinois. My sweetheart is driving and I'm in the passenger seat keeping him company, especially since we are driving through some thick nasty fog.

Sunset in Texas

We've travelled the corridor from Texas to Illinois three times in the past few days, making stops in Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Tennessee along the way. It's a beautiful run, right through the heartland of the country. During the daytime, miles and miles of farmland stretch in every direction, fields as far as the eye can see; they give way to the rolling curves of the Appalachian foothills, currently emblazoned in the glory of autumn colors. The hills level out again to ranchland, dotted with cattle, of every color of the earth, grazing on the sparse vegetation left at the end of the year.

At night, however, the darkness makes the distance seem greater, as there are few landmarks to denote the passing time. Weather conditions such as rain or fog make driving more stressful than the usual monotony.

My honey and I have worked out a rotation schedule that allows each of us to drive about half the night and half the day, so that neither of us has to handle all the night driving. Now that we're finally getting into a routine, it's getting a lot easier for both of us.

Fall colors in Tennessee 

Sleeping in a moving semi, while the other person drives, is harder than we originally expected. The bumps, curves, and speed changes that are part of normal driving make restful sleeping difficult. As for cooking...now that's an experience! Yesterday I was trying very hard to make lunch for us as Don was driving, but we were on a road that was plagued with an unusual quantity of bumps, dips, and potholes. I now have a better understanding of what our country's early settlers experienced while crossing the land in covered wagons! For the most part, while the truck is on the road, we stick to sandwiches and snacks, but just in case you ever wondered, it is definitely possible to cook in a crockpot and a toaster oven while in a moving semi. My cooking blog, Bekah's Recipes, has several of the meals we've made lately and I will continue to update it as we try new things.

Stay safe on the roads and wave if you see us!