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!

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.

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 

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!

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!