The man in the middle

I've said it before, but Texas has some really nice rest areas.

Not all of them, mind you. On the average, they're ok, but often a bit on the small side. Finding a parking space can be interesting at a lot of them—at least for something the size of an eighteen-wheeler. The free wi-fi makes up for a lot, though, once you squeeze in.

And then there are the "Safety Rest Areas."

There's one just north of Laredo, where I first learned how nice a rest area can be. Another is at the border of Texas and Louisiana (where it doubles as a welcome center. I suspect there are several more that do that...). That one is built out over a swamp, with a nature-trail boardwalk that meanders above the marshy ground.

They all have a huge (relatively speaking) main building with exhibits showing you how neat the local history/ecology/people/what-have-you is, large and thoroughly landscaped grounds, and all the other stuff that you might need to ENJOY your rest stop.

The one I'm sitting in now is an hour or so east of San Antonio: the "Guadalupe County Safety Rest Area." There's a nice playground to my left (it's getting dark enough the kids are reluctantly being shepherded back to their cars), three or four lofty and lovely stone picnic pavilions, and a fair bit of woods and bushes.

Lots of birds. A rabbit that froze and stared at me as I stepped out the front door (I slipped in and went out the back, just to be nice).

And evidence that people live and work nearby (at least I assume somebody must work at that stockyard I faintly smell...)

All that is nice, but I'll admit I stopped mainly for the free wi-fi. If nothing else, I need to check on what the Mississippi is doing to Louisiana. I-10 and I-12 in particular. I've got to go through there tomorrow.

Hmm. Doesn't look too scary at the moment. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I prepare to relax. I've got 'til Wednesday morning to make about 800-900 miles, so I don't have to start at the crack of dawn tomorrow. I intend to take advantage. The last three days have made me eager for rest.

Friday morning, in Atlanta, I got assigned a load that was due to deliver at 1:00 pm the next morning. In Laredo, Texas.

1100 miles in 24 hours. Less the legally-required 10-hour break. Do the math.

Normally this kind of load would be assigned to a team. With one driving while the other sleeps, it's not a problem. For a solo driver, it's not a problem, either. It's an impossibility.

My dispatcher told me he thought the delivery could be rescheduled. Said to just go get the load and run with it. So I did.

About the time I got the load, my dispatcher called back. The load was hot, he said. The load info used the work three times, in fact. So forget rescheduling. Run as far with it as you can tonight, he said. We'll get somebody to repower it when you shut down.

So I started driving, and I didn't stop until midnight. Then I sent my (night) dispatcher a message telling him where to find me.

Half an hour later, I got a message asking me why we were repowering this load.

I called in and explained what I'd been told. An hour or so later I was told to just get up in the morning and get it to Texas as quick as I can.

O-kayyy...

600-plus miles in 11 hours of driving left me a full hour from my destination last night. So I got up this morning and came the rest of the way bright and early. And the local office said "Where the #%&& have you been?"

Turned out that load was even hotter than I'd known. As in "the factory will shut down if this load doesn't get there quick" kind of hot. I explained what I'd been told, and they said, "We'll have to have a long talk with someone."

Gulp.

I don't think I'm in trouble. I did ask all the right questions. But I still don't like being in the crossfire.
Driving into flood country is actually a bit more comfortable.

And in the meantime, this rest area sure is pretty.