Albert Lea, Minnesota

Easter, 2008--We had hoped to have a sit-down dinner with ham and mashed potatoes and the works, but as it was, we were on the road with no place in mind to eat. We couldn't find a restaurant where we were and settled on a plain burger from 'Badlands Truck Stop', in South Dakota. I called Rachel and left a message for her to call me back, wishing them a Happy Easter. I contacted my brother and his family and it was nice talking to them all. Mike called Uncle Pete and Aunt Ellie and they had a nice chat. Mike tried to call his dad to wish them a Happy Easter, but apparently they were in the middle of a "game" and Elizabeth wouldn't let Mike talk with his dad. That really hurt his feelings. It's sad when people act so hateful like that. I know Mike is upset about this and when he gets a chance, I'm hoping he will give her a piece of his mind. All in all, we had an Easter that was just about like every other day. Mike was driving and I was sleeping.






Hi from the Ramada Inn in Albert Lea, Minnesota. You guessed it, back in a hotel again! And if you have figured it out, it's because the truck is down again. This time we were on a trip (dedicated run) back and forth between Portland, Oregon, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We have been doing this run for a person who needed time off to buy a new truck and didn't want to lose his dedicated run. I'll tell you, that dedicated runs are for the birds==so confusing that I didn't know whether we were coming or going! And boring, to say the least. Now back to the part about the truck. Monday night we were about 300 miles away from dropping the load in Milwaukee when the truck started making this horrible noise that sounded like a dragon snorting! It was absolutely scary and the truck had seemed to be losing power. EGR valve was gone and I do mean GONE! The nuts and bolts holding it together were nowhere in sight and the gasket was blown off as well--where did they go? Who knows when and where we lost them, but they were definitely GONE. Needless to say, the load had to be repowered by our DM and we are holed up in a "cheesy" motel, as a friend of mine would say. Thank god for motels! It was pretty cold when we came into this little town of Albert Lea, Minnesota, but the weather is getting warmer in the two days that we've been here. The truck is supposed to be fixed by noon-ish today and we'll be back on the road again. This time with an "almost new" truck since we decided to have the Overhead Service done too. Look out, here we come-just try to stop us now... We have alot time to make up for losing.