Moving to SATX on 18 Wheels
I moved to San Antonio on an 18 wheeler with my cousin CArlos and his second driver Abel. I had never been on one of these trucks before and to me wthis was a great adventure. We drove for two days, stopping once for food and shower. We left on a Monday at 3pm from Miami and arrived Tuesday at 1230pm in San Antonio, Texas. The ride was a lot of fun, it feels like your in a greyhound bus. I had teh top bunk to sleep in but i did not sleep much at all since i had a new video camera to document this journey. It took forever to get out of Florida, we quickly went through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. During the trip we said alot of bad words, old stories and talked about life on the road. If the conversation died out then it was pure downtime just watching the road and traffic. The truck was big, lots of storage space and pretty well equipped. I quickly learned the drivers have these black books to document their trip that is the holy grail of this profession. Those books are kept accurate and checked by enforcement officials to assure drivers are not driving when they should be sleeping. Another interesting stop were the weight stations, at almost every state crossing there is one active. The trucks have to pass through them and then get flagged in for further inspection or Ok’d and leave. The weights are buried in the cement as two steel sensors. Though this is overall boring it is a minor highlight during long trips waitng to see if you get the X of death sending you in or the arrow of liberty letting you go!
Now the most interesting part of the trip were the truck stops. I had never appreciated them before this journey. They are made to comfort the long distance truck driver and have several ammenities. First they have full private locked door showers, with great hot water, second they have lounge areas with sofas to relax as long as you want, third for truck drivers they can park there 18 wheelers as long as they want at no charge. Finally most come equipped with awesome restuarnts serving delicious comfort food at really cheap prices. The 4 stops I learned about were: Flying J, Petro, Pilot and TA. The first two have the great restaurants. We had lunch at a Flying J in Gulfport Mississippi off of I-10. I had two steaks cooked medium rare with side dishes for under 12 bucks. Those steaks were delicious! Petro has a 22 ounce T-bone they are famous for but I have not tried it yet. Pilot and TA don’t have restaurants, just a fast food chain store so I wont eat there. TA has a 24 hour mechanic shop for the big rigs. We changed the truck’s oil at 1am taking advantage of the midnight special. We hit the road again at around 4am. The people at these stops are a mix of everything but overall every minds there own business. In reality, the drivers spend most of their time in their trucks, they sleep, cook even watch satellite tv in them. Its there home away from home. The one thing i have learned is when I go on the road again Ill eat at the truck stops instead of fast food. Much better food at cheaper prices.
I posted some videos I took while taking my journey in the video section. Watch and enjoy.