Got Snacks?

A lifetime of travelling makes this a tough question to answer.

Daily writing prompt

Think back on your most memorable road trip.

Ouch! let me think…

I started out on a road trip back in the twentieth century around 1975/6 and decided to see the world. I never made it that far. I have seen 49 states but Hawaii has remained elusive to me for unknown reasons. On the start of this trip I was amazed at the beauty of Missouri before getting lost on the wonders of route 66. Travelling across the great divide seemed boring the first time and then the Rockies came into sight.

I understood the verse ‘majestic mountains instantly and to this day they hold a special place in my heart. The beauty of those mountains has never left my memories. I lived out there a couple of times and spent most of my leisure time exploring the beauty of the wilderness.

But alas my most memorable road trip this morning involves Canada, not the Rockies.

I was an owner operator in the 90’s and had just dropped off a load of oranges I picked up in Cali. I didn’t leave the Tropicana plant in Bradenton Florida before picking up a load of orange juice and headed up north. After getting through Canadian customs I found my way to my delivery point and was told they were rejecting my load as one carton of orange juice was leaking, just one carton out of a whole shipment.

I call dispatch and they tell me it is my load and the payment will be taken out of my escrow account. Great! I now have a full load to get rid of before heading west to Toronto to pick up my next load. I was cruising along and stopped at a Truckstop for dinner. As I ate I kept looking around and when I paid for my dinner I asked to see the manager.

He was skeptical at first but after making a call [to corporate I’m guessing] he bought the load for a serious discount. With a kitchen worker I spent the next couple of hours unloading the juice. When we had finished I went into the office to get paid. Not thinking about where I was when I struck the deal I wasn’t ready to be paid in Canadian money! Wait a minute says I and proceeded to ask for payment in American money. This didn’t sit well with the manager and after telling him he would have to re-load the juice without my help he paid me in American cash. The difference was quite a bit on the conversion rate and neither of us wanted to take the hit.

In the end all worked out well for me as this was my first time in Canada, which I thought was beautiful too. The escrow paid for the load and the extra cash came in handy. I was dispatched to pick up a load of meat headed to…wait for it… Washington and California via Reno where the extra cash was given to the dealers. 😛

I’m still on that road trip that started in my youth and lovin’ every minute.