I find myself in conversations with new friends on the road referring to The Trucker (Paul) or The Kid (Tyler) and often get asked what they call me. Which I don’t really know so I’m instituting The Girl myself. When I explain that we all travel together in the cab of the semi for 7.5 months solid with no vacations, they exclaim “this should be a reality show!”
Since camera’s are not following our every move (thank goodness) I thought on this week’s post I would give you a little better idea of what our day to day looks like.
I must say that the three of us individually are more different than we are the same, contrary to popular belief, this results in very little drama. Not to say it’s not interesting, it is but drama not so much. For instance we all represent different generations The Kid is in his 20’s, I am 30 and The Trucker is in his 40’s. Since I am in the middle I often act as a translator bridging the gap when there is confusion with slang terms and pop culture between The Kid & The Trucker, which proves quite entertaining.
We usually travel half the week which is spread across several days. After two months on the road we have kinda established a routine. The kid will never be a minute early to our take off time, he values every ounce of sleep. We load up our luggage in the potato, try to get the permits situated and then he climbs on to the top bunk to continue his slumber. Since I already have been up for a few hours I will sit shotgun for a couple more until I’m ready to take the bottom bunk and listen to a book. The trucker then promptly changes the radio station from country to rock and not only sings every song like he is in a packed arena but also plays the drums on the dash and air guitar solos.
Getting food on the road presents a challenge in itself. Since there are not a lot of options and the difference in our food preferences vary from fried to fresh. I am definitely the most particular when it comes to food, I more often than not decide to hold off until we arrive at our destination.
When we arrive at our hotel we are usually greeted by dozens of folks that have followed us off the freeway hoping to get a better picture. As well as people from nearby businesses that abandon their post to awe at the spectacle that is our vehicle and grab a postcard that we keep handy exactly for these situations.
While one person grabs their luggage the others will snap photos for people and vise versa. Once we get checked in to our hotel room we all do our own thing most of the time. The Kid likes to relax by watching Sportscenter and various reality shows. He takes advantage of the hotel gym and if it’s a Sunday he will look for a local church to attend. The Trucker watches a fair amount of Law & Order and is in awe that he never sees a rerun. He also practices his guitar and catches up with his fiance and son back home. I set off on foot exploring every city big or small without an agenda and just see where it takes me.
While it may or may not be TV worthy one thing’s for sure; that we are having the time of our lives together on this truly unique adventure 🙂
