Ft. Worth, TX To Baltimore, MD

Tuesday we left home for Ft. Worth, Texas to International IdeaLease for our trucks. The effects of Hurricane Gustav had made its way to I-35 and we had rain on and off during our trip south.

It sprinkled on me while I inspected the trucks then rain came for about five minutes during our hookup process. Just enough to make me uncomfortable in my new GoreTex rain jacket we bought at Cabela's in Ft. Worth on our way down to the International place. Too hot for the jacket, too wet without it.

Our progress, that day, was disjointed and slow. Our plans to be at the International place by 2 pm went out the window from the beginning. Our arrival at 4 pm was putting us in a time crunch because the dealership closes at 6 pm. With the rain then the puddles we managed to finish in three and a half hours. By the time we were done the security person showed up and let us out of the gate.

We didn't get far this day. The Motel 6 about four miles away is where we shut down for the night. New set up needs watching for any problems. It was past dark already and not a good idea to head down the road. We'll get an early start on Wednesday.

Wednesday we left early, stopping in Rockwall, TX for fuel - 130 gallons to start this trip off.

Interstate 30 east through Texas and into Arkansas where we merge onto Interstate 40 the remainder of Arkansas and into Tennessee. This night we stayed at Days Inn of Jackson, TN. We drove 547 miles on Wednesday.

Thursday morning we left Jackson and went about 44 miles to Holladay, TN for breakfast at the North 40 Truckstop. Leaving there and back on Interstate 40 we still had a long way to go. A stop in Fairview, TN for another 100 gallons of fuel. East of Knoxville we picked up Interstate 81 and went north about 4 pm. This was going to be a long day, I-81 for the rest of Tennessee and into Virginia. Roanoke, Virginia and the Rodeway Inn will be our destination Thursday night - 536 miles.

Joe and I were awoke at 1:30 am by some loud banging and clanging. Seems someone was using a hammer and crowbar to break into the room next to us. The police were called and we went back to sleep.

This morning we left Roanoke and continued our journey north to Mt. Jackson, Virginia for a final 20 gallons of fuel before heading into West Virginia then into Maryland where we merged onto Interstate 70 at Hagerstown and went east on the last leg.

This afternoon we arrived at the Port of Baltimore at 1:30 pm, only to be turned away because the Port is closed for "Defenders Day". Now what do we do? We were told these trucks had to be delivered today! Well, the only thing we can do is unhook the trucks and find a hotel for the weekend then get them delivered on Monday.

So, be tourists in Baltimore. Hey, maybe we can drive past Charm City Cakes and see Duff Goldman and his gang?

Posted with LifeCast