On the road... whew!

posted Apr 1, 2010 2:58 PM by Darc Balog

10pm rolled around last night and we saw the last of the house we've called home for the last 2 years.  We were blessed by our home and by the city of Puyallup, and so we blessed these as we left.  We were also blessed with many good friends-- people I would call close for the rest of our lives, despite years and miles.  Thank you, God. Why the 10hour late start?  Because the Tacoma ABF dispatcher can not estimate time, we guess.  On Monday, they were supposed to retrieve our first trailer and drop a second in the a.m.  No news by 10 am.  And I know that that was still a.m., but I called to verify anyway.  Welp, the man said, "Oh. no.  They won't be there till the afternoon."  So I asked when should I be home as to not miss the driver.  Oh, be home by 1pm.  Ok.  I figured that meant they would be there by 3pm or so.  5:30om rolls around--nothing.  So we call again.  Oh, the driver won't be there till sometime between 6-8pm.  ooookay.  So, 8pm rolls around--nothing.  So we call again.  I said:  We were expecting a driver to pick up our trailer by 8pm and now it is 8 and no one had come yet.  Was everything ok?  Did anything happen?"  The man on the phone, didn't even have to ask my name, said snidely, "It is only 8:05." "yes, but I have been waiting since 1pm.  That is 7hours I have been waiting based on what your company told me." Rude tone in his reply, "The driver left 45min ago." I ask, "Ok.  So what time should I expect him?" "He left 45min ago." "Yes but, does that mean he will be here in the next few min or will it be another 45min?"  I asked because I didn't know where the driver was coming from. "In...the...next...few...minutes." "Ok.  I will remember this conversation.  Thank you."  CLick. So 30min later I get a call from the driver, he was lost.  So, I gave directions again and 15min later he was at our house.  So it wasn't the next few min-- it was 30+. This mis-estimation cost us 8hours. So last night we were going to get on the road, because it just didn't feel right to stay in a hotel in Puyallup for some reason!  LOL! Right now we are in OR.  A storm is going to heat the west coast tonight so we are going to try to make Reno, NV so that we can clear the Cascade Mountains. Ciao for now! God Bless Darc