[no_worries]

LOL, I've never let the specter of germs scare me too much. I seem to have a bulletproof immune system. Besides, Norovirus wreaks havoc with the digestive system...nothing a regular regimen of alcohol can't cure :lol:

Solo, I did the all-inclusive thing last winter in Mexico...Loved it! That's a great way to vacation. I just had a friend get back from the Dominican, said it was great. I've always had a thing for being on the water, so I thought I'd try a cruise. I'd really like to take up sailing. My plan is to get certified down the road to bareboat and just charter my own for vacations. Nothing like bobbing around the Caribbean to cure the road weariness 8)

I am like Steve myself right now 40 degrees am I wearing SHORTS. When I was a driver never idled til it was going to be colder than 40 degrees however warmer than 65 I ran my AC all night long.

[RostyC]

Originally Posted by no_worries

Nothing like bobbing around the Caribbean to cure the road weariness Cool

Till the pirates come along

[ncnewbie]

no_worries - they have "crewed" charters where you can get a "captain" and/or first mate/cook to come along. They'll stay out of the way or get involved as much as you want. See if you're interested enough to take on everything yourself. The big outfits will let you take a "skipper" out with you, send him back in a day or two if you feel competent and he/she agrees.

Last time we bareboated in the British Virgin Islands, we made the rounds with a couple that did this on a 45' sailboat. Skipper in his 30s and cook in her 20s. Every afternoon when they dropped anchor, the cook would skinny dip off the stern. We always tried to drop hook close by! :lol:

I can't tell you how much you will spend per day on a cruise. Every one I've been on the past 12 years or so is for free for me. The only thing you need to really pay for are the drinks so I would figure on $5.00 for each one. The ship usually has a gold and watch sale and the deals are awesome. You buy gold chain by the inch. I bought a gold chain and when I got home I brought it to a jeweler and he said he would buy it for almost twice what I paid for it.

I've been on a lot of cruises where many people have been sick. The majority of them are either old or in poor health to begin with and not able to fight off the sickness. I am required to get a series of shots every year to protect me including certain snake and spider venom. I'm usually a little sick for 3 days after getting my shots. Many of them they are able to mix together so sometimes 1 shot includes 3 to 6 different ones.

I have Verizon wireless and would recommend it to anyone. I can't remember a time when I wasn't able to get online. Some times I'm only at dial up speed but at least I'm up and running.

I think if you grew up in New England you either skied or there was something wrong with you at least for my age bracket. Like in another thread about the difference between my age group and the ones today there wasn't a lot to entertain us. I lived near a small ski slope in Western Mass and the whole school went from the school to the ski area every single day. We skied from 3 to 7 during the week and all day and sometimes into the night on the weekends. Unless our parents got a call to pick us up they didn't come and get us. All the other parents would load up any kid and bring them home if it was on their way.

And yes, the mountain is called Gunstock and one of the most challenging slopes around and the coldest and windiest. I've been to Alta, Snowbird, Jackson Hole, Mary Jane, Winter Park, Vale, Aspen and Tahoe. Snowbird is my favorite in Utah though. I use to have 7 friends that I skied with but as the years went by they dropped off one by one.

[usedup]

Steve, looks like you grew up near where I was raised. 25 miles south of Albany on the east bank of the Hudson River. Left the area in 1960.

So whats the story with the onions??????

[eplurubus]

Originally Posted by SteveBooth

I've been to Alta, Snowbird, Jackson Hole, Mary Jane, Winter Park, Vale, Aspen and Tahoe. Snowbird is my favorite in Utah though.

I live in Steamboat Springs, CO, so I am kind of biased to our ski resort here, but I've been to Snowbird a couple times and I love it there. I've mostly just skied here in Colorado. You need to get to Wolf Creek, Arapahoe Basin, and Loveland (Loveland the ski resort is not to be confused with Loveland the town, which is about forty miles north of Denver). A-Basin has one of the best bowls in the country. Wolf Creek claims to have the most snow, and Loveland is just plain good and super easy to get to. You pass Loveland every time that you travel I-70 and go through Eisenhower Tunnel. The resort is right on top of the tunnel!

[geomon]

E-bus...you're bringing back great memories of the Colo days. Was a ski racer at CU and worked at Copper Mtn afterwards in the late 70's. Left the area in '81. You mention A-Basin...spring skiing there can't be beat and in the 70's it was quite WILD I tell ya...some good times were had on those slopes. (local knowledge....we used to have to hike over to ski Palivacini avalanche chute before there was a lift (and bumps) on it. Ahhh the good ol days. Thanks for bringing those memories back E-bus!!!

[merrick4]

You're probably right about the age thing cause didn't seem like skiing was a big thing when I grew up (I think you have me by about 20 years). Also the only really close skiing area was Blue Hills which of course is only a hill.

I didn't know Gunstock had such a rep. Actually I had never been on skis before (I was 15) and they put me on the bunny slope for about 20 minutes and then right up to the expert slope. It took me about an hour to get down. I remember going through those poles that indicate ice like a bowling ball. In hindsight, lucky I didn't get killed.

The only good thing on the trip was we rented snowmobiles and that was a blast. I would do that again in a heartbeat.

So, I left off where I shut down early 10 miles or so from the drop off point so I wouldn't have to drive through NY during rush hour. I go to sleep early and get rolling a little before midnight. The fog was the worst I've ever seen and at some points I was driving 5mph on the highway.

The directions I was given were the same my GPS had so that was great. It was off the highway, left at the stop sign then a few miles on the right. When I called the day before the woman said show up anytime and unload. The guard told me what dock number Ryeco was at and I drove by and it was empty.

I pull over into a large area and take my tarps off then spend 1/2 an hour backing into the dock. The place is huge but everyone parks in the middle of the lot that's marked no parking so you have 1/2 the amount of room than a Flying J parking lot to back in. Before I back in I have to clear away parts of trucks, pallets, food, garbage, plastic...you name it.

I go inside and here is this huge fat fu** smoking a cigar and sounds like he has throat cancer. He IMMEDIATLY has an attitude against all people and asks me what I have. I tell him I have 19 pallets of onions. Well, that sets him off. Onions, ONIONS? Where the fu** am I suppose to put onions. Like I'm suppose to know. I say, how should I know, you guys ordered them. Then he says he doesn't know when he can unload me, he says he has 9 trucks before me.

I tell him I'm already untarped and he flips out and tells me to tarp it back up and they better not get wet. Do you know how hard it is to lift two 200 pound tarps onto the top of a load of onions? He takes my cell phone number and says he will call when he's ready for me. Needless to say, not a single truck ever showed up from the time I pulled in till I left 12 hours later.

By this time I am the dirtiest I've ever been in my life. I have no strength left at all from back to back untarp then tarp. Walking on onions is the most dangerous load to be on in my opinion.

Now it's 5am and the place is starting to jump. I get out of my truck and go back inside and what a fu**ing surprise. Fat Bastard has gone home, did nothing all night and new people are there. And, of course, it's a big surprise to them that I was there. This guy is at least a human being and tells me he doesn't know when they will get me in. It's obvious they are selling onions and when they get low enough they will unload me. They are pretty much using your truck as a storage facility for free.

Now it's like 8am and the place is jumping. I think there's like 150 docks one after another and this must be the only produce market for all of Philly. There is garbage everywhere, dogs, cats and rats pissing and crapping all over the place. The whole place is considered a dump and if you have to take a leak, just piss right there. Time for a joint? No problem, just light up and walk around. Sea Gulls everywhere, this is like a buffet to them. And of course, they are sh**ing every place you can imagine.

Now, why do I mention about all this filth? Because they are all transporting produce back and forth to one another on those electric fork trucks. The lot is soaking wet with puddles everywhere and all that grap I mentioned mixed in. The trucks are spraying all the vegetables with everything on the ground and the sea gulls top it off with a load of crap.

Now these vegetables go right into the vans and delivery trucks waiting to take them to the restaurants, Chinese buffets and little markets. You go in your favorite store and see these nice wet red peppers and think, wow, these babies are really fresh, just washed, cold and shinny. They are not washed, that's the crap from the parking lot and the reason they are shinny is due to the pigeon and sea gull crap.

So now it's 9am and I'm on the phone to the owner of the company I'm delivering too and the farm I picked up the onions from. They all act surprised and say they will call me back. None never do.

Another truck shows up with a load of onions from the same place I picked up at. I see him go in, I see him come out angry, slam his door and left the lot.

So, in the end, I get unloaded around 11am and it's 12 by the time I leave so I was there 12 hours total. Nobody ever called me back, your treated like sh** and I'll never ever go back to any produce place again.

Oh, and then he says it's $35 for lumper fees. I just laughed and said, Ya, right, see ya. He didn't say anything at all.

I'm sure this is a common thing for all you van drivers and your use to it. Myself, driving a flatbed I don't experience this. When I have a load it always seems special and people are waiting JUST FOR ME. There's no waiting, no lines no nothing. If they need to call the police for me they will. Many times they come get me and escort me in.

And don't even mention detention time. That's crapola. If you mention it and want it in the contract then you don't get the load. Sure, we'll put it into the contract but it will take a few days to get approved so we'll have to get another truck for this load until management approves the detention time and then we have to get the customer approval and contract from them also that approves the detention time.

So don't even preach to me about how you write stuff into a contract. I don't believe you. I live this stuff from real experience as do a handful of others on this forum who actually post what really goes on. I've told numerous people on here in private PM's and phone calls to take what you hear with a grain of salt. If you want the contract modified, your not going to take the load. It's as simple as that. Why should they, Fu** the driver, we'll just get someone else. Hell, I would do the same, it's real easy to get someone else to pull the load. Your not anything special, your just a pile of sh** and we can get another pile of sh** in a second. Plain and simple.

As far as the woman from U.S. Express. As soon as I was loaded with the onions and she knew I wasn't going back out for a while, the phone calls stopped and so did the emails.

Like I said, don't give me any advise, experience with ones mistakes is the best learning experience you can get. Just makes me wiser and smarter in the future.

I'm also glad I read kblickster's account of her experience with the Xmas trees. I believe her story, as I do Merrick's and Pepe's.

I'm taking the rest of this week off and next. I'm keeping the shades down, the heat on, ordering in, drinking and watching TV.