How the Rest of the Texas Trip Went

Some of my readers will be interested to hear how the rest of my trip to Texas went after the breakdown, so here goes.

It took them most of the day Wednesday to diagnose the problem with the truck.  Finally about mid afternoon, after much consultation with Detroit Engines over the phone, they determined what was needed was an injector valve.  Only problem was they didn’t have one in stock and the nearest one was in Memphis.

If they had ordered it as a regular stock item, it would come via ground freight and likely not show up until Monday.  Or, I could pay the air freight, and they would ship it overnight. Duh. Not much choice if you ask me.  So then arrangements were made for the shuttle from the Quality Inn to pick me up.  That took a couple of hours and a second phone call but eventually I was checked in for the night.

The lady at Freightliner had told me this was a good motel, firstly, for the special trucker’s rate, and secondly,  because there were several choices of places to eat nearby.  So once I had stowed my gear in the room and turned on the air-conditioner I sallied forth to find me some growlies.

Quality Inn, San Antonio, TX

What I really had in mind was some authentic Mexican food but I soon found out that was not to be.  After chatting with a fire fighter who was standing by a fire engine a couple of blocks up the street, I found out, that for some strange reason that even he couldn’t explain, all the local taco joints close up at 3:00 in the afternoon.  And as if in proof, I passed at least two of them that had CLOSED signs in the windows.

San Antonio Flowers

Well having found nothing but fast food joints in one direction, I turned and headed back the other way past the motel, and eventually found a Bill Miller Bar-B-Q.  By now I was suffering greatly from the heat, so I was eager for the chance to get inside with the A/C and sit down, no matter what the food was like.

Well this place was only one step up from a fast food joint.  Food was picked up at the counter, served on disposable foam plates and paid for at the cashier before you can  go and sit down.  Aside from that the food wasn’t too bad.  I had a combination plate of sausage and beef brisket.  This included baked beans, cole slaw, fried potatoes, onions and pickles, sweet iced tea and apple pie for desert.

Supper at Bill Miller Bar-B-Q

Following supper I returned to my motel room and spent the evening working on my websites.  The free breakfast provided the next morning was excellent.

It was mid afternoon the next day before the truck was ready, (I won’t bore you with all my agonizing over the delay). My Laredo load had already been put off a day, and my dispatch was anxious not to have to call the customer with more delays.  However, once I got on the road I wasted no time in high tailing it south on I-35 and by that evening I was loading mangoes.

The load had been brought across the border from Mexico by a Mexican truck and driver, which backed into one loading dock, while I back my trailer into the dock right beside it, and the load was transferred onto my trailer.  There was a US Customs officer on hand to cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s and within a couple of hours I was once more northward bound.

Leaving Laredo, TX

Everything went more or less smoothly for the rest of the trip including the stop at US Customs in Detroit to get the transit bond cancelled after the load was x-rayed.  Sunday night I delivered the load in Cambridge, Ontario, end of story.