May 07, 2014
Bob & Linda Caffee
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This year we pushed out how long we stayed away from home due to weather conditions. We usually plan on home time every two to three months but this time we went almost four months. The truck and sleeper are perfectly comfortable and we do not worry about our house or property as our oldest daughter lives there. As our home time approached and we were on our final load I was down to counting minutes before we would pull into our driveway and shut the Caffcadia off. We were home 15 days and we had a whirlwind of activities planned. Bob wanted to finish the skirts on the truck and he had other routine maintenance items he wanted to care for. My traveling file cabinet was full to bursting with paperwork that needed to be permanently filed. I also could not wait to get most of our winter clothes out of the truck and reload with summer clothes. It is a mad dash as we pull into the driveway to clean out the truck, all of our bedding, the refrigerator contents, computers, receipts, and most of our clothing. As you might imagine after that many months away from home the pile of mail is daunting and that takes a bit of our time to go through and sort. I also order much of what we need on line so that I do not have to take the time while at home to run around to any more stores then absolutely needed. This time at home he finished the skirts and then moved on to other routine maintenance items. Once all of the truck duties are finished it is time to start in on work that we want to get done to the house and property. While at home I take over the mowing as that is something I enjoy and it allows me to be outside. Before we knew it our 15 days of being home was coming to an end and I was reloading the refrigerator in the truck and we were ready to hear the phone ring for our first load offer. We have a special ring tone for load offers and then the phone rang I answered with my heart beating a little faster in anticipation of when we would be leaving and where we would be headed. Luck was on our side as it was a military load that did not pickup till the next morning three hundred miles away. The load was also going to take us across my favorite part of the country to drive and to a place we had been to before. It was with a light step and a song in my heart as we finished loading the truck. There was big smile on my face as the Caffcadia was started and we pulled out of our driveway and back onto the blacktop. Our first trip was a long one and I wondered how quick I could get back into my sleeping pattern in the truck and I was glad that I had no problems. It is good to be back on the road and this time we will not be staying out as long, only two months.
Comments (6)
Bob and Linda started their driver careers after their children left home for college in 2000. Bob started as a driver for a large motor carrier with Linda as a rider. They decided to enter the Expedite industry as team drivers in 2005 and purchased their first Freightliner. Both, Bob and Linda have had their Class A licenses since the early 80's starting out driving in the oil field and hauling grain as fill in drivers where Bob worked as a diesel mechanic. Linda worked at the local country courthouse in data processing.
June 04, 2014
Craig McCue
August 21, 2016
Joey Slaughter
December 15, 2016
Jeff Clark
Linda Caffee
Kurt you know I had not thought of that - when we leave home we could be back in a week or the longest we have stayed out is four months. You are though it is hard for someone to understand who has not done this. Bob's parents have an RV and they go to Arizona for the winter, they leave after Christmas and stay a few months. We got to talking and they were mentioning HOW LONG it had been since they had been home and then they asked us and were astounded that we had been gone from home longer then them and we were not on vacation. We just don't really think about it. Thank You for your comment.
May 11, 2014 19:20:29 PM
Kurt Keilhofer
I am out for a month or 2 at a time. It is difficult to explain to others unfamiliar with this lifestyle that it sometimes takes a day or 2 after you are actually home to enjoy or be settled down being there. Few can comprehend when you leave, that you truly have no idea when you will be back, or where you will be headed after making your first delivery, running 48 and Canada.
May 11, 2014 18:13:09 PM
Jeff we have favorite runs all over the country and some depend on the time of year. I have figured out we enjoy what we are doing and have figured out that on every load there is usually something very cool about it. Mostly the cool is holding the steering wheel and staring out of that huge windshield!
May 08, 2014 7:22:08 AM
I have favorite runs too. Mine is crossing the Mackinac and coming home to Wisconsin along the water in the UP.
May 08, 2014 4:35:14 AM
Thank You Craig I think we do have a great balance.
May 07, 2014 8:19:35 AM
No matter how much we enjoy what we do, we need to mix it up a little to keep it exciting. Working around the house for a while is fun but not exciting and adventurous. Sounds to me like you have found the right mix of home time and road time to keep your lives exciting. There's no better way to live.
May 07, 2014 8:15:13 AM
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