Down South

Over the past two weeks Derrick and I were in the southern regions of Arkansas. Last week we went to the Portland, Wilmot, Dermott and McGehee schools- the young adventurers there were exceptionally well behaved and truly enthusiastic about our visit. The total number of kids we had aboard was 277, with quite a number of them leaving with Planet 'X' rockets as rewards for their hard work.

This week we went down near the Louisiana border to entertain the schools in Bradley, Taylor, and Emerson. Again I was very impressed by the behavior of the students, we only had to play the "quiet down explorers" message over the loudspeakers a couple times. Even though these were very small towns - one had a population of 359 - the students came in droves: 170 by the end of it.

Out on the road we had a few strange encounters. One was that there was a deer hanging out on the side of the road at 1:00 PM in the middle of the day. Another was the lone horse having a meal of municipal grass by the side of the highway. And finally there was the wonderful adventure of getting lost with a useless map, no cell phone reception, and a GPS device that decided it did not want to help us at the time.

The people there were very helpful, but unfortunately the road signs where we were did not provide as much aide to us. Sparse identification of roadways lead us to constant guessing of our location. Finally after giving up on our Google directions and the GPS device we waited for a passerby to help us out. The local volunteer fireman gave us excellent directions to our next destination and we were on our way. Of course as soon as we pulled out of the fire station the GPS somehow managed to exactly repeat the local's directions. Why it was not working in the parking lot is beyond me. That thing must be possessed.

None the less we made it out alive and better for it. The kids had a great time and we did too for the most part.

Until next time,
~The Planet 'X' Crew

Truck Driving Training

For the past two weeks Derrick and I have been at C1 Truck Driving Training out in North Little Rock. We learned ALL kinds of facts you could not have even thought existed. We learned about how air brakes work, safety tips for emergency braking, how to do an extensive pre-trip inspection of your vehicle, along with countless other items to further our knowledge of the Planet 'X' vehicle.

First we spent four days learning about general knowledge, air brakes, and combination (tractor trailer) information so that we could pass our written test and get our CDL learner's permit. That weekend we were taught about the pre-trip inspection and the following week we learned and practiced backing skills as well as on the road skills.

Yes, we learned how to drive on the road during the week of Gustav's constant barrage of rain. I was tested by the State Troopers last Friday and passed! Derrick's test is soon to be so hopefully he'll have the same result.