#70 Forgot How to Have Fun? (with Dr. Mike Rucker)

“How the pursuit of joy and wonder can change your life.” Sounds bold, right? But Dr. Mike Rucker, author of The Fun Habit, swears it’s not just theory—it’s science. He shares how fun beats burnout, sharpens focus, and helps you stay human, even when you’re living life OTR.

We dig into why fun isn’t fluff—it’s fuel—and how building small moments of joy can help you focus better, stress less, and actually enjoy the life you’re working so hard for. Dr. Rucker explains how tiny “micro-moments” of fun can reset your energy, strengthen impulse control, and shift your mindset from surviving to thriving. We also talk about how to find two hours of true enjoyment each day, no matter where you are.

Then we roll into a rapid-fire highlight reel from the road: drivers share the many ways they’re enjoying life OTR—from geocaching and zip-lining to helicopter rides on a 30-minute break, national park pit stops, and cookouts with new friends. Different personalities, different budgets—same outcome: more resilient, more present, more you.

Huge thanks to Dr. Mike Rucker for the wisdom—and to every driver who shared their stories and ideas. Your creativity is why this community works.

Listen in, steal a few ideas, and try one this week. Progress, not perfection.

Guest: Dr. Mike Rucker, author of The Fun Habit
Connect with Mike: [Website] | [Instagram] | [LinkedIn] |
Buy the Book: [The Fun Habit – Purchase Link]

#EnjoyingLifeOTR #HealthierTruckers #TheFunHabit

Enjoying Life OTR—because LIVING WELL is worth the effort. We’re sparking curiosity, adventure, & resilience while honoring drivers and embracing a healthier trucking life. Discover creative life hacks & practical strategies to make the most of your time on the road. Join the movement!Explore, enjoy the food, snap the pic, and share tips on saving money along the way.

This podcast is for new and veteran drivers looking to stay mentally, physically, and financially strong while embracing the freedom of the road. We bring you real stories, expert advice, & practical tools to help you thrive, not just survive, in the trucking life.

Connect with Us: Join the Enjoying Life OTR Facebook Group – Share your journey, find trip recommendations, & connect with fellow drivers. Follow our Facebook page – Get the latest podcast episodes, trucking tips, & entertaining content. Visit our website – Explore our journey, see community highlights, and access resources for a healthier, more balanced OTR life.

For questions or to be a guest, email our host, Cindy Tunstall at EnjoyingLifeOTR@gmail.com #HealthierTruckers #EnjoyingLifeOTR #TruckerWellness #OTRLife #WorkLifeBalance

Chapters

• 0:00 Rethinking Fun As A Necessity
• 1:34 Meet Dr. Mike Rucker And His Thesis
• 3:46 Burnout, Fun Starvation, And Costs
• 8:11 Fun, Dopamine, And Impulse Control
• 14:15 Micro Pleasures And Active Leisure
• 17:40 Two Hours Of Fun: Reframing And Bundling
• 22:24 Savoring Joy To Build Resilience
• 28:24 Practical Savoring Methods That Stick
• 33:18 First Steps Out Of Burnout
• 38:34 Fun For Introverts And Extroverts
• 44:47 Escapism Versus Enjoyment
• 51:12 Closing Insights And Prevention
• 54:26 Host Recap And Takeaways
• 57:12 Drivers’ Stories: Finding Fun OTR
• 1:22:40 Planning, Budgeting, And Access Hacks

Transcript

Brian Wilson: 0:07

Hey guys. If you ever feel like life is just drive, eat, sleep, and repeat, and somewhere along the line, fun got jumped to the bottom of the priority list? Yeah. Same here. But what if making room for fun, I mean real, meaningful fun, could actually help us stay sharp, feel better, and not burn out so fast. I know I'm interested. Hey, this is Brian Wilson, the old hand with a new plan, and this is Enjoying Life OTR. Today, Cindy sits down with Dr. Mike Rucker, a psychologist, behavioral scientist, and author of the 2023 hit book, The Fun Habit. And this guy has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, Forbes, and a whole ton of other fancy places. But what he's sharing today isn't just theory. It's real stuff. We can all use it to make life on and off the road a little more joyful. Even if all you got is a sunset and 10 or 15 minutes just to breathe. So if you're ready to rethink what counts as fun and maybe get a few ideas you can use out there, you're in the right place.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:27

Okay, Mike, I loved your book. The Fun Habit, How to Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life. Great title. Love that. You said in the book that fun isn't just a luxury, that it's a necessity. You know, but most of us treat it like it's something extra, you know, that we'll get to it when we have time. And um, I wondered if you could share with our audience what it costs us when we have that kind of mindset about fun.

Dr. Mike Rucker : 1:52

Yeah, so I think what we're learning is that similar to in the 90s when we kind of championed sleep deprivation. Um, and now, you know, no one does that. Even folks that are staunch productivity experts, you know, know that if you don't have a good sleep foundation, your life's gonna crumble fairly quickly. We're learning the same about enjoying what you do. Um, the problem with that is that it's a bit of a slower burn. So oftentimes folks can't make the direct line. But what we know is those folks that are fun starved eventually, you know, start to burn out. And uh, you know, whether or not you sort of understand burnout, I meant the symptoms are fairly familiar to most people, right? You just don't really see the world uh in a way that's optimistic. You tend to, even if you're sleeping okay, wake up without a lot of energy, um, you begin to not be able to think creatively. So, like even if you don't feel that you're a creative person, just all of your problems tend to look bigger than they are because you have to really rely on the little bit of resilience that you have. And so for all those reasons, it becomes important to at least, in the context of the way we describe Twine, which is really just enjoying what you do at least some of the time, um, it becomes important to find some ways to do that, even for the time poor, because if you don't find any joy in life, ultimately you start to question whether life's worth living. And, you know, at that point, um, you can't save you with fun anymore, right? It really does require deeper work. And so what we're trying to do is make sure you don't get to that point.

Cindy Tunstall: 3:32

Well, I really love that because one of the things you shared in the book, um, and it was kind of shocking to me, you know, many of our audience are um, you know, trying to live a healthier lifestyle. We're driving, you know, we're trying to um take better care of our bodies. And um, you mentioned something in your book, and it kind of shocked me that when we have more fun in a more balanced, like our fun tank is full, that it actually helps with impulse control. Um, and I thought about, you know, for snacking and um, you know, trying to do, you know, we'll become more disciplined because we have that in our reserves to do that. Could you explain to our audience a little bit about that connection? I thought that was so fascinating.

Dr. Mike Rucker : 4:09

Yeah, it's really interesting neuroscience. And that fact I just got back from a conference in Austin and so learned about it more because if you have a predisposition to something like ADD or ADHD, it becomes even more prevalent. And that is that, you know, we all thrive on challenge or novelty. You know, we need some of that in our life. And that can be in a healthy way. And psychology, we have a geeky word for it called active leisure, or it can be in a way that really just sort of allows you to escape the discomfort that you're in. And so, you know, we tend to in the most simplified terms, we're we're living in the spectrum, right? We're either enjoying what we do, and that can be something just mildly enjoyable. Like, you know, I confess in the book, my wife is pretty low key for her fun things are are fairly low arousal. But folks like me that kind of need some adventure into our life, um, it doesn't really matter what your predisposition is, you know. I mean, it will matter with regards to what you're drawn to. But for the folks that don't have any of that in their life, um, what happens is they just want to displace that kind of unfun environment that they're in. And you can do that in all hosts of ways, right? You can kind of pacify yourself with social media use. Um, you can, you know, engage in eating things that aren't really good for the future self, but in that moment feel okay. Um, and so we live in these dopamine deficits, and that can really become a downward spiral to be, you know, to answer your question specifically. And so by filling those gaps with things that lead us forward, then we do feel fulfilled. In fact, we know that folks that do that deliberately and in a way over time, you know, makes it so almost their fun cup is over uh filled. What we found, and and the geeky term for this is a hedonic flexibility principle, unlike what we used to think in in philosophical terms, we don't always go and look for the next fun thing. In fact, if we feel like we're getting enough fun, and you know, for any single person, um, there's going to be a window of that. But uh if we feel like we're enjoying things, then we go seek out harder challenges or we feel fulfilled, so we go look for personal growth or whatever it is. It's not, you know, similar to if someone was really poorly sleeping, we wouldn't say go sleep, you know, 14 hours a day, right? I meant it's really how do we get back on the rails to something healthy? And the same as for fun. We're not talking about a life of whimsy or or or escape or telling you to go to Burning Man every weekend. It's really that if you're like there is no joy in my week at all, how can we solve for that? And the nice thing is is that you know, there's an abundance of micro pleasures all around us if we go looking for them. So sometimes we just need that nudge, you know, that reminder that it's important and that reminder that, you know, simple pleasures are right around the corner.

Cindy Tunstall: 7:07

When you were talking about that in the book, I I thought about like when I'm driving, I actually really love driving. I even like a um, you know, overcoming a challenging driving situation that feels very rewarding to me. And I, you know, kind of fills my cup. I'm like, yeah, I did that. That was awesome. Um, but even like the joy of in in, you know, enjoying the pleasure of getting to watch the sunset, you know, that that, you know, few hours of watching that change in the sky. And it really just, I mean, I thought it's a simple pleasure as that could be that for you. So I I found that also very encouraging. Another thing that you shared in the book that I found really shocking was that we should have two hours of fun incorporated into our day, which I thought, oh my gosh, at the end of the day, I'm done. I have no no time or energy for fun. So um that a little bit caught me off guard. But um, can you talk about that just a little bit to our audience and um how we can maybe reframe the way that we're thinking about fun and um being able to meet that meet that goal of two hours of fun a day?

Dr. Mike Rucker : 8:10

Yeah. And um, you know, one of the tools in the book is activity bundling. I would assume that that's something that's readily available to drivers, like, can you catch up with an old friend? Or is there something that you want to learn where when you're not working, you know, listening to a good audio book about something, you know, that you like to learn more about and and hopefully engage in cannot provide fertile ground for actually doing the thing once you get off work. And so I think the main takeaway here though is if you know 12 hours just feel like drudgery, what are some simple ways that you can, you know, whether it is looking at a sunset, whether it's calling someone that you're like, you know what, I just I want to talk to this person that where when I'm with them, even if it is just over the phone, is really enjoyable. Or again, you know, if it's a connection to an old hobby long lost, you know, can I do that in some capacity so that I'm present and at least thinking about that thing so that when I do have the availability to do it, um, one, I'm better positioned to do it. But then two, I know, you know, I've done some of the back work, so I get to enjoy it even more.

Cindy Tunstall: 9:18

Well, I really love that. And I think about my work, and I was like, you know, I I got to last week out on a trip and I got to go out west and I was in Arizona and I got to see the Grand Canyon one day, and the next day I got to visit the petrified forest and you know, I just resetting in Arizona, so I had time to do some little side excursions. And um, you also talk about the importance of savoring those moments. Can you talk to our audience a little bit about the value of savoring those phone fun moments and um how that can also help keep our fun takeful?

Dr. Mike Rucker : 9:48

Yeah, so savoring is a great way to sort of extend the fun of the things that you have done. You know, oftentimes, you know, uh I assume a lot of your listeners are kind of stuck, maybe, you know, in in a nighttime drive where there's not much to see. And we as humans, you know, and whether you're an evolutionary sort of, you know, have a slant um or not, there's a predisposition to kind of thinking of the negative, right? Because um, again, some people think it's because, you know, as a species, we want to survive. And so we should have a predisposition to think about um what our threats are. But we live in a modern world where saber-toothed tigers and things like that aren't coming to us. And even if you don't necessarily buy into that, we know even in present day, um, you know, through just checking in with folks, that there is this bias towards the negative. And so allowing ourselves that space to at least free our mind to some degree to think about the positive in a mindful way becomes extremely important. And it does that for a few reasons. So, one, again, now we're spending that time thinking about something other than our worries, right? A reminder that, again, these simple pleasures are all around us. And the other thing it does is it allows us, well, again, I won't use too many more geeky words, but in psychology, what we call emotional flexibility. And so if you have been through a period that's been pretty rough, that reminder that there are there are also nice things out there allows us to then be ready for when bad things do happen because it's that reminder, like, okay, in this moment things aren't great, right? Maybe we got bad news, or maybe, you know, we got a flat tire or whatever it is. Though that moment, there is a challenge, but we can get back to something that does light us up. And so savoring those moments is a reminder that, okay, yes, in this moment, uh, as a form of resilience, things aren't that great, but I can get back eventually to the things that are. And the problem is when we don't remind ourselves of that, oftentimes we're like, you know what, life just sucks, right? We we get ourselves into a rut. Um, and that rut often can become a downward spiral. So, you know, saving that savoring things has a whole host of positive aspects, but the main ones are one, the ability to kind of extend the value of fun in the moment when we can't have any. And then again, the ability to build that emotional resilience that if we are kind of stuck in something that really isn't enjoyable, that reminder that I can get myself back to that sunset.

Cindy Tunstall: 12:26

So, what are some ways that we could savor moments? Like, example, my trip to the Grand Canyon, like you, like what would it be a way that I could, you know, extend that that pleasure memory in my mind? Is that could you give walk us through that just a little bit about what that might look like practically?

Dr. Mike Rucker : 12:44

Yeah. And the thing is, um, so I'll give you a bunch of different examples. I think the problem is oftentimes, you know, when we're giving this type of advice, maybe if you only give one or two bullets, someone will be like, oh, but that sounds awful. And so what I'll start with is the invitation is to do it in a way that seems enjoyable for you. Because if it seems like homework, right, then we've gotten off course. So for some that like to write things down, certainly journaling is one that's been well studied and known to have a big benefit. But personally, I don't enjoy journaling. So there's also research to suggest that that's not something that lights you up. Um, and it looks like a chore, right? Like someone says, you know, keep a gratitude journal on, find three things a day to be grateful for. Like if that sounds horrible to you, then don't do it, right? Um, but it is for for a lot of folks a great way to savor, to kind of, you know, write in rich detail so that when you go back to that entry, you can relive that moment. Um so that's a great way. For folks like me that are more visual, um, you know, taking a picture or some sort of artifact. Like I went when I ran with the bulls, I actually took dirt from the stadium. And so that when I look at it, just that kind of tactile um element, that thing in real life can bring me back to that memory. And then if you're someone that likes taking pictures, obviously curating photos from the entire experience so that you're telling the visual uh story can be great. And then the nice thing about that too, especially if you're someone that has folks over at the house or if you have kids, you know, book books will pick up that book. And then by, you know, kind of a gentle amazing forcing factor, they're like, well, you know, what's this all about? And you get to tell them um, you know, back about how that experience affected you. And that can be an amazing, sort of spontaneous way to savor our memories.

Cindy Tunstall: 14:35

Well, thank you for breaking that down because I I feel like that too about journaling. And I I think about looking around my house, like I have shells from a trip to the beach. I've got some rocks that I picked up, you know, on the oceanside when I was in Alaska, and um, and even went to dinner with friends last night and they had seen my photos online and were asking me about my trip and um, you know, got to tell them that story. So um I really think that was really helpful to think about what's fun for you, because it is unique for everyone. And um, you know, what works for me is not gonna work for everybody, but really just paying attention to what really fills your tank personally. So I think that was very helpful.

Dr. Mike Rucker : 15:12

And I've actually got a bonus for you that wasn't in the book because it wasn't something available yet. But what I've heard, and I'm gonna start trying this, so I can't give you first hand knowledge, but I can tell you anecdotally, folks that I trust, so secondhand knowledge, are loving this method. And that is, and there are a whole host of different apps. I don't have a dog in the spite, so you know, everyone has heard of ChatGPT, but there's certainly apps that are um available that are specific for this purpose. Um, but that is just talking into one of these apps that transcribes your own notes. Um, and then there's some that will actually synthesize, sorry, it's a bit weird for me, but that will actually organize those. And so you could ask it questions like these are things that really fill me up. What are some things that maybe I should do in the future? So one, you know, if it's just keeping those audio notes, you know, writing them down actually uh seems like drudgery, but getting someone to write them down for you, you know, there's all sorts of free or really inexpensive apps where you can just, you know, share that memory into your phone and then it will document it for you. So that's something that wasn't in the fun habit. But I know folks that traditionally didn't like to keep written journals have found really valuable because how easy is that, right? To just kind of talk to yourself at the end of the night into your phone and then have someone actually document that for you.

Cindy Tunstall: 16:35

I love that idea. That is so helpful for me. Great tip. And I I use AI and I use Chat GPT and I do that to organize thoughts, but even to use it for this experience was really fun for me. What's something similar I could do at this location? Because it'll search out similar things. So love that idea. Thank you for that.

Dr. Mike Rucker : 16:55

Of course.

Cindy Tunstall: 16:58

Okay, for somebody that has been, you know, maybe they're feeling burnout, you know, and they they realizing that this is a need for them. What what are some really um great first steps that they could take on their pursuit? We've talked about some ideas about ways that they could um, you know, fill their fun take, but what are some practical things that they could do to shift their mindset from just the drudgery of work and incorporating this new mindset of valuing fun?

Dr. Mike Rucker : 17:25

Yeah, so one that starts with grace, right? I think like any big thing where I've found, you know, where it doesn't work is taking it on as a grandiose project, right? Like I'm gonna make myself fun. Like, no, like anything, you know, let's start small so that you get an early win and you realize how important this can be. I think for folks that are super busy, which obviously your audience is, it's how can I create these small moments throughout my day. So maybe it's, you know, timing your lunch break or, you know, whenever you're going to take a break to somewhere where you actually can enjoy that experience. So whether that's pulling off at the side of the road, again, you know, to something majestic, or if you're an introvert, um, that, you know, and this is just hypothetical, but uh, you know, someone who enjoys reading, like making sure you sit down, you're you're mindful when you do it and you really do enjoy what you're reading so that it's a true escape. And again, that's if you enjoy reading. Um, only you are gonna know what that is. But I the best place to start is to begin with small breaks throughout the day. Because where monotony and routine really do eat us up is when the day becomes so routine that if I ask you what you did last week, you couldn't even tell me. So where we want to start is to add experiences indexed in your brain where I'm like, what did you do? And you're like, well, it wasn't much, but I'm really, really enjoying this book, right? Or that, you know, what you shared with me. Like, I really enjoyed the sunset. It was so cool. What are those things that you would want to savor, right? In the end. And again, they're so accessible. Like just the invitation to do it, oftentimes it's like, you know, you're almost embarrassed if you didn't think about it yourself, right?

Cindy Tunstall: 19:08

Well, I really love this because I'm a more extroverted person. So like um, I like connecting with people. Like, so almost every fun experience I have, I want to somehow find a way to loop people into that for me. And that that's a savoring the moment thing for me. But like, even I found people like I know certain people, like when I share a sunset picture, you know, that they're gonna love that experience and get to talk about, oh my God, that was incredible with the the mountains in the back. And like I have certain people that I go to to share that experience with them. So I I think that was that's very helpful. I like that. Very practical.

Dr. Mike Rucker : 19:42

Well, and there's two funny things there, right? It's I feel like extroverts start podcasts, introverts write books. So I think you're in good company, right? Like it'd be pretty hard to be an introvert and you know, uh source your guests and have these conversations. Um, so I I think you found uh, you know, found a good fit. Um, and the podcast is great, by the way. The other is um, and this is important for introverts to hear it. In fact, I I guess, you know, um being an extrovert myself, uh, it was good that I had two collaborators that were introverts because so many of these types of books really only speak to extroverts, and even fun itself, right, kind of gets a bad name because when we think about fun, you know, you think about the Instagram influencer clicking their heels on a beach. And so when I work with introverts, a lot of times they'll be like, you know what? I'm okay being, you know, an unfun person. I've just settled into that. I'm like, why would you ever say that? And they're like, well, I don't want to go, you know, to a bar and drink and dance all night. And it's like, well, that's one person's fun, but like there must be things that you enjoy.

Cindy Tunstall: 20:49

So you're saying whatever your personality type, there are things that you enjoy. They just may be different. So, like, say somebody enjoys sitting poolside and not talking to anybody or enjoying a great meal all alone, you know, in the corner of the restaurant where nobody's bothering them, but they're having, you know, this enjoying this experience by themselves. So fun may look different, but just figuring out what works for you.

Dr. Mike Rucker : 21:16

Yes, that's as fun of a person that's posting, you know, pictures in front row at a Taylor Swift concert or whatever their jam is, right? And so reframing fun into just enjoying the things that you do becomes extremely important because if being on fun is part of your identity, then you're not gonna go looking for it, right? And so I find I'm just uh grateful that you gave me that invitation because I think introverts sometimes really need to hear that. Like fun doesn't have to be with other people. And if the real thing that we want to do is just make sure that you feel connected to what you're doing, um, so that, you know, it is bigger than yourself. So sometimes that is our friends and family, but it also can be with that hobby or with the thing that we're reading. Or, you know, if you're spiritual, it can be um, you know, that connection you have is something bigger than yourself, whatever it is. Um, it's just knowing that the world isn't you, that you're not living on an island.

Cindy Tunstall: 22:17

Well, I think this is wonderful that you shared this because I think uh a comparison is a big problem. And I think social media, this is one of the downsides of social media, because we look like that's the life we're supposed to be living. So just really owning and being okay with who you are and what fills your tank and just that awareness. I think if we get nothing else out of this conversation, being aware of the things that um are fun for you and then placing a high value on those because you're you need that. We all need that, right? So I love that you shared that. Okay, I have another question for you. Um think about my day driving. Sometimes at the end of the day, I'm spent, so I'm gonna, you know, watch some Netflix before I go to bed, or I know um many drivers that will do gaming and things like that. Um, or you know, I definitely will hop on social media. How do we know when something is actually filling our fun tank or it's just escapism? And is that necessarily a bad thing? Can you talk to us a little bit about that?

Dr. Mike Rucker : 23:13

Yeah, of course. So it's pretty clear that it's not a bad thing if you are enjoying it, right? And so I probably could have done a better job in a book making this distinction because if let's say you have a very curated social feed where you're only getting information from your loved ones and people that you want to learn from, right? Like let's say you're an organizer and so you're looking at organizing influencers and they're giving you information, that is filling your fun cup, right? By definition, because that's enjoyable and you're probably storing those new memories. The same thing goes with uh a show where if I asked you a week from now, like what happened in that show, and you can tell me in rich detail, like of course that was fun. For me, just recently, that was with show Severance. I I just love that show. Um, and so that was time well spent. But what you're talking about, again, is are uh there's two big questions to ask, right? If we know that it's unimportant, even if we're tricking ourselves because it's displacing uh, you know, frustration or boredom or or whatever it is we're finding unfun, then we're not gonna store that memory. And so if I ask you a week from now, like, what what is it that you did? Um and you're like, I don't know, I sat down and turned on the TV, then that is problematic, right? And so you likely either want to use that time, you know, for more renewal type things, or figure out what is it that I could do, even if it is passive leisure, um, that's a little bit more enjoyable so that at the end of the day, I I'm storing new memories. And then it really is am I displacing things in a way where I'm as trying to escape from something rather than making myself better? So there's it if you're in a period, you know, in the book I unpack kind of trying to, you know, make sense that my brother's untimely death. Like if I was running from that, which I certainly was at the beginning, then you're always going to be running from it, right? But if the escapism is leading you towards something, right? The psychological space to actually unpack whatever it is that's weighing you down, then that is a very healthy way of um engaging in something. And so those are the two big things to ask yourself. One, has it become just a you know, a habit um and a way to cope? And so that it's not leading you any, you know, to any form of betterment or or or enrichment. And then second, is it something that um if I asked you, you know, how did you spend your time, um, are you actually encoding those memories? And the quick science lesson there is that we know when we are storing new memories, and even if it is from you know, something passive like watching television, we're creating new neural pathways. And we now know the the science is getting pretty strong here, that just like building anything, that scaffolding that we create with all those new memories will really help us out later in life with regards to staving off cognitive decline. So it has both uh physiological and psychological benefits.

Cindy Tunstall: 26:16

Well, Mike, I'm glad that you talked about that because we definitely have seasons where we're going through grief, you know, whether we've had a loss of a thing or, you know, just you know, going through a difficult transition with the relationship, or, you know, so there's definitely seasons of time where the season is painful and it's not going to be all fun. So I really love the book that you balanced that. You talked about you're not really trying to just pretend like everything's okay all the time and um avoid um dealing with real issues. So I thought it was a wonderful balance and I'm a huge fan of the work. Before we wrap up, Mike, do you have any other closing thoughts that you would like to share with our audience before our time ends?

Dr. Mike Rucker : 26:54

Yeah, I think, you know, I know the work is hard. Um, you know, and so figuring out ways to create those micro moments, whatever that means for you. Um and the easiest way to do that is just be premeditated about it, right? If you do feel stuck, um, just you know, pull out a pen and paper, or you know, again, now there's a better way if you're wanting just, you know, talk into an app and figure out what it is that you might like to do, right? Because oftentimes it's really just that first simple step. Like, you know what, I don't know, you know, it is our common answer. And we can solve that with just 30 minutes of premeditation about what it is I do want to do, right? And so maybe if you know where you're gonna be over the next uh two weeks, you know, on the road, is there one stop? That would be interesting enough, but that would be, you know, the thing that ignites um your ability to kind of find the next fun thing to do. Um, so creating a list is important. And then if if you're so stuck that even that becomes hard, like talk to a friend that does seem to be doing okay. Generally, our fun friends can be the best guides, right? Like, what are you doing that's enjoyable? And maybe that's not something that you would want to do, but it would at least allow you to see how they're spending their time so that you could see how you might fit in the things that you want to do within your schedule. Because it's not about what they're doing per se, but how they're doing it and going about it. Um, and then actually creating that safety. And then lastly, you know, just reiterating that we are learning that enjoying our downtime, right? Whether you call that leisure or fun or whatever, is as important as sleep. But the problem is that when we do fun starve ourselves, it really is a slow burn. So we don't learn the negative effects until sometimes it's too late. And so getting in front of it, at least just giving it some thought is is really important. It's part of the reason we're seeing this record level of burnout across all vocations here, especially in North America. And so, you know, I'm kind of on a crusade to make sure that less people uh suffer that fate.

Cindy Tunstall: 29:02

Well, thank you, Mike. I'm on that crusade with you, so I'm all about enjoying Live OTR. So I'm so grateful for your book, and I hope that everyone in my audience will read it and share it with everybody because I think the lack of fun is epidemic in the United States, and we need to fix it. And it's um you get some really practical, simple things that we could do. So thank you so much for your time. I'm a big fan, and I'm so grateful for you.

Dr. Mike Rucker : 29:26

Uh thank you so much. That was a pleasure being with you.

Brian Wilson: 29:33

Wow. That conversation was packed with some good stuff. Let's hit some of the big takeaways real quick. Fun isn't just a feel good fluffy stuff. It's a tool for better health, clearer thinking, and more resilience. Shared joy can actually strengthen our impulse control. We can start small, a moment here, a moment there. Even five minutes is something that lights you up. Savoring those moments matters just. As much as creating them. And fun doesn't have to look like anyone else's. It just has to feel like you. Hey, big thanks to Dr. Mike Rucker for joining us and sharing so many fresh, doable ways to reconnect with what makes life feel good again. Even in the middle of a stressful day, loss or long days on the road. You can find a link to his book, The Fun Habit, and all the Mike's social links right here in the show notes. So go give him a following. Grab a copy of this episode hit home. All right. Next up, we pulled together a lineup of past guests and drivers sharing how they find fun out here on the road. Hell, you might even hear me in there someplace. These aren't things that we're going to do every day, obviously, but we wanted to share some of the many ways that our drivers are enjoying life OTR. Like Dr. Mike said, what is fun for them might not blow your skirt up or float your boat. And that's okay, man. But every single story is a reminder that there's more than just one way to enjoy this life. These folks are about to inspire you to think outside the box and maybe even try something new yourself. So, as always, this is Brian Wilson, your old hand with a new plan. Catch me later. Enjoy life out there, OTR.

Gemma Ford: 31:18

I 48. Um been pretty much everywhere. And like you said, I try, I have to get out the truck. I, you know, because I mean, I'm a team driver and I just uh have random co-drivers. It's not like a spouse, you know. So um when I when we reset, I have to get out because we just book it. We get from cross country and I need to stretch my legs. I need to see people and you know, talk to people. I'm a chatty Kathy. So, you know, I just and then I love food. So I like trying different food. And I figure God's blessed me with this opportunity. I need to see what he has to offer out here, you know. When I first started driving, I um had a co-driver named Sarah. She's my best friend for life. And um, well, she left to drive with her husband, but she got me into uh geocaching. And um she would always go, Hey, we're not gonna park in an OC, we're gonna go alligator wrestling and zip lining over alligators. And I'm like, what? You know, so she was, I was like, okay, I guess that's what we're gonna do, you know. And I mean, she was like, Oh no, this right here, we're going to Beale Street, and we're in West Memphis, we're going to Beale Street and hanging out with motorcycles, you know. And it was, it was like, okay, so because prior to her, I drove a couple of months, but I didn't do that. I never even got out the truck, you know. Um, and I was like, there's got to be more to this. And then she left, and I got another co-driver, um, a young man, Emmanuel, and I drove with him. He we still talk, he's like my son. And uh he left because he wanted local work, and um, he was down for what Sarah taught me to do. So he would, we would sit there and research and go, oh, you know what? We're we can uh rent a car and go stay at the shining. We're you know, we're only like 50 miles away. Let's half this bill, you know. Yeah. So he would, you know, and he's like, oh, wait, the stockyards are right around the corner. We're here, let's go to the stockyards. So I then ended up getting another co-driver, this co-driver that I have now, and I've had for a while. He's a great guy. Um, but he doesn't like to do things. So I had to go ahead and put, you know, because I get social anxiety, but I was like, you know what? These people don't know you. Go out there. This is your life, you know? And so I had to do it on my own, and that's what I started doing. And I was like, okay, yeah, because it gets lonely out here, you know, and I know for me, it's either get over my social anxiety or stay in the truck and be depressed and hate this job. You know what I mean? Because for the first 70 hours that I'm driving, not that I hate it, but it's stressful. Yeah. Because I'm trying to keep, you know, I'm you know, I tell my co-drivers, you've got three jobs, and so do I. And that is to get me home to my family, get the motoring public home to their family, and deliver this load. It never changes in the order. So with that mentality, for 70 hours, I'm thinking work, work, work, work, work. And, you know, looking about, can I even back into this place? You know, I mean, just all of it, you know. Um, and then if I didn't get out of that funk for the at my reset for even a couple of hours, it would just I it would just wear me down. It would just wear me down and it would get me into, I think for myself, a depressive state to where um I would just quit and not do this, you know, and be like, okay, I'm I'm just this is just too depressing. It's too much. It's just like with people who have nine to fives and they had the weekend and they plan to do something. It's to get out of that nine to five, you know, funk. And I mentally would tell myself, these people don't know me. You know what I mean? Nobody's gonna harm me. Um it just um, and then it's like I'm a likable person, you know. So why shouldn't I be out in the public meeting people? So I have these talks, seriously, these talks with my head all the time. Really? Yeah, I do. And I'm just like, oh, that you know, everybody's coupled off, or it's families, and you're the only solo person. People are gonna think you're strange. People, and I have to tell myself, people aren't looking at you like that, they really don't care like that.

Jon Kruger: 35:45

Battleship Alabama is at Mobile Bay, and a couple of time drive that not a whole lot, but relatively often, I am going to stop there eventually when I have some time, maybe when I've been heading home and she's not home yet, and and go on the battleship, you know, take the tour because they have parking right there, not right at the place, but just outside where I can walk. Because parking to their oversized vehicles, their their parking uh fees are pretty steep. But just down the road, there's a place I can park and walk. And there's some good restaurants there too that I can walk to and eat. You know, I'll I'll try to do that about once a week. I'll try to hit up a nice restaurant, have a good, decent meal. You know, that kind of helps you stand on the road a little while.

AkilAli: 36:34

Once I got out for the first time and started exploring, you know, the cities I was in, that's when children really became interesting. You know, from the jobs, okay. This is really like free travel. I had seen this place when they did helicopter rides, and I've I've always wanted to ride on a helicopter. So I took my birdie while I was getting my children a little bit, and I walked over there to the place where they do the helicopter rides. Yeah, I got in a helicopter on my brake. He he he took me all around like the Fleet Hill Mountains. Uh I mean it was a beautiful view. Um, you know, I could see like rivers and waterways. Of course, just being in the sky, I I was able to see the casino and I see my truck from from way up there in the air. And that's when it started it all. I made a commitment to myself that I was going to explore it everywhere that I went. So now I go up north a lot. So when I go to you know Baltimore and Maryland, I'm going to eat the Med Seagull that was fun. Yeah, I love that.

Andy Prickett: 37:54

You know, there was one time we I would I was going through the middle of New Mexico and I had heard of White Sands National Park, but I didn't know that I was about to drive right past it. And my girlfriend was with me again this time, and and I was like, that's White Sands National Park. Like I had no idea it's right there. Um, so I pulled over. There's a big place to pull over there. And this is just something that I, you know, I had a couple extra hours to kill. I wasn't in a hurry. It wasn't a reset. There's no Ubers down there, it's in the middle of nowhere. But there was a taxi company. So I Googled taxis around me, found this guy to come out, and I'm like, hey, I'm parked outside this national park, but it's too far to kind of walk around in there. Will you come and pick me up and just drive me around the park?

Cindy Tunstall: 38:40

Oh, I love that.

Andy Prickett: 38:42

Didn't even blink an eye, didn't think twice about it. He's like, Yeah, sure, no problem.

Cindy Tunstall: 38:46

So we what a great idea. I love that.

Andy Prickett: 38:49

Well, he just played tour guide, and for maybe 25 bucks, we um I already had the national park pass, so it didn't cost anything to get in. And I had him, oh, stop here. So he stopped, kept the meter running. We went up, run, ran and played on the sand dunes and took pictures and just had a had a ball for a couple hours and had him bring us back off, drop me back off in the truck, and kept going to my delivery.

Cindy Tunstall: 39:11

Oh my gosh, I love that so much. And for 25 bucks, I mean that's a great break. I mean, oh my gosh, I love it.

Andy Prickett: 39:18

Yeah, it's really nothing. So you really just have to be open to uh the the possibilities. You have to be open to creating experiences like that out of nothing. You have to be willing to make the stop. You know, even if it's just if you don't have a lot of money, I totally get that. You know, throw a bike in your truck. People have a bike or have access to one or they're super cheap. Throw it in your truck, uh, throw some camping gear. That's another thing I want to start doing when we're coming into the warmer months. And uh I do spend a lot of money and I kind of need to, I'm aware of that. I kind of need to stop doing that so much. So, you know, throw a backpack together of some ultralight camping gear and get a bike and hit a campground on these resets. Just I have a hammock. You can string a hammock up and sit next to a lake with a fishing pole and you know, be 10 minutes from a truck stop, but feel like you're on vacation.

Cindy Tunstall: 40:13

So great. I love it. So great. I love it even how you're driving and you're kind of just looking for your next adventure. I mean, even that just that little subtle shift and you know, what could I possibly do? You know, I love that. Because even if you couldn't go, like if you couldn't make the trip now, you know, you couldn't make a stop, even kind of making a mental note that you want to go back there. I'm sure you do that a lot as well.

Andy Prickett: 40:38

Oh, all the time. I have spent a couple times, uh a few times where I've gone to the Tampa area, Clearwater Beach and all that, and got a rental car and spent uh a night on the beach in a hotel. The hotels aren't that expensive there. Yeah. Um, you know, and spent a couple days just sitting on the beach drinking Roman Cokes and playing in the ocean and exploring the touristy little beach towns and stuff. So far. And and it's it's like a vacation, even though it's just a couple days.

Cindy Tunstall: 41:08

So yeah, so great. Yeah, I love the beach, so I'm always like, ah, this is great. I feel like it does something to my soul. I love being in the beach, so like something magical happens there.

Andy Prickett: 41:20

Like that's it. And since um and since I I ride motorcycles a lot, I found an app called Rider Share, and I actually rented a Harley on one of those trips and just rode around the beaches on a Harley. So that was like just fantastic. Like that doesn't get any of that out of that.

Cindy Tunstall: 41:36

Oh my god.

Andy Prickett: 41:37

For me for me.

Cindy Tunstall: 41:38

Yeah, yeah. So great.

Andy Prickett: 41:39

What's the name of the app? It was actually it was actually cheaper than renting a car renting the target.

Cindy Tunstall: 41:45

How fun. I love that. What's the name of the app?

Andy Prickett: 41:49

Uh Rider Share. It's it's not an app, it's a website. It's called Rider Share.

Cindy Tunstall: 41:53

Nice.

Andy Prickett: 41:54

They do require a pretty hefty uh security deposit.

Cindy Tunstall: 41:58

Yeah, I'm sure.

Andy Prickett: 41:58

But you get it, you get it, you get it back when you return the bike.

Cindy Tunstall: 42:01

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure that you make sure you can bring your bike.

Andy Prickett: 42:06

When you return the bike unharmed, right?

Cindy Tunstall: 42:09

Yeah, that's good. That's fun though. What a great idea. Okay, tell me about your um national parks pass. How much does that cost a year? And then what do you get from that? What tell me about that in case somebody wants to?

Andy Prickett: 42:23

Yeah, there's uh I get the what's called the America the Beautiful Pass, and it's $80 for the year, and it goes from it's 12 months from when you buy it. So it's not like a January to December thing. It's it's 12 months, uh, it's $80, and that gets you into any national park in the country, which is a great value because if you go into uh Yosemite or Yellowstone or Glacier National Park or something like that, they can be $30 to $40.

Cindy Tunstall: 42:52

Yeah, I was gonna say like $30, right? Yeah.

Andy Prickett: 42:54

Exactly. So I I went from uh if you go from Yellowstone down to the Grand Tetons, that's two of them. And you come back, you have to pro pay again if you come back through Yellowstone. Yeah, that's 60 or 80 bucks right there.

Cindy Tunstall: 43:09

Yeah, yeah, that's a good m that's good money.

Andy Prickett: 43:12

Yeah, absolutely worth it. And like, you know, that one time I was in New Mexico at White Sands, I just I didn't even know that was there. And I just happened to have it in my wallet, and bam, you know, it's just you get in for free.

Cindy Tunstall: 43:25

Well, what I love about that too, the pass is like it'll let you it'll allow you the choice to make a s a short trip there. Whereas if you were gonna pay $30 and you're only gonna be there 30 minutes, nobody's gonna do that. You know, we weren't gonna pay for that. But when you have the pass, it's like, why not go have lunch at the park, you know?

Andy Prickett: 43:42

Yeah, if I had to pay to get into White Sands and I had the taxi guy bring me in there, I might not have.

Cindy Tunstall: 43:48

Yeah, it's just another obstacle to eliminate.

Andy Prickett: 43:51

Yeah, but if you buy it and yeah, it's 80 bucks, but if you buy it once, it's good for the whole year. You can get into any park in the whole country, especially if you're someone who's out in the western states where the majority of the parks are. Right. It's just such a great tool to have in your pocket.

Cindy Tunstall: 44:08

Yeah, I love it. Great idea. And what about the parking there? Just generally speaking, would you say typically that the parks you have to park the truck at a truck stop and then drive in? Or what could people expect that are wanting to maybe venture out and to see the national parks for the first time and they're they're a truck driver? You know, they're on the road full time, so you know, they're always gonna have to deal with the truck. So what could they expect to have to deal with when they're trying to venture out for the first time, maybe?

Andy Prickett: 44:37

Yeah, they're all gonna be different. White Sands is the only one that actually had a big enough place out right outside the park. Like I could have just walked in there, yeah, but it's such a big park. I didn't, you know, you really need a at least a bike. If you had a bicycle, you could park right there and just ride your bike in there. Yeah, most of them, honestly, I can't think of any that you could you can park at. So yeah, I would say almost all of them, you're gonna need to park in a truck stop or find some kind of truck truck parking nearby and rent a car.

Cindy Tunstall: 45:07

Yeah, yeah.

Andy Prickett: 45:07

But like I said, some some of these places like Salt Lake City is such a great place to rent cars. I my last reset when I went down, I I got that van uh for two days for $42.

Cindy Tunstall: 45:20

Wow, crazy. Yeah, that's crazy.

Andy Prickett: 45:23

And the and the Uber to the place was eight dollars. So Uber there, an Uber back, that's $16, $42 for the rental car. Yeah, you have to pay for gas, which is crazy right now.

Cindy Tunstall: 45:34

But yeah, it's well worth it though. What a great weekend.

Andy Prickett: 45:37

You you if you had to pay for an air uh airfare to get to Salt Lake or wherever to go to some of those national parks and then pay again for the national parks, you know, it would cost you uh several hundred dollars or or a couple thousand bucks maybe to go on a vacation like that. But we're paid to go to these places. Yeah, yeah. It's a very minimal cost. If you have to pay forty to sixty bucks for a rental car and a few bucks for an Uber, I mean you're almost getting a free vacation out of it. So why not?

Cindy Tunstall: 46:04

Yeah. You know, and I always think, you know, we don't have to, you know, we're all about making money out on the road, you know, and like you said, everybody has their own financial situation, so it's different for everybody. But you know, so maybe you're not gonna make a trip like this every month, or you know, maybe once every six months, or you know, but still you can you can do it at some time, you know, and just being on the lookout while you're traveling for different options. And um, like you said, very low cost vacation. And it's so refreshing, right? I mean, you leave that time going, man, that was great, you know.

Andy Prickett: 46:34

So good. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Um, and and you can get so far out from you know where you park. Like I've I've did one in in the Seattle area one time and went all the way to Mount Raidere National Park. And when you're up in the mountains, I mean you feel like you're in the Swiss Alps up there.

Cindy Tunstall: 46:52

Wow.

Andy Prickett: 46:52

And you're just out for a couple days, but it is so refreshing when you go back to work, you feel like you've had a proper vacation sometimes.

Cindy Tunstall: 47:00

Yeah, so good.

Andy Prickett: 47:01

I'm usually exhausted by the time I go back to work because I when my feet hit the ground, I don't stop. I just I go all the time. That's because I have to see things. I have I have to see everything.

Cindy Tunstall: 47:16

Yeah, so great.

Jess Graham: 47:19

And the load that I delivered on uh October 31st was to a Hershey candy plant. They back then they it was common that when you pulled up at the Hershey gate, they gave you a candy bar. Uh she hops out and she's in her costume and she's got her pillowcase, and she walks up to the guard shack with me and goes, trick-or-treat. He opened his desk drawer and emptied the entire desk drawer of candy for drivers into her bag. Oh my gosh, I love one stop, half a pillowcase, and the second stop was the loves that gave her candy as well. Um so two stops, and she got more candy than any of her cousins, and she got the good candy because it was Hershey's. Yeah. Um and so that's that's one of those memories that, you know, stay with you forever of, you know, you have you've trick-or-treated, but have you ever trick-or-treated at Hershey plant?

Cindy Tunstall: 48:12

Oh my gosh, so great.

Jess Graham: 48:17

You know, yeah, I've I haven't felt like sometimes I've been parked in a random place and haven't felt like exploring. I'm just tired or I've got paperwork to do because, you know, as an owner operator, it's up to me to do my paperwork. Um, you know, but uh making yourself comfortable, even in your own space. Like I said, my truck is set up with I rotated my bed so it runs along the passenger side. I don't have a passenger seat, that's where my toolbox sits. And then I actually have a table with a desk and a chair in my truck just so that I can pull out my paperwork and sit at because up until then I was trying to balance my laptop on my steering wheel. And you know, that that's exhausting. Eating every meal, because I don't like eating on my bed, eating every meal on my steering wheel, that's not fun. Right. You know, you know, I want to paint my nails. I'm trying to do that at the steering wheel or on my bed. That's like none of this is fun. Yeah, you know, but you know, things I I carry just for even times where I don't feel like exploring, is like my camp chair and my umbrella. I have a little umbrella that I can pop up on my camp chair and I can just get out, open the chair up and sit in front of my truck, or if there's a grassy knoll in the wherever I'm at, I can go sit in the shade or rest areas are my favorite because they tend to have some space. And I just I have my camp chair and I'll I'll be reading my book or doing whatever I'm doing. Just getting out, like getting out of the box. You know, sometimes staring at the walls will make you crazy. But she's a good solid, solid truck. And I've made it comfortable. We've gutted the interior and done a lot of things. I know you've seen the pictures on some of the groups when they're like, what's the inside of your sleeper look like? And then they're like, What? Everybody always comes on yourself. It's just I I now have that flexibility. Like, you know, when you're a company driver, I I mean, I always had things in my truck to make it personalized. When I was a company driver, I, you know, sticky tape or the double-sided velcro pictures and artwork hanging in my truck, and all of my trucks had a name and a theme. The personality of the truck tells me how we're gonna do it and what its name is. I love that. Very creative.

Brandon Johnson: 50:29

Whenever I can, I uh try to find me a fishing hole. Um, whenever I get stuck on the low where they won't be in sleep with it for a couple of days, waiting to get unloaded or whatever. Uh go to the nearest Walmart, get me a fishing permit, and uh I'll find somewhere to go fishing if I can. My favorite place to go is uh Key West. Literally, you can pull up anywhere down there and start fishing.

Cindy Tunstall: 50:58

Are you cooking your fish or you just catch and release?

Brandon Johnson: 51:02

It all depends. If I can get me a hotel room with the kitchen in it, I'm kicking it, but uh I keep a cooler. If I'm going right back near my house, I got my cooler on the back of my truck, so I just keep ice on, I mean fish on ice until uh I can get them back home and I clean them and put them in the freezer or whatever. But uh, and then like if I'm not going right back home, it'll be somebody else out there fishing with me too, and I just let them have the feet spread.

Cindy Tunstall: 51:33

Yeah, just recording it.

Brandon Johnson: 51:35

Yeah, oh yeah.

Cindy Tunstall: 51:36

So you just fishing from the beach or what? Do you take a boat out or what? Standing out on the pier, or how you doing that?

Brandon Johnson: 51:42

Uh most time just fishing from uh outside of the road or going to a pier or something. Now I have taken a boat out uh down to Miami, uh in South Carolina, a charter boat that goes out and go fishing for like four to six hours or something and come on back in. But most of the time I'm fishing uh right outside the road. If there's a spot wide enough where I can park my truck on the side of the road, hey, it was gonna have fun.

Cindy Tunstall: 52:06

I love that. I love that you do that. It's so fun. I love the ocean, so I'm the same way. If I can get anywhere near it, I'm like, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna find a way to make it work.

Brandon Johnson: 52:17

Oh yeah. If it's a big military move, it might be 50 trucks from my way going to the same place, and we all get low together, we all leave together, so you might see us going down the road with 50 10 will military stuff on the back. So whenever you can get a crowd like that and control the traffic, you get to piss a lot of people off, but uh it's just it's a pretty sink just to see all that going down the road, though.

Cindy Tunstall: 52:52

Yeah, so like a big convoy going on, y'all keep the same schedule and just dominate highway.

Brandon Johnson: 52:58

Yeah, and you get all the people in the full wheelers coming by recordingly making their little TikTok videos or whatever. So it's pretty cool. And then, like, if we get somewhere, um we unload on that Thursday or whatever, we pretty much go there till Monday looking for another load. So we all go check into a hotel room. I keep my grill on the back of my ETA and Wooler. So hey, we'll go to Walmart, buy a bunch of food, we'll cook out on the grill all weekend by the pool, have some drinks.

Cindy Tunstall: 53:37

So I love how you do that. Do you know these guys before or you just meet them on the truck?

Brandon Johnson: 53:42

Some of them like we have nine trucks, so sometimes it's just my crew, but uh any other guys that we meet at the road or out on the road or on the military base or whatever, and we tell them what we doing there, everybody's welcome. I love that. Even if we had a truck stop, just cooking out in the parking lot, yo, come over, see hey, let's drink a beer, uh eat a hot dog, or stay a piece of chicken on the other side. So, yeah.

Cindy Tunstall: 54:10

How often do you do that?

Brandon Johnson: 54:11

Uh whenever I'm gonna be stuck for a while.

Cindy Tunstall: 54:14

Yeah.

Brandon Johnson: 54:15

Yeah, absolutely.

Cindy Tunstall: 54:16

Yeah, I love that. I always hear that the old timers that have been driving a long time say they used to cook out all the time. And I'm always like, you know, if you miss that, why don't you still do it? I mean, you still gotta take your breaks and you still gotta do your resets. And you know, I know some people, you know, keep on rolling, they don't they don't stop, but you know, like some of the schedule demands that you do. So I'm like, well, why don't you just break out the grill if you like that?

Brandon Johnson: 54:41

And I think like for me, I grew up around trucks all my life. Like, even though I went off and did other jobs, I always wanted to be a trucker growing up. So hearing the the old school truckers tell stories and stuff, we learned from them. So when we came down here, we started doing what they were telling us. But if you didn't grow up around any truckers hearing this story, then you don't know how to have fun out on the road. So yeah, they just just drive and go.

Cindy Tunstall: 55:13

Drive those keep those wheels running and make that money.

Brandon Johnson: 55:17

Oh yeah, oh yeah. But I mean, anytime you get stuck somewhere waiting on another load, like you're supposed to enjoy that time. Don't stay cooked up in your truck, get your hotel room so you can stretch out, like go somewhere, ask the phone, walk down the road, or uh, like I say, drill out of them. Anything. Because I mean, trucking is a lot. You you're away from your family, weeks, months, or however long uh you stay out on the road at a time. So I don't know, you dealing with all the traffic on the highway, people cutting you off, doing stupid stuff, trying to make you kill them, and stuff. Sometimes you just gotta get away from trucking, clear your head. That's why I like to go fishing. But yeah.

Kellie Colburn: 56:04

I have found with anytime fitness. So I signed up in in Idaho is where I signed up, and they give you the little key fob, and you can literally go in anytime 24-7. I think for truckers and everything, it is important to have that 24-hour access because our sketch uh trucker schedules are a little different than normal people. You know, you may be one that drives at night, and you know, you may park at three o'clock in the morning and decide that's when you want to go to the gym. You need a place that you're gonna be able to have access to. A lot of the anytime fitnesses that I've been to, there is usually a place for trucks to park within a half mile. You know, they'll be in a big shopping center and you'll see trucks there and stuff like that. And like I said, you can get in anytime. And I think that's important for anybody who works on the road because our schedules aren't normal most of the time.

Todd Kantor: 57:06

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Uh the adventure is the best part about it. Um, our first run when we first got our truck, it was uh 2017 uh Volvo VL 780. Uh, when we first got our truck, our first truck, we got to go down to Jacksonville, Florida for our first run. And at that point in time, both my girlfriend and I had never seen the ocean. And so we get this run, and we're just like, oh my god, we're going to Florida. Wow. And we get down there, we find a truck stop to park at, and we uh pay the parking, and we uh got an Uber down to the beach in Jacksonville, and we went and took some pictures by the ocean. Because like I said, we'd never seen it before, and we we walked from there to a seafood restaurant and tried gator for our first time, and it was just an amazing experience uh for a person who just kind of jumped headfirst into this, you know.

Cindy Tunstall: 57:55

Yeah, I love that. What uh that's a great first adventure. I grew up in the I've always lived on the coast, so I've always grown up by the ocean. So I always love to hear that experience of people going to the ocean for the first time. What did you what did you think?

Todd Kantor: 58:09

It was different. You get you get it down to Florida and there's lizards like everywhere, like in Jacksonville, you could practically step on them. Like you see a little glimmer of movement off to the side, and you're like, what the heck was that? And you look over, and then then all of a sudden there's lizards everywhere. It's it's it's such a shock to me. And then you see things like pelicans or crabs climbing up trees, and you're just like, whoa, where the heck am I?

Cindy Tunstall: 58:35

So where are you originally from?

Todd Kantor: 58:38

Minnesota. We uh we are both born and raised from central Minnesota.

Cindy Tunstall: 58:42

Yeah, so it's quite a shock.

Todd Kantor: 58:44

Absolutely.

Cindy Tunstall: 58:48

Well, tell me all some other things that you guys have been able to do on the road. It must be fun traveling as a couple.

Todd Kantor: 58:53

Absolutely. It's uh it's great. One of our first times going to Washington, uh, we were going through it was kind of spring temperature, uh, spring season, and my girlfriend and I were driving, and I was in a sleeper, and she wakes me up, she's like, Don, wake up, wake up, wake up. And I look outside, and there is hundreds, I mean hundreds of elk that are apparently in migration. And I and my jaw just drops. I'm just like, Wow.

Cindy Tunstall: 59:21

Oh my gosh, that would be so great.

Todd Kantor: 59:24

It was it was an amazing experience. I one of my favorite things about doing this also is being able to see all the wildlife that I've never seen before. Like in Minnesota, you don't really have elk or moose or things like that, and so to see stuff like that is pretty cool, actually.

Cindy Tunstall: 59:39

So exciting. I I love that. So great.

Todd Kantor: 59:44

Well, we work a lot of Southern California, and that the 9 15 passes directly through Vegas, and we get the opportunity to sometimes stop and do a little bit of a layover there, and uh we park our truck in a truck stop called uh Wild Wild West, which uh I believe $15 for 24 hours worth of parking, and it's literally right across the strip. So we park there and we'll go wander over and go eat at one of the fancy buffets there or check out the uh plagio fountains with the lights and everything like that and just kind of wander Vegas.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:00:16

So fun. Vegas is so fun. I love to go there.

Todd Kantor: 1:00:20

It's beautiful when you roll in through a 15 going over that hill. It just goes from like almost pitch black to just lights everywhere.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:00:27

Yeah, it's like a whole nother world.

Todd Kantor: 1:00:30

Yep.

Jess Graham: 1:00:34

Clear with your family and friends because over the years you'll find that you won't get invited to as much. It's lonely out here. We have a very isolated life. And I I have, you know, parts of my career where I suffered with like gray days, is what I call them, where I'm just like, nobody even knows I'm out here or what I'm doing. And so I actually had the come to Jesus talk with my sister and said, We both know I'm not gonna be at 90% of the things you're doing, but I need 100% of the invites. I need to know every time you're planning something that you want to include me in it, whether I'm gonna be there or not. I'm gonna do my best to be there. So that was that was a realization that was when I had that talk with my family, it made sure that they were they were aware that, yeah, I am changing, I am growing, I'm I've got a weird schedule, but we still value you and want you to know that your your connection to us is important.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:01:32

So I love that so much. I love that so much. It's so practical and it's so simple and um so effective. I think probably drivers that have been driving for years and years could have that conversation, you know, because the family at home is used to them. And then I think the family at home also may be worrying, you know, I don't want to make you feel bad because you're missing out on the party, you know. So I love this tip, even for drivers that have been on the road for years. Great, great advice. Exactly.

Jess Graham: 1:02:02

Every holiday that comes up, I get a text from my sister. Here's our schedule, here's our plans, I'm making reservations, like Mother's Day reservation. Here, do I need to put a plus one for you? You know, like, and I tell her yes or no, or like what my schedule, you know, she gives me that leeway. So it definitely was one of those things that helped transition me back into like not a nameless, faceless, homeless person barely existing, to I'm back into being active and part of my family. One other thing that I think as a woman driver is so important because we all want to just we don't want to end up feeling like a man in a man's world. You know, we as we drive daily, we've got our ball cap and our jeans or in, you know, sweatpants on. One thing that I've always been good about carrying is a little black dress and a pair of sandals so that anytime I want, I can get dressed up and go out. Love that. That's one of the keys to the happiness. You know, I'm a girly girl and I I uh I don't want to lose my femininity just because I'm in an industry that's dominated by males. Like I I still want to be true to who I am and and myself and get my grandma told me early on, you know, when you're having a bad day, that's the day you need to get up and fix your face and hair the most. So do it. You know, if you're if you're struggling with something, if you're struggling with your ice, it's it's taken 12 years for me to get to this point. But like I said, I have a really good group of friends, and it's really important for drivers starting in the industry to try and find their tribe and being part of groups like yours that are encouraging, you know, sharing these hot little secrets and these ways of just incorporating being a human and not just a faceless robot passing through. You know, that definitely I think more so than a lot of the other groups that I'm in, is actually addressing the issue of how to actually learn to live this lifestyle because it is a lifestyle. This is not a job, and and trucking has never been a job, it's always been a lifestyle. So you can either let it consume you or you can take charge and you can rule it.

Brian Wilson: 1:04:22

The first five miles on my bike. Oh man, there's days and it'll about kill me. But it she it seems to be about five, five and a half miles in. That's when that runner's high or those endorphins start kicking in and I start feeling better. And I've got the oxygen to my legs and and to my back and to my arms, and everything starts feeling so much better. And that's when I go, you know, I took I took a ride Tuesday, I left Tuesday to go to uh uh uh Tuesday night. I left for Denver with a load of flowers. I got up to the hub early. Oh, I went to Chicago, that's what it was. Uh I went to Chicago Monday, delivered Tuesday morning, came home or came back to the hub in Kalamazoo, and I got my bike out and I went out and I rode for 30 miles. It was just, it was it was a beautiful day. I found some really a couple places I'd never been before. But once those endorphins kick in and it makes, you know, the the pain in my knees go away a little bit, maybe a little bit in your back, and all of a sudden, next thing you know, I've been gone for two and a half hours. It's like wow. And it was just it was a great ride. Um, so yeah, the runners high, it really is a thing. That that's uh that's a real thing. And your body does feel good about that stuff.

Doc Dye: 1:05:38

I don't look at it really as a job. I always looked at it as a vacation and an adventure because you know, got to go. I mean, I've been all over the United States, Mexico, and Canada. I like to do different things and uh I like, you know, to uh check out different lakes and I usually carry a fishing rod with me and get out and go fishing and stuff like that. But uh I always looked at it as an adventure, and then I'd say uh later on in my driving years, back in late 90s and all, when uh when poker was becoming real popular, you know, at the casinos playing poker.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:06:15

Yeah.

Doc Dye: 1:06:15

I s I started playing Texas Hold'em.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:06:18

Oh, nice.

Doc Dye: 1:06:19

And so I really got to liking that. I hit casinos probably twice a week playing poker.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:06:27

Oh fun. So what do you do with the truck? They have truck parking, or how does that work out?

Doc Dye: 1:06:31

Yeah, most of them do. I could probably tell you where every casino is from here to California that you can park a big truck in. And my dream is to win the World Series of Poker.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:06:40

Oh fun.

Doc Dye: 1:06:41

I don't I don't know if you know what that is.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:06:43

I I do, I'm very familiar.

Doc Dye: 1:06:45

But they show it on TV on ESPN every year.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:06:48

Yeah, I've watched it.

Doc Dye: 1:06:50

Well, four years ago I was in Vegas and I got to play in the World Series. Oh fine. But I didn't big time event. Right. I didn't get into the main event. I played some other events and I was wanting to get to the main event, but I really needed to win one of the other events to advance to the main event because the main event is a ten thousand dollar buy-in.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:07:11

Right.

Doc Dye: 1:07:12

And uh I got to beat like seven thousand players to get to the top to win it, but it can be done.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:07:18

Yeah, it can. Somebody's gotta win it, might as well be you.

Doc Dye: 1:07:22

Right. I have a lot of confidence, but uh that's my dream to win the World Series of Poker one year.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:07:28

How fun. And uh Yeah, that's good money too. The prize is big, right? How much money you went when to get that?

Doc Dye: 1:07:35

You get ten million dollars if you get first place.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:07:38

Nice.

Doc Dye: 1:07:39

Even if you finish like ninth place, it's like a million dollars.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:07:42

Yeah, I I know that's big money all the way up at the top there. That's awesome.

Doc Dye: 1:07:47

And then it goes on down the line to like 400th place, like four hundred and fiftieth place, you get your ten thousand back, and then it starts increasing after that. The higher up you finish, yeah, the better you can do. But I I I just want to finish first. I just want the child.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:08:02

I know, right? How fun.

Doc Dye: 1:08:04

Right. Yeah, it would be great.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:08:06

Yeah, that would be great. How fun. Well, I love that you do that. That's fun. Okay, so you like to you like to um play poker and you said you go fishing, so you take your fishing ride on there. What how do you uh how does that work out when you're out over the road? What how do you manage to get in some fishing time?

Doc Dye: 1:08:21

Well, what I do is I'm re-riding along and I'll see like a place you know that's that's like if I'm riding along down by a river or something, you know, or a lake or something, and I see a place where you can pull a truck off and park, and I'll pull off and park and just jump out there and start throwing my rod in, trying to do a little fishing. Years ago when, oh God, it was a long time ago, we was up in uh I want to say it's Vermont or New Hampshire. I can't remember exactly where, but Ricky Skaggs lives there. Because uh we was at a hotel right up the street and we saw Ricky Skagg's bus. I was asking them, I said, What's his bus doing there? He said, Well, he lives right there. I went, oh, okay. And I was asked about a lake, and they told me where a lake was nearby there. And back then I pulled a van trailer, you know, a box trailer.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:09:10

Yeah.

Doc Dye: 1:09:10

So we was going to the lake, found this place where they rented canoes. We rented a canoe and threw it in the back of the trailer and closed the trailer doors and went down to the and went down to the lake, and you know how they got a boat ramp and all, and and everybody seen that big truck coming in the lake parking area down there. Luckily we had enough room to park. And I banked the trailer down the boat ramp. You did not. That's too funny. I banked the trailer down the boat ramp with that. And and everybody came over there, you know, and they was all looking. I guess they thought some big boat was gonna come out the back, you know. I knew what they were waiting on for me to open that door and pull that big fancy racing boat out the back. Right. And um my my my ex, she said, what are you doing? I said, unload a canoe. She said, We can tow it to the boat ramp. I said, Yeah, but this is more fun. Watch your boat. And so I opened, I opened the trailer door and reached up in there and dragged that canoe out of the back door, and everybody went, Oh, we thought you had a big boat now. I said, What'd I do? I got a canoe. So we unloaded the canoe and everybody was cracking up.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:10:22

That is too funny.

Doc Dye: 1:10:23

Yeah, and we put our beer in it and all that, and and you know, a canoe ain't very stable. Right. And uh, and we was out there and we got out there in the middle of that big old lake, and uh and uh I was cutting up with her. I said, Why don't you rot? Don't do that. Well, it turned over. So beer will float for a while once it, you know, once it falls out of the boat. Right. And this other guy, and this other guy in a big boat come up, he said, well, because we were struggling trying to get it turned back over, it was hanging on the canoe, and he said, Y'all need some help. And I said, Yeah, we need some help. He said, Well, hang on, I'll get the beer for you. And he took a dip that and dipped all the beer up. He helped us get it straightened up and get back out.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:11:10

That's funny.

Doc Dye: 1:11:11

That was pretty funny. Yeah.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:11:18

Yes, I've gotten to go to a couple historic sites, I've got to do some hiking trails, I really enjoy nature. Uh, got to check a huge item off my bucket list and got to go to the Grand Canyon. Oh wow. Well, how was that when you're in the truck? How'd that work? I parked the truck at a trip stop. Uh Google, Google's my best friend. And Google showed me where a rental center was in the area I happened to be in. And so I called him up and said, Hey, I'm gonna be in town sit down for a day. Do y'all have a rental car? And luckily they did, and we were able to go explore. It was a lot of fun. I haven't been to the Grand Canyon as an adult. I went as a child, but I haven't been. What's it like? What are the things that you got to do while you were there? Do they let you go down into the canyon or are you just probably see people taking their pictures up from the top? Did you go hiking down, or what'd you do for the day? I cannot go hiking down. That's more of the south rim. I went to the west rim, that's where they had the skywalk. Oh, nice. So I was able to go onto the skywalk, and you walk out, and the whole bottom of it is glass, so you're looking straight down. That would must have been gorgeous. Did you get some great picks? I did get some really good pictures and got to explore a lot of different areas on the Western Round, and it was just if you get a chance to just sit there and pause and just see how massive and I mean I can imagine what an ant would feel like. I mean, it's just I'm sure it's brand. Yeah, it really puts things into perspective that you know you you got these daily irritants, and then you see something that that massive, and it's just like it it really is just not as irritant as it seems at the time, you know. What a great way to spend your day off. I mean, oh my gosh.

James Strong: 1:13:34

Like the main thing I do, like I say, I I go to all types of different gyms. I work out outside a lot.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:13:38

Yeah.

James Strong: 1:13:39

So I might be in the middle of a park, you know, in uh in Arkansas or in Missouri or something like that, just running on trail, you know, trails with people. Yeah, rope and talking.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:13:49

Nice.

James Strong: 1:13:50

So I'm more of a nature person.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:13:51

Yeah, I love that too. That's good.

Jess Graham: 1:13:56

She and I were like, you know, we've we've been out here for like four years now, and we've seen the whole country, but we've never experienced it. So we actually decided that like that day, as we're walking through the French quarter, we need to be proactive about making sure that anytime we want to meet up and stop, or anytime we call each other and say, hey, we need to meet somewhere. We need to take a 34, we need to get out of the truck. I just need my sister, best friend, time. Anytime we want to be able to do that, we have the money available. So we both got a prepaid Walmart card and uh the green dot. And we were, again, both financially unstable at the time, that was the only one we could get. And it gave me the routing number and we had payroll deductions where you could split your payroll up, and every payroll, $25 out of that check went to that prepaid Walmart card. And it stacks up. So you're not paying attention, it stacks up. So that anytime we called each other and said, Oh, hey, we're running by each other, we both have time on our loads. Let's stop here or let's stop there. Let's let's get a hotel room, let's get dinner, let's so we we made a plan to like be conscious about making sure that anytime we want to go enjoy life out here and see something or do something, the money's always there. I now have a credit card, Capital One Venture card, because I can get airline miles and such on it. And it saves me booking on hotels and such when I book through it. And that card is literally just for adventures. And I use it when I stop to go, you know, um, like my budget weekly in my when I plan my budget for how much I'm gonna spend out here on the road every week. I include the cost of a hotel room in my budget every week. Whether I use it or not is up for debate because I don't always get one. Yeah. But sometimes I'm just driving, it's hot. My AC in this almost 30-year-old truck is never the greatest sometimes. Um, or I just am tired of looking at my four walls. And I just, I just need to get out. Maybe I see I want to, I got extra time on my load and I want to school. So I I factored into my weekly budget, one hotel room. And I have that card that I use it and then I pay it off. So it's I always have the funds available anytime I want to stop, take an Uber, go, go do something. And that's just that's morphed from my $25 a week budgeting to include enjoying life to now I'm stable enough that I can, you know, I've got it, I've got my system in place where I'm never gonna go through place and be like, oh, I I don't know. I just I just can't afford to stop. San Antonio is always great. You know, we we booked a hotel there. We met up one day for like a four-day weekend because it was one summer. She had her granddaughter and I had my niece riding with me, and they were the same age and they were friends. And um, so we met up and we went to Schlitterbahn, which is that amazing water park there in San Antonio Grontells. And, you know, you know, it was it was great doing all the water slides and floating in the lazy river, just so much fun. Um, and then we did the river walk, and you know, just it's just experience San Antonio. One of the biggest regrets that she and I have is we were running out to Washington together and we both had time on our load. And we were going, you know, we go, we don't go up through Utah. We would cut up to US 30 to Kenemer, or like, you know, and around, and you'd go through um the hot springs in hot lava springs in I think Idaho or Oregon, one of the I can't remember exactly. But one of these times we were like, we should stop and float down the river. And we didn't, and to this day we still regret it. So, like that's one of those things that like if you feel like you want to stop somewhere, even if it's just for an hour or two, do it.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:17:56

That's a great reason. Right there, because you circle back around, you think I'll do it next time. But it's like if you have time, like make it happen. I'm I love that.

Jess Graham: 1:18:06

Yeah, like work, like work on building your trip planning skills up so that you can include extra stopping time somewhere. Like I trip plan based, like I set my ETA with my broker based on you know what I can run. And then I also add in a nap. Like literally, my trip plan every day has me taking a one hour nap, whether I use it or not. If I don't use it, I'm ahead of schedule. If I do, if I need it, it was built in and I'm not gonna set myself up for failure. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like you have to, you have to actually like be conscious about planning, you know, like if you know up ahead you've got a little bit of time, don't dilly dally. Put the put the metal downs, don't take the stopsies and you know, stop at every truck stop along the way. Get there so that you can actually get out and and see what you want to see. One of the places that I don't go to anymore, but I really want to is that um statue in, I think it's South Dakota of the the native woman of the blank. I can't remember, you know what I'm talking about. I can't remember her name, but it it's just some of those bucket lists, you know. Well one time I had a load that took me up and I was running uh back roads up to Herkin, Utah. Um, and I was passing right by the Grand Canyon. You know I stopped. Um built it in my I knew I was going that way, and I routed myself that way just so that I could stop and in Williams. And I took the train up, saw the Grand Canyon, took the train back to Williams, and then continued on my way. You know, if you see a roadside attraction, stop. I follow Stephanie Stuckey, who's rebuilding the Stuccies brand. And I love her because she stops at any any pitch anything, you know, and that's in my thing. When I see a sign for world's largest whatever, I'm even if I can't stop, it's on the road. So at least that's I can get off the highway and take the the road that it is on, I can at least slow down a little bit and be like, that's pretty cool.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:20:12

Yeah, I love it, you know. One of the things, Jess, that I love about our enjoying life OTR Facebook group is because people can, you know, when you sometimes we just symbol across something great that has truck parking. It's right off the highway, wasn't planned, it's just a random thing. We can share these stops, like if you're passing through, and now like the the community is growing. So, you know, you could search, you know, South Dakota and see is there something, you know, that people have posted about, and it happens to be you might find something that's just right on your route. So like it's a way we could incorporate it into our trip planning because you know, finding these places and overcoming the challenge of what am I gonna do with the truck and you know, how far off the road is it? You know, it's like it's it's an added burden to try to do all that legwork. So when we do stumble across something fun to do, and there's truck parking and you know, or it's you know easily accessible to truck parking, you know, a short Uber ride, or there's a restaurant that'll deliver to the truck stop, or whatever the little tip is that we could share with each other, it just makes taking some of that extra labor out of finding fun things to do and sharing them with the community. So I love all of these things that you've shared.

Garry DoMoe: 1:21:21

I was doing a dedicated flower account for a company out of Sandusky, a greenhouse out of Sandusky that delivered to um Home Depot, Menards, and Lowe's. But, anyways, I had I had two days worth of downtime. And in Sandusky, there's this resort called Sawmill Resorts where you can buy day passes. So I called there and they allowed me to park my bobtail there, and I paid the $25 a day for the day passes, and I was able to go there and enjoy the the beaches and the the play some golf and run some golf golf clubs. And when I was there, I had dinner, I got to meet the um the race cart driver John Force.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:22:04

Oh wow, fun.

Garry DoMoe: 1:22:05

And yeah, and that that was one of the funner things I've done.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:22:10

I love that for 25 bucks. I mean, that's a deal.

Garry DoMoe: 1:22:14

Yeah, yeah, to enjoy all the amenities that they had at that resort. It was really nice. Yeah, right in Sandusky. I don't know if you're familiar with Sandusky or not. It's right on it's it's right on Lake Erie, and Sandusky is is the home of the um of Cedar Point, where they have the largest, fastest roller coasters in the world. Then before COVID hit, I was going, um, the company I work for is based out of Minneapolis. Okay. So that that allowed me to be in Minneapolis quite a little bit. So that in Minneapolis, I started doing open mics because I wanted to I want to be a stand-up comedian and do comedy. And the only way to do it is to actually get in front of us, get in front of people and do it and see what see what you can make them laugh, you know. Which I've always had the gift of gab. I've been like been able to naturally make people laugh, but it I tend to do better when I get in like a flow, you know what I mean? Yeah. When I get rolling, I can I can get people laughing more.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:23:19

Maybe it's time for you to get behind the mic again.

Garry DoMoe: 1:23:23

Yeah, and that's the that's the big thing is working them, working them butterflies out because jumping in front of strangers is a lot different than talking junk in front around your friends and like you know, but I like it. I enjoy comedy, you know. I enjoy I enjoy it quite a bit. I listen to a lot of comedy.

Larry Cechin: 1:23:46

Well, what do you tell people when they ask you how how how's junk-wise? It's a lot of fun at times. It can be most at times. It's me, I got a friend of mine gonna be coming in to town today, and we're gonna be here at this lot, and we're gonna barbecue some pork chops and put on some fried potatoes and have a little barbecue. You know, we're gonna enjoy ourselves. Yeah. You know, enjoying ourselves while we're over the road. I don't find myself doing things like that more than going into public restaurants and and and eating and spending all that crazy money. We're screwing drivers, it's in his blood, his heart's in it. And that's where I'm at. Because all I know my whole life, just all I've ever wanted to know my whole life. I mean, even on a bad day, I still love my job.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:24:41

Yeah.

Larry Cechin: 1:24:42

And that's uh that's a job you want to get. Yeah, it is. You I'm listening to drivers sometimes. You know, you know, you just listen when you go to the truck stops or you know, getting your food ticket or standing light at you know, parties to get a lunch or whatever. They need a bunch of tissue. I mean, you know, I mean I mean if you're not if you're not happy, get out and you know, and and do something else. You know, um, like I said, anybody can drive a truck. And it's not that it's not difficult. You know, it's it is for some people. Well, but it is for some people, you know. Well, I guess what I'm saying is like, you know, the guys that are out here and the hearts ain't in it, they're the ones that are turning the corners and knocking down the streetlights. Yeah, you know. What we do out here is we keep America moving. I think I'm on Facebook, it's Daryl Squirrel D station. Uh I I post these live uh squirrel cage videos all the time. I usually start them out something like this. From a squirrel cage, Dallas, Texas. You know, uh yeah, and I'll be videotaping my truck in the convention center, uh, which I just unloaded at today. You know, I I have fun when I'm out here.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:25:59

Yeah, it's good.

Larry Cechin: 1:26:00

You have you have to. You gotta put a little bit of play in also with the work because you deserve a little bit of relaxation and having fun. Yeah, you know, it's good. My other passion that I have outside of driving trucks is uh my early Davidson. I got a 51-foot IQ like furniture moving type trailer, and I'm able to carry my motorcycle with me, and I have a lift gate on the back of this truck, you know, so wherever I'm at, if I feel like going for a ride, I'll just roll my bike out on the lift gate, drop it down, and and I go for a ride.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:26:38

I love it that you do that. So great. Yeah.

Larry Cechin: 1:26:42

No, it's really it is it's really cool. You know, I I gotta say, wow, I guess one of my most exciting rides that I've had in the last three years, I'm gonna George, and I was loading up the next day, so I pulled the bike out. I don't know if any of you have been in downtown Augusta, you know, out on the out on the river in the the water there, but there's some beautiful roads, you know, all along the river, and you get into downtown, and I mean we don't get to see that much. I mean I knew on an extent we go to the convention centers and stuff. For the most part, you're limited to where you can go with a big truck when you're downtown, downtown anyway.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:27:27

Yeah, yeah.

Larry Cechin: 1:27:27

And right. So to be able to pull the bike out and go in a down in downtown is just kind of really cool. But I guess the Georgia was probably one of my most exciting ones. Um I'm loading the bike about two o'clock in the afternoon. It was in the summer, and I rode till like nine o'clock. Just it it just seemed like the road just kept going up whatever, and I've got a new road, and it was just new, I mean stuff to see. And when I got done, I went to a real nice restaurant downtown and a really great dinner. And it was ironic because everybody in this restaurant in downtown happened to be there out of town, except for one guy.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:28:14

Yeah.

Larry Cechin: 1:28:15

He goes, So what are you doing riding around? You know, I I told him, I said, Well, I'm a truck driver. He goes, Well, wait a minute, you just wrote it on Hollywood Davidson. I'm like, Yes, I did. And you know, I I carried my bike with me. And I mean, he was just fascinated with it. Great conversation, you know.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:28:35

I love it that you do that. That's so great. That's like the best of both. That would be awesome. I don't know if I'd make any money if I could do that, because I'm uh I like to travel and explore, so I'm like, wanna be hard starting the truck back up again. I'd be like, okay, nobody get back to work.

Larry Cechin: 1:28:52

Oh no, you figure it out.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:28:54

Yeah. It's good. I love it. It's awesome.

Larry Cechin: 1:28:57

Yeah. I wouldn't treat it for the world. So enjoying life over the road, yes. It's been a great it's been a great career.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:29:08

Yeah, I love it.

Larry Cechin: 1:29:09

I wouldn't I wouldn't change it for the world.

Brian Wilson: 1:29:15

Man, I really love hearing what folks are doing out there. Big thanks again to Dr. Mike, Cindy, and to every other driver who shared a piece of their story with us today. Now, look at some of those ideas might be a little more bold than what you're willing to tackle. But that's okay. These stories remind us that fun doesn't have to be ordinary, it just has to be possible. And sometimes all it takes is hearing what someone else has tried to start thinking outside the box for ourselves. If something in this episode made you smile, gave you an idea you didn't have before, or even jarred an old memory, pass it on. Sure. With someone who could use a little spark. Okay, guys, this is Brian Wilson, your old hand with a new plan. We'll catch you next time right here on Enjoying Life OTR.

Cindy Tunstall: 1:30:14

Hey, this is Cindy Tunstall. One last shout out. I just want to say, Brian, not sure we're gonna be back next week. So take a little break from the podcast. And it's not because I haven't had a great time. This has been so much fun. And um thanks so much for all of you that have helped make this show happen. It's been so fun for me. And I can't think of a better way to wrap up this journey with talking about fun, one of my favorite things. So thanks to our guest Mike, and I'm so grateful for the journey. And um also want to give a shout out to Brian, he's been such a great co-host, he's been so fun and a great friend to me. So I've enjoyed sharing this journey with him. And also a big shout-out to Melinda Fox Wellington, and um, she and I started this out together, and it's been a super fun ride, and I've made some great friends, so it's been such a great time. So if you want to stay in touch with me, find me on the Enjoy in Life OTR Facebook group. Some of my best friends in the world are in that community and they're sharing their journey and all the good stuff and the bad stuff, the challenges that happen out there on the road, and I'm getting to share our picks and our favorite stop, so be sure to check it out. So it's a great place to stay in touch with me. I'm gonna post um many of these episodes on the Enjoying Life OTR YouTube channel, so um they will be there forever, so you can hear your episode or others and share that with other drivers. So look forward to seeing y'all. Hope to meet some of y'all on the road someday. That'd be awesome. Anyway, this is Cindy Tunstall signing out for Enjoyin' Life OTR. Y'all be safe out there and by all means enjoy the journey.

Victory Song: 1:31:44

Who is sillian charges through the night? He's my way past a story to tell Helvin and do it well thing to be one, what's it fruit? Five is straight things all we do All the home but stands in front Enjoy life for the Do it all Do it all Do it all Squid still jest to you start in true spoiler four team through it all through it all the two It's all in the food It's it's for you