RVing Outpost Forum: RVing Outpost Forum -> Mrs. Mik's Blog

We had so much to do outside today, and it looked like the weather wasn't going to cooperate, but we got lucky! NO RAIN!

We have someone who wants to buy some of our shelving, so we had to go to the storage unit to get it. The only issue is that the pegboard is WAY in back, with all kinds of stuff in front of it. No biggie. We had all the kids helping, so it wasn't as hard as we thought it would be. We hitched the utility trailer up to the truck, because I can't put a sheet of pegboard in the bed of my truck (damned 5th wheel hitch makes my truck bed useless, LOL). Once we got to the storage unit, we had to move all kinds of stuff out of the way, just to get to the pegboard! We did that with no problem, but because we have two sizes of shelving and pegboard, we had to move about 50 sheets of 5 ft. pegboard to get at the 8 ft. pegboard that was at the bottom of the pile!

We finally got that done, and the kids wanted to just leave all the shelving stuff in the trailer in the garage. I didn't want to, because I don't want to have to scrape the frost off my truck in the mornings until the buyers come to get the shelving. Aaron told me that he would scrape my truck in the mornings! LOL OK, fine! I can do that! Wake the boy at 6 a.m. to scrape my truck off -- that would be funny!

Turns out, we had to empty it, because we needed to get 20 bales of straw from our neighbor for the chicken coop. Erica called her friend, who said "come now" if you want it, so gee, we had to empty the trailer first! LOL (Remember, I said the truck bed is useless, and I forgot to mention that we put the cap on it last weekend, so I don't have to shovel snow out of it this winter, so it's even MORE useless now!)

Next, we traveled to the neighbors and got 20 bales of straw that we had to load up in the utility trailer. It was a perfect fit!

We also had to put the second roll of plastic around the chicken coop. You may remember, last year, we lost a bunch of chickens during the winter because of the drafts in the coop. Once we put plastic up around the whole coop, we didn't have any more issues. This year, I decided we needed to do it before it got really nasty out. So, we put up the second roll of plastic (6 mil thick!), and put some of the straw bales around the bottom of the coop to not only hold the plastic down, but to help insulate it.

The other job we had was to put the "reader board" up on our property here at home. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, and this was the final weekend to get it done. I called "Digger's Hotline" so they could mark our property for buried power lines, etc. and they marked the area yesterday. Aaron dug the holes with the posthole digger and we bought some "QuickCrete" to set the poles in the ground. That stuff is GREAT! Dig the hole, pour the concrete in, mix in some water, and you're good to go! I'm glad we finally have THAT done!

So, it was a busy day, but we all worked together and got done all the things we needed to do! I'm certainly happy that all that work is done and we're almost ready for winter!

Hope everyone else had a good day!

Julie

PS, we also picked out paint for our spare bedroom for my mother. I want to make "her" room more homey for her, seeing as she's spending so much time here now that my dad is gone. Picking out paint is just the first step, but it's a BIG step for her!

All in all, today was a very good day!

So, I'm driving my afternoon route today, and had only dropped off four kids. I still had quite a busload, as I hadn't gotten to my "biggest" drop-off point. I was driving along a County Road (thank goodness it was a blacktop road and not one of the many dirt roads I drive!), when I was about 1/4 mile from my next rural stop. The student had started walking to the front of the bus (as the older ones are supposed to do -- and then sit in a seat near the front until I actually stop at their house), and I spotted a HUGE buck on my left running hell-bent for leather through a recently chopped cornfield right toward the bus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!



My first thought was about the student walking forward. I was worried about him doing a header all the way to the front of the bus because I had to hit the brakes. I hollered "HOLD ON!", not once, but TWICE! As the buck is still running toward us, I'm on the brakes (keep in mind, I was only doing about 45 mph at the time), but I'm worried about the kids getting hurt from stopping too quickly, and the boy walking to the front, AND hitting the deer! Yikes! All this is going through my head in the three seconds this was all happening!

None of the kids really realized what was going on yet. They knew I was stopping quickly, but didn't know why. As I had the bus slowed and the buck ran in front of the bus, barely a FOOT from the front, knowing I wasn't going to hit it, I said "Jesus Christ Almighty.". Apparently, I said it louder than I thought, because THAT was what made the rest of the kids look up to see what was going on, all the way to the back of the bus!

The buck ran in front of the bus and continued running through the field to my right, while all the kids were watching and commenting on how HUGE it was. I'm telling you, this buck was HUGE! The antlers on it were INCREDIBLE! This was absolutely the BIGGEST deer I've ever seen that was not in a zoo!

After making sure everyone was OK, I continued on my route and dropped off the young man who had been walking to the front of the bus. The kids told me that he was about bent in half from my hitting the brakes, so he WAS close to landing on the floor of the bus!

Later in the route, of course, the discussion continued around the deer. I had a bunch of kids chuckling at me for my choice of words! Apparently, they were quite surprised at what I said. I looked at them in the mirror and said "I didn't swear!" They all agreed, but I guess were quite surprised that I didn't! One 17 year old said, "I would have at least expected a 'holy $h*t!'" !! LOL! I told them that I was simply having a religious moment! They thought that was awesome! Frankly, I'm surprised that I didn't use a four-letter word!

More conversation ensued, and we all talked about the HUGE rack on the buck, and who would get it. Of course, it would have been MINE! LOL

I still can't believe how close that deer came to being splattered all over the front of the bus. I have no idea how bad a school bus vs. deer accident could be, and I've no doubt that had I hit that big of a deer, I'd not be writing this tonight as I'd be in the hospital. I'm glad I saw it in time and that magnificent creature is safe and sound in the woods, at least for now and that all "my" kids got home safe and sound.

Hope everyone had a less exciting day!

Julie

I know I've complained about our local "department" store named Pamida here in the middle of nowhere, but this is just ridiculous!

I need a new pair of slippers. The slippers the kids got for me for Christmas are falling apart. I figured I'd get a cheap pair next time I'm in town. So, I finally remember to stop at Pamida -- the only place to get a pair in town.

Would you believe that the CHEAPEST slippers they have are $16.99!! Now, to be fair, they had a sale going on where if you buy one pair at regular price, you get a pair at 50% off. OK, that's not a bad deal, but really, $16.99 for a pair of slippers?

That's just nuts! I have never paid more than $8.99 for my slippers, and I usually need a pair every year. There's no reason for the price to be so high, especially in such a small town, except for the fact that they feel they can gouge their customers!

I was soooooooooooooooo pissed when I saw that. I was ticked off a couple years ago when they hiked up the price on their kids snow boots when the first snow hit, and again, when they didn't bother to sell the ink for a printer that they sold. I'm just completely disgusted with Pamida.

When we had our store in that same little strip mall, I would shop at Pamida, thinking that we needed to help support our local businesses. But, after having been to Chamber of Commerce meetings (and other meetings) with the general manager and having him NOT recognize me when I would stop in the store, even though I had a name-tag on from OUR store and even though my store was in the same, very small, strip mall, I decided enough was enough.

Yea, I'm a little bitter. The folks at that store, for whatever reason, refuse to even recognize that there were other stores in the mall and would tell customers that they were the only one open on Sundays, etc., when not only were we open, but the dollar store was open, too! Not to mention the fact that when OUR customers would be in their store and ask about us, they would act as though they had NO IDEA who we were! WTF?

Since the boot thing, and the printer thing, I've bought very little there. If there was a place we could get our prescriptions filled that was close, I'd switch them in a heartbeat!

Pamida -- at least the one in Abbotsford -- has got to be the WORST store and most EXPENSIVE store I've ever been in!

I plan on going to Wausau over the weekend, and will happily spend my hard-earned money on a new pair of slippers, and while I'm checking out, I'll be laughing gleefully at NOT having spent my hard-earned money at the local rip-off store -- Pamida!

OK, I feel better now! LOL

I must say, it's certainly an adventure driving a school bus! Nothing ever stays the same. Every day, there's some new challenge. I know in my last entry, I said I liked driving the school bus, and despite what you're going to read next, I stand by that statement! LOL

Yesterday, I had a kid on the bus who has caused problems in the past. He's only been riding for a couple weeks now, but boy, oh, boy, I must say, this child is going to give me more grey hair than my own children! LOL

Yesterday's events on the school bus were nothing to spit at . . . (no pun intended!) Actually, there was quite a bit of spit involved! This kid was not only shooting spit balls, but spitting on kids! I didn't realize this was going on (despite my near constant checking of my mirror), until a child brought the spitballs up to me and told me. I thanked the child and want until the child got back to the child's seat (I don't want to reveal anything here, so need to be non-gender specific), I pulled the bus over. I walked back to the older kids and said, in a very stern voice "who's throwing spitballs?" No one said anything. I said it again. Still nothing. I was alerted as to who the culprit was, and stared him/her down and asked him/her again. Once again, he denied it. I crossed my arms, leaned back against the back of one of the seats, and said "I'm not moving until I find out who did it" and just stared at the kids -- all of them. Finally one kid spoke up and claimed he/she did it. I knew it wasn't him/her, so I looked at him/her and said "you're lying." The other kids started laughing. I know he/she said it because he/she wanted to get home and was merely hoping I'd be dumb enough to believe it -- he/she's a good kid, and has NEVER given me any issues before. Not only that, but he/she was SMILING when he/she said it! DUH! I'm not a COMPLETE idiot! I've got three kids. Believe me, I can tell when one of them is lying! LOL

So once again, I looked at the offender and the offender was irritated because I didn't believe the other kid who admitted to it. I told the offender straight out that that the other kid was lying and so was he/she. I stared at the offender again and asked him/her if he/she was throwing spit balls. The offender finally admitted to it. I then told him/her to get up in the front of the bus, NOW. Unfortunately, it was only about 1/2 a mile from this kid's stop, so coming to the front of the bus really didn't have any effect.

After I got back to the yard, I called the company and told them what happened. It turns out that the child who had all the phlegm/spitballs/spit in his/her hair's mother had already called to complain. I don't blame the mom. I would have done the same thing!

The final decision was made by the bus company and agreed to by the principal of the school. The offender is OFF THE BUS FOR TWO WEEKS. That works for me! I will not tolerate that kind of behavior, period. That's just disgusting and absolutely unacceptable.

When all my kids were on the bus and we were ready to roll, I stood up to talk to them about yesterday. I informed them that the offender was off the bus for two weeks because of yesterday's behavior. I also told them that I WILL NOT TOLERATE that sort of behavior on my bus, EVER. They are going to sit and behave, PERIOD. I also told them that if the offender does something like that again, the offender will be off the bus for a longer period, and that a third time means NO BUS any more for the year. I told them that they are headed down the same road and I will not hesitate to write them up.

They were pretty good for a while, and then one young lady started yelling. I didn't stop the bus, but I yelled back . . .

[quote]
STOP YELLING!

She quieted down. But I wasn't through, as I really needed to step on these kids to make them understand that I'M THE BOSS, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THEIR CRAP!

I then yelled to them (quite loudly, but still reserving my "loudest voice"): THE ONLY PERSON ALLOWED TO YELL ON MY BUS IS ME!!!!

For the rest of the ride, the kids were awesome and I was quite happy! This particular route has had issues for years. Without the one troublemaker on this route for so long, the owner of the company (and another driver) managed to get the kids under control, to the relief of the good kids on the bus. I wasn't about to let that slip through my fingers and was quite disappointed to have to deal with what happened yesterday.

BUT, the good news is that the "bad" kids are coming to realize that I'm not going to take their crap and they better behave, or they're not going to be riding the bus!

As I said in the beginning, I'm still enjoying it! The company I work for was concerned that I may be feeling a bit of "what did I get myself into here", (which I appreciated) and offered to have the safety director ride with me to talk to the kids and keep the kids in hand, but I told them that I needed to be able to handle this myself, as I don't want the kids to think that I need help to keep them under control. I assured them that this was something I could deal with and they understood and agreed. I always have the option of getting help to get the kids under control, but truth be told, the kids were great until the one troublemaker started riding.

I told the company that I've got three kids of my own and I'm sure I can handle the kids on my bus. They were pleased to hear that and glad that I'm not "losing it" after a rather difficult day!

What a challenge! I never thought I'd be driving a school bus, or dealing with the issues mentioned above, but I'm really enjoying this! It's such new territory for me, that I can't help but embrace it. When I solve a problem, and the kids are happy (they really DO like rules and structure, you know!), it makes me happy! Being told by a company that has been dealing with kids on school buses for at least 50 years that you're doing the right thing and handling things properly, is awesome!

I realized something today. Call it an epiphany, if you want, but I realized, when I was doing my afternoon bus route, that I really LIKE driving a school bus! Isn't that COOL!

Yesterday, I had the kids tell me where they want to sit on the bus (only those over 10 years old -- I was the one to decide where the little kids sat), as I have to make up a seating chart (for safety reasons -- if the bus is in an accident, and there are injured kids or, heaven forbid, bodies, they need to know who was sitting where so they know who the kids are and can contact family. Yes, it's a bit gruesome, but it's reality. Anyway, I made up the chart based on where I thought the kids wanted to sit. Apparently, I was wrong.

Before leaving the school, while the kids were grumbling, I stood up to talk to them. Told the kids that I wanted to know who didn't like their seats and why they wanted to move. I also told them they better have a GOOD reason for moving, otherwise, they're not.

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Once that was done, we were off! All was going well, and I was dispatching kids like normal and talking with two twin sisters who really enjoy sitting up front with me. They're good girls and help me when I have a question as to whether someone is on the bus or not. (I'm still learning all the kids' names, so having them help me is awesome. Their brother, on the other hand, not so much. He's the one quoted above who doesn't get along with the other boys. The girls actually told me that he had moved two seats back. (It was hard to tell from looking in my mirror that he had moved.) When I got to a stop sign, I looked at him in the mirror and told him to move. He didn't. OK, that's fine. I'm not moving this bus until you get back into your assigned seat. He looked at me for a minute or so, and finally moved. (heh, heh, heh).

A mile or so down the road, I made a left turn . . . onto the wrong road!

You know, there is nothing like turning down a wrong road to wake up a bunch of kids! LOLOL The older kids in the back started hollering at me that it was the wrong road. Yea, yea, I know that. I knew it the second I made the turn! But, at that point, it was too late. OK, kids, we're taking the scenic route this time! OK, so we made a couple-mile detour. No big deal. We were back on track in no time.

I had to back into my driveway from hell right after that. I've learned that I know I can do it, and if I don't back into it in one shot, it's OK! As long as I don't dump the duals (back dual tires) into a ditch or take out a mailbox, all is well! Once I came to that conclusion, the driveway from hell actually isn't as bad as I thought it was and I manage it in TWO maneuvers now!

I have a worse driveway in the mornings. It's very narrow. I have this driveway to back up into every day, unless they call and tell me the young boy (1st grade) isn't riding, which is rare. THAT driveway used to give me fits! Occasionally, I can back into it in one shot, but usually, I have to pull up, because I'm worried about dropping the duals in the ditch. So, I pull forward, straighten out, and then back up far enough to be able to pull forward and turn around. The only problem with that is that one time, I got a bit too close and almost dropped the duals into the ditch! I was only about 3 inches away from that, so now I'm even more cautious, and end up backing up and pulling forward before I'm out and down the road again. I've decided that that's OK! It takes me four maneuvers, and I'm good with that! I know that that's what it's going to be like, so I don't fret about it!

So, back to tonight. After dropping off a couple more kids, the "girls" tell me that their brother is sitting on the floor! WTH? So, I come up to another stop sign and tell him to get in his seat. His head pops up and he says "I was in my seat." No you weren't. Again he says he was. I then said to him in a VERY loud (but deep) voice, NO YOU WEREN'T. DON'T LIE TO ME. I have three kids and they're much better liars than you are and I catch them every time!

The girls were looking at me in the mirror with HUGE eyes! LOL When they finally spoke, they both said "WOW!" I didn't know you had that loud of a voice! (heh, heh, heh!). I told them that that's nothing! That's not even my LOUD voice! LOL They were shocked! LOLOL They also told me that he wouldn't talk to me for a few days. I told them that that's OK and I can deal with that. He needs to learn and listen to me on the bus. No exceptions!

So, even with the few issues I've had with the kids, I'm really LOVING driving the school bus!

The only downfall I'm seeing right now is that my baby, my beloved truck, seems quite small after driving the bus!

So today was to be my last day with my trainer, Jon. He rode with me this morning, helping me with the route. The driving is easy. It's the route that is the problem! It would have been very helpful if I knew the area, but I don't, so it's that much harder for me.

When I got to the garage, I went over my map and made notes for myself, based on landmarks, etc., to help me get used to it all. I was feeling fairly confident, but was glad that Jon was going to be riding with me one more time.

While we were waiting at the garage, a call came through looking for one of the drivers that was not there. It turns out that for whatever reason, this particular person couldn't make it, so Jon had to take over the other bus, and I was to be left all alone! OH NO!!!!!!!! I'M NOT READY!!!!!

Jon insisted I was ready and went over some other last minute things with me, and then left to take his bus, and I was on my own! YIKES!

I drove to the school and waited for "my" kids to board. While the kids were boarding, Jon came on my bus. He stayed with me while my kids got on, and it turns out that I had some kids that night that never rode at night before, thereby making my route a bit more difficult. Great. Just what I needed!

But, I was heartened when Jon addressed all the kids on the bus, telling them that they needed to be on their BEST behavior, as he was not going to be riding with me and that I needed to be able to concentrate on the route to make sure everyone got home, etc. (I DID have a helper -- a sophomore who agreed to help a few days ago -- these kids KNOW the route, and most often, they're happy to help out). So, Jon left and got on his bus and I was left alone with all these kids to get home safely!

So, we leave the school yard, and immediately, the kids start acting up. Gee, that's a surprise! I had plans to pull the bus over when they started acting up, but didn't expect it to be so soon. I pulled out onto the highway, and of course, couldn't pull over there, so I waited until my first turn onto a dirt road (yes, we're so rural in areas up here that we have a LOT of dirt roads). I crossed the railroad tracks and pulled over to the side of the road. By the time I was done setting the park brake (I have air brakes, you know), the kids were completely silent, knowing that they had messed up and had NO IDEA what I was going to say or do. (Fear can be a good thing! LOL) I took off my seat belt and stood up and said:

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After that, the kids were GREAT! They realized that I wasn't going to take any crap from them, and discipline WILL BE ENFORCED on my bus! I know they were simply testing me, to see what they could get away with without Mr. B on the bus, and that's fine. My reason for stopping and telling them what I did was to let them know right from the git-go that I wasn't going to tolerate them horsing around.

The other thing Mr. B told them was after one drop off, the next kid(s) to get off should come to the front of the bus to help me and tell me where their house was. Each and every kid did that, and it was GREAT! My last two groups of kids consisted of a family of four boys and one little kindergarten boy (Joshua). When the four brothers came up, ready to get off at their house, they brought little Joshua with them, and asked me if I knew where his house was. They were concerned that I might not know, and wanted to make sure he got home OK. I thought that was just the sweetest thing! I DID know where Joshua lived, as his house is one that I have to turn around at and is different from most others, so really stands out for me.

So, I dropped Joshua off and then high-tailed it back to the garage. I had a HUGE grin on my face by the time I got there, and had a moment to talk to Jon about the route. He was pleased with what I had done, and told me "I KNEW you could do it -- it was just a matter of not having me there any more."

Starting Monday, the route is all mine! I'm a bit nervous, as I have to pick UP the kids, rather than drop them off, so there's a bit more potential for errors and missing kids, but I'm sure it will be fine. I know the first kids on the bus will be happy to help me and by the end of the week, I'll be able to handle it without the kids helping.

I never thought I'd add "school bus driver" to my resume, but I'm really enjoying this new chapter!

Hi folks! I'm back! We were gone to pick up Aaron at Fort Leonard Wood, MO last week. I didn't say anything because we're too easy to find, and I don't want folks with nefarious intentions to know when we go away.

We got back on Sunday (I'll add to the thread re Aaron's letter's home about our trip when I have all the pics and video done). This morning, I went on another "ride-along" to get to know the kids and the route. After that, my trainer, Jon, asked if I wanted to drive the afternoon route. I figured what the heck! Might as well get started! So, the plan was for me to drive the afternoon route with Jon riding shotgun, so to speak.

After the morning route, I came home and started to work on orders, and after being home about an hour, got a call from the bus company asking if I could take a field trip at 12:15! Uhm ................... yea, I guess so! Sooooooooooooo, on the spur of the moment, I had my very FIRST solo trip!

I managed that trip just fine. I had to turn the bus around twice, but that was in parking lots, and it was no big deal. That gave me a BIG boost of confidence! LOL The trip was for a bunch of pre-kindergarten kids, and turned out to be just six kids and three adults. I'm not sure why they contracted for such a big bus (80 passenger!) when they only had that many, but who am I to question.

When I got back from the field trip, it was time to leave for my afternoon route! So, I went back to the bus station and picked up Jon (my trainer) and left to go pick up the kids from school.

I waited in front of the school for all the kids, and they were quite surprised to see me driving, instead of watching! LOL One little girl, Shaylee, who is only 5 years old was VERY upset. She was in her seat on the bus, crying like crazy! I called her up and asked her what was wrong. Turns out that she didn't remember that I was going to be her new bus driver (her sister was not on the bus yet), and she was worried that she was on the wrong bus! Poor thing! I felt so bad for her! With the help of some older kids, I found her name on the list (to make sure, as I don't know all the kids yet), and then assured her that she was on the right bus and reminded her that I was her new driver. That seemed to satisfy her, and once her "older" sister (she's all of 7 or 8) got on the bus, Shaylee was fine.

I handled the route for the most part without problems. The kids LOVE to help! I missed one turn (oops!), and because it's a rural route, it took a few minutes to go around and get back on track. That's OK, though, and is kind of expected with new drivers. LOL I like to call that the scenic route.

I ended the route about 10 minutes late, but again, that's to be expected with new drivers. I'll be driving again tomorrow morning, but Jon with be with me. He'll be staying with me until after Thursday's afternoon route. If I want him to come with again on Friday, he will. Otherwise, I'll be on my own!

I enjoy driving the bus, and the kids are actually quite good. They had a bit of energy after school today, but they calmed down. When they asked where I was last week, I told them that I had to pick up my son from the Army. They were actually quite impressed with that! LOL I figure if they get out of control, I'll just have Aaron ride in his ACU's (fatigues), and make sure the kids know not to mess with his mom!

Late this afternoon, I took the road test for my CDL and School Bus Endorsement. I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Doing the happy dance!

The tester told me that in five years of his testing, he's never had a driver score better than me on the road test! Wahoo! I couldn't believe it when he said that! The way it works in Wisconsin is that there are a certain number of "points" you can get and still pass the test. I don't know how many that is. You get a point when you don't do something. In all the driving I did (which was a LOT), I only got FOUR points! That's just AWESOME!

Tomorrow, I have to get up and go on the route with the current driver (one of my trainers) and meet all the kids. That should be interesting!

I'm looking forward to it, but I'm a little nervous, as well.

Julie

I know it's been a long time, but here's a pic Abby took of our garden the other day:



It's AWESOME! The garden is doing so well. I'm starting to think that it's not big enough! LOL

Now, I'm sure you're wondering about the "plastic wrap" around the fence. About 2 weeks ago, they were talking about frost in this area and my mother and sister were quite concerned for my garden. Frankly, I wasn't about to lose all our hard work to frost in August! There was just NO WAY! Our garden is entirely too big to even attempt to cover it with blankets or sheets. Sooooo, we did the next best thing!

We "shrink wrapped" it!

Yep, I had a bunch of commercial size shrink wrap, so we used that and literally "wrapped" the garden in it!

I think I took a picture . . . but I'll be darned if I can find it! Guess you'll just have to imagine it! LOL

Today, I went out there and realized that some of our beans are finally ready! Not only were some beans ready (not much, but in a couple days I'll have a boatload!), but some of the beets were ready! I even managed to find a decent-sized onion!

Here's a pic of today's bounty!



Those beets were oh, so good! Nice and tender and SWEET! I can't wait until the rest are ready!

Julie

Driving the school bus in many ways reminds me of driving with the 5th wheel. Sometimes, too much. Today, when I was practicing my backing maneuver (to turn around), I was getting frustrated, because I kept turning the wheel the wrong way, because I was thinking about having the 5er and having to turn the wheel the opposite direction. The trainers (I had two of them today) knew EXACTLY why I was having problems and could see the frustration in my face. I don't know why I suddenly had an issue today, when it's been fine the last couple of days. It really wasn't even an "issue" so to speak, as when you're taking the driving test, you can pull forward as often as you need to to straighten out and get yourself situated. I was more frustrated with myself, because I had to do that -- even though it was only ONE time. If I only had to pull forward ONE time at a campground, I would consider that a HUGE success! LOL Don't know why I was beating myself up over it, as I did good and would have easily passed the driving test the way I backed up to turn around.

After that, I had to pull onto a 2-lane highway (speed limit 55). This was the first time I went that fast in the bus, and was a bit intimidated. There was a semi behind me, but there was plenty of room for me to pull out. I'm talking about 1/2 a mile. Of course, by the time I got up to speed, the semi was closer. The whole "view" of driving is different, and I was hugging the right side of the lane too much. Then, when we got into town and it widened to four lanes, I forgot that I should move over into the right lane, and the semi had already done so. I didn't think of it until the trainer asked me what lane I should be in. Of course, I couldn't get into the right lane then, because the semi was too close. I signaled and the semi slowed down and gave me room to move over. After that, I was REALLY frustrated with myself and the trainers knew it.

We did a few more railroad tracks (there's a LOT up here in the town we're practicing in, and lots of different scenarios dealing with the tracks that they're putting me through). I did fine on those, though. Then, I had to drop one trainer off at the bus company and the other trainer and I continued my training. He knew I was frustrated with myself and needed a confidence boost. So, he had me drive to a place in the country that has one of the WORST driveways there is to try to back up and turn around! Turns out, it was the home of the trainer I had dropped off!

We went through some different scenarios, trying to work out the best way to back into this driveway, and why some didn't work and how the bus was going to react, based on where I was situated. We spent a good amount of time there trying to figure it all out. It was a dead end road, so we knew we'd have the time we needed to go through everything. The driveway is narrow. There's posts on either side of it, along with a mailbox and trees. The road itself is a rather narrow dirt road, too. LOTS of things to consider when having to back up to turn around. Based on how I was backing, I was concerned with the right front tire going into the ditch, as I had a good shot of clearing the obstacles behind me. My trainer actually stood in the open doorway and watched that tire for me, as I had the mirrors to guide me back. I actually managed to back it up and turn around without hitting anything! WAHOO! The trainer actually said that NO ONE has ever actually managed to back up and turn around in that driveway before! Not even him or his brother (the other trainer)! That definitely boosted my confidence!

The next time I had to go back on the highway, it was a lot easier, as I had my confidence back and didn't have any problems at all. That was good! We did some other maneuvers, and finally, went back to the yard. It was a bit of a difficult day at first, but mostly because I was "over-thinking" what I had to do. I need to remember that there is no "pivot point" when driving the bus. As my trainer said - it's a stick! LOL