coming back to driving after a year off tramping (worked for family inbetween) i tend to park industrial areas unless its high value load and for entertainment its a laptop and a dongle for tv ie bbc iplayer or itv player etc or coz i quite a few mates who drive its always a bonus to park together and get to pub for tea or watch films and just generally pass the time with other then sat staring at a cab wall
Industrial estates every time unless the load is of value then its truck stops.
For me it depends on where I am and what I am doing.
I won’t do a 15 on a Monday unless I’m asked ahead of time and can if I want to kip in the wagon the night before. I also won’t do more that two 15s back to back. They are just my rules to help keep the rest levels up.
I usually end up in laybys or industrial estates overnight depending on load and location. I don’t object to paying for parking, but then I don’t really pay for it at the moment. When I get my own unit I might get a bit more miserly about it.
For food, I do carry some supplies including a gas burner etc but I’ll usually get a decent meal at lunchtime and have sandwiches or a salad for dinner. If the unit I’m in has a fridge all the better because I can stock up at the start of the week and it will last through. If not, I’ll stop on the way and grab something if I don’t feel like ‘cooking’. In the summer I get rather creative. I’ve done Philly Cheese Steak subs, fresh salmon and chicken curries from scratch when I have a catwalk to work with as a kitchen but in the cold and wet I’d rather either have a sandwich or something thats just add water. If I’m really lucky and have access to a microwave I’ll get the chef at home to cook up a selection, freeze it before I go and then let it slowly defrost in the fridge over the week.
Entertainment wise I carry the better part of a branch of PC World in the cab with me! I have a laptop with several seasons of my current TV choice on the hard drive, I have a tablet with a few games on, a kindle for reading and a phone with unlimited data on it if I fancy something else. I can keep everything very well charged with a 300 watt inverter I keep in a tool box that goes into every cab with me on tramping or daywork. Though on day work I don’t carry the laptop or tablet, just the phone and kindle.
If all else fails, the Beeb will keep me entertained for a couple of hours of a night on the ole wireless.