Photos by Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times

Jenny Dudley, a waitress at Country Pride near Daleville, says she enjoys working Christmas because she's there to make customers smile. She serves a piece of pumpkin pie, apologizing for the runny whipped cream, but trucker Todd Howell of Lewiston, Neb., declines her offer to replace it. "It doesn't bother me a whole lot [to be on the road at Christmas]," Howell said. "I call my relatives and friends. I'm living Christmas through them."

Robert McLaurin of Erie, Pa., was traveling on Christmas Day with his daughter, Mahogany McLaurin, from Jacksonville, Fla., to New York City.

George Fertal (left) was traveling with his wife, Rose Marie Fertal, from Bethlehem, Pa., to Peachtree City, Ga., to visit their son. They stopped for the Christmas buffet at the TravelCenters of America Country Pride Restaurant prepared by Alice Schneider (right).

Dawn Hale of Vinton, clad in her holiday outfit complete with a hat she said she bought about 30 years ago, waits for her mother to arrive at Country Pride from a nearby nursing home. A friend recommended the buffet, so the family decided to meet there for their Christmas dinner.

Mike McGregor of Colorado Springs, Colo., who has been driving a truck for 32 years, was traveling from California to Philadelphia with produce over the holidays and stopped for the night at TravelCenters of America near Daleville. This was his fifth Christmas on the road.

DALEVILLE -- While many people spent Christmas at home with their families, truck drivers with loads to deliver spent the day on the road.

Robert McLaurin of Erie, Pa., said he spends five to six days a week on the road, but there was something about this trip that was different.

While some drivers were flying solo on Christmas, McLaurin had a special passenger.

His daughter, Mahogany McLaurin, 11, tagged along for her first time away from her Jacksonville, Fla., home -- and her first Christmas with her father.

"I like it," Mahogany said of the trip so far. "I get to see a lot of stuff."

The two made a quick stop at the TravelCenters of America truck stop at exit 150 off Interstate 81 to get some fuel, snacks and even a stocking stuffer -- a Virginia snow globe.

"I'm showing her a whole 'nother world," Robert McLaurin said.

Other drivers at the truck stop didn't mind the holiday work schedule, considering it a part of the job.

"These are homes away from home," said Mike McGregor, a truck driver spending his fifth Christmas on the road.

The truck stop offered many luxuries that their truck cabins don't -- a shower, worship center, arcade and a restaurant.

Jenny Dudley, a waitress in the adjacent Country Pride Restaurant, greeted truckers outfitted in a Santa hat and jingle bell earrings.

"I know there's going to be a lot of truckers here and they need to see a smiling face on the holiday," the Fincastle resident said.

The draw for many of the drivers Thursday afternoon was the food.

"Good, hot food is key," said David Zirkelbach, who was on his way to Nashville, Tenn.

As in previous years, the restaurant provided a Christmas buffet of turkey, ham, stuffing and mashed potatoes. Some drivers paid for the meal themselves, but some were treated by their companies, said Steve White, the restaurant's manager.

A Christmas tree with candy canes and garland around the counter added to the festive holiday atmosphere, making the restaurant feel more like a friendly neighborhood diner than a truck stop full of out-of-towners.

"It's nice," said John Harbaugh, who was transporting newspaper inserts to Louisville, Ky., from Lancaster, Pa. "I sat in here for eight hours last night. It's better then sitting in the truck by myself."

A few of the truckers -- McGregor, Harbaugh and Zirkelbach -- said there wasn't much family waiting for them at home and they would see any extended family the next time they hit their home cities.

And the way McGregor sees it, truckers make the world go 'round, and this time of year, they're very similar to Santa Claus.

"All the toys at one point in time were on our 'sleighs,' " he said.

"Santa comes more than once a year if you think of it that way."

Most of the people milling around the truck stop were no strangers to Christmas shifts, and some had even volunteered to spend the day on the road.

"The way times are, I'm happy I have a job," Robert McLaurin said. "This is my Christmas present. To have a job."

As for other drivers who may soon experience a holiday on the road, McGregor suggests it may not be as bad as it seems.

"Make the best of it," he said. "It is what it is."