Comfort Suites Odessa

... helping to make a difference in the world and you may not even know it. With the launch of their Green Travel website, travelers can book with green hotels, hybrid rental cars, and participate in carbon offsetting programs... OR book the vacation of their dreams and still feel good (and green) about it. Even though you might be flying the friendly skies ...

... my tail light bulb, which I did. Then it was off to the hotel. Then there was a night ride to the Permian BAsin Memorial, so, of course, I went. It was a little bit disappointing, because the lights were not working. However, they had an impromptu discussion, and seemed to really help some vets a lot. And a lot of FNG (new to the run) riders really seemed to get a lot out of it. Then back to the hotel - short night tonight for sure!

We awoke to a flat rear tire, we slowly drove to Carlsbad to get it fixed. It turned out to be a cracked valve stem only $10 to fix. Then off to Carlsbad Caverns to walk down into the cave enter ace. I remember visiting the Caverns when I was 9 & 16. This time we walked ...

We took it easy today and caught our breath around the pool. Tonight we went to a Baseball game (the Midland Rockhounds - assisted by Rocky their mascot - beat the Wichita Wranglers) - it was great to see a game live and to soak up the atmosphere. We followed up this with a trip (in Jane's convertible) to a drive in movie where we saw Underdog. great movie - pity about the mosquitos !!!

... which was well used until the rain came. We love the rain over here as it doesn't last too long and keeps the temperature down to a manageable 30 - 35 degrees C. Despite the fact that the 10 year drought has now officially ended I get the feeeling sometimes that (as in Ireland) the locals have had enough of the rain. Met some of Kevin's rugby teammates - Thurs is a training night but there seemed to be a number of MadDogs hanging out around THE bar during training !!

... pool (including a diving board and slide) which the kids loved and Paul's den - which the big boys really loved. I was introduced to the game of Shuffleboard - which I managed to lose every time (thankfully there was no money involved) and Texas Hold'em which had money involved and which I lost as well.

The sun shone again on Day Two - in fact I'm only going to comment on extreme weather from here on. I met some of Kevin's friends at the Petroleum Club for coffee this morning. They were all very excited by Padraig Harrington's win !! Afterwards we called into his office and met everyone there. Carrie, Debbie and the kids explored the first part of the local Mall - one of them. Great bargains to be ...

... there were some clouds they were welcome as they kept the temperature down and rain never threatened. That evening we were joined for a Barbecue (on a massive barbecue) by Tom and Beth whom Kevin works for. It was a very enjoyable evening - weather fab, food great (especially Lilly the Lamb) and interesting conversation.

... saw the most fantastic lightening storm during the short flight to Midland - where we were met by Uncle Kevin and Auntie Carrie. The 9.50pm touchdown time in Texas was equal to 3.50am ( the following day) in Dublin - despite this the kids were still happy to hit Rosa's drive thru' Mexican restaurant on the way home. The food was great - I'd bet we will be back at some stage over the next three weeks.

... surprised at how many stores Midland has to offer- not too shabby. The following morning we got a nice (and quick) tour of the building Troy spends most of his life in, and chatted with some of the students. They all seemed to be enjoying what they were doing. One girl, Madison, was even sweet enough to make us a bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies- delicious! After lunch, we got back in the car and headed off to Tulsa- to see brother #2.