A day with variety beginning with breakfast at a cafe in Plains, TX. The morning crowd was mostly work crews with the local electrical utility. I ordered eggs, potatoes, juice and coffee. Overnight ws across th street in a small locally owned motel that catered to the migrant workers who work the local melon and cotton fields.

The route went through small towns at about ten mile intervals. I stopped at the Tokio post office for water where the postmistress had lived on the same corner for 25 years and for 50 years before that a mile up the road where the town used to be.

At Brownfield I needed to make a decision whether to rent a car and drive north to Shamrock to visit my oldest living relative, my Great Aunt Katie who is "near 90" as she preferred it said regarding her age. She was the first of her close knit family to leave West Virginia in the late 1920s. She married a football player from Texas who was hired to play for Davis and Elkins College (that was a common practice back then) and moved to the high plains when the roads all were dirt and no trees had been planted. She stayed on because his close family system adopted her (my guess), and despite longings for home in the hollers, she found a new one.

No cars were for rent in Brownfield so it was either off to Lubbock or just continue on the route east. Mulling the options I decided I would not get back this way soon and the better choice was to pay her a visit even if it did mean adding miles to the trek. For many reasons, that was the correct decision.

The ride to Lubbock was a joy. Thirty-two miles of flat, wide shoulder road with a 10-15 mph tailwind. I could crank out nearly 25 mph on my own with no downhill. In no time I was in Lubbock at the car rental agency where I was met by a local TV crew who asked the usual questions and staged the usual video shots. The cameraman was curious about even the smallest activity. He shot me putting things in panniers, putting on gloves and helmet, sending email, entering and leaving the car rental office.

The drive to Shamrock was uneventful except it offered a way to unwind and to rest in an almost meditative state. Driving was so relaxing compared with the constant rush of decisions and actions demanded by riding two wheels rather than four.

Dinner out with relatives rounded out the day. Tomorrow I'll drive back to Lubbock and resume where I left off, at the car rental. I'll return to US highway 380 and resume the route east.