Day 0 - Well we got here in the end...

It's a long and tiring journey to Oklahoma City. With the overnight stop in Manchester the door to door time was around 32 hours. Well we're here now and Day 1 looks like a corker, more on that later.

My worries about Rich not providing sufficient comical blog material have thankfully proved to have been unfounded. Things started predictably enough; a stop in McDonalds for some junk, an uneventful check in and a few pints of Guinness before bed.

The fun starts the next day as Rich leaves filling out the overly complex car parking form to the last minute, finds out he's parked in the completely wrong place and then can't find his wallet. Panic! Meanwhile the queue for the courtesy bus is swelled by dozens of people off to the Invictus Games in Orlando. Eventually we get to the airport, get checked in (despite Rich's carry on bag being taken away for "special treatment" for 20 minutes) and the flight is on time.

Arriving in Atlanta (neither of us could sleep despite some Blue Sapphire and red wine - not together, that would be just wrong)) and things go fairly smoothly (quite unlike last time I was there) apart from the humongous queue to get through passport control. Having been Stateside before I get in the "fast track" ESTA queue while Rich is left to fend for himself with the masses.

I wait and wait at baggage reclaim then wait some more. A feeling of disquiet descends and my mind is filled with disconcerting images of Rich and long black rubber gloves...Finally, 75 minutes after landing Rich eventually turns up and his gait appears uncompromised by latex...Apparently a Chinese lady keeled over right in from of him and proceedings were held up until she was carted off. Predictably, Rich fails to get through the carry on bag screening and gets yet more "special treatment". My new Albatross moniker for Rich goes down like a lead balloon and sadly my superior seasoned traveller persona is fatally damaged as I yomp confidently down an up escalator. Do'h!

An uneventful flight to Oklahoma City followed (helped by a few pints of exceedingly expensive Samuel Adams Lager) and I get chatting to a nice young lady called Hillary who turns out to be a chase partner of TV storm chaser Gabe Garfield. Small world.

We meet up with Peter and Malcolm (the tick incident gets another outing) and after a couple or three bottles of Shiner Bock it's off to bed. Rich follows, not before he's persuaded the shuttle bus to take him to McDonalds...

Predictably I'm wide awake at 5:00 as my body thinks it's more like 11. Up showered and sorted it's time to review the internet. Top of the list is the final game of the football (soccer...) season in the Championship. Middlesbrough must not lose to Brighton at the Riverside to get promoted to the Premier League and an extra £170m in TV money. Rich and I arrive at breakfast with 15 minutes to go and the score at 1-1 with Brighton down to ten men. They hold on and they're up! A quick call home finds that Skype has dramatically improved from previous years

During the course of today the SPC outlook has been updated. Today (Saturday) has a 5% tornado risk in the north east of Colorado. Bearing in mind everyone's tired, the ladies (Valerie and Aiden) have yet to arrive and that would be a fair drive, thoughts of a cheeky extra shakedown chase day are shelved.

Back to tomorrow and things are looking very promising, though as usual there's the caveat of "it might not pan out". A couple of Tuesday's ago a massive day ended up as a big, messy squall line.

Rich and I get ready to go for a Subway, avoiding the temptation of Sonic Burger. As we do the SPC upgrade tomorrow's outlook from "Enhanced" to "Moderate" which is the second highest rating, and a 45% chance of severe weather within a 25 mile radius of the bulls eye being western Oklahoma and central Kansas. Sweet!

The risk includes supercells capable of producing very large hail (2" plus) and a few tornadoes. Pretty much all you could have asked for on day 1 of a storm chasing vacation :o)

We'll be off for dinner somewhere local at 7:30. Stay posted!