Hi friends, during the months on May and June 2008 I will be traveling with Sam Lovell on a trip to America. Sam has always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon and Texas so I am taking him there as a 75^th birthday present.

Well, it started out as that and, as most things associated with Sam have a way of doing, it has grown into a slightly larger event.

We will be arriving in Los Angeles on May 6th and picking up a car to do a road trip through North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas – ending up in Las Vegas on June 18 to embark on a 6-day rafting trip down the Grand Canyon.

We will then fly to New York and London on the way home.

Yeah, I know, that's lots of miles in a short time but remember, Sam drives from Derby to Tamworth every year for the Country Music Festival and I have done a few long hauls myself over the years.

Anyhow, we plan to have a first class adventure that should at the very least result in a movie entitled “Micko and Sam do Vegas.” We will definitely come back with new hats and boots.

As in all good adventures, the best part is the new relationships you make with people you meet along the way. Some of you have already met some great people in the areas we are going to visit and, if you know anyone who you think might make Sam's trip more enjoyable, perhaps you could put us in contact with them. It is always better to be in a new place with some locals. Some of you, of course, will not want to introduce us to your friends because you know us too well.

We won't need accommodation anywhere and we would probably be happy to buy your friends a meal if they are the least bit interesting. At any rate, their lives would be enhanced by meeting Sam, trust me.

Micko O'Byrne
Director
ILHA CONSULTING PTY LIMITED
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