Show and Tell Tuesdays | My Hometown

I was born in Odessa, Texas but growing up we moved a lot with my dad's job. The company he worked for was out of Odessa but because he worked the majority of the time on pipelines we moved to follow the pipelines. We could have stayed in Odessa but they decided that since my sister and I weren't in school we could just move with him. We lived in places like Elko, Nevada, Farmington, New Mexico, Quitman, Texas and Hobbs, New Mexico (twice). I started school in Hobbs but don't really remember a whole lot except the streets we lived on, Rosewood and Taos (although I thought it was pronounced towels back then!), and the name of my my preschool - Mother Goose!

Before my sister started Kindergarten (shes's 1.5 years younger than me) we moved back to Odessa for good and I lived there until Tate and I moved to McAllen in August 2014!

Although we moved quite a bit for 6 years, Odessa is my hometown.  Every time I hear Give Me Back My Hometown by Eric Church I think of Odessa. When the oil boom is high, the city is on a high and a ton of people move in for jobs - oil field can be good money! But when there's a bust, things get bad. It was ranked one of the most dangerous cities in the US in 2015! I can't wait for things to get better and I can get my hometown back.

But, enough of that! Let's see what Odessa's about.

Anytime we go somewhere and are asked where we're from most people can't point out Odessa on a map, but the minute you say "Friday Night Lights", it rings a bell. Odessa is home to the good ol' Permian High School, where I graduated from. Yes, high school football is a big deal, but it's that same big deal in all of west Texas.


 
 

This is Ratliff Stadium (you definitely see this in the movie) and I can remember when the movie first came out - I played soccer and we were practicing at Ratliff while it was being toured for the movie. It was so strange but now I kinda get it. 




A few months back, Investigation Discovery did an episode on Betty Williams as part of their A Crime To Remember series - Betty's Ghost is said to haunt Odessa High School, where I went for my sophomore year. I've always heard stories about Betty but I never really knew what happened. I looked for a snip of the episode and had no luck but here is an article in Texas Monthly that talks about it if you're interested in reading (it's kinda long!). To sum it up, according to the show and article, she claimed to be depressed and wanted her ex boyfriend to kill her and not get punished for it. He did and got away with it; the courts declared him as temporarily insane.




Odessa is also home to Odessa College (OC) and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) - both of which I attended. OC is home to the replicas of Shakespeare's Globe Theater and Anne Hathaway's cottage where they host local theater performances. UTPB is home to the Stonehenge replica.

Every even numbered year Odessa hosts the Permian Basin International Oil Show. As mentioned above, oil is a huge part of Odessa and the oil show is always a big deal. People come in from all over, hotels are booked months in advance (as in - the oil show is in October and they're probably already booked for that weekend - advanced) and don't even try to go out to eat anywhere unless you're okay waiting 2-3 hours to be seated. I used to think people that weren't from here were crazy when they said you could smell the oil but after being gone for over a year - you totally can! When there is a boom going on you see a ton of rigs everywhere and pumpjacks!






If you happen to be in Odessa when a dust storm comes in from the north be prepared to get dirty or get inside! Yes, it really is just a huge brown cloud of dirt. Oh, and tumbleweeds. Yes, that's a real thing.




Driving through Odessa (unless your only on the interstate) you'll probably see a large jackrabbit statue. The original one (Jack Ben Rabbit) is downtown by the administration building but a while back the city did an art fundraising event (Jamboree Rabbits) to where sponsors could have their own colorful bunny. You really will see them everywhere! We did a scavenger hunt in high school for these one time as extra credit. They're actually neat to see. Here are Jack Ben, Uncle Sam and Oil Patch.

If you are only on the interstate, you'll see signs for the Meteor Crater. Throughout the years the dirt has really settled so it doesn't look quite as big as I'm sure it once was, but it's said to be the second largest crater. I wish I could find a better picture!

If you're looking for a good concert head to Dos Amigos - it's like a west Texas icon! They're about to have their grand-reopening after being closed for about 2 years now. I've seen so many country artists play there when they were just getting started (Eli Young Band, Dierks Bentley, Billy Currington, Brantley Gilbert) as well as older artists (Tracy Lawrenc, Darius Rucker, Clay Walker) and the great Texas Country artists (Randy Rogers band, Ely Young Band -before they went Nashville- and Aaron Watson) just to name a few! I've spent many, many weekends there! 

The Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center and the Ector County Coliseum are always holding events. Wagner Noel has both concerts and broadway plays. The Coliseum hosts many expos and live shows (like Disney live and the circus) and is home to the Permian Basin Fair, the Oil Show (above) and our Odessa Jackalopes hockey team.



Speaking of the Coliseum, if you're in Odessa in January the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo is a must! This was the first year I have not gone to the rodeo! It is a big deal. Here are Brylee's first and second rodeos! :)

And last, Odessa is also home to some of the prettiest sunsets! I've seen a fair share of sunsets on the ocean, in the mountains and from the Empire State building but none compare to sunsets from home. Maybe it's because it's just flat land and you can see the sunset for miles, although I will add that driving into that sunset is quite blinding!

And there ya have, my hometown!

Linking up with Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesdays.

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