More updates

Okay I finally got a proper computer again to post an update from.

Well last time I was in Massachusetts heading south so how did that section of the trip go.

Well from Massachusetts I headed down the coast, firstly to Rhode Island where I met up with some old fiends for a lovely dinner which was a nice change.
From there I stayed heading southish through Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and into the District of Columbia and Washington DC.
I had a lovely day wandering around Washington, I could have spent multiple days just in the Smithsonian but I decided to head on after a single day as I had seen most of what I wanted to, getting back to the car I noticed a nice crack in the windscreen (I was parked maybe a hundred meters from an interstate so I think a stone flew from the road and got the windscreen, well the rental company said it was up to me if I swapped the car out or if it was safe to drive, I decide to stay going (it has now grown to maybe 3 foot but I couldn't be bothered to swap it out ))

From Washington I headed down through Virginia and into North Caroline where I met up with some of my friends from RenRe for a lovely lunch and some time catching up.

From there it was on down through South Caroline where the weather conspired to stop me from seeing some of the sights I had wanted to see, just one of those days where it was raining on and off a lot and I just wasn't bothered getting soaked through to see some of the sights.

Then down through Georgia and on down to Key West with a stop in Key Largo.

Key west was filled with tourists so after seeing the most southerly point (which was my main reason for going that far down) I got out of there.

I visited the museum of diving near Key Largo which was spectacular, I fully recommend it if you are in the area and even have a slight interest in diving. (I had to resist buying the Mark IV helmet they had for sale!!)
The plan in Key Largo had been for a few days of diving but unfortunately I seem to be suffering from some sort of sinus issues at the moment so that was out which is a pity as the one dive I did (well tried to do) was lovely and there was a number of dives I really wanted to do there (I'll just have to come back again)
I skipped Disney and such in Orlando and the Kennedy space centre as I had done these on a previous trip (but I would recommend them anyway)

From Florida it was west to Alabama, Mississippi and into Louisiana.
I had a lovely day in New Orleans especially in the French quarter.

From New Orleans I headed Northish to get a corner of Texas and Oklahoma and to get Arkansas.
From there it was back east again to Get Tennessee and up into Kentucky, I skipped Graceland as I was shocked with the price of visiting and I'm not a big enough Elvis fan to pay that price :)

From there I added in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and then  up to South Dakota (year I was already there) to take in Mt Rushmore, the faces are a little smaller than I was expecting (not sure why!) but well worth seeing anyway, fairly crowded but not too bad, admittedly I had to resist barging past some old people (Why is it when you have an old couple walking along a boardwalk that is wide enough for two people they insist on walking side by side so no body can pass )

From Mount Rushmore it was west into Wyoming and off to see Yellowstone National park, I could have spent a week there and still not seen a fraction of the park, I mainly took the time to take in the geysers and such (unfortunately I was having issues with the altitude again so only spend the one day)

From there it was on into Idaho and Utah where I am at the moment.

Only three states to go Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, also I want to get to San Francisco to spend a day and see a few things including some of a day in Las Vegas (to include a helicopter trip to the grand canyon)

I estimate I have about 3000 miles to go to hit all these spots and get back to San Diego by the morning of the 29th, so nine days really and a day or two of sight seeing along the way (just about practical!) The actual millage may be a little lower as I was basing it on getting to Roswell in New Mexico but I may not go quite that far!

After that what are my plans, I'm actually looking at coming back to Ireland for a month or so to do a number of things around Ireland and Europe, the plan is to base myself out of Dublin (thanks Mam), this may actually work out a cheaper way of getting to Australia! and give me a chance to do some stuff I want in Ireland and Europe.

Pictures will follow in a week or so (probably after I get back to Ireland!)


Okay a very quick update and I have to rush off to get checked out and to head on.