The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

I started in Mississipi, drove to Alabama, diverted to the Florida state line to check off that state and then headed to Georgia. Tonight, I sleep in Atlanta – an impressive city from what I saw of it in driving to my hotel.  It was a strenuous, but great, drive.…

I completed my objectives for today. I revisited two states (Louisiana and Mississippi) that I have already checked off my list. I had a look at the Gulf of Mexico from the seafront at Biloxi and now I am holed up in my hotel room, plotting and scheming for tomorrow…

I was at Ferrari & Maserati of San Antonio at 0800 today and was back on the road, minus my rattle, by 1000. Jim, the technician there, rapidly identified the source of the noise I had noticed as a loose and broken aerodynamic fin on the rear flat underfloor. It…

I like Texas. I knew I would. It’s a matter of attitude, really. A picture I saw somewhere of a local Senator posing by the increased speed limit sign on the Interstate. The “don’t mess with Texas” anti-litter signs on the roads. The Texan flag flying everywhere or pictured on…

As promised, I began my day in Roswell NM by visiting the UFO Museum, or as it styles itself “International Museum and Research Center”. In business, it’s always wise to beware people with elaborate job titles. They are usually far less important than the guy with the simple one. It…

You would think the main story of today was told by the picture of Speranza’s trip computer. Eight hours on the road at an average of almost 70mph? What more could there be? Yet though the drive was magnificent and exhilarating it’s not mostly what I shall remember about today.…

I thought revisiting the Grand Canyon might be a waste of time as my family and I had done the definitive tour. However I decided that the 25 mile “Desert View Drive” alongside the Canyon was a good chance to put Speranza’s roof down and listen carefully for whatever the…

I have nothing to say about the Grand Canyon yet. I am in an hotel nearby, but I haven’t ventured near. I was here years ago with my family and we saw it in the best possible way, from a six-seater light aeroplane. I can’t imagine anything I do tomorrow…

In case anyone thought I was exaggerating in my last post, I took this photo on my way to a (superb) Italian meal last night. Today, it’s on to the Grand Canyon. Farewell Nevada, hello Arizona.

Nevada is a rugged state. I-95 US 95 started minutes from last night’s hotel and took me almost to the door of The Venetian in Las Vegas. That’s easy to write, but it was a four hundred mile drive through bright, hot, emptiness – at least of human habitation. The main…