My route planning for US Tour 2013 has reached New Orleans. I plan to get there by following the Mississipi River from its source in Minnesota to the sea. The route is known as "the Great River Road" and involves a lot of by-ways. It should help me engage with "the real America" (whatever that may prove to be).
The locked post at the top of the home page (which will stay there until the tour begins on April 29th) provides a link to a Google Map showing the route in stages. You will need to scroll down the the bottom of the driving directions and click NEXT to follow my planned route.
This drive alone would justify the whole expedition, taking in - as it does - wilderness, industry, fading towns, tourist traps, plantation houses, historical sites and - of course - Graceland. I also propose to divert to Des Moines, Iowa and Springfield Illinois en route.
Speranza's passage to the New World is about to be booked. The private sector will take eight days actually to move her. The public sector will add 10 days to that to "clear" her out of the UK and into the USA. The shippers charges for customs clearances add about two thirds to the cost.
The state, as usual, gets in the way of an honest citizen going about his lawful business, while adding a chunk of unnecessary expense for its payroll voters to tool about inefficiently. There. And you thought this post would have no political content.
