Many people have been watching and following RotorDave's "super-fun-thread-of-awesomeness" about his travels across the U.S. with IFPA 11 in the middle at Denver CO .

I'm about to embark on my own road trip of sorts in a kind of reverse order to Dave . I'm also travelling over to the U.S. very soon to compete in IFPA 11 representing Australia . While we don't have a hearse or anything near as cool to drive I'm hoping our adventures will be just as fun .

First of all I'd like to say thanks to all the Pinsiders that have helped so far with info and tips for the trip . It's all been very much appreciated .

I'll try and keep this thread updated with where we are and hopefully be able to post up a few photos along the way . At some point this thread and RotorDave's Route 66 Odyssey thread will merge as we get together in Denver .

Less than 24 hours until I fly out of Sydney . Bring it on !!

Dave , I'll see ya soon champ !

Cheers,

Scott.

Well leg 1 is done . Just landed in RotorDave territory (NZ) and awaiting connecting flight to LA .

We're here !!! Just arrived in LAX and have made our way through customs / security . Time to get the hire car and see what this country has to offer . I think I'll let Rob drive first but , you guys drive on the wrong side of the road !!

Likewise Tim . Will be great to catch up with you as well . See you soon .

Time for an update . Stayed in LA for the one night . Got to go out to Pinball Land Saturday afternoon and meet some great guys . Ron and Rob were both very welcoming and made us feel right at home . Was good to meet some of the crew from the OC Pinball Club .

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Also got to see and play a rather rare Spinball machine " Jolly Park" . ( it's for sale too , if anyone's interested get in touch with Rob from Pinball Land )

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Thanks Ron and Rob for having us . Wish we could've stayed longer but we had to push on . Thanks also to Aurich for the tip about this place and was great to also meet you .

Next stop was Vegas . We left LA and was making good time until we hit a sandstorm from hell . It closed the interstate down temporarily . This thing was nuts . There was a semi-trailer about 6 car lengths in front of us that was barely visible .

We finally made it though .

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Huge thanks to Tim for his hospitality last night . Welcomed us into his home , even though it was fairly late when we got there ( sorry Tim ) . We got caught up and spent a bit longer at the Grand Canyon than we had expected and then stopped at Meteor Crater as well .

Sorry RotorDave but your scores on Tim's Metallica didn't last the Aussie onslaught .

Moved on to Colorado Springs today . Just had a trip up to the top of Pike's Peak . Awesome ... but bloody cold !!

Left Colorado Springs this morning . Actually it was Minitou Springs we were staying at (right near the foothills of Pike's Peak ) . Before we left we decided to check out the Penny Arcade located tucked away in behind the main shop district . Was a pretty place . The arcade was spread out over about 5 or 6 actual shops and all in between there must have been around 100 coin-op kiddy rides as well as some dedicated arcade machines . I'm not sure what happens to these machines in bad weather or a flood from the nearby creek .Some of the machines were in ordinary condition but playing them in an arcade such as this had a very nostalgic feel to it .

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So we left there and ended up in Longmont . Walked down the block a little to see if that famous hearse was at the motel to no avail . RotorDave where are you ?? ... lol.

Tomorrow we have the Lyons Pinball Classic comp .

P.S. - Apologies for the sideways pictures . Some are from my mates iPhone . I've tried rotating them in my PC but they still come up sideways when I post them up .

Yeah I know now why when you first got over here you only had the thread running on Pinside and not on Aussie Arcade as well .. keeping up with this and updating is bloody hard work ! ( or maybe it's just me - I'm a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to technology )

What time you heading off to Lyons ? Might see if the mighty hearse is parked at your motel on the way past . We'll call in if it is .

Apologies for the sideways pics guys . Some of them are iPhone pics and even though I've rotated them on my tablet they still come up on here sideways .

Played our qualifying round of Pin Golf for the Lyons Spring Classic today . Was a great format and a really fun day and Lyons Pinball has a nice feel about it .

Went out to dinner afterwards with the RotorDave family and Chadderack . Good times .

Just have to wait now for the final qualifying results to be posted to see if we made the cut .