back in NZ and it about a week 10 days since i arrived back, Jan has sorted all the tee shirts for the kids and most of them were to big but they will grow into them. Am back at work and everything under control, Mary-Ellen my assistant manager did a great job while i was away and all i have is praise from the customers and reps and staff about how well she managed the business.
Now that i am home i have had time to reflect on the trip, the highs and the lows .
The highs would be just the traveling and seeing some of the magnificent scenery this country has to offer ( talking to local people in the states i think we have seen and traveled more of there country than they have )
Also just meeting and talking to people, their hospitality is awesome  even when lost in some city and you end up in a seedy part of town i would stop and ask directions and and people from all walks of life would help you out and ask where you were from, and if you were sitting in a bar ( and we saw the inside of a few ) people would ask where are you from and tell you about what to see and where to go. A big thank you to Phil on showing us how to read the maps and help full hints about traveling and how not to get lost,( still got lost but not as much as in 2012 )
Other highlight would be Jim Beam and Jack Danial's distillery, corvette museum, Jersey Boys show ,Laughlin,  and lots of laughs with the guys
The lows, while it was good the have the guys along i think we did to many miles per day for a start and didn't have time to look around. The other thing was and i am as guilty as the others is that when we booked into the motel all the modern gadgets came out and we were on the i pads i phones etc and grabbed a few beer and all ended up in one room where in 2012 we would unload gear hope on bikes and have a look at the local sights , now don't get me wrong i enjoyed this too. Having the car along was ok but would have been better if all on bikes as a bit boring following the car and while i enjoyed the 5 others company i preferred last time just with 3 people as easier to organize motel and where to meet etc but still the company was great. Another low bike problems but learnt a lot about bike and how to trouble shoot and fix the problem.
all up i did about 13000 km , had a good time, meet some great people, and loved the USA and would recommend this as a must visit country.
Next year plan to do a small trip with Jan some where  but bring on 2016 as plan to do the East coast of the USA, i should be able to get in 2 more road trips in before i retire.
thank you Jan for letting this old bugger live his dreams as my motto is " you are dead a long time, do what you can now as you never know what is around the corner and you have to live life to the full "
now all i have to do is get this blog edited and fix all the mistakes and try and get some photos in it