Dan tells us in his own words about his latest personal work…

“I was recently lucky enough to find myself in New York City with a spare week and a return ticket from wherever, and so I booked my flight home from Miami, rented a car (an embarrassingly large petrol guzzling beast.  It was the car rental bloke- he was very persuasive in his upgrade rationalising, I still feel guilty) and headed South.  

The start was underwhelming with torrential rain and a first stop in Atlantic City, which is rubbish, and a first night at The World’s Most Depressing Motel TM in Washington DC.  The next morning, with the rain still pouring down, I headed for the sights of Washington, all the time looking for Frank Underwood, and made a very quick sodden tour of the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and The White House.  All very nice and that, but enough was enough.

I needed to see the sun, so South I went. I’d asked a few folks in NYC of places to visit on my trip and the first significant stop was to be Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, a weird mountain resort and home to Dolly Parton’s Dollywood.  A very odd place, kind of Deliverance with bumper cars.  After this I visited many strange and wonderful places (and the not so wonderful – Daytona Beach. Not pretty) over the next 4 days on my long drive to Miami.  The highlight for me was the Kennedy Space Centre where I got a little emotional seeing all the rockets and space bits.  It took me back to my childhood when I’d wanted to be a spaceman.  I asked, but apparently they’re not hiring, still you never know.  

I guess the oddest place (and the last on my tour) was The Holy Lands Experience in Florida.  Having been fairly amazed at the incredible number of churches in every tiny town I’d driven through, it seemed a fitting place to end my photo safari.  And it didn’t disappoint with it’s continuous piped hymns, endless dreadful Jesus statues and bogus so called relics. A rip off if ever I’ve seen one. But overall it was a marvellous drive full of oddities and churches and bacon and guns and churches and more bacon.  God Bless America.”