Last week, I was in Dublin, Cork, Galway and everywhere in between in less than 72 hours. (And then funny enough I was sick for 3 days.) We saw a ton – but we stayed in the same type of hotel each night because I knew they had broadband access. All of my trips and vacations are planned around where I can get a fix of broadband and I suspect the same is true for many readers. Well, a whole new world is about to open up to us…

According to USA Today, state parks around the US are starting to install WiFi. Apparently WiFi is available in 50 of California’s 278 parks, all 17 of Kentucky’s state parks, and 28 states have at least one park with WiFI. Minnesota is planning to introduce free connections at Itasca, north of Park Rapids, in the next month or two. It sounds as if this is a pilot test for other parks.

OK, maybe that’s not enough to get me into a tent for “vacation” but I think it’s great. USA Today has comments from people who also think it’s a good idea and others who beg to differ.

They have a list of parks with WiFi for anyone who’s planning a trip. For RV folks, I found a list of RV parks with WiFi too. (There were 2 in Minnesota: one in Grand Rapids, the other in Minneapolis.)