In case you were wondering, it's pretty easy to find a motel with WiFi when driving around the states. My wife, daughter and I just drove NYC to LA (78-PA Turnpike-70-44-state highways-25-40-15-10), and everywhere we stopped along the way we could find a motel with "high speed internet access," which is the phrase everyone uses.

It's not just the chains on the interstates: HSIA is more readilby availble in the outposts of Comfort Inn, Super 8 and the like, but many out-of-the-way one-offs have it too: Note, above, the Lodge USA Motel in Guymon, OK. I won't say Guymon is in the middle of nowhwere, since it sits in the midst of the instensely beatuiful Great Plains, but I will say it is off the beaten track: in the Oklahoma panhandle, miles from the nearest interstate. Still, the Lodge USA has recogizned that competitive demands require it offer free HSIA, a selling point right up there with that other roadside motel staple: "clean rooms." And at $35 per, who can argue with that combo?

A few more HSIA tips and observations:

HSIA almost always means WiFi. Only once in our travels did it come from a wall-socket.

HSIA almost always means free. We stayed in a Route 66-era motel in Kingman, AZ, which charged $5 a day for access. But then the room cost $40, so what's $5 more?

HSIA almost always means "in your room." Occasionally it means "only in the lobby," which, if you didn't clarify up front, can be a bit infuriating once you've checked in and are told "in our rooms we have dial-up." Oh. Great.