Flying in the goo...
Second only to the Private Pilot Certificate (PPL), an Instrument Rating is the single most ‘world opening’ rating a pilot can get. No more sitting around the airport waiting for an annoying overcast to ‘burn off’ so you can get on with your weekend getaway to Paradise.

One of the greatest pleasure trips I’ve flown was a 3 day weekend in a Cirrus SR-20. Day one consisted of a beautiful flight over the snow capped Sierras to visit family in Salt Lake City. Day two brought a leisurely flight down I-15 to Las Vegas for a Cirque du Soleil show and a mighty big seafood buffet. Day three consisted of a flight up the Central Valley to home with a quick lunch stop along the way. The interesting thing about this trip was that the entire 11.1 hours of flight time was spent VFR, except for the first 4 minutes, and the last 4 minutes. A solid overcast had hung over the Bay Area for the entire weekend. Had I not had an instrument rating, I would have had to cancel the entire trip simply because I couldn’t pop through the clouds to the clear skies above. That’s what an instrument rating can do for you.

Since I am a strong advocate of using a structured, easy to follow curriculum during any course of training, I recommend using a course like the ones offered by Sporty’s or King School's. They come with detailed, flight by flight syllabi, plus DVD’s with all the required ground school material clearly presented. The Sporty's course also comes in an online version. Check out their courses here:

Sporty's Instrument Rating Course
King School's Instrument Rating Course (Course created in conjunction with Cessna)

If the links doesn’t work, just search for ‘Instrument Rating Course’ on the Sporty’s website, or ‘Cessna Instrument Training Kit’ on the King School's website. If you have a different curriculum in mind, please let me know and I’ll be happy to look it over and make sure it will meet your needs.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.