What if your travel plans crumble?

On my most recent cross-country trip my travel plans really did go kerfluey, so I decided the best public service I can perform is to tell you about it, and tell you how I fixed registry-related issues as I went along, so you too will know how to repair travel disasters on the fly.

My story actually begins a few weeks before I began this road trip, when I had to junk my old beast of a car and get a “new” one – new to me anyway.  And I must say I am so far very happy with my new car, despite the fact that later in this story it will be the cause of one of my registry-related road trip disasters.

Until now, everything I owned was registered and plated in Florida.  I have a Florida driver’s license.  But now I was junking the old beast in Iowa, registering and plating the new Sienna in Iowa while still retaining my Florida driver’s license.  Question: Is that a thing?  Can I really do that and will either state’s DMV or SOR office care?

Answer: Yes, I can and did do that, and nobody cared.  I even pointed it all out to everyone at both registry offices and DMV’s (little did I know how soon I’d be back in Florida so I could take care of that part) and they told me point blank – nobody cares.

There were two little problems, however.  One was that my old car’s title was in Florida and I had to have a friend find it and mail it to me.  The other, more germane to you if you’re a registrant, was that while my Iowa registry office was happy to remove my old car from my sheet, they insisted on keeping the old Florida license plate number on it, apparently out of fear I would use that plate to go commit a sinister crime (!), until I could produce an official Florida return of license plate receipt.  

My new car - with Independence Hall in the background

After groaning over that for a while I just tossed my plate in the car, figuring it’ll be where I need it when I get back to Florida next winter.

A few weeks later I went to the Johnson County sheriff’s department to report travel.  For this trip I had cobbled together four unrelated errands all of which were somewhere in the eastern U.S.:

1.  Attend the NARSOL conference in Atlanta.

2.  After stopping at my sister-in-law’s house in New Jersey to take measurements for #3, go to Maine to make this year’s attempt to go whale watching (see my Maine blog entry).

3.  After stopping at my brother’s house in Rhode Island, go back to my sister-in-law’s house to do the strangest errand of this trip, namely load into my new Sienna an old school telephone booth to be transported to Iowa.  I’ll explain that later.

4.  Join my family, who were also on the return leg of their vacation by this time, in Philadelphia, to spend three days exploring Pennsylvania before we went our separate ways back home.

Now, how shall we report this travel to my local sheriff?  By the way, how to report multi-destination travel is a frequently asked question for me as a travel advisor.  I decided to give them as destinations any place I would be staying more than one night.  These were: the NARSOL conference hotel in Atlanta; the state park in Maine where I would camp while trying to see whales; and two nights at a hotel near Hershey, PA with my family.  Everything else, including visiting my brother and sister-in-law, was no more than an overnight stay while traveling to the next destination. My sheriff’s department was happy, and of course that’s what I live for.  Now let’s see how all this turned out.

1. NARSOL Conference in Atlanta 

NARSOL Conference

So I set off for Atlanta, and wow that was a great conference.  But while there I got on the hotel computer to pursue a different project that few people outside the Florida Action Committee know about.  I am determined to take control of my own end of life destiny by establishing my own assisted living / rehabilitative care / end of life care facility which (a) will accept registered people (including me) and (b) complies with all of Florida’s horrible residency requirements.  Because all the goodwill in the world is worthless if I can’t register that address at the sheriff’s department.

2. Maine whale watching  Divert to Tallahassee

So the first step in this project is to find and purchase the right property.  And much to my surprise a property had just then come on the market that was absolutely perfect.  I would never be closer to Tallahassee than I was right then in Atlanta, so I dropped everything and headed south that Sunday to participate in a frenzied bidding war that I ultimately lost.  I hadn’t put my finances in enough order to be in a bidding war anyway, but I’m now fixing that and will be ready next time.

However … this little Florida escapade raises a couple of registry questions.  Most obviously, the second thing I had to do Monday morning was call my Iowa sheriff’s department and attempt to delete the Maine state park and replace it with my home address in Tallahassee for those three days.  Fortunately the woman behind the bulletproof glass remembered who I was and cheerfully made the change.  I was even able to catch up to my previous travel plans by proceeding to my brother’s house in RI with a stop in NJ to take measurements.  

But here’s the odd thing: Because I was originally supposed to make both of these one night stops while returning from Maine to Philadelphia, they were not “destinations” on my sheet.  My next “destination” was the hotel near Hershey, PA.  By catching up to my original plans I would be, in fact, off the registry’s radar for several days, in a completely different part of the country from where they thought.  Hmmmmm …

But why was my call to Iowa the second thing that morning?  Because they were in a different time zone from me, so I could first go to the Leon County registry office to “check in” AND “check out” because I’d be leaving 48 hours later.  I took that opportunity to delete my old car and add my new one, just as I was supposed to.  Then after calling Iowa once that registry office opened I moved on to Priority #3 which was finding my old FL license plate right where I had tossed it, turning it in at DMV and obtaining the all-important official Florida return of license plate receipt.

Last Florida thing – I knew from past experience that if I tried to report the rest of my trip as being from Florida they would require me to change my home there from “open ended temporary residence” to “permanent residence” and have a return date.  That certainly would be a disaster.  So I told them I was returning to Iowa, to the permanent residence they had on file for me there.  As far as I’m concerned that was a true statement – they were returning me to the tender mercies of the Iowa registry, and if anyone wanted to call the Johnson County sheriff’s department they, after all, would know right where I was.  Well, once I was in RI they would.

3. Car trouble in Rhode Island

Then as I was leaving Florida on my way to get back on track, I started having car trouble!  Specifically my car started misfiring –which to my chagrin was the same problem that caused me to junk my old car! (see my Missouri blog entry for more on this).  But this time it was only at high speeds.  I only had to back off to 65 mph to make it all go away – so much so that by Virginia the idiot lights even went off, a sure sign my car hadn’t misfired in a long time.

Still, while I was in New Jersey that first time I went to my sister-in-law’s car repair guy (her husband was a car repair guy so I trust her judgement) that Friday morning to get diagnostics.  His verdict – Ignition coil #2.  Just take it easy until you get back to Iowa and you can get it fixed then.

So off I went to Rhode Island.  But as I was passing through Westchester County suddenly my car started misfiring again, with a vengeance and at every speed.  Shit!  I limped on and the Connecticut Turnpike was a nightmare.  I called ahead to my brother and said “As soon as I get there you have to take me to the nearest Toyota dealership!”  They were the only place I knew would be open both Friday evening and all day Saturday.

When we got there I admit I was a total jerk.  NO, you cannot schedule this job for Monday!  NO, this has to happen right now!  You have to push all your other customers out of the way and work on my car NOW!

But aside from being determined to get my trip back on track, there was also a registry-related reason that I was acting like such a jerk.  Anyone who’s ever participated in an ACSOL monthly zoom call knows that Rhode Island has the shortest registration grace period of any state – just 24 hours.  Janice announces it every month just like clockwork.  I who have a brother living there know this very well but as Janice always points out, it’s a small state and I’ve never had any reason to be there more than 24 hours (see my Rhode Island blog entry).

Well guess what?!  There might be a first time for everything after all!  I had entered RI at about 4:00 pm, so I had until 4:00 pm on Saturday to get the hell out of there!

Downtown Providence on a summer afternoon

Now let’s be realistic for a minute.  I already told you I had not reported Rhode Island as a “destination.”  Nobody either in Iowa or Florida even knew I was there – even though it was exactly where I was supposed to be on that day when I originally reported my travel in Iowa.  Once I was in RI my trip was officially “back on track.”  So if I were to stretch the boundaries of Rhode Island’s registry law, no one would ever know.  On the other hand, any encounter with law enforcement while stretching that boundary would be … unfortunate, not to mention so paranoiac I’d probably have a heart attack.

But despite my behavior … or perhaps because of it … Toyota didn’t get to the diagnostics until Saturday morning.  So my brother took me on a walking tour of downtown Providence – which turns out to be a really cool place – followed by dinner out joined by my sister-in-law (his wife).

The following morning Toyota got around to the diagnostics.  Their verdict – Ignition coil #2.  Mercifully they had one in stock!  They also wanted to replace all my spark plugs so I said fine.  $788 later I was out the door by 1:00 pm and out of RI by 1:30, leaving 2 1/2 hours to spare.  After one pre-planned stop in CT I was on my way to the Garden State.  And I must say, my car has been purring like a kitten ever since.

4. Loading a phone booth

So what’s this about a telephone booth?  Well, after my brother died my sister-in-law asked us whether we wanted any of his personal items.  I thought about it for almost a year before saying, “I want the phone booth.  I’m going to bring it to Iowa and set it on my patio and have it to remember him by.”

Yes it fit!

Now, when you say something like that you’re kind of obligated to getting around to picking it up and taking it to Iowa.  That’s what this errand was all about.  That’s why I’d had to go meet two days ago with a couple of my brother’s car buddies who had been enlisted to help me load it – they couldn’t believe it was going to fit in the back of a Toyota Sienna until they measured it for themselves. I was back that Sunday morning to get their help sliding it in. Then I was off to my next stop, Philadelphia, to meet up with my family.

5. Touring PA with family

The next 2 1/2 days went very smoothly, I stayed at the same hotels as my family, just a different room, we toured Pennsylvania Dutch Country which I hate (see my PA blog entry) but everybody else loves. On the day the kids went to Hersheypark my BFF & I instead went to the American Antique Car Association Auto Museum also in Hershey. It’s really great and I have mentioned it before (PA blog entry again).  Then we did laundry together, which is super romantic.

Cool looking mural in Philly

On the third day we separated, but before heading home to Iowa I had one more overnight stay, this time at my sister and brother-in-law’s house in Maryland.  When I set this stop up I asked them, this is the night of July 3 – are you sure that’s okay?  Are you going anywhere for the holiday?  But they said no problem, come visit.

6. DC on 7/4

Once that was settled I started to think – Hey, I’m going to wake up on July 4 just minutes away from Washington, DC.  Wouldn’t it be fun to spend that day as a tourist in DC?  I didn’t think about this seriously until after I left Iowa, so does adding this extra travel day present any registry issue, either in Iowa or DC?

Answer: No worries.  My experience in both Iowa and Florida is that nobody cares if return a little late – just settle up when you check back in at the end of the trip.  In this case I had actually told the lady behind the bulletproof glass that I was returning Friday late, so I’d be back to check in on Monday.  If this little side trip delayed me until Saturday it wouldn’t change anything.

I must say that the epic failure of my trip to DC wasn’t registry related.  Perhaps you will recall it was only a few days before July 4 that (a) Biden had a poor debate performance and (b) SCOTUS made things infinitely worse by granting all presidents immunity for “official acts.”  I don’t know about you but I became very distressed over this, even as I was travelling with family in Pennsylvania.  

In my distress I realized I was going to be in Washington, DC on July 4.  I fantasized there might be protests or marches on that holiday, and I would be there for that …

Then two things happened: (a) I realized that this was perhaps the most unrealistic fantasy I’d ever had (and that’s saying something!) and (b) I found the act of making my own protest signs to be quite cathartic, so by the time I finished them I no longer felt the need to use them for anything.

And so, of I went to Washington, DC with not greater aspiration than to make the Supreme Court one of my stops and perhaps yell at them for a few minutes.  Of course my rant would include cussing them out over Smith vs. Doe.  But unfortunately I got off at the wrong Metro stop ( Note to self: Capital South is the closest station – not Judiciary Square) and after wandering aimlessly lost for a while came out on the National Mall near the Smithsonian.

At that time the annual DC Fourth of July parade was assembling in that area and beginning its march down Constitution Ave.  I noticed that many of the causes or populations that I might sympathize with had been co-opted by the parade.  Many had floats and teams of marchers.  No wonder they weren’t protesting.  Got a worthy cause to promote?  Join the parade!

Worthy groups who might have reason to be a little worried about the future.

Notice police in the background.

Later I told one of my Florida advocate friends that I no longer want to go vigil on the Supreme Court steps next year.  Instead I want a float in that parade!  I want WAR to bring their coffin and display it on our float.  And I want Derek to be on the float with a microphone reading his list of victims of vigilantism as we march down Constitution Ave.  Yes Derek I was really inspired by that …

Well there goes another unrealistic fantasy …

After having lunch from one of those super expensive food trucks that are all over the place in DC ($12 for shaved ice??) I returned to my car and left for Iowa. The rest of my trip was uneventful.  And yes, when I returned to the Johnson County sheriff’s department to “check in" the following Monday, I tried to slide the official Florida return of license plate receipt under the bulletproof glass but the lady refused to even look at it up close.  She just deleted my old license plate and was done with it.  I guess she was aware of the stupidity of her job.

Phone booth standing on my patio

 Iowa

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

Iowa Code 2019  §§692A.101 through 692A.130.  441 I.A.C. §103.3(692A)  661 I.A.C. §§83.1(692A) through 83.5 (692A)

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

5 business days for initial registration, updates, and visitors who enter the state. §§692A.104, 692A.105.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restrictions: Registrants with convictions involving minors for “aggravated sexual abuse” in the 1st or 2nd degree, or in the 3rd degree except for a conviction under I.C. §709.4(2)(c)(4), may not reside w/in 2,000 ft. of daycare center.

Presence restriction:  Registrants with convictions involving minors may not loiter within 300 ft. of, or be present at, any school, day care center, public library, or any place intended primarily for the use of minors, unless certain permissions are obtained.  No registrant may loiter, volunteer, or be employed at residence facility for dependent adults.

Local governments are pre-empted from adopting more restrictive requirements.  §692A.127.

Procedure for removal from registry after departure is set forth in §692A.106.

Duration & updates:

10 years to life.  Updates depend on tier level: TI – annually, TII – every 6 mo. TIII – quarterly. §§692A.104

June 2024 – An Iowa Road Trip

Iowa allows five business days for initial registration, updates, and visitors who enter the state. That’s a fairly short time period. However, there appears to be no limit per month or year.

While in-state as a visitor you may need to be a little careful if your offense involved a minor because if so you may not loiter within 300 ft. of, or be present at a school, day care center, public library, or any place intended primarily for the use of minors, unless certain permissions are obtained.  No registrant may loiter, volunteer, or be employed at residence facility for dependent adults.

Des Moines Farmers Market

Here’s a piece of good news: Local governments are pre-empted from adopting more restrictive requirements.  §692A.127.  Therefore, wherever you go in Iowa at least you know what the rules are.

Also, you may have noticed that there is no prohibition against being at or loitering near a public park, museum, or historic site – unless of course it includes a “place intended primarily for the use of minors,” like a playground, in which case you just need to stay 300 feet away from that place. Outside Iowa City there is a shopping mall that includes the Iowa Children’s Museum.  The food court is right next door.  If you ever find yourself in this shopping mall, you can’t go to the children’s museum or loiter within 300 feet of it, but the rest of the mall is okay and no one has ever accused me of "loitering" just because I had lunch at the food court.

It has now been three years since I made Iowa my summer home and primary residence state.  In that time I’ve really come to like the place and would recommend it as a travel destination.  You get four business days plus a weekend to see our sights and attend our quaint small town festivals – so why not slow down for a spell on your way across country?

Lobby of the Parkside Inn in Mason City, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

This year Iowa Public Television has been running a series called “Iowa Road Trip.” I recorded most of the episodes, marked my state map with notes and for my first four day mini-tour I decided to focus on the northeast and central parts of my state. Beginning in Davenport I traveled north on the Great River Road, which is a designated U.S. scenic road on both sides of the Mississippi River from its origin in Minnesota all the way south to New Orleans.  

Recommended sights along this route:  “American Pickers” home store in LeClair, Sawmill Museum in Clinton, Mississippi River Museum and river cruises in Dubuque, “Field of Dreams” movie set in Dyersville, Effigy Mounds Nat. Mon. near Prairie du Chien.  Spook Cave is unusual in that it’s a boat ride (!).

Turning west I made my way to Mason City, home of the Parkside Inn, a hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  There being “no room at the Inn,” however, I camped at a nearby state park.  Next day I traveled south along the Jefferson Highway – yes that’s a real thing too – to Iowa Falls, where there is a namesake falls and a weekends only boat ride in the summer.  

Des Moines Botanical Garden

The next morning was a Saturday, so I made my way to downtown Des Moines for their weekly farmers market, reputed to be one of the biggest in the Midwest and which lived up to its billing.  After visiting the botanical garden I set off for home near Iowa City.  All this in just one quadrant of my beautiful state.  Come visit, eh?

Iowa fairs and festivals

In the time I’ve lived in Iowa I’ve been to a number of fairs and festivals, and yet now that I’m reviewing my Iowa blog entry I see I’ve never introduced you to any of them! 

Let’s fix that.  The biggest thing going is the Iowa State Fair which takes place every August.  They claim it’s the biggest state fair in America – all I can say is yes it’s really big.  I go every year and always see something new.

West of Iowa City is the Amana Colonies.  It’s a national historic site based on an 1800’s German settlement, so it’s trying to be a Midwest Colonial Williamsburg.  They have seasonal festivals to draw tourists, like Oktoberfest and Maifest.

Local Amish-made foods purchased at an Iowa small town festival

Looking for an authentic, non-commercialized Amish experience? You’ll find it in southeastern Iowa.  Amish heritage is showcased every September at the Kalona Fall Festival.

I have been to My Waterloo Days twice (June).  Once I was there for the parade and liked it, the other time not so much.  I have also been to the Old Threshers Reunion in Mt. Pleasant twice (Labor Day weekend).  That was really something both times!

January 2024 – Traveling to my “primary residence” state as a visitor

So you may be wondering – why I would want to leave the warmth of Florida and travel to Iowa in January in the middle of a blizzard and below zero temperatures?  Also, for those of you who, like me, have moved away from the state where you offended, are there any lessons to be learned from my experience traveling as a visitor to my new “primary residence” state?  Did I have to “check in” even though I was there for fewer than five business days? etc.

As to the first question, it turns out that there is an interesting difference between Florida and Iowa (aside from the obvious weather difference).  Florida doesn’t let anyone with a prior sexual offense vote, whereas Iowa does.  And as I always say, no one can appreciate their right to vote more than someone who’s had that right taken away.  One of my first acts as an Iowan was to register to vote.

Furthermore, as a Iowa voter I am eligible to do something very few Americans can do, which is to participate in the Iowa Caucuses.  And another thing I am fond of saying is that my recent life experience has brought me to a point where if there is something I am allowed to do – that the cops can’t stop me from doing – that is a thing I will definitely do. 

So a couple of months before the caucuses I booked non-refundable plane reservations from Orlando to Eastern Iowa Airport (lay-over in Chicago), departing Friday January 12 and returning Tuesday the 16th.  Because Monday Jan. 15 was a holiday, I would be in Iowa for only two partial business days, far fewer than the five business days that would have triggered an obligation on my part to “check in” at my local sheriff’s department.  Instead, all I needed to do was report my travel as required by the state of Florida, where I was traveling from.

My neighborhood near Iowa City after the January 2024 blizzard.

Temperature at the time: -10 F

Little did I know that when the time came for me to go to Iowa it would be in the middle of a blizzard with a foot of snow on the ground, drifts blowing everywhere and temperatures below zero.  My Friday flights were canceled and I got rebooked onto the same flights the following day – with one big difference, to wit my 1:00 flight from Chicago was stand-by and they booked me on a back-up flight that didn’t leave Chicago until 7:00 pm.

So here’s a question:  I told Florida I was definitely leaving on Friday, but I didn’t do that.  I left on Saturday instead.  Was I required to go back down to the Orange County sheriff’s department and redo my travel report?  Answer – I couldn’t do it anyway because the sheriff’s department was closed for the holiday weekend and Florida requires this change to be reported in person.  So I just did everything I could to get myself to my travel destination as fast as possible.

Sure enough I didn’t get on the 1:00 flight, which meant my Cedar Rapids car rental crashed.  The airline offered to re-book me to a 2:15 flight to Moline IL, which is “sort of” close to Iowa City, so I gave up my 7:00 ticket.  Unfortunately that flight was unable to land in Moline and got re-directed right back to Chicago!  So at 6:00 pm I rented a car in Chicago and set out for Iowa City in a blinding blizzard.

Wow that was scary!  When I arrived at my home it was midnight and -15 degrees.  But now I want to point out that by crossing the Iowa state line at about 10:30 pm I had spent less than one day in Illinois and had not spent the night there.  In doing so I had avoided using up any of my precious allowable three days per calendar year in Illinois (see my Illinois blog).  I certainly didn’t want to do that in the first month of the 2024 calendar year!

Also, by arriving in Iowa late Saturday night instead of Friday afternoon I would now be there only one partial business day – Tuesday – when I’d have to get back on the road at 7:00 am (temperature -13) if I had any hope of returning the rental car in Chicago at noon.  I’d be out of state before my Iowa sheriff’s department even opened that day.  I also had to totally blow off my non-refundable flight from Cedar Rapids.

Now I will say a few words about the Iowa Caucuses, my reason for spending hundreds of dollars to fly into a blizzard.  It was actually pretty interesting.  Even though my party wasn’t holding a presidential preference vote because they have an actual incumbent president instead of an insurrectionist ex-president, they conducted other party business like selecting delegates to the party’s state convention (in March) and formulating party platform statements.

So the following morning I left early, I did get to Chicago on time, and my flight arrived back in Orlando on time.  Tadahhhh!

Czech & Slovak Museum, Cedar Rapids

 West Virginia

Kanawha Falls, West Virginia

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

W. Va. Code 2019  §§15-12-1 through 15-12-10.  W. Va. Code §62-12-26.  W. Va. C.S.R. 81-14-20.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Statute does not disclose initial registration deadline.  Updates to registration info required within 10 business days. §15-12-3.  Incarcerated persons must register within 3 business days of release. §15-12-2.

Any out of state registrant who “is a visitor in this state for more than fifteen continuous days,” or is employed, attends school, or habitually visits property owned or leased in W.Va., “shall register in this state.” §15-12-9.

Procedure available for removal from registry after departure.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Certain registrants on supervised release for 10 yrs. or longer may not reside within or loiter within 1,000 ft. of school, child care facility, victim, or victim’s family, with exceptions. §62-12-26.

Duration & updates:

10 years to life. §15-12-4.  Updates: SVPs quarterly; others annually. §15-12-10.

Grandview Point at New River Gorge National Park, WV

Most recent visit: April 2024

For registered visitors, West Virginia’s requirements are better than average.  You get 15 days before being required to register, and there appears to be no limit on return visits per month or year.  Also, few if any residency or presence restrictions apply to visitors.  Still, as with many other states you should be careful of local sheriffs and police departments.

The good news is that West Virginia is every bit the spectacular vacationland that it advertises itself to be, and you’re allowed to go anywhere and see all of it.  I returned to West Virginia in April 2024 and for the third time my main destination was New River Gorge, America’s newest national park (it was previously a “national scenic river”).  This time I was bringing my ex-wife but still Best Friend Forever to see it for her first time.

New River Gorge Bridge as seen from the bottom of the gorge

The New River Gorge Bridge is very impressive and the Fayette Station Road Tour under the bridge is incredible.  Some years ago I saw a documentary about the Thurmond Historic District on TV (Smithsonian Channel I think) and for me it absolutely lived up to its advance billing. My BFF hated it mainly because the road leading in is pretty treacherous.  Then there is Grandview, which she really loved and couldn’t possibly be more aptly named.

The day before New River Gorge my BFF and I had stopped at Harper’s Ferry Nat. Historic Park, which is also in West Virginia.  So that partial day was Day 1 of our trip to WV.  On Day 2 we re-entered the state, visited New River Gorge, and stayed overnight at a hotel.  Day 3 we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then headed south out of state.  All well within WV’s 15 day limit and with no concerns about residency or presence laws.

Previous visits: May 2023 & June 2022

Before spending a delightful evening at a Beech Fork State Park campground in June 2022 I stopped at a nearby I-64 Welcome Center and picked up a bunch of brochures for historic homes, caverns, “coal heritage” tours, Green Bank Observatory, historic train rides – the list goes on.  

Having just one day before needing to head for the NARSOL National Conference in June 2022 I chose to spend most of it at New River Gorge, which I described above.  However, on that visit my last stop at New River Gorge was Sandstone Falls, which turned out to be the park’s only disappointment.  There is a fairly accessible overlook, but it’s pretty darned far from the falls, and even from that distance you can see that Sandstone Falls are not impressive enough to be worth the rest of the trip to the closer viewpoint.

In May 2023 I had one day and one night to devote to West Virginia. I went back to New River Gorge National Park but just checked out a few highlights before using my collection of brochures from the year before to find Lost World Caverns in the town of Lewisburg.  Any reader here knows I’m a sucker for a cavern tour.

Lost World Caverns

From Lewisburg I drove north through scenic Monongahela National Forest until I found Seneca Shadows Campground, recently renovated with modern amenities. The next morning I lingered long enough to check out nearby Seneca Rocks, then continued through Monongahela Nat. Forest until I left the state on my way to Pennsylvania.

Everything else would have to wait until next time.  But since registered visitors can be in this state for up to 15 days, there definitely will be a next time.

Regional restaurant chain you should know about:

Tudor's Biscuit World

 Florida Update #3 - A legislative and judicial update

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

Fla. Stat. 2019; Fla. Stat. §§775.21, 775.215; Fla. Stat. §§943.043 through 943.0435; Fla. Stat. §§944.606 through 944.607;  Fla. Stat. §947.1405, §985.481

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

“Residence” means either (1) a place where one spends 3 or more consecutive days, (2) a place where one spends 3 or more aggregate days in a calendar year, or (3) a county in which one is present for 3 or more aggregate days in a calendar year.  In all cases, 3rd day triggers registry obligation.

Registrants must appear to register with law enforcement w/in 48 hours of establishing a residence, and must appear to provide any updates within 48 hours.

Transient registrants update every 30 days.

NOTE: "Day" will now be defined in Florida's SOR law to mean "any part of a day" except that your day of arrival doesn't count. Updated 3/2024.

Registrants must also appear to register with the driver’s license office of the FL DMV within 48 hours of registration to obtain a driver’s license or ID card labeled either “SEXUAL PREDATOR” or “943.0435, F.S.”

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction:  May not reside within 1,000 ft. of school, child care facility, park, or playground under certain circumstances. §775.215.  NOTE: Individual cities and counties often have additional more burdensome requirements upwards of 3000 feet.

Presence restriction: Registrants with conviction involving a minor cannot be within 300 feet “of place where children are congregating,” and face restrictions on ability to be present in schools and parks.  NOTE: Individual cities and counties often have additional more burdensome requirements.  Fla. Stat. §856.022

Visiting Registrants once placed on state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED.

Duration & updates:

Lifetime.  Petition: 25 years.  “Predators” and certain others update quarterly.  All others update every 6 months

Florida’s restrictions on registrants are particularly onerous and should be carefully consulted before visiting the state. 

Every major national or state registrant advocacy group – including NARSOL, ACSOL, Florida Action Committee (FAC) – strongly recommends that you avoid visiting Florida if at all possible.  To this I add my own voice.  Florida’s registry is lifetime for all offenses, no matter how minor.  Florida has no tiered registry – only “sex offenders” and “sexual predators.”  Furthermore, Florida is one of about 15 states where there is no procedure for removal from the registry upon returning to your home state. 

Because of that, of the about 75,000 Florida registrants less than 30,000 actually live in Florida (not counting incarcerated registrants)! All the rest – which is to say the majority of Florida registrants – DO NOT actually live in Florida. Because I recently moved my primary residence to Iowa, I am now included in that number.

A slight improvement for visitors in the definition of the word "day"

Every year the Florida legislature meets, seemingly with the objective of pursuing culture wars instead of solving our state’s many problems.  This year, with LGBTQ rights, library books, voting rights, DEI studies and abortion all on the chopping block, it should not be surprising that an FDLE-sponsored “registry clarifications” bill sailed through to approval despite FAC’s best efforts.

The most egregious part of this bill is the so-called “clarification” that, oh, actually, when our law says that EVERY paperwork error made by a registrant is a felony, whether intentional or not … it actually means that every occasion that you fail to correct that paperwork error – or even every day that you fail to correct that paperwork error because you don’t even know it’s there – can be charged as a SEPARATE COUNT when they arrest you, with each count being punishable by up to 5 years in prison. 

This is just another example of why every state and national advocacy organization urges you NOT to visit Florida so that you will never find yourself running afoul of our cruel and unconstitutional registry.

However … if you find that you must visit Florida for whatever reason, these FDLE “clarifications” have a small silver lining for you.  In the course of “clarifying” that – as I have been warning my readers about Florida and most other states – partial days really do count towards your allowable three days aggregate per calendar year (where the third day triggers your obligation to register), now FDLE has “clarified” that actually, your day of arrival does NOT count toward your three day total.

So what does this mean for visitors?  Previously, because we registered travelers must always assume that partial days always count and the third day in Florida always triggers your obligation to register, that meant visitors really only get two partial days – the partial day when you arrive, and the very next partial day when you must leave because any third day per calendar year would trigger your obligation to register.

FDLE’s new “clarification” says that your day of arrival in Florida actually does not count toward the three days aggregate per calendar year.  Only if you stay overnight will the following morning start Day 1 of your visit.

In practice this means registered visitors get an additional precious day to wallow in Florida’s beauty before hurrying out of state by the end of Day 2 so as to avoid being here for any part of a third day.

Another “clarification” which unfortunately wasn’t in the bill but has been provided in response to FAC questions is that repeated visits to a given location – like your ailing mom’s house, or in my case my ex-wife and family – DO NOT count toward the three day total unless and until you stay overnight. Otherwise you can visit as much as you like.

Judge calls Florida SOR law idiotic

Well … not exactly …

But there is this from the Florida Action Committee website:

Mar 27, 2024

On March 25, 2024, Federal District Judge Robert L. Hinkle, of the Northern District of Florida, ruled that the requirement under Section 943.0435(4)(a) that people registered as sex offenders report in-person travel within the state of Florida to the FDHSMV [Florida’s DMV] violates substantive due process, and is thus unconstitutional. His order declared that this requirement is irrational and very burdensome for registrants. His order makes clear that the requirement under Section 943.0435(4)(a) to make an in-person report within 48 hours to the FDHSMV applies only to a change of home address (where one lives), and not to a temporary in-state residence. For in-state temporary residences, instead of going in-person to the DHSMV, people registered as sex offenders must report only to the sheriff’s office. Furthermore, they will be able to do so online, not in person. The order directed FDLE to make online access for in-state travel reporting available within 60 days.

It is unclear from the order if in-state travel reporting is required, not only after establishing the temporary residence, but also upon return from the temporary residence. We will seek clarification of this point.

Please be aware that the order does NOT change the requirement under Section 943.0435(7) that registrants report in-person at least 48 hours before establishing an out-of-state residence. Judge Hinkle’s order makes clear that out-of-state travel is governed only by subsection (7) of Section 943.0435, and not subsection (4)(a). Because subsection 7 is silent about reporting upon return from out-of-state travel, it appears that return reporting from out-of-state is not required.

DIFFICULT DESTINATIONS SERIES

 In-state Florida travel for Florida registrants: My secret mission to attend a funeral in enemy territory

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

Fla. Stat. 2019; Fla. Stat. §§775.21, 775.215; Fla. Stat. §§943.043 through 943.0435; Fla. Stat. §§944.606 through 944.607;  Fla. Stat. §947.1405, §985.481

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

“Residence” means either (1) a place where one spends 3 or more consecutive days, (2) a place where one spends 3 or more aggregate days in a calendar year, or (3) a county in which one is present for 3 or more aggregate days in a calendar year.  In all cases, 3rd day triggers registry obligation.

Registrants must appear to register with law enforcement w/in 48 hours of establishing a residence, and must appear to provide any updates within 48 hours.

Transient registrants update every 30 days.

NOTE: "Day" will now be defined in Florida's SOR law to mean "any part of a day" except that your day of arrival doesn't count. Updated 3/2024.

Registrants must also appear to register with the driver’s license office of the FL DMV within 48 hours of registration to obtain a driver’s license or ID card labeled either “SEXUAL PREDATOR” or “943.0435, F.S.”

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction:  May not reside within 1,000 ft. of school, child care facility, park, or playground under certain circumstances. §775.215.  NOTE: Individual cities and counties often have additional more burdensome requirements upwards of 3000 feet.

Presence restriction: Registrants with conviction involving a minor cannot be within 300 feet “of place where children are congregating,” and face restrictions on ability to be present in schools and parks.  NOTE: Individual cities and counties often have additional more burdensome requirements.  Fla. Stat. §856.022

Visiting Registrants once placed on state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED.

Duration & updates:

Lifetime.  Petition: 25 years.  “Predators” and certain others update quarterly.  All others update every 6 months

Florida’s restrictions on registrants are particularly onerous and should be carefully consulted before visiting the state. 

Every major national or state registrant advocacy group – including NARSOL, ACSOL, Florida Action Committee (FAC) – strongly recommends that you avoid visiting Florida if at all possible.  To this I add my own voice.  Florida’s registry is lifetime for all offenses, no matter how minor.  Florida has no tiered registry – only “sex offenders” and “sexual predators.”  Furthermore, Florida is one of about 15 states where there is no procedure for removal from the registry upon returning to your home state. 

Because of that, of the about 75,000 Florida registrants less than 30,000 actually live in Florida (not counting incarcerated registrants)! All the rest – which is to say the majority of Florida registrants – DO NOT actually live in Florida. Because I recently moved my primary residence to Iowa, I am now included in that number.

However … as with any other state, once you are registered here the deed is done and you are “free” to come and go without suffering and further consequences – as long as you are careful not to run afoul of any of Florida’s many cruel and clearly unconstitutional registration laws.  This is the story of how I snuck into one county’s infamous “exclusion zones” to attend a funeral.

My secret mission to Brevard County

On January 28, 2024 the scourge of gun violence came to Brevard County, Florida in a mass murder of the kind that has become so common in America that this one made nary a blip on anybody’s radar screen.  The previous evening a retired Catholic priest allowed a troubled young man whom he had been counseling for several years to stay overnight at his house. 

The next morning that troubled young man murdered his priest, and the priest’s sister, in a gruesome and senseless shooting.  He then stole the priest’s car, drove it to his own grandfather’s birthday party and shot him to death.  Some other party-goers were injured in that incident.  When the police showed up more shooting broke out, at least one officer was wounded and the troubled young man was shot to death.  The police noticed that the car was stolen and traced it back to the priest, went to his house and found the two bodies.

It so happens that retired Catholic priest was my family’s parish priest for the entire time we raised our kids in Orlando.  I myself am not religious but my (now ex-) wife and children are and they were all exceptionally close to their priest and regarded him as a true mentor.  I also held him in high regard. 

So from the moment I learned of his death it was clear that I and my family would be attending a funeral in Brevard County.  A big deal funeral at the largest Catholic church in the county, located on a giant campus along with a K-12 Catholic school, daycare and after-school care center, etc.  In other words, the usual list of places that, in Brevard County, I am not even allowed to “be present” within 1000 feet of.

My attendance at this funeral was mandatory.  More than that, I truly wanted to go and honor the life of a man I held in high esteem.  But doing so meant violating Brevard County’s draconian, clearly unconstitutional and frankly un-Christian “presence” rules. 

Question:  Should I tell my family – or anybody else – about this problem ahead of time?

Answer:  No.  My family was under enough stress as it was.  I didn’t want to burden them with my problem.  They might even urge me not to go, a sentiment which I was in no mood to hear.

I also knew I was under no obligation to report this foray into enemy territory to my local sheriff’s department in Orlando.  The trip was too brief to require "reporting travel."  The funeral was less than an hour’s drive from my house.  I’d be in and out of Brevard County in about three hours – even with a stop for lunch at a BBQ restaurant almost across the street from the Catholic school campus which meant I wasn’t allowed to be “present” there either.  I certainly wouldn’t be there overnight.

The biggest risk was that something might happen that could expose me to arrest while I was in the wrong place at the right time.  I judged that risk to be small, so on the day of the funeral I just got in my car and went.  My foray into enemy territory must’ve gone well because here I am writing about it.

When I am asked to speak on domestic travel or set up my travel information table at a conference or event, I meet registered people who say some version of “The entire travel reporting system is a violation of my rights and I refuse to cooperate with it.  I travel when I want, where I want.”  I respond by saying I agree completely with that sentiment but my job is to advise you how to travel safely.

To all of you with whom I have had this exchange … you’ll be happy to know that when push came to shove I followed your way, not mine.  If Brevard County wants to arrest me for the crime of attending the funeral of my family’s pastor who was murdered by my state’s abject failure to keep guns out of the hands of a troubled young man, let them come.  I will humiliate them in court.

  Virginia

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

Va. Code Ann. 2019 §§9.1-900 through  9.1-923 and §18.2-472.1.  Va. Code. Ann. §§18.2-370.2 through 18.2-370.5.

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Initial registration and updates for residents, in-state employees, and students within 3 days. Those employed in state for more than 14 days or more than 30 days in a calendar year must register within 3 days of arrival. §9.1-905.

Visitors on “an extended visit” of “30 days or more” must register within 3 days of arrival.  §9.1-905.  Per Virginia SOR response letter (2019), a procedure is available for removal from registry after departure.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction:  Certain adult offenders with convictions involving minors sustained after July 2006 may not reside within 500 ft. of a school or parks adjacent to schools.  §18.2-370.3.

Presence restriction:  Certain adult offenders with convictions involving minors sustained after July 2006 may not loiter within 100 ft. of school, day care center, playground, athletic field or facility, or gym.  §18.2-370.2.  SVPs may not enter school grounds, with exceptions.  §18.2-370.5

Duration & updates:

Lifetime. Petition to remove –15 years §9.1-910.  SVPs update every 90 days; all others annually. §9.1-904.

Mount Vernon - George Washington's Virginia plantation

Most recent visit: December 2023

I don’t know if registered people talk much about Virginia where you live, but people travel back and forth quite a lot between Florida and Virginia.  They have family there, they find work there.  Virginia’s reputation as a decent place to visit that allows registrants to stay up to 30 days seems pretty well known here.  Thirty days is the longest statutory specified time period of any state.

However, be careful of residence, presence and loitering restrictions if they apply to you, because Virginia is a state where they will apply while you’re visiting.  And as with so many states, be careful of local sheriffs & police departments.

Having said all that, Virginia has a lot to offer visitors – history, national parks and forests, vacation resorts, theme parks, and beaches.  I have visited many of these places, but that was before - - before I wrecked my life.  Now that I’m traveling again I plan to go back and visit many of those places again.  In December 2023 I traveled from Florida with my now ex-wife but still Best Friend Forever to visit relatives and participate in a Wreaths Across America event on Long Island.  We had decided ahead of time to slow down and spend one night in Virginia so we could take in a few sights. 

On the day we arrived I convinced my BFF that Montpelier, James Madison’s plantation home, would make a good stop.  I had been there once before in the early 2010’s but since then they, like many other of the founding fathers’ plantations, have undertaken archaeological digs, added exhibits and updated the mansion tours to address the enslaved people who after all were the majority of those living there and whose labor supported our founding fathers’ lifestyles.

The following morning we visited Mount Vernon, George Washington’s plantation, where the same archaeology and tour updates have been made since my early 2010’s visit.  Both I and my BFF, who had never seen these great historic sites before, were incredibly impressed with both of these places.

The Space Shuttle Discovery at the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

When passing anywhere near Washington DC my ex always wants to stop at the Smithsonian, and especially the Air & Space Museum.  The problem always is that traffic is a nightmare in downtown DC and parking is hard to find.  On this trip, as she was searching her phone looking for options she came across the “National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center” which turns out to be an absolutely enormous, entirely separate air & space museum on a huge campus in suburban Fairfax, Virginia.

With the Space Shuttle Discovery, an entire Concorde Jetliner, the actual Enola Gay, a Lockheed Blackbird, every other kind of air and spacecraft imaginable, and an IMAX theater with a James Webb Space Telescope movie among the features available, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center satisfies.  We may never need to fight downtown DC traffic again.

But by now it was late afternoon and we had to get going – we had a hotel reservation in Philadelphia that night.

Previous visit: October 2020

Luray Caverns, Virginia

In October 2020 I was “just passing through” Virginia on my way back to Florida from my brother’s house in New Jersey.

However, I wasn’t in a huge hurry so I decided to visit two places I’d never been.  I drove the length of the Skyline Drive, which was beautiful with many scenic overlooks and lots of fall color.  From a registrant’s point of view it also offers another positive attribute – Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway are both under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Parks Service rather than the state police or local sheriff’s departments.  Neither you nor I have any intention of violating any law while traveling, but it was still nice to know I was under that much reduced threat of police harassment.

I also made a side trip to Luray Caverns.  If you have read my other state blogs you’ll know by now I am a cavern junkie.  Luray Caverns was my second cavern on just this trip (the other being Diamond Caverns in Kentucky).  It’s a great place to visit even during a pandemic.  Unlike most caverns they don’t have tour guides; instead they hand you a brochure to use during your self-guided tour (maintaining social distance of course). 

By late in the afternoon I was starting on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  There are national forest campgrounds along the way so I found one and bedded down for the night.  The next morning I was off to North Carolina.

 Colorado

 

Rocky Mountain National Park

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

C.R.S. 2019  §§16-13-901 through 16-13-906

C.R.S. §§16-22-101 through 16-22-115

C.R.S. §§18-3-412.5 through 18-3-412.6; 8 C.R.R. 1507-24

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Initial registration and updates within 5 business days.  “Residence” means 14 consecutive days in any 30 day period. §16-22-105.

“Temporary Resident” includes present in Colorado more than 14 consecutive business days or 30 days per calendar year. §16-22-102(8)(c).

Transient registrants subject to annual registration must report every 3 mo. Transient registrants subject to quarterly registration must report monthly. §§16-22-105 through 16-22-108.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

No statewide restrictions.

Duration & updates:

Lifetime. Petition: 5 years. Quarterly registration for SVPs & out-of-state who register quarterly in state of convictions. Others register annually. §16-22-108

Colorado Update: October 2023

Petrified tree trunks at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Enjoy your Colorado vacation but don’t get the idea that it’s a state where you might want to live permanently.  Registration is lifetime no matter your tier or equivalent. The only good news is that for Tier 1 or equivalent you can petition for removal after five years.  But as with most other states, there’s never any guarantee of approval.

But for visitors, Colorado has some of the least punitive requirements of any state. Yes, it’s 14 consecutive business days (or 30 per year) to establish a temporary residence. With 2 weekends included that means at least 18 days total; more if there’s a holiday.

Colorado also has no statewide presence or residency restrictions, although you should still be careful because local restrictions are allowed under state law.

If you read my previous blog – Utah – you may have noticed that at the end I said the next and last state on the return leg of my trip to the 2023 ACSOL conference was Colorado.  And much like my time in Utah, I was only slowing down to see a couple things on my way through Colorado, after which I was hurrying home to Iowa.

This pass through Colorado took two partial days one full day, so my total for the year 2023 was 8 business days plus 2 weekend days, well within Colorado’s limit.  On Day 1 my primary destination was Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  I had stayed overnight there two years before (see below) but not seen much of it in the daytime and wanted a return visit.  This is a truly stunning canyon, really one of the hidden jewels of the national park system. Very impressive! 

Much like my visit two years prior, that night turned out to be the coldest night of that entire trip.  I guess this mountainous western part of Colorado is just naturally cold!  Good thing I happened upon an RV park that also had cabin rentals with heat – and hot showers!

Day 2 I sort of slow-walked my way across the state without a primary destination, but happened upon Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.  Interesting!  The fossil beds consisted mainly of petrified tree stumps. 

That night I found a state park campground in eastern Colorado and the weather was much better.  The following morning I was out of the state early and on my way home.

 Colorado scenic train rides: July 2023

 

Durango & Silverton Scenic RR

Enjoy your Colorado vacation but don’t get the idea that it’s a state where you might want to live permanently.  Registration is lifetime no matter your tier or equivalent. The only good news is that for Tier 1 or equivalent you can petition for removal after five years.  But as with most other states, there’s never any guarantee of approval.

But for visitors, Colorado has some of the least punitive requirements of any state. Yes, it’s 14 consecutive business days (or 30 per year) to establish a temporary residence. With 2 weekends included that means at least 18 days total; more if there’s a holiday.

Colorado also has no statewide presence or residency restrictions, although you should still be careful because local restrictions are allowed under state law.

If you have been reading my blogs you may know I’m a sucker for a scenic train ride.  The problem is that each one takes most of a day, so if I encounter one while traveling I have to decide between the train ride and anything else I may have intended to do that day.  So the entire purpose of this trip was to go on five Colorado scenic train rides in seven days and get it all out of my system (at least for this year).  Naturally I had to do advance research and make train reservations ahead of time.

I should also say here that when I showed up to report travel at my local sheriff’s department with all my reservations in hand they let me get away with using those train dates and locations as my travel destinations instead of motels and campgrounds.  Of course, whether your local sheriff would be that accommodating is a separate question.

So here are a few comments on the scenic train rides:

Georgetown Loop Scenic Railroad

++ Lots of scenery packed into shortest least expensive ride. Get the mine tour (costs extra).

-- Too “family friendly” – themed playground, toy-heavy gift shop etc. made me paranoid.

Leadville Scenic Railroad

++ Lots of scenery packed into a “relatively inexpensive” ride.

-- Goes through a crappy part of Leadville going and returning; ride is “one-sided” i.e. all the scenery is on the left (downhill) side as your facing the front of the train.

Durango & Silverton Scenic Railroad

++ Most scenic, and the entire train turns around so anything you didn't see on the way up from your assigned seat you will see on the way back.

-- Expensive, box lunch was extra, tracks run alongside US 550 for about an hour each way, tracks poorly maintained so the train rocks a lot.

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

++ Very scenic and you are allowed to move around so you can see out of both sides of the train, price includes buffet lunch, tracks well-maintained.

-- Expensive, not as close to the scenery as others, goes through flat scrub for an hour after leaving town.

Pikes Peak Cog Railroad

++ Unique attraction and technology that takes you to the top of Pikes Peak.

-- Less scenery except from the top of Pikes Peak, assigned seating means you only get one view, buffet lunch at the top costs extra.

In between the train rides I also visited a few other places, including: Rocky Mountain National Park (spectacular and one day only just scratched the surface); Mesa Verde National Park (lots of ancient pueblos, cliff dwellings and petroglyphs – a real hidden gem of the National Park system); Great Sand Dunes National Park (a disappointment); Garden of the Gods (wow you’ve got to go!).

Cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park

Previous visit: October 2021

In October 2021 I entered Colorado from Utah on I-70 in mid-afternoon.  My first destination was Colorado National Monument. I had been there once before but it was a decades ago.  I remembered that it was beautiful, not far from the interstate, and has a scenic drive that only takes an hour or two depending on how much time you want to devote to it.  On all these counts, Colorado National Monument did not disappoint. On the minus side, it was pretty darned cold that day in late October.

My plan was to go south from the interstate and sort of slow-walk my way through Colorado mainly following U.S. 50.  On that route the next national park was Black Canyon of the Gunnison which, like most of you I’m sure, I’d never even heard of.  It was late enough in the season that I worried whether the campgrounds there would be closed. They weren’t, but wow, that was the coldest night of camping on my entire trip!

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park