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Saturday, July 23, 2016

Crater Lake National Park / Sutherlin, Oregon - Escapee RV Park

Our 300 mile drive from Reno, Nevada to Fort Klamath, Oregon was as uneventful as it should be on June 1st. We left Reno on Highway 395 for the back-woods drive. We saw plenty of terrain changes in the next six hours, but it was a beautiful drive through the Modoc National Forrest, and along the Upper Klamath Lake near Klamath Falls, Oregon. I say uneventful but not stress free as some of the mountain roads were only two lane with shear drops if we happened to get off the road that appeared to be only three feet wider than the motorhome. Whew!

We departed the Reno area right at 8:00 A.M. and found our way into the Crater Lake Resort around 3:00 P.M. Excited to see the lake, we rushed our set up on the motorhome and took off to see the lake around 3:30 P.M. The temperature was 75 degree with no wind in the RV Park as we left for the lake. It was about 20 miles to the entrance to the park and another four miles to the visitor’s area at the rim of the most breathtakingly-beautiful view. We took a few pictures with the sun in the west before retreating to the gift shop. The elevation overlooking the lake at the Rim Village is 7,100 feet. The afternoon temperature was 55 degrees with a small breeze of about 3 MPH. I was comfortable in Levi shorts and a golf shirt even though there was plenty of snow off the roads!

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1,943 feet, and the 9th deepest in the world.

Our RV Park, Crater Lake Resort, is right next to Highway-62 that is the main road to the entrance to the park. The back of the park is right up against a slow moving and very clear river that appears to be two to four feet deep. There are small and large motorhomes in the park along with tent campers, and a dozen or so cabins. Nice park setting! Oh yes, and it is very quiet at night because there is no park traffic at all because the park is closed.

Our day two visit to the lake saw us get away from the RV Park about 9:30 A.M. The passing traffic on the highway had been minimal so entry to Crater Lake N.P. was immediate. We found our way to the Visitors Center and on up to the Rim of the lake to find virtually no one roaming around. We immediately started our tour by driving the west rim of the lake. It was only open for four miles but in these four miles we had a half dozen photo opportunities. By the way, that island in the middle of the lake is a volcano inside of a volcano. It is called Wizard Island and scientists have determined it was formed about 7,300 years ago.

The weather was supposed to be partly cloudy today but it started out in bright sunlight. We felt the pictures we were taking were going to be excellent and some were. Janet packed us a picnic lunch and we figured we would just grab a loose picnic table when it came lunch time. It turned out the weather was 45 degrees on the rim and the wind was blowing about 10 MPH. In shorts and a golf shirt I felt like I was at the North Pole. Around noon we decided to pass on the picnic and headed back down the hill. We saved the picnic lunch for dinner, and headed for a recommended Mexican restaurant, El Rodeo, about 15 miles the other side of our RV Park. It was very satisfying considering we hadn’t had breakfast!

On the way back to the RV Park we went to the local Indian casino to get gas in the Jeep and check out the access to the diesel lanes for our departure on Friday, June 3rd. We will be traveling only about 100 miles heading northwest onto Interstate-5 with our destination being “Timber Valley”, the Escapee Co-Op park in Sutherlin, Oregon. We aren’t sure how long we will be there, but I understand there is a decent golf course nearby!

After Sutherlin, Oregon, we will be visiting the Oregon coast between Reedsport and Astoria for the next couple weeks. We hope it doesn’t rain!

Escapee RV Co-Op Park in Sutherlin, Oregon

It took us about 3 hours to get the 100 miles from Crater Lake Resort in Fort Klamath, Oregon and through the Umpqua National Forest to Sutherlin, Oregon.
It was a beautiful downhill drive through the forest but a semi-stressful drive from the standpoint of driving. We came out of 6,000 feet and down to basically sea level. Our average speed was around 40 MPH as there were many twisty turns and switchbacks to negotiate. We just took it kind of slow.

We checked into “Timber Valley”, the Escapee RV Clubs co-op in Sutherlin, Oregon about 1 P.M. This park has just over 200 spaces. They ushered us to a nice large space and we took about an hour to get all the arrival chores completed. That is kind of slow but we were in no real hurry to get further relaxed from an atmosphere that is always relaxed!

Sutherlin, Oregon is located right on Interstate-5 about 50 miles north of Medford and 70 miles south of Eugene, Oregon. It is 8 miles north of Roseburg. It does have a nice looking golf course but the weather betrayed us by jumping into the mid-90s. The temperature didn’t get us but the humidity was a killer. We ended up closing the motorhome and starting the air-conditioner about 11 A.M. each day.

After a four day stay we ended up leaving Sutherlin on Tuesday, June 7th. Our 80 mile drive west was accomplished in about 3 hours. It was delightful to find the temperature in the low 60s at the Pacific Ocean in Florence, Oregon.

Okay, BooniePeople followers, we are going semi-boonie on this trip. We are staying in the lower parking lot of the Three Rivers Casino in Florence. We got on to this 3 years ago when we were in the area. The casino allows RVers a free stay in this lot for up to 4 days. Of course they hope we will use their casino. Fore sure we will use their buffet!

There is plenty to do in Florence. Many dunes to explore that are ocean-side along with a handful of very decent restaurants. There are two nice golf courses in Florence and we may try them out. When we were here 3 years ago it rained every day.

We will be leaving Florence for a 50 mile drive up the coast to Lincoln City on Sunday, June 12th. Wouldn’t you know it, it is supposed to rain for the next 3 days. Oregon is a beautiful state - even with the rain.

Thanks for following us, Dave & Janet, “The BooniePeople”.
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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Our 2016 Excursion is Underway in Yosemite N.P. (May 17, 2016)

Note: While we started our excursion back on May 17th we have spent most of our time in areas where the data reception was diminished to "2G". It is very difficult to upload the blog, and especially photos, without the full "4G LTE" market provided by our service at T-Mobile.
To bring all that follow our blog up to date I just want to remind everyone that in January 2014 we joined the Escapee RV Club. The clubs home base is about 65 miles north of Houston, Texas, in Livingston. The club supports eleven co-op parks across the country and eight Rainbow parks. By the way, Escapees are fifty-five plus years mature and basically all have the same goals. In the co-op parks each space site is owned by individuals just like us. The co-op parks are independently run by the members of each park. Voting is held every year to appoint new people to run their park. In a co-op each member is responsible to fellow co-members to keep the park up to date and in order. Shared responsibility so to speak.

As of this date, our travels have seen us stay in six of the eleven co-op parks, and six of the seven Rainbow parks. In 2016 we expect to add two more co-op parks and one Rainbow park to our resume. Since we are staying in the western states this year these three parks will be in Sutherlin, Oregon, Lakewood, New Mexico near Carlsbad, and Deming, New Mexico. Of course we stay in many parks outside the Escapee system. So, here we go in 2016.

On Wednesday, May 17th, we left our winter base. Our base for the winter months is the Escapee Co-Op in Pahrump, Nevada.  We are owners of lot 66A in Pahrump. Pahrump has a population approaching 42,000, and it is 55 miles west of Las Vegas, and just a couple miles from the California border. Pahrump has all the necessities RVers are looking for and the town sees excellent stability in catering to the RVing base. I personally like it because it has a very good golf course.

Our destination on this day after a 400 mile drive through the southern San Joaquin Valley of California is Coarsegold, California. The Escapee RV Club’s “Park Sierra” will be our home for the next week. Park Sierra was founded into the Escapee system in 1991, and it is just a few miles from the south entrance to Yosemite National Park.

By chance, or luck of the draw, Janet and I were assigned to the most amazing space to park our motorhome. So amazing we have agreed that this is probably the best space we have ever been in during our four years of traveling. It had full hookups with strong 4G LTE signals for our phones and data line. The space, while facing south, was blocked by beautiful oak and pine trees which precludes our TV’s satellite from picking up DISH. We lived without TV for a week, and that has only happened two other time in four years.
This space is owned by one of the members of the co-op and put up for rent when they are away doing whatever. The money from the rental goes to the income of the co-ops general fund. While the owner is away the co-op has the responsibility of keeping the space in tip top shape for rental, and eventual the owners return.

The space itself is at the top of a small raised hill and it is about twice the size of any other space we have been in – ever - anywhere. It has a nice patio on the passenger side of our motorhome with a private picnic table on a level three feet below the coach. There are four birdhouses and two water features on the space for the bird’s enjoyment. This park is off the main highway far enough to be eerily quiet at night.

We made two different trips into Yosemite National Park during our week in Coarsegold. It was about 20 miles from the RV Park to the south entrance of Yosemite and about another 25 miles to the valley where the lodge is located. From here you can have views of El Capitan and Bridal-Vail Falls. Amazing views we had only seen on TV and in pictures were finally ours.

Being from the Las Vegas area, with all its glitz and glamour, we were induced to take a look at the local Indian Casino – “Chuckchinsi” (Pronounced: Chuck Chin See) Resort and Casino which was just two miles from the RV Park. This casino had a terrific buffet and a couple of very nice restaurants.
We had a plan to play golf but the weather didn’t cooperate on that day. Our week went by quickly and before we knew it we were getting the motorhome conditioned to move on to our second stop in our 2016 excursion. Tomorrow, May 25th we will be moving on to Reno, Nevada.

A Fun Stop Is Reno, Nevada May 25 - June

We put Coarsegold, California and Yosemite N.P. in our rearview mirror on Wednesday, May 25th, for the 300 mile drive on to Reno, Nevada.

While this trip started in clear and sunny weather it slowly deteriorated into sprinkles and eventually a very hard rain just east of Sacramento. While it was raining its hardest in the Donner Pass area of east bound Interstate-80 it suddenly transitioned to a flash snow adventure for about 15 seconds before it went back to just raining. Scary moments if you aren’t used to it, and we weren’t! It just rained the final 25 minutes of our journey into the Reno area. Our destination, for the second year in row, was the Sparks Marina RV Resort in Sparks. Sparks is the eastern suburb of Reno. This RV Park is a half mile from a major shopping area. It also has a new movie theater with all the latest gadgets like tilt back seating. Tuesday is always senior’s day at the movies!

This park has become more popular since we were here last year. It is a very clean park in that there is no real grass in the entire park. They used artificial turf next to each space, and after 11 years it still looks as good as new.

There are plenty of sightseeing type things to do around the Reno area, and we apparently don’t get tired of seeing them as we have been coming here for years. Lake Tahoe is in the mountains about 50 miles from downtown Reno. We spent our honeymoon there in 1978 and have come back to the lake on family vacations over the years.

Virginia City is in the hills about 30 miles southeast. This was a strong silver producing town in the 1800s and remains a western town tourist attraction. If you are lucky you might even run into “Stinky” the old miner that pulls his mule down the main street. Plenty of old history in this town of yester year.

Carson City is 30 miles south of Reno, and today a freeway gets you there. Carson City is the capitol of Nevada and the motif is western.
Yes, I played some poker at the Eldorado Hotel in downtown Reno. A trip to Reno wouldn’t be complete without me attempting to win some of my money back from prior visits. Alas, same results this year at the Eldorado - but the boys in the Sparks Nugget were not so lucky. I got them for more than I dropped in the Eldorado!

Our last night in Reno saw us catch a Triple-A minor league baseball game between the Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks) and the Las Vegas 51s (New York Mets). The ball field in Reno is just two blocks from the major downtown hotel-casinos. Connected to the ball park and just 50 paces from the ticket booths is a Mexican restaurant called Arroyo. We highly recommend Arroyo. Regardless if baseball is being played, this restaurant is always open for lunch and dinner.

That does it for our stay in Reno. Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 1st, we will be moving another 300 miles north to Crater Lake Resort in Fort Klamath, Oregon. We are going there specifically to visit “The Lake” at Crater Lake National Park.

Until next time, thanks for following Dave & Janet a.k.a. “The BooniePeople”.

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Monday, May 2, 2016

SIGHTS WE HAVE SEEN February 2013 - May 2016

It is May 2, 2016, and we are getting ready to get underway for our 2016 excursion. We are leaving Pahrump, Nevada in the next couple weeks headed for Yosemite National Park in California, followed by a week in Reno, Nevada before moving on to Klamath Falls, Oregon where we will visit the beautiful Crater Lake.

We thought you might like to catch up on our whereabouts the last three years. Here is where we have been. The list starts in February 2013 and ends in May 2016.

Jean, Nevada (Boondocking)
Searchlight, Nevada (Boondocking)
Lake Mead National Recreational Area
Willow Beach, Arizona (On the Colorado River)
Clark County Shooting Range RV Park, North Las Vegas, Nevada
Indian Springs, Nevada (50 miles north of Las Vegas)
Death Valley National Park
Zion National Park
Mesquite, Nevada (June 2013)
Kanab, Utah
Grand Canyon National Park – North Rim
Page, Arizona
Cortez, Colorado
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Durango, Colorado
Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Arches National Park, Utah
Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Wasatch Mountain State Park, Utah
Park City, Utah
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Yellowstone National Park – Old Faithful
Mountain Home, Idaho
Eagle Hot Lake, La Grande, Oregon
Tri-Cities, Washington
Wine Ridge Golf Club, Walla Walla, Washington
Barnard – Griffin Winery, Kennewick, Washington
Umatilla Marina, Washington
Columbia River Gorge, Oregon/Washington
Rufus, Oregon
Stonehenge – Maryhill, Washington
Sam Hill Museum - Maryhill, Washington
The Dalles, Oregon
Whidbey Island, Washington
Sahalee Golf Course, Sammamish, Washington
Copalis, Washington
Seaside, Oregon
Maritime Museum - Astoria, Oregon
Cannon Beach, Oregon
Tillamook Cheese Factory - Tillamook, Oregon
Air Museum, Tillamook, Oregon
Florence, Oregon
Winchester Marina, Oregon
Coos Bay, Oregon
Eureka Hotel - Eureka, California
Napa Valley, California
Pahrump / Las Vegas, Nevada (November 2013 – January 2014)
Cummins Engines Service – N. Las Vegas, Nevada
Freightliner Service – N. Las Vegas, Nevada
Lake Pleasant Marina, Arizona (February 1, 2014)
Wickenburg, Arizona
Cave Creek, Arizona
Botanical Gardens - Phoenix, Arizona
Benson, Arizona
Tombstone, Arizona
Bisbee, Arizona
Pecos, Texas
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
Hondo, Texas
The Alamo - San Antonio, Texas
Livingston, Texas – Home of Escapees RV Club
Lake Livingston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
NASA – Johnson Space Center - Baytown, Texas
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Silver Slipper Casino, Waveland, Mississippi
The French Quarter - New Orleans, Louisiana
Gulfport, Mississippi
Beau Rivage Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi
Estate of Jefferson Davis – Biloxi, Mississippi20133
Summerdale, Alabama
Battleship Park – Mobile, Alabama
Gulf Shores, Alabama
National Naval Air Museum, NAS Pensacola, Florida
Corry Station, Pensacola, Florida
Daphne/Fairhope/Foley/Robertsdale, Alabama
Fort Morgan, Alabama
Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, Home of The Blue Angels
Orange Beach, Alabama
Kelly Plantation Golf Course, Destin, Florida
Bushnell, Florida
Wauchula, Florida
Matlacha, Florida
Sebring, Florida
Holmes Beach, Anna Marie Island, Bradenton, Florida
Solomon’s Castle, Ona, Florida
Lake Placid, Florida
Everglades National Park
Key Largo, Florida
Miami, Florida
Biscayne National Park
Homestead – Miami Speedway
Bluewater RV Resort – Key West, Florida
Hog’s Breath Saloon, Key West, Florida
Sloopy Joe’s – Key West, Florida
The Little White House (Truman), Key West, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida – (Oldest city in U.S.)
Savannah, GA – Downtown
Hilton Head Island, SC
Charleston, SC
Boone Hall Plantation, Charleston, SC
Fort Pulaski, near Savannah, GA
Bremen & Villa Rica, Georgia
Cummins Power South, Atlanta, Georgia – Fixed Engine Problem
Knoxville, TN
Heiskell, TN – Raccoon Valley
Oak Ridge, TN
Pigeon Forge/Sevierville/Gatlinburg, TN
Great Smokey Mountain National Park
U. of Tennessee/1982 World Fair Park, Knoxville, TN
Museum of Appalachia, Clinton, TN
Memphis, Tennessee – “”Graceland” / Beale Street
Branson, Missouri
Hutchinson/Scott City/Garden City, Kansas
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Air Force Military Academy, Colorado Springs, CO
Air Force 28-14 over Boise State
Pike's Peak, Colorado Springs, CO
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO
Cripple Creek, Colorado
Cheyenne Mountain State Park
Taos, New Mexico
Taos Pueblo
Gorge Bridge – Rio Grande River, Taos, NM
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Old Town, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Breaking Bad House, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque Balloon Festival 2014
Madrid, New Mexico
Williams, Arizona
Grand Canyon N.P. – South Rim
Flagstaff, Arizona
Sedona, Arizona – Cowboy Club
Jerome, Arizona
Prescott, Arizona
Congress, Arizona – North Ranch
Wickenburg, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Willow Beach, Arizona (N.R.A.)
Las Vegas, Nevada (November 2014)
Clark County Shooting Complex, North Las Vegas, NV
Cummins Engine Service – N. Las Vegas, Nevada
Pahrump, Nevada
Walker Lake, Nevada (Boondocking)
Sparks Marina RV Park, Sparks (Reno), Nevada
Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Carson City, Nevada (Nevada Capitol)
Virginia City, Nevada
Marsing, Idaho (On Snake River)
Wildhorse Resort-Casino & RV Park, Pendleton, Oregon
Walla Walla, Washington
Sage Hills Golf & RV Resort, Warden, Washington
Trac RV Park – Pasco, Washington
Hendler Residence, Pasco, Washington
Anelare Winery, Benton City, Washington
Bonefish Grill, Kennewick, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Blackwell Island RV Park, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Wallace, Idaho
Sandpoint, Idaho
Kalispell, Montana
Columbia Falls, Montana RV Park
Glacier National Park, Montana
Missoula, Montana
Ponderosa Campground RV Park, Cody, Wyoming
Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming
Heart Mountain, Cody, WY (Japanese Confinement Site, WWII)
Chief Joseph Highway - Beartooth Hwy to Red Lodge, Montana
Sturgis RV Park, Sturgis, South Dakota
Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
Rapid City, South Dakota
Ellsworth AFB Museum & Tour, Rapid City, South Dakota
Devil’s Tower, Wyoming
Custer State Park, South Dakota
Deadwood, South Dakota
Mitchell, South Dakota
Rochester, Minnesota
Mall of America, Bloomington/Minneapolis, Minnesota
Stop-N-Dock Marina & RV Park, Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Two Rivers, Wisconsin – Car Show
Lambeau Field Tour, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Family Motor Coach Association Rally, Madison, Wisconsin
Hidden Valley RV Resort, Milton, Wisconsin
Lake Haven Retreat, Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana
Lancaster Camp Ground, Lancaster, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio (Easton Shopping Area)
Niagara Falls, New York
Niagara Falls, Canada
Verona, New York – Turning Stone Casino & RV Park
Bourne, Massachusetts (Cape Cod)
Woods Hole – Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
Newport, Road Island
Provincetown, Massachusetts (Cape Cod)
Plymouth & Sandwich, Massachusetts
Hyannis & Dennisport, Massachusetts  (Cape Cod)
Salem, Massachusetts (Witches)
Wells & Kennebunkport, Maine (Bush Family Estate)
St. Johnsbury, Vermont (Moose River RV Park)
Cabot Creamery, Cabot, Vermont
Maple Grove Farms, St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream - Stowe, Vermont
Lincoln to Conway, New Hampshire (“The Kanc”)
Ben Franklin RV Park, York, Pennsylvania
Factory Tour, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Civil War Battlefields, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
UTZ Factory Tour, Hanover, Pennsylvania
Rocky Ridge RV Park, Sims, North Carolina
Apache Campground & Pier, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Blacks Automotive Jeep Service – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
St. Augustine, Florida
World Golf Hall of Fame, St. Augustine, Florida
DeFuniak Springs, Florida
Fort Stockton, Texas
El Cosmico, Marfa, Texas
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Escapee RV Club Park - RoVer’s Roost, Casa Grande, Arizona
Casa Grande Ruins
Francisco Grande Golf Resort, Casa Grande, Arizona
Escapee RV Club Park – Pahrump, Nevada (December 1, 2015 - May 10, 2016)

More to follow as we make our way along the road.

Dave & Janet are the "BooniePeople".

Any questions?

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Sunday, April 17, 2016

Our Travels From September 8th - December 31st, 2015

It is April 17, 2016 and we are in our winter camping park in Pahrump, Nevada. Pahrump is fifty miles west of Las Vegas and four miles from the California border. Pahrump has approximately 38,000 residents plus a few thousand RVers, like us, that hangout here during the winter months.

We have just started to give considerations to our excursion for 2016. How can this be? We haven’t told you about the end of travels in 2015. As they say, “My-Bad”! Well, I’m going to catch you up before we move on to the 2016 plan. The last time I added an entry to this blog was September 23, 2015, so, here is what happened since then. This blog entry will be a long one but it will catch everyone up on our travels.

Our drive on Tuesday, September 8th from Lancaster, Ohio to Niagara Falls, NY took us through Canton, Akron, and Cleveland, Ohio. Along Lake Erie and into the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area during the late afternoon. It was really an uneventful drive, as they go, until we arrived into the Buffalo area where we hit some afternoon commute traffic. Our destination was the Niagara Falls Campground on Niagara Falls Boulevard about 6 miles from the main attraction, and our reason for being here, Niagara Falls.

This RV Park was very functional. While it was in the inner city and on a major street the street noise was not noticeable, and we stayed there for three nights.

The morning after our arrival we headed out for Niagara Falls around 8 A.M. It took us about 15 minutes for the 6 mile drive to the falls. As fate would have it the weather was calling for morning showers and partly cloudy weather the rest of the day. Parking was plentiful at this hour of the morning and we parked within a couple hundred yards of the bridge to Canada. This area of the city is obviously the main attraction and it is kept clean and presentable. Plenty of restaurants and shops.

We didn’t know where we were going and ended up walking down a path that would take us over the bridge to Canada. We found out that most tourists don’t know that the wonderful views and pictures of Niagara Falls are on the Canadian side. As we started across the walking sidewalk on the bridge it started to sprinkle. It is about a quarter to a half a mile walk across the bridge. We started to pick up the magnificent views of the falls from the bridge. By the time we reached the center of the bridge it was pouring down rain. The temperature was around 75 degrees so it wasn’t uncomfortably cold but we were drenched by the time we reached the center of the bridge. I mean, you couldn’t get wetter if you stood under the running water in your shower. We were dripping as we walked into the Canadian customs office and presented our passports. Simple questions from the Canadian border agent about the purpose of our visit to Canada and we were released to be tourists in less than 30 seconds. The rain was stopping!

This area, directly across the bridge, has a carnival atmosphere. It is very clean with many attractions, restaurant, and hotels. The falls are always in the view and they are about a mile upstream from the bridge. There is a very wide pathway that moves along the cliffs above the river that gives the great views of the falls. Many angels were available for the photographic minded. On this cloudy day with the lighting constantly changing the photographic minded were challenged. That was me!

We went into the newest casino in Niagara Falls, Canada. It reminded me of the plushness and deep color tones in the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. We also went up about 800 feet in the Canadian space needle. Another great view of the falls from this height.

We had breakfast in one of the convenient locations. Something along the lines of a Denny’s or International House of Pancakes. We felt a little strange as wet as we were!

We owed $20 (Canadian) and I paid for the breakfast with a visa card. I noticed the next day that this equated to about $15 in U.S. money.

Eventually we slowly worked our way through some of the shops and back across the bridge where we entered the customs facility on the U.S. side. We were interviewed as a couple, and while this process only took a couple of minutes, the demeanor of the agents showed a distinct manner of professionalism and caution.

On our second day in Niagara Falls we retoured much of the same area we had covered the prior day. The difference being the weather had changed to a bright, clear, and sunny day that provided some different photographic moments. A trip to Niagara Falls should be on everyone’s bucket list!

On Friday, September 11th we got underway about 9 A.M. Our destination was a couple hundred mile drive down Interstate-90 on the New York Turnpike (toll road) to Verona, NY, and a three night stay at the Turning Stone Resort & RV Park. This drive took us about three and a half hours as we passed just south of Rochester, NY, and right through Syracuse, NY. A simple drive that put us into our RV Park in the early afternoon. The setting in the RV Park was like living in a well-kept park. It was a newer park that provided large RV sites that were not right up against your neighbor. Plenty of moving around room.

We took the drive over to the Turning Stone Resort & Casino around 4 P.M. This is a large casino much like you find in Las Vegas. We headed for the buffet and found it very worth the venture. The magnetic appeal to the casino didn’t get to us and we escaped this afternoon adventure feeling just stuffed.
The weather got a little dicey with electrical storms in the area and we stayed close to the RV Park for the weekend. The TV satellite is coming in handy with the end of the baseball season heating up and football season in full bloom. Janet continues to read every paperback book in site. She has her favorite authors. As I write this blog entry on this day I’m sure she has read over 500 paperbacks since our adventure started back in June 2013.

We departed Verona, NY about 7:30 A.M. on Monday, September 14th heading down the New York Turnpike past Albany, NY before turning east on Interstate-90 towards the Boston, Massachusetts area. Actually our day’s destination is on Cape Cod at the Bay View Campground in Bourne, Massachusetts, 60 miles south of Boston, and 345 miles from Verona.

The drive was uneventful and took just over 7 hours. We arrived in Bourne, Massachusetts in the middle of the afternoon. The Bay View Campground is a large park with varying degrees of elevation. The spaces are large and have fire pits. It has been run for many years by the same family. We picked this park because of its central location to the tourist areas we wanted to visit in the Boston area, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, and Newport Rhode Island.

This week was made even more enjoyable by the arrival of our daughters from Las Vegas. They will be staying for the week we spend in the Boston area.

If you have been reading this blog for a year or so you might remember that our daughters joined us in Miami, Florida in May 2014 and visited Miami, Key West and St. Augustine, Florida followed by Savanah and Charleston, South Carolina before flying home.

To maximize their time in the Boston area the girls took a red-eye flight from Las Vegas and arrived at 6:45 A.M. With the traffic rumors of the Boston area we had heard, we left Bourne for the Boston airport at 5 A.M. The traffic started backing up 50 miles south of Boston and we were immediately afraid we hadn’t started early enough. We finally drove onto the airport premises at exactly 6:45 A.M. and received a text message that they had arrived a few minutes early. We met them at the curb without parking, and headed back to Bourne. I felt this was a lucky result!

Over the next 7 days we had fun visiting around the Boston area. We departed out of Woods Hole on Cape Cod for the short 30 minute Ferry boat ride to Martha’s Vineyard where we had lunch and discovered the island. It reminded me of the west coast around Newport Beach in California. But not as crowded! We were thankful to visit Cape Code just after “the season” had ended.

We visited the Newport, Rhode Island and spent the day walking around discovering the mansions of the upper class from 100 years ago. Many have been restored. The opulence of that time was incredible! We ended the day with a spectacular and unforgettable dinner at the Castle Hill Inn in Newport. What a setting at dusk!

On Cape Cod we visited Provincetown, Hyannis, Dennis, Plymouth, and Sandwich. We saw the surprisingly small “Rock” in Plymouth, and had nice leisurely lunches in Provincetown, Plymouth, and Dennis.

We were unsuccessful in our witch hunt in Salem, MA, but did have some decent pizza. We enjoyed the atmosphere of the town and the ease of driving through Boston on a Sunday.

We visited downtown Boston on the girls last day, Tuesday, September 22nd, and then dropped them at the airport around 5 P.M. for their 7 P.M. departure for Las Vegas.

We stayed in Bourne for two more nights before packing it up and leaving on Thursday, September 24th for the 175 mile drive north to Wells, Maine. This drive went off without a hitch. A beautiful countryside drive that eventually came to the Atlantic Ocean as we moved into Maine. We stayed in Wells at the Sea-Vu West RV Resort for four nights. This was a delightful park that was well maintained. It was just a couple miles from the Interstate and a couple miles from the highway along the coast.

Eventually we took the coast highway to Kennebunkport, Maine to view the Bush Family estate. We did this on a weekday and the crowds were minimal. Downtown Kennebunkport reminded me of Carmel, California. The Bush Estate, guarded by Secret Service, appeared to be six or seven separate residences built on raised rocks that protrude into the Atlantic Ocean. Security looked adequate!

We were in Wells over a weekend and it was extremely crowded on the coast highway. By extremely I mean it was backed up and moving slowly for five miles in the north bound lanes. We eventually aborted our southerly drive and Janet found our location on the maps section of her I-Pad and guided us back to our RV Park on back streets.

On Monday, September 28th, we moved 140 miles north to St. Johnsbury, Vermont. This was our basic three hour drive up a very picturesque Interstate Highway – 93. St. Johnsbury is a small town about 50 miles from the Canadian border below Quebec. We had a two day reservation to stay at the Moose River Campground in St. Johnsbury but quickly changed the reservation at check-in to a total of seven days.

Our purpose of going into northern Vermont was to be sure we would see the seasonal change of colors in the surrounding areas. Unfortunately the weather remained unseasonably warm and we didn’t get to see the changes we had anticipated.

During our stay in St. Johnsbury we were treated to a very heavy two day rain storm. There was a small running river right next to the RV Park that came within a foot of coming over the its bank and into the park. We were on a piece of higher ground so it probably wouldn’t have been a problem for us. Later, Mary, the owner of the park said the river had come over its banks a couple years early and done about $50,000 worth of damage. Somewhat un-nerving!

We did get out of the park most every day. We took driving trips to Montpelier, the capitol of Vermont, and Stowe was about 60 miles to our west. Stowe is a major skiing area during the winter months and usually beautiful during this autumn seasonal change. But this year the color had not arrived yet.
Montpelier, Vermont
We also visited the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream factory in Stowe, and the Cabot, Vermont Dairy Co-Op gave us a nice tour before we stocked up on their products. Cheese and crackers is a main meal of RVers when the cook goes on vacation! This cheese was exceptional. Janet says the Cabo, brand of yogurt is the best she has ever had, but they don’t sell it in the west.

Headquarters - Stowe, Vermont

We also took a one hour drive from St. Johnsbury back south down Interstate-93 to Lincoln, New Hampshire, and then went on the Lincoln to Conway, New Hampshire drive in search of foliage color changes in the area. This is a popular drive known as “The Kanc” to locals. But, it was not to be. The colors had barely started to change in some areas of the drive. This was a very scenic drive.

Our drive on Monday, October 5th from St. Johnsbury, Vermont to York, Pennsylvania was 500 miles and took us about 9 hours. We started in Vermont and went through parts of Massachusetts and New York before driving halfway across Pennsylvania before reaching the Harrisburg/York area, which was very busy due to the hour we arrived. Actually we just missed the commuting hour and it was still awful.

We had a week’s reservation in the Ben Franklin RV Park in York which was right in the middle of a few of the local tourist attractions. The weather was about 80-85 degrees and the humidity reminded us of the southeast. Naturally it rained a little to keep it steamy. We kept the motorhome closed up and ran the air conditioning most of the time.

York appeared to be a blue collar town just south of the state capitol of Harrisburg. We were just a couple of miles from a spaghetti bowl of freeways that took us in every direction. On different days our sightseeing took us 20 miles east to Hershey, Pennsylvania to visit the chocolate kiss maker. This was a very crowded amusement park.

Another day we drove south 15 miles south to Hanover, Pennsylvania and toured the UTZ potato chip and crack makers production plant. This was very interesting to see how the different products were mass produced. While potato chips are rather fragile they ship an amazing amount of them every single day. We tasted the various flavors. This was a worthwhile and uncrowded attraction.

Naturally, the number one attraction was 30 miles to the west of our RV Park in York. It is the Gettysburg National Military Park. This park is part of the National Park Service and is very well done. The visitors center and park museum are like no other I have seen. The story leading up to and after the three days in July, 1863 is well told. We took a park service air-conditioned bus with an onboard Park Ranger that told the story of the battle in about three hours. We were on and off the bus about five times as the ranger told the story. The loss of life was staggering! It was hair raising as we took the tour, just as it is for me right now writing about it. Just reflecting on the experience!

Personally, I was astounded at the size of the main battlefield for the amount of action going on, and the amount of soldiers involved. While there was more than one battle line drawn in the Gettysburg battlefield area the actual main battlefield appears to be just a couple miles square. In my mind that was just too small.

I hope everyone gets a chance to visit Gettysburg at some point.

We left York in our rearview mirror on a rainy and drizzly Monday morning, October 12th. We determined our destination, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was too far to go in one day.  I made a one night reservation to stay 350 miles south in Sims, North Carolina.

We were pleasantly surprised to find the Rock Ridge Campground about four miles off Interstate-95. It was in among farms in rolling hills. There was a small lake on the premises that was loaded with fish. The trees were high and the winds were light. It was very quiet and comfortable for the night. It was beautiful!

We got started the next morning around 8 A.M. Our destination, Myrtle Beach, was still a couple hundred miles southeast.

We arrived in Myrtle Beach around noon and were surprised to find how far it was off the mainstream interstate highway. Near 85 miles! It was a nice drive down two lane highways and through smaller towns. Really enjoyable.
We were in Myrtle Beach to see Jim and Sharon B. Jim was a business associate of mine from the 1970s to the 90s in California. Of course I was interested in seeing some of the golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area. Our reservation was for a week in North Myrtle Beach right on the ocean at the Apache Campground & Pier.

For starters it turned out that there had been a severe rain storm in the area the previous week and the golf courses were closed with puddles in the fairways. Disappointing!

We were not really specific about what day we would turn up in Myrtle Beach and Jim’s wife turned out to be in Charlotte visiting her grandchildren. We got together with Jim for dinner in Murrell’s Inlet, and when Sharon came back a couple days later we did it all again. It was good to see Jim and Sharon and discuss the old days. Both dinners remain memorable.

On Wednesday, October 21st we headed 320 miles further south down Interstate-95 to St. Augustine, Florida to visit the area and specifically the World Golf Hall of Fame.

We arrived in St. Augustine in the mid-afternoon and realized right away that rain was in the forecast. The Stagecoach RV Park was still showing signs (puddles) of the last storm to pass. It did rain through the night but for the remaining three days were dry.

During the stay we toured the coast south of Jacksonville and stopped in Ponte Vedra . . . to go to the bank. The drive from St. Augustine north to Ponte Vedra was approximately 25 miles of driving next to the beach. We past many beautiful homes.

I visited the World Golf Hall of Fame. This is where the “Golf Gods” are memorialized, so, scratch that off the bucket list. Very classy and worth the stop. Since this was my 59th year playing golf I was more than satisfied with the presentations in the hall. Be sure and stop here if you are in the neighborhood.
We toured downtown St. Augustine and had lunch upstairs at A1A Ale Works overlooking the main street along the water and the bridge. Go there!

On Sunday, October 25th, we headed west 320 miles on Interstate-10 to the Destin, Florida area to visit Bob and Sandye C. for a little golf and fun but the weather did not cooperate with us. We got caught up in the following storms from a hurricane that came out of the Pacific and across Mexico and into the southern states.

Golf got cancelled and we sat out travels for a couple days. On Wednesday, October 28th we took off on Interstate-10 and beat the hurricane’s trailing storms by driving cautiously 1,075 miles from DeFunicak Springs, Florida to Fort Stockton, Texas - in 20 hours.

In was 3 A.M. when we pulled into the Walmart parking lot in Fort Stockton. This was a first for us, but there were 12 other motorhomes in the highly lighted parking area. Thank you Walmart for welcoming RVers into your parking lots overnight! We were asleep in 10 minutes after the curtains were closed.

We were up and out of the Walmart parking lot at 9 A.M. on Thursday, October 29th and heading 285 miles up Interstate-10 through El Paso, Texas and into Las Cruces, New Mexico. We checked into the Sunny Acres RV Park in Las Cruces in the early afternoon for a three day stay, and the rain caught up with us that evening.

We need more time in Las Cruces and plan on getting back there in the next year.

On Monday, November 2nd we moved the final 350 miles to Casa Grande, Arizona where we will spend the next month detoxing from the quick journey across the southern U.S. When we were planning our excursion for 2015 it ended at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and we had no further “planned” stops. We knew we wanted to go to Myrtle Beach, St. Augustine, and Destin, Florida, but we didn’t know if we would have time. It turned out we could make it to those places but the bad weather found us and longer stops in those places were curtailed. Janet and I came up kind of home sick as November came around so we pressed getting to the west because we had no real plan. We saw no further rain during the month we spent at Rover’s Roost, the Escapee RV Club’s initial RV Park which is 50 miles south of Phoenix.

We met Janet’s brother and his wife Ann, and Janet’s brother Greg and his daughter Janina at the Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino south of Phoenix for a Sunday lunch. They all have lived in the Phoenix area for years, and we enjoyed catching up with them.

My son, and Janet’s step-son, Jim, drove down from Las Vegas and spent a couple weekend days with us. It was exciting to explore the Casa Grande Ruins and Monument about 15 miles northeast from Casa Grande in Coolidge, Arizona. These Indians had a method of irrigation used to get water to their crops out in the southwestern desert.

Rover’s Roost is located out in the country about seven miles from the Casa Grande downtown area. It is only 2 miles from the Francisco Grande Hotel & Golf Resort which is also out in the country on its own. The hotel and golf course were initially developed by the San Francisco Giants baseball club for use as a spring training facility. The facility had four baseball diamonds from 1961 through 1984. Today those baseball fields are soccer fields. The grill in the hotel serves an excellent half pound cheeseburger. We ate there weekly, but I used the driving range at the golf resort almost daily.

On Monday, November 30th, we left Rover’s Roost in Casa Grande, Arizona for the 400 mile move to our winter hangout in Pahrump, Nevada. That is where we remain today. We have made friends of many people here at “Pair-A-Dice”, the Escapee Co-Op RV Park in Pahrump. Besides, there is a really nice golf course here, and many new friends have been made there.

So, that catches everyone one up.

Right now, April 17, 2016, we are talking about our excursion in 2016 and it looks like we will have our medical exams out of the way and we should be on the road about May 11th. Our first stop looks like it will be Yosemite National Park near Fresno, California. Janet and I, being native west coasters, surprisingly have never been to Yosemite. My camera is ready and we are looking forward to the vistas. Follow us along in 2016 and I promise to post this blog much more often that 2015.

Tally-Ho from Dave & Janet, a.k.a., The BooniePeople.


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Silvestro MICERA "Decoding grasping primitives from premotor cortex: towards a multi-area BMI ? "

Abstract :

Grasping-related neurons in the ventral premotor area F5 display a preference for the grasping of an object or a set of objects.
Half of the neurons also respond to the presentation of an object or a set of objects, even when a grasping movement was not required (visuomotor neurons). Often the object evoking the strongest activity during grasping also evokes optimal activity during its visual presentation. However, it is not known to which extent such neural coding could be implemented to classify different grips in order to develop a neural prosthesis. Investigating the possibility of decoding information from these neurons about a type of grip is very interesting from both a theoretical and a clinical perspective. To this end, the activities of F5 grasping-related neurons have been used as inputs to several pattern recognition algorithms. The features exploited for the decoding were the mean firing rate and the mean interspike interval calculated over different time spans of the movement period (all neurons) or of the object presentation period (visuomotor neurons). We successfully decoded accurate and robust information about the type of grip using either the movement related discharge or the discharge during the object presentation period. Thus, it is feasible to implement an invasive cortical neural prosthesis for the extraction of commands from grasping-related premotor cortical signals that could eventually control dexterous multi degrees of freedom hand prosthesis.

Selected publications

Double nerve intraneural interface implant on a human amputee for robotic hand control. Rossini PM, Micera S, et al .Clin Neurophysiol. 2010 Jan 26. [Epub ahead of print]
On the control of a robot hand by extracting neural signals from the PNS: Preliminary results from a human implantation. Micera S et al .Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;1:4586-9.

Scientific focus :

Silvestro Micera received the University degree (Laurea) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pisa, in 1996, and the Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, in 2000. During 1999, he was a Visiting Student at the Aalborg University. From 2000 to 2009, he has been an Assistant Professor of BioRobotics at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna where he is now the Head of the Neural Engineering group. In 2007 he was a Visiting Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA with a Fulbright Scholarship. From 2008 he is the Head of the Neuroprosthesis Control group and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Institute for Automation, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, CH. In 2009 he was the recipient of the “Early Career Achievement Award” of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.
Dr. Micera’s research interests include the development of hybrid neuroprosthetic systems (interfacing the central and peripheral nervous systems with artificial systems) and of mechatronic and robotic systems for function and assessment restoration in disabled and elderly persons.
He is author of several scientific papers and international patents. He served as Guest Editor of several biomedical engineering journals. He is currently Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering and of IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. He is also member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation and Deputy Editor in Chief of the IEEE EMB Magazine.

Erwan Bezard

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In Chelsea, a little boy’s wish comes true

photos by Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

Chelsea police officers in November made the dreams of terminally ill toddler Edison Cordero come true after his mother, Sandra, arrived at the department and told them that her son’s greatest wish was to meet a real-life police officer.

Within the hour, eight officers — the entire day-shift staff — arrived at the family’s home, bringing presents and letting the 2-year-old sit in their patrol cars.

This week, an even larger group of police officers came to Edison’s house with an early Christmas present: an electronic police car big enough for the toddler to ride in. The toy car is fully detailed with Chelsea police logos and has been made an honorary unit in the city’s fleet.

As they did last month, officers lined up their patrol cars along Webster Avenue, sirens loud and lights blazing blue. The group brought along a 9-foot-tall Christmas tree, a child-sized police uniform, and toys, as well as a certificate declaring Edison an honorary police officer.

The Boston Police Department also donated $5,000 to help the family with expenses during the holidays.


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Judge strikes down NYC ban on supersized sodas

Associated Press Tuesday, March 12, 2013
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Credit: The Associated Press

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

NEW YORK — A judge struck down New York City's pioneering ban on big sugary drinks Monday just hours before it was supposed to take effect, handing a defeat to health-minded Mayor Michael Bloomberg and creating uncertainty for restaurants that had already ordered smaller cups and changed their menus.

State Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling said the 16-ounce limit on sodas and other sweet drinks arbitrarily applies to only some sugary beverages and some places that sell them.

The article you requested is no longer available on BostonHerald.com.
» Click here to view this article in the Associated Press' archive.

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Dai Bowen (Pentre)

Dai Bowen (Pentre) was a professional boxer who was active between 1919 and 1929

He took part in 19 professional contests

I can produce a display book on his ring career containing about twenty-five pages of material

The display book will contain his detailed fight record; fight reports; photographs;

Please click on the sample image above to find out more about the display books

If you would like me to provide a quote for this then please

email : miles@boxinghistory.org.uk

or phone 07872 578596.

Connect with Britain's boxing past

Interested in British boxing history? Then why not join our facebook group and share your knowledge with others. To get involved, click the link below.

" You can also follow us on twitter and view our photo and memorabilia galleries on flickr.

/ / /

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text:
GdSeaman Boult (Coldstream Gds.)

GdSeaman Boult (Coldstream Gds.) was a professional boxer who was active between 1928 and 1929

He boxed at welterweight; middleweight and took part in 4 professional contests

I can provide about about fifteen pages of information on his ring career

including his full and detailed fight record and fight reports.

If you would like me to provide a quote for this then please

email : miles@boxinghistory.org.uk

or phone 07872 578596.

Connect with Britain's boxing past

Interested in British boxing history? Then why not join our facebook group and share your knowledge with others. To get involved, click the link below.

" You can also follow us on twitter and view our photo and memorabilia galleries on flickr.

/ / /

Copyright boxinghistory.org.uk


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Administration Refuses to Help Gay Asylum Seeker

Timothy Kincaid

October 26th, 2009

Tim Coco (Left) and Junior Oliveira (Right)

Tim Coco (Left) and Junior Oliveira (Right)

Too often both our friends and our opponents fail to understand exactly why it is that gay couples seek to be treated with equality. It is not, as some anti-gay activists claim, to ‘legitimize homosexual conduct’, but rather it is to achieve the goals, rights and benefits that are essential to life.

Laws that protect married couples are designed with specific purposes in mind, and those purposes apply to same-sex couples as well. When gay couples are excluded from equal treatment, it is not just disrespectful of their relationships, it is a declaration that gay people are not deserving of the rights and benefits that heterosexuals take for granted.

And that is what the actions of the Obama Administration have declared yet again this week.

In 2005, Tim Coco and Junior Oliveira legally married in Massachusetts. At the time, Oliveira was seeking asylum in the United States, having been subjected to abuse and rape in his native Brazil. In 2007, when asylum was denied, Oliveira was forced to return to Brazil while the couple fought the legal system to be reunited.

They found a valuable advocate in Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. And, indeed, Coco and Oliveira had good reason to be hopeful that the Administration would intervene.

The judge who denied asylum, Francis Cramer, was a political appointment who had minimal experience with immigration law and was so blatantly unqualified that government watchdog groups were astonished at his selection. It was later discovered that federal judicial candidates had been screened for their views on gay marriage before they were appointed.

But Cramer did not only count Coco and Oliviera’s marriage as irrelevant. In his decision, Cramer made the bizarre declaration that while he didn’t doubt that Oliveira was raped, he “was never physically harmed” by it.

Recognizing the judge’s decision to be crass inhumanity, Kerry wrote to the Attorney General’s office requesting that Oliveira’s case be reviewed. Because asylum is regularly granted for far less cause, surely a friendly administration would intervene.

No. They would not.

Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich

Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich

On July 27, 2009, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich wrote a letter to Senator Kerry informing him that the US Attorney General would not be reviewing the Coco/Oliveira case because that “forced sex” is not rape (they were unclear as to whether the Attorney General limits his belief that forced sex isn’t rape to male-on-male forced sex or whether that definition extends to heterosexual people as well).

Kerry was, naturally, incredulous and outraged. He has sought since then to get Attorney General Eric Holder to reverse the decision of his office. He informed the Attorney General that he wasn’t asking Holder to act against DOMA, but to grant asylum on humanitarian grounds, just as the government does for thousands of other immigrants.

Attorney Genereal Eric Holder

Attorney Genereal Eric Holder

Holder chose to ignore Kerry’s efforts. (A/P)

The Massachusetts husband of a gay Brazilian man says his spouse has been denied asylum that would allow them to be reunited in the U.S.

Tim Coco said Monday that the Obama administration did not act on a Friday deadline in the case of Genesio “Junior” Oliveira, effectively denying his request. The Justice Department did not immediately return messages.

Let us be clear. Were Junior Oliveira to have married a woman, he would not have been denied residency in this country. And were his reasons for seeking asylum based on factors other than his orientation, I am convinced that judges and politicians would have found more than adequate compassion to intervene.

I am so very sick of this. I’m disgusted by a legal system that denies equality. And I am furious with an administration that does not seem to care.

October 26th, 2009

All of these guys standing in the way of what’s obviously right are worthless piles of crap. How in God’s name can you remotely justify any of those conclusions?

This is why we need to dig in our heels on immigration reform to remedy this garbage.

October 26th, 2009

At least John Kerry demonstrated a bit of humanity here….

Shame on the other deciders, especially the bigotted judge….

October 26th, 2009

I thought we had a “fierce” LGBT advocate in the White House?

Ian Goldin

October 26th, 2009

John Kerry is awesome.

October 27th, 2009

I deplore the decision to deny Oliveira a visa on humanitarian grounds.

But as someone who has been a witness in multiple asylum cases (involving gay men and transgendered people from Brazil), I can say that these claims are becoming increasingly difficult to prove as grounds for asylum. Brazil’s record on LGBT rights is equal to or, in the case of some cities and states, substantially better than the US. They also have a national liaison for LGBT people, and many cities and states have ombudsmen for LGBT/police relations.

I’m not trying to minimize Mr. Oliveira’s suffering. I’m just pointing out that a rape case is not sufficient for a judge to grant asylum. You need to demonstrate that there is a widespread pattern of disregard for the rights of a class of person (i.e., gay people). In Brazil, this is hard to prove. Ironically, it’s easier to prove about the United States.

The sad fact is that we’re forced to resort to appeals for asylum when what we want is simply the same right to residency that straight people get. If we had equal rights, we wouldn’t be reading this article or having this sad exchange with our country’s highest legal authorities.

The situation is pathetic, and I agree that we need a full-court press on immigration rights for same-sex couples.

Baron Scarpia

October 27th, 2009

I am British. I’m bisexual, but I have never been affected by the US immigration system and probably never will. I personally know absolutely nobody who has been affected.

So I’m surprised how angry I’ve been with the US system since I found out about it a couple of years ago. This case in particular is outrageous for virtually every conceivable reason you can think of.

Embarcado – you might think that a rape is not sufficient cause to grant asylum. But I really think you’d have the decency not to use the words ‘was never physically harmed’ about it.

The words of the Immigration Judge make it clear that he did not take it seriously.

October 27th, 2009

Although this story has been carried by the AP, it has been largely ignored by the TV media. They would rather do follow-ups on ‘balloon boy’. I emailed CNN (incl AC360) and MSNBC (incl Maddow/Olbermann) to suggest this as a story idea, but I doubt one email will get their attention. I skipped over FOX since they would probably celebrate the inaction.

October 27th, 2009

Perhaps Francis Cramer would like to be gang raped. I wonder if he would still think that rape does not physically (let alone mentally) harm someone.

October 27th, 2009

To win asylum one needs to show a well-founded fear of persecution by one’s government. It was intended to assist victims of state persecution who therefore had no one else to appeal to within their country for their protection.

I agree with Embarcadero that this is especially difficult to prove in a case such as Brazil, which really does have an impressive record on gay rights. In fact, a couple years ago Brazil’s government was considering adopting a law that would have made it a crime for a pastor to preach that homosexuality is a sin!

Recall also that until Lawrence v. Texas, a few US states still had statutes on the books criminalizing sodomy, so that a same sex couple moving from Rio to Houston would actually be subjecting themselves to greater danger of state persecution. I do sincerely hope this couple finds a way to reunite, but an asylum request is not the way to go, and its denial does not reflect biases, but an honest application of the law.

October 27th, 2009

“But I really think youâ€™d have the decency not to use the words â€˜was never physically harmedâ€™ about it.” -Baron

And Baron, in the AP article on this subject, these were shown to be not the judge’s own words, but the judge quoting Oliviera’s testimony. The rape allegedly occurred when Oliviera was a teenager, i.e. years or decades ago. So Oliviera’s comments, if accurate, may reflect changing testimony, a different period of life under question, etc — we just don’t know what the context of the remark was.

Timothy Kincaid

October 27th, 2009

You are mistaken.

In Reyes-Reyes v. Ashcroft, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the term â€œgovernment acquiescenceâ€ was broad enough to include the governmentâ€™s failure to address severe physical abuse inflicted by non-government actors.

Others have won asylum with less demonstrated personal threat than Oliviera presented. I personally know a young man who was able to receive asylum based on little other than a culture of homophobia in his hometown but which he had never personally experienced (having left at a young age).

The decisions are very subjective and Holder could easily have gotten involved had he been so inclined. I suspect the Administration’s often-stated opposition to marriage equality compelled Holder to be seen as upholding DOMA and that the Coco/Oliviera marriage actually served to work against their claim. But that is only my suspicion.

You are also mistaken about the source of the quote. The New York Times article from which it was taken states:

In a letter sent Thursday to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., Mr. Kerry said that Immigration Judge Francis L. Cramer had found Mr. Oliveiraâ€™s testimony to be credible and his fear of living in Brazil genuine. However, the judge denied the asylum claim, saying he â€œwas never physically harmedâ€ by the rape, the letter said.

October 28th, 2009

Timothy Kincaid — I’m aware of that case, but that is just an expansion of the general rule. You still need to show indifference by the state, not just that you were the target of hatred or bigotry by private actors. If there is evidence that your country is strongly supportive of the rights of persons like yourself, the the burden on the person seeking asylum should be even greater.

The quote I found was: “In 2002, Oliveira had sought asylum in the U.S. because he said he was raped as a teenager in Brazil. But an immigration judge denied his request, and Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich said in a letter that Oliveira repeatedly remarked at his hearing that he ‘was never physically harmed’ by anyone in Brazil. Coco, however, said Oliveira was referring to street beatings and wasn’t clear during his hearing about the harm he faced because of the rape.”

Personally, I wonder whether there was not some international political calculation at work here, too. Granting an asylum request to a Brazilian on these grounds could be seen as a slap in the face to Brazil’s government, especially where high-level US officials intervened. See for example the recent case of the white South African man who was granted asylum by a Canadian court on racial discrimination grounds — a decision which outraged the South African government. This is always going to be an issue when granting asylum requests from countries on good terms with the USA, as a grant of asylum will inevitably be a kind of judgment on the foreign government itself.

October 28th, 2009

There’s a very easy solution here – immigration judges can grant relief (in various forms) on humanitarian grounds. Procedurally, this should be a simple task for those in Oliveira’s situation (able to document a marriage-like relationship, stability etc). It should be the AG’s policy.

The above discussion about the rape, about “physical harm” are perhaps evidence of a callous judge (and others in supervisory positions), but don’t necessarily speak to the plight of same sex couples who see themselves as forced to go the asylum route simply because the rights ordinarily granted heterosexuals are denied them. Many people come from countries with documented, widespread homophobia and a government that simply doesn’t pay attention (e.g., Wyoming, whose congressional delegation voted against the Matthew Shepard Act). That’s not quite the case here; Brazil’s human rights (and gay rights) record certainly complicates Oliveira’s petition.

I’m being a bit facetious here to make a point. I’d stand a better chance of asylum if I were from Wyoming (and if Wyoming were a political entity separate from the US) than if I were from Brazil.

It’s a lamentable situation, and an official policy to grant humanitarian relief in such situations would at least be the kind of band-aid we need now. Full immigration reform and parity between same-sex and hetero couples is obviously preferable, but I’m not sure how fast that will come.

Timothy Kincaid

October 28th, 2009

There is a bill to address this issue, the Uniting American Families Act. It was introduced in February, and has been before Congress in some form for the past eight years.

It has 117 co-sponsors. President Obama has spoken favorably about the bill in correspondence targeted towards the gay community, pledging to bring about reform before the end of the year. Shortly thereafter, the Catholic Church came out in opposition to the bill (it “erodes” family, you know) and it appears now to have slipped from consciousness of the Administration.

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What Are Little Boys Made Of?

In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.

Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate

When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.

Paul Cameron’s World

In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.

From the Inside: Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out”

On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.

Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"

The Heterosexual Agenda: Exposing The Myths

At last, the truth can now be told.

Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!

And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.

Testing The Premise: Are Gays A Threat To Our Children?

Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.

Straight From The Source: What the “Dutch Study” Really Says About Gay Couples

Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.

The FRC’s Briefs Are Showing

Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.

Daniel Fetty Doesn’t Count

Daniel FettyThe FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.