Sick day

Well folks, here I sit in my recliner thinking about getting away. No big trips recently but I did do kind of a cool day trip. The Seattle Science Center was hosting the Lucy exibit (I am kind of a geek so I thought this was fun). It was linked with the Hidden Tresures of Ethiopia. There was so much about that Country I didn't know. The reason I bring this up is because I am in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. This means I will also be traveling to that country. I do not have to say that it is not very wheelchair friendly but I will do better at keeping you involved in trips.

Viva Las Vegas BABY!!!

Happy New Year everybody!! Today I was out doing errands and I saw a sight that gave me a short vacation flashback. I saw a jet over Bellingham Bay headed of to Sin City for what I am sure was a respectable and quiet weekend (yeah right). You see folks I was married in Vegas and I have some great memories there. Before you say it, NO it wasn't one of those "Vegas Weddings" (not that there is anything wrong with them. My wife had the big white dress, I had the suit and we wed in the Paris Hotel and Casino. I really have to say those folks know what they are doing at the Chapel du Paris, as we have referred to them. All we had to do was pick the package, the flowers, and whether we wanted photos or videos or both. Alas this is not my wedding blog it is travel so on to the nuts and bolts. The Paris Hotel has very nice accessible rooms we stayed in a moderate priced one so we didn't have any view. The bed was comfortable, the bathroom was maneuverable and we were not to near the elevator to be hearing foot traffic all night. The chapels are all accessible for those of you wondering, as well as being very pretty.

We hit the buffet at the Bellagio, Paris, and the Aladdin and even though I am kind of a foodie both the Bellagio and Paris had great food (pricey but great) and the Aladdin was pretty good also. Here is something to note if you are in a wheelchair going to the buffet. It is helpful to have someone with you to negotiate these places as they are very large and really full of people.

We went to Circe du Solie (sp??) where we had some of the best seating in the house, right in the middle and away from the creepy clowns (clowns freak me out). AWESOME SHOW!! a must see if you can swing it. We also saw the fountain show a couple of times at the Bellagio. Just a tip get there and find a place early. It is not like the ending of Ocean's 11 where they are virtually alone. Loads of people were there to see the water fly. There are some wheelchair areas but people park strollers there and there are no people enforcing wheelchair seating.

Making your way up and down the strip is not as easy as you might think. Look at a map and you think I can walk/roll it is all straight lines. Lies!! These casinos are giant and there is NO SUCH THING as a direct walkway. They go in and out of Casinos and attractions, and over catwalks or through tunnels. My wife and I walked from Mandalay Bay to the Paris and it took about an hour. Plus my wife who is very fair complected got burned. There are cabs that are wheelchair accessible that can get you from one place to another and are not terribly expensive all things considered.

I must give props to the guys at the Art of Shaving where I went to get a straight razor shave before my wedding. These guys didn't even blink when I needed a hand into the barber chair. Also the folks at the Spa in the Paris were great helping my wife get her sunburn to go away the day before we got married. (sure it cost us but she really looks great in our wedding pictures).

The bad side. I had some awful customer service by a Limo service on the way home. The driver was a very high maintenance lady who kept snapping her fingers at the wedding party when she was suppose to be putting the bags in the trunk. She also dropped my chair in traffic at the airport. Mandelay bay also needs to get a brush up in the customer service area. I asked for help at their help desk in getting a cab and they looked at me like I was a Martian.

On the whole though I would recommend this city as very accessible and a ton of fun. Worth a visit. Until next time!!!!!

Cool links

Hey everybody,

I just thought I would share some very cool links I found with the message that just because you need to know your own limitations. Those shouldn't stop you from trying new adventures. Keep in mind I have not used nor do I endorse either of these companies. I am just stoked that there are options for areas I thought were to difficult to travel. With that said, enjoy the sites...

www.accessible-asia.com
www.rollontravel.com
www.rollingrains.com

Happy Holidays!!

Few More Kauai Pictures

Top Picture: Me at Wiamea Canyon known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.

Bottom Picture: Poipu Beach.

Winter makes me want to go.......

Well my friends. I am back after a lengthy hiatus, and as I am sure you are all well aware, winter is coming. This always makes me think about going somewhere really warm. Hawaii comes to mind. I went to the beautiful garden island of Kauai 2 years ago and I found that, despite what some said, the island was fairly acccessible.

I started planning the trip by visiting with my travel agent to ask what hotels were might have good facilities, and be wheelchair accessible. Also what city we would like to stay in. This is important because it is where you will be leaving in the morning and coming back to at night. We chose to stay in Lihue which is the largest city and most centrally located city on the island. It is very accessible and has the hospital, community college, airport, and shopping centers.

Once I had settled on the accomodations and location, I then started planning the rest of the trip. I rented a nice convertable so we could get around the island. If you call far enough in advance you can get a car with hand controls.There are many great places to check out and a ton of great beaches that must be visited. There is a great thing about Hawaii's public beaches. Most of them have sand wheelchairs on loan from the county. Also talk with the life guards because nobody knows the beaches better than the people who work at them. I met some very nice life guards while there and got some great dining suggestions and where the snorkeling was particularly good that day so definately ask questions and make friends. You can never have enough friends in tropical places (more couches to crash on for quick escapes).

Finally (and this will seem like planning backwards) I booked my flight. Now you can get a direct flight from Alaska Airlines straight to Kauai. But when I went you had to fly to Honolulu and transfer. I will let you in on a secret though, don't wait for the disabled shuttle if you can walk short distances. The inter island flight gates are not that far from the international gates. And to be real honest you could die waiting for a shuttle. There really is a difference in time (island compared to the rest of the world). I would recommend flying Hawaian Air their seats are bigger and the service was great.

Well I am going to stop daydreaming and go get my puppy some food. Stay warm and keep traveling.

Pack up your troubles...

Hello my travel hungry companions!! I wanted to continue along the lines of my last post and talk a little about packing. I know, I know. How hard is it to stuff clothing in a suitcase and go? Well my fellow special needers, if you are like me it are not that simple. There are variables to consider like medications. Unique medical necessities like catheters and the occasional traveling shower bench. This stuff takes some thinking about.
Lets start with the stuff you want to carry on. I know with the added fee of checked baggage you want to carry on everything, but on long trips that is not always an option. So you want to keep with you what I call the “essentials”. You know the stuff that you can’t just run into your local department store to replace. Medication is to be kept in its original bottles (or pharmacy packed medi-set with labels) and in your carry on. DO NOT CHECK THIS. I really cannot stress this enough. If it is something that your doctor says you need on a schedule don’t trust an airline. You should treat it like it is gold or diamonds. Keep it with you. I pack mine in a clear Ziploc baggy so that when you go through security they can look at it but not mess them up or have the vials flying all over the place.
For daily medical supplies like cathaters, leg bags, gloves, testing strips, etc. I personally try to pack this as small as possible. Take it out of unnecessary boxes or other packaging. Get your pharmacy to print you labels and place them in sipper baggies and squeeze the air out of them. Rubberband together your cathetars and store them in a side pocket so you have more room in the main compartment. Alot of this is just about using common sense. Basically you are trying to keep it as light and essential as possible.
My last big tip is this. If you have a big trip comming up contact the hotel in advance to see if you can have items shipped to the hotel you will be staying at. I have had great sucess with this when traveling and if you explain yopur situation most good hotels will assist you with what they will need on the addressing slip (ie guest name, room #, attention to). These folks want you to have a good time and most importantly give their hotels good word of mouth.

That is another post from your travel companion. I have more good posts on the way so keep coming back. Also if you have any questions or comments email them to me at wheelchairsiteseer@yahoo.com

More to come,

You can fly, you can fly, you can flyyyyyyyyyy!!

Hello all. As the title of suggest this will be about flying. Despite all of the problems that the media is reporting I just love to fly on a trip. Smaller planes (MD-80s), larger jets (787s). There is just no more of an adventure to me than flying. I know what you are saying to yourself “flying an adventure??” Well for someone in a wheelchair it is a real adventure. I have been on the tarmac in an aisle chair (a very narrow seat that can be wheeled down the plane aisle to your assigned seat) waiting to use the funky little ramp to the plane with my wife beside me holding our wedding clothes (Indiana Jones eat your heart out). I get to see behind the scenes of airports and see what few travelers get to see. So the advice I am about to give you is road tested (air tested in this case).

Standard Airline Isle Chair

First off, the airline employees don’t deal with mobility impared people as much as you might think. So cut them some slack -- they are doing their best. When booking your flight let them know you have a mobility impairment and what they can do to help (this can be done either through the airline directly or through your travel agent). Plan plenty of time between connecting flights, I have more than once run across an entire airport to make a connection (it sucks so learn from my mistakes). I personally try to book a middle and window seat so that if there is another person in our row (gate check and with the airlines booking practices there will be) they will not have to crawl over me.

Get there really early. Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you get a pass on security. You will be pulled aside and patted down, shoes and chair checked with their sniffer machine, etc. Be straight forward with the NTSB person. If you have a legbag or colostomy bag let them know about it so they don’t dislodge or accidentally kink something. Again they don’t know about these things so again be patient with them.

Once you are past the security gates check in with your airline immediately. This is just good practice for anyone but especially for someone with special needs. Get that knocked out early so you don’t have to scramble at the last minute. The gate check people will get you set with your boarding passes and gate check tags. (you will have to gate check your wheelchair, walker, stroller, anything that will not fit in the bins).

Then try to relax. Get a magazine, book, portable DVD player and wait until boarding. It will be a while so get as comfortable as you can.

When you are boarded you will be one of the first people to get on the plane (this is nice until you get to your destination where you will be the last one off so no reason to jump up when you land). Once aboard flight attendants will talk with you about emergency exits, ask if you need anything specific (pillows, blankets) and then be on their merry way to deal with other passengers. This would be the time to situate yourself and get ready for your flight. Even though you will not be the first to get off you will need to be ready when they come to get you. You also might have to remind them that you will need assistance (especially on long flights where difficult people can make even the most viligiant flight attendant forget things).

Also try to remember you are (hopefully) on vacation so don't let someone's bad attitude get it off to a bad start.