Back in my twenties, I would not have been able to give you any good reasons for a wheelchair vacation. I needed a tough lesson of camping like a “normal” family to open my eyes to the fact that wheelchair travelling must be done differently.
In the late 90s, Leslie and I sat miserably in a tent at 7500 feet with our three little girls. We went camping in the mountains and it was proving to be a chore. A downpour outside created a muddy mess for the wheelchair and the temperatures dropped quickly. I wondered why on earth we were doing this.
Up to that point we were determined to be “normal” in spite of Jamie’s disability. In Utah, that means time in the mountains, family bike rides, and visits to red rock country.
But with rain pouring down and a chill in the air, it made us seriously question how we were trying to spend our family vacation time. After all, a vacation should be rejuvenating instead of feeling like a second job (a difficult one, at that). We both knew at that time that we would need to rethink family leisure time and that we would probably have to adjust what we do.
It has now been over twenty years since that disastrous camping trip and our realization that we had to figure out how to travel and enjoy a vacation with a wheelchair in tow. We made the changes we found necessary and I can honestly say that looking back over the years, I have thoroughly enjoyed our wheelchair travels. Yes, I have missed out on the opportunity to do much camping with my kids, but the tradeoff has been some very memorable times we would not have otherwise had.
So, as I sit here and reflect on the two decades of trips we have taken, I realize there are some real benefits to travelling the way we do. I am convinced that if anyone chose to vacation with us, they would see some benefits that we, more or less, take for granted. I present the three main reasons I see in a wheelchair vacation in the sections that follow.
Wheelchair Vacation Reason #1 - You Tend to Travel Comfortably
Wheelchair vacations tend to take a bit of planning to pull off successfully. One must read and research a little more than other travelers to find facilities that will be conducive to the trip. While it is a little more work to put together an itinerary, the effect of it to our family has been that we usually end up in places that have decent hotels and nice places to eat.
While we don’t go overboard on paying for hotel stays, we usually select someplace comfortable that offers a relatively simple breakfast to begin the day. The places we stay are also typically close to the attractions we want to see to cut down any travel time. Doing this helps ensure a more relaxing vacation with less stress.
Wheelchair Vacation Reason #2 - You Often See More of Your Destination
I have talked to my older sister a number of times about some of the trips we have taken only to hear her say, “Wow, you guys went a lot of places. I’m going to have to talk to you again when we plan a vacation”.
Wheelchair Vacation Reason #3 - People Have Your Back
I have saved the best reason for wheelchair travel for last. The fact of the matter is when we travel, we find that locals are looking out for our needs. Even other vacationers seem to have our back and it is wonderful to feel that important to people. Here are just a few sample experiences surrounding this:
Disney’s “Fantasmic” – Disneyland is a top place to go with a wheelchair – they are obsessed at assuring visitors with disabilities enjoy their stay. When our girls were little, we often chose to go to Disneyland and most of our time was spent simply going on rides or hanging out at Jamie’s favorite place, the wishing well.
There was one time, however, when we thought the girls would like to see Fantasmic. Knowing Jamie was prone to move around a bit, we staked out a place very early so we could make sure she had a little of a “buffer zone” around her – she struggles with boundaries sometimes and we didn’t want her to grab a stranger’s arm or kick someone.
As the crowd gathered over the hours, everyone was very nice about making sure Jamie had a little bit of extra space. Finally, only five minutes before the show was to start, a man and probably members of his family made their way up to the extra space we had saved for Jamie. When we told him that she needed that space, he got angry and spouted off that people “like her” didn’t belong in the park. It was a good thing he made a quick exit at that point because he probably would have been beat senseless by the crowd around us who were as incensed as much as we were with what he said.
Boat ride at the San Antonio Riverwalk – I took a screenshot of what Leslie posted on Facebook about Jamie and the tour guide on our boat ride through the Riverwalk and you can see it here. I have to say that I was pretty touched by the tour guide’s kind words to us as the tour wrapped up and we were leaving.
Spirit of Peaks Golf Cart Tour – While in Portland, Maine, we decided to take the ferry to Peaks Island and spend an afternoon exploring. Golf cart tours are available to more easily see what is there and to share the history of the place. We signed up for one of these and it was a lot of fun.
While Jamie loves to travel, she is often in her own world when we go to tourist attractions. During the entire ride on the golf cart, she was happily listening to her own music on her iPod, all but ignoring the tour guide, but still having a great time.
As we returned to the starting point and were paying the tour guide, he smiled and said, “Oh, she doesn’t have to pay” – such a nice gesture.
There are plenty of other times I feel like people have had our back at times of travel and it always makes me have a little more appreciation for the kindness of strangers.
Conclusion
It’s not easy to travel with a wheelchair, but it does open the door to having some first rate memorable travel experiences, not the least of which is seeing people at their best.
Happy travels!
