That's NOT what I expected to say about our travel to Colorado. Or sleeping in a YMCA! This past summer we decided to use our $2000 in flight vouchers to head to Colorado for the first time. The rocky mountains are not the first place you think of for an accessible vacation, but we sure love to see the National Parks. (plus, we gotta use our free national park passes, am I right??) Our first leg of the trip was to fly into Denver, grab the rental car, eat dinner downtown, and drive to the YMCA of the Rockies. We planned to spend a long weekend before heading on to other parts of the state. I had no idea then that I would long to spend an entire vacation at the YMCA of the Rockies! In fact, I was really hesitant to stay at a YMCA at all. The first time I googled hotels, B&Bs and cabin rentals I was confused by the YMCA listing showing up. I don't know about you, but the Y is where I picture sweaty bodies working out at budget prices. (And then I picture ridiculous wedding reception dancing...you do, too, yes?!) The last thing I want to do is sleep there. However, time and Continue Reading
Is Disney still disability friendly?
Some of the links in this article are "affiliate links" and should you click on an affiliate link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission. (The price of the item is the same whether or not it is an affiliate link.) I only recommend products or services I find beneficial.By using the affiliate links, you are helping support our Website-thanks for your support. I never considered myself a Disney promoter. At least not on purpose. Then we had two daughters affected by disability and I became a believer. Every now and then someone will ask what my routine is when we plan a trip to Disney world...and if the park still caters to those with disabilities. Again, I do not consider myself an expert. I am an expert on traveling with my family, though. I'm happy to share what we have found to work. It has paired down a bit now that we are a family of four since the older ones have moved on to their own vacations. Our Disney visits started out slowly. We were wooed with a credit card that gives us disney points as rewards. Depending on how many Disney points we accrue, Continue Reading
Using a portable ramp for access
Why we travel with a portable ramp in the back of our van... Several years back we began attending a new church and, along with that, making some new friendships. If you are a family affected by disability you potentially face different challenges in finding ways to meet up with friends. Sometimes it is obvious, for instance when you come via two power wheelchairs, that access is going to be difficult if not impossible. We were invited to a family's home to hang out and eat together. I needed to politely ask if there were steps into all the entrances or any flat level access for our wheelchairs. As luck would have it, it was a split level home and steps were everywhere. We debated whether we wanted to carry our then small-ish daughters into the house or move the party to a restaurant or even our house. (We continue to be fine with any of those options as the friendships are worth the effort!) I don't recall what we determined to do but I do recall a package arriving not much later...a portable ramp with the message "we always want you to feel welcome in our house...and anywhere Continue Reading
