Opening Day at Fenway - Red Sox defeat Yankees!

Sam made a great assumption at Christmas 2009 - he assumed attending a Red Sox game on opening day would be on my "bucket list".  He was correct!!!  He gave Dan and me tickets to opening night, April 4, at Fenway Park in Boston.  He also made sure he had to accompany us to the game. 

It was a wonderful evening, warm weather (57 degrees), a come-from-behind victory for the Red Sox, and the first pitch thrown out by a former Red Sox player, Pedro Martinez, who the  whole stadium still loved!
It was a magical night and one I will always remember!

SNOW MOUNDS!!!

Last Thursday evening, I was rolling down the streets of Waltham, MA with my mom and Dan, heading from a lovely Mexican dinner to the movie theater  to see "Young Victoria".  It was a cold night, but we were ready to cross the street and walk two blocks.  After rolling down the sidewalk a long ways, I was ready to go across the cross walk and into the theater, but I could not!  The ramp and sidewalk were filled with ten inches of frozen snow, hard pack.  Dan kicked at it, but it would not budge!  My mom, almost 82 years old, climbed over it, hanging on to both of  Dan's arms.  I had to return to from where I started and go three extra blocks to get into the theater.
What are people thinking - wheelchairs are tractors?  Just  another ALS frustration!!!  The movie was great!

Why do they live in Texas???

Dan and I are going to Texas for Columbus Day weekend. We are going to see our son, Sam, who is principal of a new school, IDEA College Prep Charter Middle School, in San Juan, TX. It is in rural South Texas, very close to the Mexican border. WE have been planning how to get there for more than one month. We need to find:
1. An airplane that is large enough for the wheelchair to be stored.
2. A seat with an armrest that lifts up - for easy transfer from the transport chair.
3. Upon arrival, a rental wheelchair van.
4. An accessible room in a nearby hotel, since Sam's bathroom is not accessible.
5. A way to use the toilet in Sam's house - commode, high riser toilet seat?
6. A way to go deep sea fishing on a boat, which tells us they are accessible, but not toilet.

We are excited to be taking our first journey with the electric wheelchair. We are thrilled that Joe is driving down from Austin (6 hours) with Tim, who will fly in from LA. We are just anxious about the trip - stay tuned for what happens in Texas!!

July 4 on Block Island
What could be better than July 4 weekend on beautiful Block Island, Rhode Island - a short, one hour ferry ride from the mainland? Almost everything accessibility wise!!
We went to visit childhood friends from DC who had invited us to stay at their house - we knew there were four steps in, we brought our eight foot suitcase ramp and a six inch wedge. We didn't know my scooter would need to cross 50 yards of lawn and rocks before getting to the ramp!!
We didn't know the bathroom doors would be 18 inches wide, even with the door pulled off (forget privacy). We could not get the scooter into the bathroom!! We did not know that it is was a BIG step down to the deck overlooking the ocean! We did not know the bed would be four feet high! We did not know the acclaimed historical restaurant would have five steps, but no ramp - the waiters would carry me in? Too many accessibility challenges!! We left within 24 hours, to return to our accessible home! What an adventure!