Do you have what it takes…Traveling is not for sissies.

How do we make it? We start our day with a devotional and prayer. That works for us. This is not our only conversation with God, we have been known to ask for his help along the way many times or thank him for his beautiful creations.

To do an away trip it does take planning. How long can you be away from therapy, how do you pack, and how far can you comfortably drive in a day.

We learned several years ago on our first trip back to Rice Lake, Wisconsin. We were gone for 3 weeks, and Curly was out of therapy for that time. What happened? We did do exercises while we were gone but I just do not have the equipment or the strength that his therapists have available. When we returned in September it took Curly until January to get back to where he was before we left. The following year we booked pool therapy in Stillwater, that helped some, but it was just a Band-Aid, and it was difficult getting him into their system. Now we usually limit our trips to two weeks.

The next question is How Do You Pack? Start early. I usually start the week before and add things that I otherwise would have forgotten. We take a lot of supplies with us, along with two slide boards, bed cane, wheelchair battery and a lift. This truly needs a planning strategy. Check the calendar so you have adequate supplies to cover all the days you will be gone and any rental equipment you may need.

I personally would rather take things that help with us remaining independent than having to wait for unknown caregivers to arrive. We also bring our own alarm clock, most hotels put it next to the bed. That does not work for Curly, so it is just easier to put it on their dresser and take it with us.

We have had a luggage rack on top but with my strength it was not the best plan. We could feel it move around.

We do travel by van, however, that does not mean a lot of room. Our rear back section is large enough to keep our daily book bags and clothing needed until we get to our destination.

How do we pack? Battery, bed cane and slide boards go in the way back along with the 2 bookbags that contain our daily toiletries, etc. I put in white garbage bags a chain of clothes and any supplies we may need for a day.

When we get to our location. Lift goes out, hang bookbags on lift, slide board and bed cane on the bottom and slip one white garbage bag over the handles. After we check in, I usually take Curly up to the room and go back and get our lift, etc. When we leave, dirty clothes go in the white garbage bag and everything else is put on the lift, Curly gets in the van while I go back and get the lift and do the back section and hopefully, we get on the road by 8:30 am.

For our destination items I went to Home Depot and bought a bin that is on wheels. This fits perfectly on the passenger seat behind us wrapped with bungie cords. This bin is not taken out until we get to our destination. The only thing left is our cooler. Yeti cups are filled with fresh water and iced tea, cooler will hang over the headrests on top of the bin. There are not many restaurants along I 40 so many times we pack a sandwich to have on the road.

Our route…we have found that a 6-hour day works best. Sometimes we do have to stretch it a little farther but that is hard for Curly sitting in his wheelchair. Usually, we get to the hotel, and he takes a rest before we grab something for dinner. Kathy may spend some time checking out the local stores and occasionally helping the economy.

We are able to Move Forward with Disabilities in Retirement….go places, see people and grow through our experiences. When we get home, we are thankful that we took the time and energy to travel. It may be a little more work, but we have built so many memories we would not have had if we would not have ventured out of our comfort zone.

Our last trip we had stopped for gas and were going into a fast-food restaurant when Curly mentioned his chair would not turn on. Uhm, I will get you some food and then we need to hit the road to Greenwood Village, Colorado where our Sheraton hotel was booked. I kept asking God to help us and my idea was, the chair would turn on when we arrived. God’s plan was, calm Kathy down, she would go in and ask the front desk if they had the non-emergency number for the fire department. The front desk gals said, “Oh yes, I have it right here, we will call them for you.” I brought a load up to the room and as I got back to the lobby here are four wonderful Firepersons pushing Curly’s 405-pound wheelchair + his weight. They got him up to the room, lifted him into bed and we will be forever grateful!

Thank you, Greenwood Village Colorado Fire Department, and the front desk, at the Sheraton! Next step was to get the chair fixed. I calmly (God’s Plan) called Numotion. They had a tech on 24 hours, and he would be happy to drive the 40 minutes and come and fix the chair. He took the cover off and two cables had separated from the night before when we walked to dinner over speed bumps. This has turned into a fond memory of people helping us along the way and Moving Forward with Disabilities in Retirement.

A reminder that we are not in this journey alone and we need to get out of our comfort zone,

the memories are priceless.