West Coast 2022 – Days 1 thru 4

After 2 years of “cabin fever” and very little travel, The Thoughtful Travelers finally planned and executed a 30 day west coast trip for the month of April.  Keep in mind, at this point the most I have ever traveled without my mother, Susan, was a 2 night stay in Washington DC.  So there were plenty of logistics to work out to make our most ambitious trip yet a reality.  When I travel, it really requires having at a minimum two other people join.  So having my friend and aide Kade join us for most of the trip was a huge reason I was able to do this.  My mom would come for the first and last weeks of the trip.  In addition, what made this trip unique and very special was that we were able to combine family visits and vacation time, an opportunity to present a “Be Thoughtful” grant from our non-profit, as well as The Thoughtful Travelers work of shedding light on the challenges and joys of traveling with a disability.

Planning:  The logistics for this trip in hindsight were fairly complicated.  My original intent was to start in Southern California and rent an accessible van and drive the Pacific Coast ending in Seattle, but no rental car company would do a one-way drop off.  In addition, I always look at the most economical as well as accessible accommodations and usually find a mix between Airbnb and hotels.  We had to modify the plan to create two halves of the trip by looping back to LA and flying to Seattle to rent another van.  Here is how it all came together:

• Fly direct from BDL to LAX
• Rent an Accessible Van
• 3 nights in Thousand Oaks (northern LA) Airbnb
• 6 nights in Oceanside, CA (40 minutes north of San Diego) Airbnb
• 1 night Santa Barbara – Marriott Residence Inn
• 2 nights Monterey, CA – Asilomar Conference Grounds
• 2 nights San Francisco, CA, Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf
• 2 nights Pasadena, CA, Hyatt Place 
• 1 night LAX – Courtyard by Marriott
• Fly LAX to SEA
• 3 nights Seattle Airbnb Downtown near Pikes Place Market
• 4 nights Portland Airbnb
• 5 nights Seattle Airbnb next to Seward Park 20 minutes south of downtown
• Fly direct SEA to BOS 

As a side note (and warning), I used an Online booking system for our flights called Kiwi.com.  There are pros and cons to this system as it will find the best prices for flights regardless of the Airline.  For example we flew out on Jetblue but used Alaska Air for the return from Seattle. All the ticketing, online check-ins etc…are mangage by Kiwi, which is convenient if you never have to talk to a human!  One thing I learned is that if you book using an agent (and in this case Kiwi is the online agent), it is extremely difficult to make any changes, check seats, check handicapped assistance, etc…directly with the airline.  You have to do any changes  through the “agent”.  In this case, Kiwi forced you to do 99% of everything online, via a support chat or messaging system!!  This drove Steve especially crazy as he spent a lot of time online and trying to resolve things with Kiwi.  It was not helpful when you really needed to talk to a human.  In addition Kiwi totally messed up our names on the Alaska Air leg from SEA to BOS, and our first and last names were reversed.  We had to jump through hoops with Alaska directly to get this resolved.  Alaska customer service was excellent.  It just took extra time and explaining!

Time for a Thoughtful Grant:  After a smooth and uneventful flight from BDL to LAX on Jetblue (the crew was excellent helping us board and deplane), and having a minor mix up on where the rental company parked our accessible van for pickup, I was ready for a good night sleep in our Airbnb so I would be ready for a special kick off to our 2022 West Coast Trip!  For those of you that don’t know, Susan and Steve started a non-profit organization in 2018 called The Be Thoughtful Movement, which aims to create and support employment opportunities for individuals of different abilities.  Near the end of 2021 we reached out to Hannah Snoots, Associate Director of The Special Abilities Ministry at Westlake Calvary Community Church (CCC) to help us find a deserving individual that might be pursuing further education or a vocation/passion they love.  We wanted to incorporate spreading awareness and sharing “thoughtfulness” into this trip.  

We also were intrigued by what we had learned about The Special Abilities Ministry, and wanted to learn more about how they specifically run their Sunday and other weekly programs.  We were blown away by how honored the special needs community is at CCC, where they have their own “wing” with a dedicated room and an adaptive playground. Take a look at this video.  What a great church and ministry!  Special Abilities Ministry video 

Alec Simpson is a young man who volunteers at CCC and participates in the Special Abilities Ministries.  When we asked Alec what he believed his gift was to offer the world, he answered, “I have a gift for seeing how beautiful something can be, even if it’s ugly.”  Wow, the world can certainly use more people like Alec!  Alec loves cake decorating and home staging.  He plans to use the grant towards an online Home Staging course with the New York Institute of Art and Design, which would introduce him to home presentation and the tools necessary for staging a home to sell. Once completed, he would qualify to apply for his Certified Home Staging Professional designation.  In addition, Alec is a volunteer and very active in his church, Calvary Community Church in Westlake, CA.  Alec is a part of the Special Abilities Ministry that is one of the most inclusive and innovative ministries we have ever seen.  We were truly inspired during our visit!  Congratulations Alec!! You are a thoughtful and giving young man, and we wish you all the success in your future endeavors, including your passion for home staging.  Keep making people smile, you are an inspiration to others!

Meeting Alec and his family, presenting him with a grant,  and seeing the Special Abilities Ministry up close and personal was without a doubt a top highlight of our trip.  To share our mission with a community of people who understand its importance and live it everyday was priceless!

Alec was very grateful for our grant and was very honored by the recognition.  Alec will keep us updated on his progress and classes.

After our time with Alec and CCC, we ventured off to Malibu Beach to see the Pacific Ocean up close and personal.  For me when I travel, it is vitally important for me to maintain some of my physical therapy and stretching routines.  As such, my mom (Susan) took the time at the beach to give me a good long stretch, and boy did it feel great after so many hours on the plane the day before.  We capped off our first full day meeting up with Steve’s son Chase (who lives in LA) and his girlfriend Chantelle for some Thai food!

A Down Day and The Getty Museum:  Day 3 was a down day where Steve & Susan went mountain biking, and Kade and I were able to sleep in a bit and hang out at the Airbnb.  In the afternoon we ventured to find an accessible park to take a walk, and came across Conejo Valley Botanic Garden in Thousand Oaks.  It was a nice little park with a variety of plants labeled along paths with compacted wood chip/mulch material.  This, along with some significant hills made for a less than pleasant stroll for me.  This was NOT the most accessible park to visit if you are in a wheelchair or have any sort of mobility issues, especially because of the hills.  On the way back Kade and I found a great healthy smoothie place called Sunlife Organics for some refreshing bowls, and returned to the Airbnb where Steve and I watched the NCAA Men’s Basketball finals where Kansas beat UNC 72 – 69.

Day 4 was our check out at the Airbnb and we then headed to the well known Getty Museum, and it did not disappoint. The architecture of the building was magnificent but the true highlight was how accessible the whole museum was, right from the parking tram to the entrance to all the various paths and gardens.  

Of special note was the door opening devices (sometimes referred to as switches) that were used throughout the Getty.  With my form of CP, it is very difficult to open up doors without assistance because of the usual placement and the small size of the switch.  But at the Getty, and the particular device/switch used (the INGRESS-R, manufactured by Wikk (www.Wikk.com)), allowed me for the first time to be able to press a “button” and have the door open!!!  Check out my mothers reaction in this video!  I think she enjoyed it more than me!!  In my opinion, these longer panel buttons should be standard in all public places.  Kudos to the Getty, you make it possible for people with mobility issues to enjoy and experience the Getty the same as everyone else.

We had to cap off the first 4 days of this journey of course with some Gelato at Capri Gelato and Coffee Bar in Marina Del Rey with Chase, my cousin Kevin, and some friends!  From here it was off to Oceanside to check into our next Airbnb to explore southern California including San Diego over the next several days!!

STAY TUNED…..Days 5-10 of our West Coast trip COMING SOON!!